Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 35 REM ammo priced at $54!

What's this "factory ammo" I hear being bandied about? I haven't bought a box of factory ammo in any flavor since Clinton was president.

Good info re: using .303 British brass to make .35's. Close to same case head diameter I see. I almost want a .35 Remington now just to try that. Reading in Nonte's old book of cartridge conversions I see he recommended swaging '06 brass down, trimming, and running it into a FL sizer. .020" case head reduction via swaging isn't that big a deal, but you won't do it with your reloading press. Probably need to jerry-rig a hydraulic bottle jack.

Make some brass (or buy some - it's tough to find but it's out there if you shake the bushes hard enough) and round up a pack of primers and a can of powder, scare up a used set of dies and a used press (or an old Lee Loader), and a cheap Lee 2-cavity .35 200grain bullet mold (and a cheap Lee push-through bullet sizing die and a stick of lube), and bone up on how to use those tools, and a newbie can be shooting Dad's old .35 in jig time - all for the cost of a handful of boxes of this scandalously priced factory ammo I hear talked about. Or, sit back and continue griping about how the Ammunition Man is sticking it to you.

I had no idea you could form .35 from .303, but is .303 British brass really that much easier to find?

No, but if you haven't bought factory ammo since the 90's, owned a TV since 2000 and been laid since 2003, what else do you have to do?

WTB ads here yielded me 200 pieces rather easily.

YMMV.

I haven't bought any factory (centerfire) ammo in over 20 years, abandoned TV in August 2020 when DirectTV raised their rates to a stupid level and I only watched 5 channels out of 600 anyway (and have felt quite liberated as a result), and I'll bet I get laid more often than most of you married guys.

My point is, with a little ingenuity, patience, and perseverance there really isn't much in the way of brass that can't be made out of other stuff. Am I the only guy left standing who owns and has read/used Nonte's old book "The Home Guide to Cartridge Conversions"? I guess now in the digital age books are passe - if it ain't on the Internet it can't be so - but that's a good one that'll teach you the basics, and it's written in Nonte's inimitable style.

But I guess it's easier (more fun?) to bitch about the high cost of non-existent ammo/brass.

Hornady seems to make seasonal runs of 35 Rem ammo. It was available on several sites based on Ammoseek several months ago. I saw it for as little as $40/box, but it went pretty fast. I would be they will make another batch next Spring or Summer. Just keep your eyes peeled.

Or just ditch the .35, go buy a .30-30 and get to killing deer with cheap and easy to find ammo/components. I've had both and killed a pile of deer with both. My .35 went down the road years ago and my .30-30 is still here and it's still killing deer every season. The only thing the .35 does better than the .30-30 is deflate your wallet.

Well, there is that too! No argument from me on that score - I've worshiped at the altar of the .30-30 for more decades than I care to remember. Not many cartridges out there are more versatile, from mouse fart loads to deer thumpers. Add to that I found that I can duplicate .35 Remington performance with 200 grain flat nosed cast lead bullets with a 26" barreled .357 Maximum rifle. Niche filled.

We gotta do all we can to keep some of these old ones from becoming extinct. The ammo companies don't give a hoot about a few guys who cling to old rifles/cartridges as we do little to contribute to their bottom line. Give up the old stuff and get with the new stuff? May be some truth in that, but it doesn't set well with the philosophy of Rifle Loonyism, does it?!

Load 158 gr 357 bullets in your 35 rem. Works great in them.
Friend just picked up 3-4 cases of old stock 200 gr corlokt 35 ammo. Im trying to buy it so may have a bunch to sell soon.

Any of you getting out of the 35 Remington game PM me with any components you are selling. I have a 336 and a 141 that are not going anywhere as long as I'm above the dirt.

I'd be interested in a case. At 37, I've got a Lotta shooting left

Well hell at a gunshow last weekend I picked up 900 180gr .358" Speer flat noses. Just scored a 8# jug of Leverevolution. Why they are cheaper than 30-30's. You be gettner..mb

I’d be a taker if you were willing to part with some of those 180 FNs MB.

I've read the whole thread, everyone's posts. I've been retired since may of 2020 so I have had more time to hit the local stores to see what's in stock, to talk with sales people and I have store numbers on speed dial. I also hit every gunshow with in 200 miles. The ammo companies are pumping out more ammo than ever. Based on known sales numbers some older chamberings are harder to find? Why ? SEVERAL REASONS the ammo companies that make low demand cartridges still make them 1 or 2 runs a year same as allways. The panic of c-19 induced the the panic shortages and caused people to finally change the way they buy ammo. Sure the prices have gone up, look around at everything you buy it all cost more thank Joe biteme for that. I was in the local Sam's tonite bought some food. Big quantity buyers save money there. Down the way is the local Scheels store so I dial them up and ask for the gun dept. You guys get any powder or lr primers? Yeah, powder the guy says and runs off the powder numbers. Has leverevolution powder 38.99/# not a steal but says he has an 8# at 249.99 that's a deal
So I rolled over there and got an 8#.. while I'm there I get the reminder you know it's the Xmas season friday nite, men their women and kids, people buying things. But 1 thing has changed instead of buying 1 box of shells they buy 3 to 6 boxes if it's there to buy. They aren't hoarders but they have learned the hard way to keep and build an adequate supply of the ammo they need to stay in the game. All the ammo selling stores in Rapid City SD had runs of Remington 35 rem ammo this year in May and June, 2 to 3 cases each time and that ammo on the shelf lasted 1-3 days was bought out by customers buying multiple boxes. $46 to 55 a box. That simple. I've said it before and damn it I'll say it again...the days of buying what you want, when you want for how much you want to pay are long gone. You have to step up and compete for what you want. Winners and losers no fugging participation trophies handed out. Change the way you do things and win..mb

I frequent 8 shops between Old Town and Madawaska one way travel if about 200 miles. 6 on a weekly basis. 6 know my name and I know theirs. With the exception of the one I mentioned at $80 per box, none have had 35 Remington in stock since late 2019

I have enough to last my lifetime but not everyone is in MB’s situation. To think otherwise is typical campfire bullshit

Relatively easy to make cases from 303 British brass. Which by the way isn't all that easy to come by either.