Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Help me pick a 35 cal bullet

Howdy,

Going afield this year with my Win94 in 356 Winchester. I'll be hunting TX whitetail and wild boar. I'm working up loads now (H322) with the Speer 180gr and 220gr flatpoint and the Remington 200gr round nose "Core-Lokt". I am having a hard time deciding which one to choose. I'd like to be able to use one bullet for everything.

The 180gr will do over 2500fps so it shoots a bit flatter, but the SD is not very good. The 220 has a .318 BC so at approx. 2200fps it is not far behind. The RN has a terrible BC but a reasonable SD and I've been told RN bullets hit hard (it flies about 2300fps in my gun).

What to do?

Well if you were willing to try cast bullets I can reccomend the Beartooth Bullets 210 grain LFN with a GC. Should be able to launch that bullet in 2400-2450 FPS range. I'm shooting them out of a 358 Win. on top of AA2015.

Thanks for the info. I'd like to choose among the bullets listed above, but if I go cast I'll certainly give your recommendation a try.

Robb

killsoft,

I have yet to shoot a critter with either of the bullets you mentioned but can offer the following:


The 220 Speer holds up pretty good in wet or dry paper at hot 35 REM velocity (2200) and penetrates deeper than the 180. It would be my choice.

The 180 Speer works very well launched at ca. 2200 fps, giving good expansion and penetration - certainly plenty for most Tx deer I've seen. For boar ( how big are the variety you'll hunt - many are not that large and they are not bulletproof) the 220 may be a better choice as it will give deeper penetration on angling shots. Note that the Speer HotCore bullets develop a smaller-than-usual mushroom diameter, which enhances penetration over more conventional bullets.

The 200 CL was designed to perform best on deer and black bear when launched at 2200 fps; those who have used it say it gives an excellent balance of expansion and penetration and will likely give a larger mushroom diameter than the Speer bullets. It has been the standard .35 caliber factory bullet for over 40 years....hard to fault that.

Just for fun, the 150 yard ballistics of the three bullets would be:

[email]1802500fpsMV...2001fps/1600fpe/1.9"[/email] drop
[email]2002300fpsMV...1743fps/1348fpe/2.6"[/email] drop
[email]2002200fpsMV...1834fps/1643fpe/2.5"[/email] drop

Not a lot of real-world difference, but the winner for versatility would be the 220 Speer.

Having used both on deer, the Speer's are great out of the .356 Win. But with hog on the menu I would definitely opt for the 220. Good luck, Troy

Glad to see another 356 user. Only had mine for less than a year, but have managed to load a test quite a bit. I have chronographed 180 Speer's at 2700fps, though the data suggested about 2600. Still a full grain under max, powder was Hodgdon Exterme 4831, I think. Intend to try that last grain, as I'm not getting any pressure signs yet. I had the 220's going 2650 fps, but I backed that off to 2450. There were some pressure signs with that, little rim around the firing pin dent, but extraction was easy. The factory .307 i ve shot show more pressure signs than that. If you have any data, I'd love to see it. I haven't tried any other bullets yet, but I will be come spring. How is your accuracy? Haven't scoped mine yet, so I'm not sure, but it seems pretty good.

Are you sure you are using this powder? It's an awfully slow burning powder to be using in the 356 Win. If that is in fact the powder you are using, I can see why your not getting pressuer signs, can't get enough of it in the case to do so.

I'm glad to see there are other 356 loonies <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

It looks like the 220 Speer is the way to go. Thank you all for the recommendations. I just loaded up 20 of them with 42gr of H322. Next trip to the range I'll shoot for groups and give y'all a report on how they do. The only thing I am concerned about is whether the 220s will expand on our puny TX deer. Any thoughts on that?

xxclaro: You're getting MUCH higher velocities than I am. I am seeing pressure signs with 1/2 grain below max in many of the loads I have tried so far with H322. Nothing severe, as the primers look good and case head expansion is moderate, but I can feel it in the lever when I am getting to max and case extraction gets a bit sticky. There is also a bright ring that forms just at the web/case wall junction on the hot ones. With a wire pick I can't feel any signs of incipient separation, but it still makes me nervous.

I can post my data on my website when I get it all entered into a spreadsheet if anyone would find that useful.
Here are examples of the best loads I have found so far (have not tested group size yet). All are with new or once-fired WW brass, CCI200 primers, H322 powder, and a COAL of 2.555. Rifle is a pre-safety Winchester Mdl 94 "Big Bore" with a 20" barrel cal 356 Winchester. Oehler chronograph 15ft from the muzzle, approx 85 degrees F. All data is the result of five shots.

47gr H322 Speer 180gr FP:
(Speer 13 shows [email]256948[/email] grains)
lo: 2532
hi: 2560
ES: 034
avg: 2541
SD: 015

43.5gr H322, 200gr Remington SPCL:
hi: 2349
lo: 2297
ES: 052
avg: 2329
SD: 022

43gr H322 Sierra 200gr RN "Pro Hunter"
(Hodgson #27 shows [email]44gr2340)[/email]
hi: 2345
lo: 2269
ES: 076
avg: 2301
SD: 028

42gr H322, Speer 220gr FP:
(Speer 13 shows [email]43gr2285)[/email]
hi: 2265
lo: 2244
ES: 021
avg: 2254
SD: 008

Thanks again for the advice.

Robb