Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only Pros and Cons about the 350 Rem Mag

Hey guys, I should have one in my hands next week and I was wondering your pros and cons about it... if any.

I plan on using it for elk mainly.

Thanks in advance.

Pro's, 35 whelen in a short action. Powerful enough for all NA game, with a 225gr @ 2700 fps shoots as flat as an 06 w/ 180's. Recoil is manageable in even a relatively light rifle. The majority of 35 cal component bullets are designed around the velocities you'll get out of the rem mag so bullet failures just aren't a concern, and velocities are mild enough that "premium" bullets aren't needed.

Cons, factory ammo not really an option, the rem 200gr fodder I tried was horribly inacurate 3-4moa for 3 shots. Then I used the fired cases to work up handloads. These were my first 3 handloads 225 gr sierra over 57 gr of Varget.



If you can't kill it with a 350 rem mag, then it wasn't the guns fault.

I am a huge fan of the Whelen. That said I decided to give the 350 a go via a SS SA MK II M77 Ruger. It would not reliably feed so was sold off in Canada where I bought it.

I'm all in favor of the 350 Remington Magnum. The more rifles built in that caliber the more available brass will be for when I finall get around to building a 9.3BS

What rifle are you getting...Remington or Ruger? Given the choice, I'd take the Ruger as the longer magazine lets you load heavier or longer bullets than the Remington, plus the Ruger's barrel twist is a faster 1 in 14.

However, I have the Rem 673 and it's a fine rifle. I shoot 225 gr TSX's at almost 2800 fps out of a 22" barrel.

Great caliber...kind of a quirky 35 Whelen. Perfect for elk.

Remington 700 classic.

Not sure of the twist unless someone on here knows.

I have a model seven in 350 rm that goes about 6.5lbs scoped. Shoots the remington factory loads well enough. Pleasant to shoot except off the bench -

I dont reload and will probably get around to trying the nosler factory 225 partition

The gun is my short range thumper

I'm more a Whelen fan, but nothing you shoot will ever know the difference. Both are fantastic cartridges. By the way DON"T SHOOT SIERRA 225gr BULLETS! I'm having enough trouble getting my hands on some more of them already. :-)

If your a hand loader? What is there you could possibly dislike about the original " Short Mag "?

All the Remington 35's are 1 in 16...as far as I know. JB says that twist is enough to stabilize 250 grainers. It works for my 225 TSX's just fine. tHE MAG BOX IN MY rEM 673 is2.8". ANother 1/4" would be nice, but I've settled on a load that works well in the rifle as it is.

The 700 classic is a beautiful rifle.

Well unless I was going after bear or moose I'll probably just load somewhere betweeen the 200-225 range so I should be fine with the twist rate you mentioned. Once I get it I'll measure the mag box and let you know the OAL. I do reload so it will make it more fun to find a load it likes.

Thanks

The Remington Classic is one nice rifle. It was the first of four .350s I have had.

Pros:

Short action. Personally I just like the short throw of the Remington action over the long action. One can keep their head in position and not worry about getting a bolt in the nose.

Very efficient case. Both the Whelen and the Mag. have the same case capasity but the Mag seems to be able to get the same velocity with 3.5" less barrel with bullets of equal weight.

Ability to use pistol bullets for plinking, small game and varmint hunting. Nosler recommended their Partition .357 Magnum bullet for deer when I called them. I use the 180 grain Hornady FMJ or 170 grain Speer UniCore for small game. Makes a great grouse bullet.

Makes a better carbine round than a rifle. If you like barrels under 20" and really need power this was the original Thumper Round.

Every gun I've had has been very accurate. The last 200 yard group I shot with the 700 Classic I had was 1.5". Have had no problem with the factory 200s. Shot three 220 Speer handloads and three factory loads from a Model 7 KS in November and the six shots made a 1.5" group sitting with a sling at 100 yards.



Cons:

Most factory guns built in this caliber are really too short at 2.800" for max LOA. When seating the Sierra 225s and the Nosler 225 Petitions the shank of the bullet is below the case mouth. This decreases bullet tension in the case neck. The 225 Nosler BT is TOO long for these short actions. All the 250s except the original Remington SP and the Hornady RN have to be seated very deep. That said one doesn't need anything more than a 225 unless facing BIG bear...and even then a Nosler Petition will do the job.

Factory ammo is very hard to find. Remington is currently NOT MAKING .350 brass. Nosler was about to bring this round out and I understand why it was dropped as Remington would not make any brass.



Reloading:

Powders: Winchester 748, TAC and Reloader 15 seem to produce the best velocity and accuracy.

Send a dummy round to Lee Precision and buy one of the Factory Crimp Dies. It was $29.00 with shipping and worth every penny. Will put a crimp where there is no crimping groove without collapsing the case shoulder. Zero effect on accuracy.

This has excellent information on .35s...

http://35cal.com/35bullet_study/35bullet_study1.html

Look down the bottom for .350 loads...

http://35cal.com/loading.html#rel15

Some more good information for expanding bullets from slower .35s..

http://www.marlinowners.com/forum/b...ullet-performance-part-ii-handloads.html

http://www.leverguns.com/articles/fryxell/35_remington.htm



Mine.....

M7 KS w/1.75-6 Leupold





600 w/1.5-5 Leupold





77MKII shortened to 18.25" w/Tasco Titan 1.5-6x42mm





Favorite bullet...Speer 220 FP HotCore. Kills deer and black bear dead as a stone one shot. One recovered bullet from a black bear shot at 35 yards. Broke the shoulder, through the lungs and heart and was found under the skin of the chest. No separation. 60 grains of 748/2660 from a 22" barrel. Bullet can be seated to the base of the neck and still make 2.8" LOA. Feed slick. A lot cheaper than a Partition...






Bob

Thank you very much RJM for the informative post. You gave me a lot of info, pictures and some reloading know how too.

I'm thinking the classic will have a 24" barrel, right? It was made in 1985 BTW.

Thanks again, Joel

22" and I believe it was 1986...may have been 85 though...don't quite remember. Mine replaced a Ruger #1 .375 H&H back in the days when I only had one hunting rifle back about 1990...

If you need help when you get it don't hesitate to PM me...Bob

Got to love those Hotcores!

.458 350gr Hotcore, recovered from a Elk.

It's such a good, efficient cartridge that it's too bad more people can't experience it. Except for being .008" smaller in diameter than the very popular 9.3x62, it gives up nothing especially in a medium length action (like below). Swift even makes a 280-gr for it.



Edited, to also include the 35 Whelen in the above remarks.

Pro: I just bought one
Con: Still waiting to pick it up

I've owned both a Ruger 77 Mark II and a Rem. 700 Classic. There wasn't all that much difference in the magazine length, but like Tony's rifle, my 77 wouldn't feed rounds from the magazine. Unlike Tony, I didn't sell it, but did spend half a day getting it to feed reliably. The 700 fed slickly right from the get-go, as have every other one I've heard about or encountered, including my 9.3 B-S.

In both of my .350's, Ramshot TAC worked the best, with accuracy as good as any other powder, with faster velocities.

I have two 600s and a Whelen 721. Prefer the Whelen over the others. Was never able to get used to the backwards bolt, the short throw, and the very short magazine. Love the old Whelen.

I wanted to add this, my issues are with the rifles I own not the caliber.

Local gun shop has a model 7 CDL in 350 Rem mag thats tempting me to get it