I just bought a new Ruger MkII M77 stainless in 350 Rem Mag (I have no idea why - the devil thing?). A friend/gunsmith is mounting a NEGC hooded front sight on it an is going to put a dark grn/gy finnish on it. At any rate, with 280 grain Swift A-frames or 300 grain somthing or others, would this thing be suitable for bears? I noticed that in a recent article by Phil on the 375 Ruger that it did not make his list of "proper bear rounds" (or was that "proper bear stopping rounds").
Greg

Can't imagine a 225 Barnes or 250 NP not working.

NOSLER 225 SHOULD DO JUST FINE.

Not to contradict Mr. Shoemaker, however, since I'm not a resident and would require a guide if I ever had the opportunity to hunt BB(not likely as my pockets are not deep enough!), I'd personally opt for a premium bullet like the (in no particular order) Partition, A-Frame, TBBC, North Fork, or TSX.

I've shot the 250gr Core-lokt factory load for a long time in my M77RS .350RemMag. I stocked up on 30 boxes of the stuff as it was going off the market. Still have about 10 boxes.

It chronos 2400 fps and shoots 1.5". Hasn't changed in 30 years. I've shot only one bear, a seven foot Brown on Hinchinbrook Island. Complete passthrough x 2. DRT.

I've shot a couple elk with it. Same as above.

I shot three buffalo with it in Australia. Did not get complete penetration with them, but it did the job. One was shot in camp in the dark at 14 feet. DRT.

Are there better bullets? Yes. But, the Core-lokt does the job.

I'd have no qualms about shooting any bear with that combo.

I've also shot smaller stuff with the 200 gr. Core-lokts, both factory loads and reloads. It works great on deer and other small stuff like pigs and caribou.

I'm currently looking for some 200gr. TSXs to try. They should give me the trajectory of the 200s and the penetration of the 250s.

35 Whelen performance in a short action. What's not to like?

I can't see using anything heavier than 250 gr in the 350 rem mag, and with "premiums" I think it's at its best with 225's @ 2700 fps. My ruger 350 is a sweet shooting rifle, here is the first handload I put through it, after firing 10 factory loads, no cleaning, and nothing done with the heavy factory trigger and 2.5x compact leupy.



That's the 225 sierra over 57 gr varget, 59 gr prints like this



That's my kind of load work, first time to the range and I'm done. I can't see limiting the gun to ~2200 fps with the really heavy bullets, when a good 225 will just as well, with a much flatter trajectory. I still need to do a little bit more work to the trigger and work up some loads with the 225 tsx.

The only reason I can see Phil not including the round on his list is it's relatively uncommon, and the factory rem ammo is junk, wimpy 200 gr bullet and terrible accuracy, at least from my gun.

I've never owned or even fired a .350 Remington Magnum, but I have hunted a great deal with a .35 Whelen, since 1993. My standard is 250 gr bullets, though I would have exactly zero issue with 225 TSX's or other good ones. I carried my Whelen as my "protection" rifle in brown bear country when I worked, and have hunted all over Alaska with it. I've never had the faintest concern that it wasn't enough cartridge to stop a bear -- if I shot it right.

An adequate rifle you can shoot very well is way better than a bigger one you can't shoot so well...

Dennis

They are an excellent bear and moose gun. My uncle shot several large 50+ moose and many PWS deer with his model 600 350 Remington. They are an "Alaskan sleeper"-puts critters to sleep right there with little fanfare- that is very handy in the brush yet can also poke out a ways when they need to.
They kick like a light 300 wsm or a 338 ultralight in the light short action rifles that you find them in.

Sincerely,
Thomas

Welcome back, Sir. Best wishes from Germany.

+1+

Good to see you posting again Dennis!

WTH happened? (only if it's any of our business)

Phil Shoemaker's daughter carried one for a longtime. It was a gift from a Japanese hunter who killed a trophy brownie with it. One shot was all it took. Phil speaks highly of it.

Bob

www.bigbores.ca

I think the heavier (300 grain) bullets might have to be seated too deep (thus taking up powder space) to be able to cycle thru the short actions typical of the 350 RM. I know my Remington 600 has a fairly short box magazine. I've never used anything larger than 250 grainers, and prefer the 225 grain bullets myself.

As always, gentlemen, thank you for the responses. I have some Remington 200's to do a barrel break in but I think I will take your collective advice and start my serious load development with Nosler, Hornaday and/or Sierras in the various 220's to 250's. I bought a Lyman mould that will do 204 grain GC bullets for practice and plinking - maybe even a local whitetail.
Greg

The 225 Sierra is crazy accurate in both .358's I've tried it in... And the 225 Partition isn't far behind. The 200 Hornady, 200 Corelokt, and the old 200 X-bullet have in general been considerably less accurate, for me anyway.

The Sierra has a rep for erratic performance- not expanding, of all things. I love the price and accuracy of the Sierra and shoot lots of them at targets and paper, but I wouldn't personally use them on game; there are better choices IMHO.

The 225 Accubond is an intriguing bullet, too, if it'll fit your magazine.

If you need a real deep penetrator in the 350 rem mag then i would look at a premium 250gr, but like everyone else has said a good 225gr bullet will do it for an all arounder, look to the 225gr TSX if it shoots good.

that's another one I wish I had back...mine was a win 70 FWT with a 24" stainless #3 shilen barrel. sold it for something I cant even remember.

If your are looking for a dangerous game stopping rifle, a 350RM may not be a top choice. But the 350RM is indeed a great hunting cartridge to include bears and your Ruger is one of the better platforms for that cartridge. Your mkII has one of the larger mag boxes with plenty of room to feed and shoot full loads using 250grain bullets. The mkII stainless 350RM I had fed a mag box full almost as slick as if the rifle were empty.

As to big brown bears, I had thought the largest bear taken out of Shoemaker's camp was with a 350RM.

Best

I've had a 35 Whelen in a Rem KS Mountain rifle and then "AIed" it which was a waste of time and money. I also had a Rem 350 RM 660 with the old dog leg bolt and shark fin front sight; this rifle had a very short box magazine as I remember but chrono'd right along with my Whelen even after it was "improved" (it might have been a "fast" 660 and a "slow" KS).

I think it is a very good, underrated and overlooked cartridge, a good 300-350 yd. elk cartridge and would undoubtedly be sufficient for a brownie.

Have you looked at Nosler Custom ammunition? (available thru Midway). They load the 225 grain partition in Remington brass, mv around 2500 fps. Very accurate (< 1") in my Model 700 Classic. I also stocked up on the old 250 gr PSP Core-Lokt factory load back in the 80's, still have several boxes - would use that for large animals before the factory 200 gr load - had core/jacket separation with that one (but still ended up with a one-shot dead caribou!!).

Mine's going moose hunting this year. He, he.

nosler fact. lode has it all covered.

There were a WHOLE lot of brown bears taken with one shot from the lowly 30-06 well before the magnum craze taught us about how inadequate it is. The 225 Trophy Bonded Bear Claw would be my choice if handloading. It is a devastatingly good penetrator.