Light .350 Rem Mag loads?? Anyone try this?

[raks]

I have a Ruger M77 in .350 Rem Mag that I love. It's handy and a good shooter, but it's a bit 'too much gun' for some situations.

I've read in old G&A mags that it's possible to make some light loads, possibly with cast bullets for this cartridge that make it useful on smaller game. Anyone have experience or recepies to share??

Thanks.

 

[hs4570]

Reduced loads

I dont' own a 350 mag but have been shooting reduced loads in cast and regular bullets in a .338 mag and a 416 Rem Mag for over 10 years.....over 25 years in other calibers.....

Your best bet is to purchase a Lyman reloading manual......the ones I have, have Lots of 350 mag load data in cast from 1500 fps to 2000 fps.... useing 4 different powders.......

If you have just heard about cast bullets then a lyman manual is a must have item.......the cast bullet learning curve is more extensive than regular reloading of factory copper etc projectiles if you hope to achieve accuracy...

Very seldom can a suggested "cast" bullet load that is accurate for my rifle in a specific caliber be of equal accuracy in a rifle of same caliber that you might own...it does happen but is not as common as in me suggesting a load useing jacketed that has proven accrate and may be just as good in yours.....

........should you just wish generic 350 rem mag cast data from my Lyman book will gladly provide same........

hs4570................your mileage may vary

 

[Dogleg]

Raks,
I've shot a lot of 205 grain cast bullets in my .35 Whelen, which is very similar to your .350 Mag. It's hard to beat SR4759 for midrange loads in the 1600 fps or so range. I have been able to push velocities up to 2400 fps with heat treated cast bullets with slower burning powders. There are a lot of other options for playing with 35 cal rifles though, not the least of which is that you can use .358 pistol bullets and light loads of quick burning powders like Unique. There's published data all over the place for that. The Lyman manual has a lot of info.

 

[M12shooter]

Back in the 80's when I had a 350 Rem Mag I would load reduced loads and shoot .357 cal 158 gr. jacketed hangun bullets. Never tryed cast bullets as I would think the aforementioned would lead a bit.

 

[thegunnut]

MANY years ago, I had a Reminton 600 ?(or 660) laminated stock in .350.
A writer for G&A named Mason published reduced loads based on The 158 gr .358 pistol bullets.
I remember they were very good loads and took several white tails with them. Unfortunately, the data and magazines (G&A) were lost in a flood.
Perhaps ther is an old packrat in the group who can access the magazines???
Late 60's I believe.
Thegunnut

 

[350 Mag]

I think Dogleg is onto something here...


I haven't tried these in my M600 but they both sound interesting...especially the pistol powder. The higher gr weight for the 250 is not a misprint.

Out of Speer # 13.


180gr Speer (Flat-Sp)
CCI-200
SR 4759 24gr(start 1650 f.p.s) --- 28 gr(Max 1926 f.p.s)



250 Speer (Spitzer or Grandslam)
CCI-200
SR 4759 26gr(start 1560f.p.s) --- 30gr(Max 1800 f.p.s)

IMR SR 4759

This bulky handgun powder works great in the magnums, but really shines as a reduced load propellant for rifle cartridges. It's large grain size gives good loading density for reduced loads, enhancing velocity uniformity.




http://www.imrpowder.com/sr4759.html

 

[ben hunchak]

Ditto for the 4759 with reduced cast bullet loads,my experience with cast bullets in the .308 and .303 show better accuracy than jacketed(after alot of trial and error)....200gr. FP GC cast bullets for the .358 cals. avail. from M.T. Chambers Supply.

 

[raks]

...There are a lot of other options for playing with 35 cal rifles though, not the least of which is that you can use .358 pistol bullets and light loads of quick burning powders like Unique. There's published data all over the place for that. The Lyman manual has a lot of info.

Thats exactly what I'm looking for, if you know of any sources for data I'd appreciate it. Maybe I'll have some luck digging through my old manuals (have a few 1970's Lyman books) thanks for the ideas, good to hear from folks who've tried this out!