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.357 bullets for 35 rem 336?

43K views 34 replies 25 participants last post by  lilwoody 
#1 ·
Hello all,
I was thinking of reloading for my .357 revolver and 35 remington 336. I heard you can use .357 bullets in the 35 rem. Will .357 hunting bullets (180-200gr, hardcast) bullets work in marlin 336 35 rem for hunting?
 
#2 ·
You haven't gotten anyone to answer so I'll speculate based on my 356 WIn.

Revolver bullets cycle well in my 356 Marlin. I don't see why they wouldn't work well in a 35 Rem. Easy enough to try.

The hardcast might be too hard to expand well in deer sized game. A softer lead (BN=12) might give better expansion/performance. Hardcast would be good for headshots.

There's also some good controlled expansion jacketed bullets that would work well for hunting depending on your planned velocity. Hornady's XTP and Barnes for example.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Unless I'm mistaken, the Hornady 158 grain bullet is .357 (as opposed to .358) and will shoot well in the .35 Rem rifle (according to the manual).
 
#4 ·
I use 180gr. hard cast bullets in my Marlin, but they are sized 0.359." Since no one answered re: the smaller diameters, I'll hazard a guess that you may end up with a little bore leading. It depends on the individual gun, of course, and to an extent the exact powder along with lube, gas check, etc. However everyone I know using cast bullets in the Marlins sizes them as large as possible.

The bullet I am using is the Beartooth 180gr. "+p" handgun bullet. It works nothing but great and I highly endorse it. Right now running them at about 2,300 at the muzzle. Don't have the slightest idea if they expand as I've never recovered one. Did shoot a spike in the chest facing me and there was no exit hole, but didn't dig through the guts to find it. Guess I should have?

About the other 'best' choice, my opinion, is the RCBS 205gr. FNGC, if you cast your own. These can easily go 2,000fps in a rifle. The meplat is about the same as the Beartooth bullet and I wouldn't hesitate to use them on big game. In fact I have a handful of them left over from some experiment or other, but just haven't gotten around to hunting with them.

You do get a good wound channel with the Beartooth bullet and it works great. Anything else, make sure you have a good meplat and it should work also (speaking strictly of cast bullets). I think the Beartooth meplat is 0.280" diameter, roughly, and I'd try for at least that.

Hope that helps and good luck.
 
#5 ·
Thanks,
Appreciate all the replies. The .357 hardcast bullets on doubletap sport a .358 diameter so I figure they might be decent in the 336 as well. Thanks all I figure it would be neat to be able to use the same bullets for my revolver as well as my rifle. Sort of a "one-caliber-can-do-it-all-approach".
Sure would cut down on reloading costs.
 
#8 ·
Varmint loads

I was thinking about that myself, I have a chance to pick up a nice 336 in 35 REM and was wondering about using pistol bullets to make varmint loads and Coyote loads. I have a lot of JHP 158 and 125 grain bullets. has anyone tried this and how does it perform ?:confused:
 
#9 ·
I'm interested in this thread. As I'm thinking the 357 mag marlin would be perfect for my daughter. however the marlin 1894C is about $200 or more expensive than a 30-30 or 35 Rem. I figure I could buy a 35 Rem and buy reloading equipment and load it "down" to 357 mag performance with revolver bullets to reduce the kick.

This would be an excuse to get into reloading and I could tell the wife I'm saving money on the daughters gun as well as future savings on ammunition. Seems like a win-win.

So I'd really like to hear more about the performance on whitetails out to 100 yards with 357 mag or 357 mag bullets. So far the 158 grain soft point seems to be the one most people may use for hunting. Is this true?
 
#11 ·
EagleEye,

I would recommend getting the 35Rem and loading it down with either 158gr hard cast loads or using the Hornady 180gr SSP (single-shot pistol) bullet. This particular bullet was designed for the 35 out of a handgun, so it has great terminal performance, even when impact velocity drops below the 1500fps range. You could use starting loads for a rifle, find one that shoots good groups at 100 yards and be fine out to 150. Then, if she gets more accustomed to recoil and wants to shoot something more powerful (my 12 yo daughter has decided a 50 cal ML isn't so bad, after all) you can bring up the velocity or go to a 200gr FTX or Core-Lokt, for better range and energy. Should be more than adequate for those big ol' Wisconsin deer! :)
 
#14 ·
All I want to do with the 357 bullets is make up some plinking loads. nothing fast or hunting strength, just enough to get the bullet to 75yds or so with some degree of accuracy. I've just read that cast pistol bullets should be .001"-.002" larger than bore diameter for good accuracy and seal so you don't get gases blowing past the bullet. The bullets I have measured come in at .358-.359, but so do my rifle bullets (Nosler 225gr partitions and accubonds and Hornady FTX @ .358) One poster suggester using cast bullets in a 35 Rem at no smaller than .361! Can I shoot these bullets with say 10grs of blue dot? I have found load data for the .357 hornady xtp, but nothing for cast pistol bullets.

Thanks for your replies.
 
#15 · (Edited)
For the last few years, I have loaded and deer hunted successfully with 158gr Hornaday JHP's in my Marlin 35 Rem. The accuracy is amazing, I can put 3 rounds in one ragged hole at 60 yards. I am using a heavy dose of IMR 3031 as my powder for these loads. These loads chrony at 2090fps. This past deer season in Wisconsin, on 11-28-09, I shot 2 doe, withing 15 minutes of each other. The first one was shot at 166 yards (measured), a well placed shot right behind the shoulder. The bullet broke ribs going in and going out, and made red jello out of her insides. She ran 20 yards and dropped dead. Big doe too. The second doe was shot at 30 feet !!. She dropped on impact. She was a smaller doe than the first. For relative short range deer hunting here in Wisconsin, these loads work extremely well for me. As with ANY hunting bullet, bullet placement is the key.
 
#16 ·
Potential problem

If you're going to load .357 bullets in the .35 Remington/Marlin, I suggest substituting a .357 expander plug for the .358 plug in the sizer die. This insures a proper and tight grip on the bullet. If the bullet fits too loose, you might be pushing it into the case mouth when loading the tubular magazine.

It is for this reason that the 170 grain, .307 diameter flat point bullet, intended for the .30-30, is not recommended for use in a .308 or .30-06 unless the expander plug is changed.
 
#18 ·
You might have to try a few different types of bullets, sized to different diameters to get good results with .357 projectiles. I'm not sure how copper jacketed will go, it could depend on the rifle. I just got my .35 Remington and the only projectiles I had on hand were 158gn GC semi wadcutters. They shot into about 12" at 25 yards. I have some 200gn .358 flat points on hand now, they are shooting a lot better. Perhaps with some playing around I could get my rifle to shoot the pistol bullets alright, but I won't bother with them for hunting.
 
#19 ·
180gr. Hornday XTP bullets work fine out of my 336....They perfrom well on whitetails, two holes one exiting always bigger than the entraance hole..


Handgungun bullets are used in the 444 Marlin alot...some bullets made for the 44 Mag. work better than the rifle bullets made for the 444...

the bullets made by Mag-tech are thick jacteted and hold togather wonderfully..

As for the bullet Dia. most .357 bullets most of'em I Mic out are .358
 
#20 ·
Hi Cali and all,

Paco Kelly has a wealth of 35 remington load data on the leverguns site. I my self use his suggested light loads to shoot 158gr lead semi wadcutters out of my 35 remington. I use 10 grains of Unique under the 158 grain lead slugs - I imagine that would work fine for the 125 grainers also - as long as they are not jacketed bullets! The lead goes down the barrel easier than jacketed and so the light loads are more consistent shot to shot with lead than jacketed designs. You need to be careful not to end up with a bullet stuck in the bore with light loads and jacketed bullets. My rifle is a remington 7600 pump in 35 remington. I have issues feeding the blunt pistol bullets from the magazine on my rifle - so I usually just single load them right into the chamber when target shooting - they are super accurate by the way! The Marlin 336 design handles the blunt bullets just fine though - you won't have any feed issues if you crimp into the groove intended for the revolvers - keeping the o.a.l. well within specs.

Happy shooting!
 
#21 ·
I've gotten really good accuracy with my .35 Remington rifles over the years with both cast, and jacketed pistol bullets. I usually use 10-11 grains of Unique, but have tried other powders with good results too. I have had a few Marlin .357 rifles, and have found them to be generally less accurate than the .35 Rem rifles I have owned over the years. The 336 is a heavier gun though for young ones. In the .357's I have found that large diameter cast bullets and the longer, heavier jacketed bullets usually shoot the best.
 
#23 ·
Jmo mind you

But pistol bullets are designed for optimal performance at pistol velocities, hot rod them up an extra 5-800 fps and they could open too quick and/or cause a lot of meat damage. I don't see any real advantage of a 180 gr pistol bullet vs a 180-200 gr rifle bullet. YES a hornady 180 gr xtp (what I used) was dramatic on water jugs, but a rem core lokt 200 gr is still my first choice for hunting.
 
#24 ·
Call-newbie. Me and my grandfather both own marlin 35s and we have been working up loads with the hornady 158gn jacketed lead flat nose bullets and my 35 loves them I'll look up the load an post it but if your hunting deer the hollow points will frag on impact but the JLN will mushroom out perfect I'm pushing 2300fps an with a 100yd zero at 200yds it's 2 inch below point of aim and a 1inch group at 200yds I'm very satisfied with the load but the marlins are kinda stubborn you just have to be patient and you will find the load it loves.
 
#28 ·
Newbie scratch the 46gn load I had posted I apologize for the misleading I hit 4 instead of 3. Now I shoot 36gns of 3031 but 37 is max so start at 30gns and work your way up. Truly sorry for incorrect info:(
Please don't take this personally...

Newbie: Ignore any and all load data you find in an online forum, including anything yours truly might post. Refer to published reloading manuals or the powder/bullet manufacturer's respective websites for data you can trust. Follow all normal reloading procedures, watching for signs of pressure as you work from MIN to MAX.

(Even the above correction does not ring true to me. Hodgdon only lists loads for IMR3031 with 200gr bullets.)

There is probably plenty of book data for 3031 and 158gr bullets, but please research it from a qualified source.
 
#31 ·
There ya go...you could even list the range of charge weights published in that manual, along with what works in your gun. That kind of information is just fine, particularly if you wrap it up by suggesting the interested party double-check that data by purchasing the resource himself. If a guy reloads long enough, he'll pretty much insist on doing that anyway. :)
 
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