[Jack Monteith]

Hi, JFD:
  Do you want the XTP & JHP for varmints or deer?  I have some of the Remingtons loaded, but I haven't shot them yet, because my 100 yard backstop is still under water. I suspect the Remingtons won't stand .35 Remington velocities. I'll try to do an expansion test soon and let you know.

  The Speer 180 grain Flat Point is the best 180 grain deer bullet for the .35 Remington. 39.0 grains of 3031 is max. in my gun. It stays together at short range and usually expands on wetpack at 200 yards.

  Some older Marlins won't chamber a bullet that measures much over .350 ahead of the cannelure, unless it's deep seated. Mine won't chamber the BTB 200 grain FNGC, and a fellow over on Marlin Talk couldn't chamber the Sierra 200 grain Round Nose (mine will). Marshall recommends the 180 WLNGC for these short throated guns.

  I've noticed these wide variations in RL-7 loads. I guess you'll just have to work up carefully.

Bye
Jack

 

[Jack Monteith]

Hi, Guys:
  I got tired of doing chores so I did a quicky expansion test on the Remington 180 grain JHP. I fired 1 bullet into water filled 10 liter (2.64 US gal.) plastic spray (herbicide) jugs which are 7 1/2" wide. The result was an almost total blow-up.

  The load was 36.0 grains of IMR 3031, Winchester WLR primer and W-W SUPER case.  Estimated velocity is 2000-2100 fps. Range was 10 yards. It's too windy to set up the Chrony.

  The first jug blew up but the bullet barely made it into the second jug. The plastic snapped back enough to almost seal the hole and I didn't think it had penetrated the jug at first, since everything was drenched by water from the first jug. The jugs were touching.

  The jacket and core separated, but went into the second jug through the same hole. The jacket was folded back completely and weighed 22.5 grains. The core weighed 50.5 grains and is about .6" in diameter. That's about 40% retained weight.  

  A Remington 200 grain Core-Lokt will penetrate the 4th jug and retain about 87% of it's weight under the same conditions.

  I've got to try that Re7, Mr. Gates.


Bye
Jack      

 

[Jack Monteith]

Evening, Gents:
  I've got the 158 gr. FP/XTP here. It's rather peculiar looking, with a flat nose about 1/4" across and a 1/8" hole in the middle about 1/16" deep, and 6 nose slits.  I'll try to load up a few to-night.

  OK, JFD, Marshall's months behind on his orders. Lord willing those extensive medical tests come back negative!! So I'd check out the Remington 200 grain Core-Lokt and the 180 grain Speer Flat Point in your rifle now, and see which your rifle prefers. The Speer expands almost as well as the Remington and does shoot flatter. The Sierra 200 grain Round Nose is a bit too tough for the .35 Remington's velocity and the Hornady is worse.

  Check your Marlin for a short throat by seating a Core-Lokt out 1/10" past the cannelure and seeing if it will chamber. Don't force it, just drop it in. If it doesn't, forget the 185FNGC. It's full diameter almost as far ahead of the cannelure as the 200 FNGC. Marshall told me the 180 WLNGC will work. I should have asked him about the 210 LFNGC.

  Mr. Gates should be done his hog tests by the time you have your Marlin sorted out with the jacketed bullets. Then we'll all know what to do next.

  As far as sizing goes, a Core-Lokt runs about .359" and barely touches the bottom of the grooves in my rifle. See if you can recover one and measure the base. Marshall figured  .3595" was about right for me.

  My plinking load is 10.0 grains of Red Dot behind a Remington 158 grain JHP. It's not too accurate and the point of impact shifts too much. However, the recoil is about right for the 11 and 12 year olds in our Hunter Safety classes. Still have some work to do on this one.

  The point of impact of my rifle abruptly drops about 4 inches at 100 yards if I back the load off too much. This happens at about 34.0 grains of 3031, so I don't worry about it on cold mornings with my top load of 37.5 grains. (Core-Lokt, Remington case, Winchester WLP primer.) However, it happens 1 grain under max with 4320. Just for curiousity's sake, I split the difference and got a 5" vertical spread.

Bye for now
Jack

 

[Jack Monteith]

Good Morning, Gents:
  First of all, I reweighed the Remington 180 gr. JHP remnants with my bifocals on. The core weighed 65.2 grains, not 50.5, and the jacket weighed 22.0 grains. Total weight retention is 49%. It's still not a deer bullet at 2100 fps.

  Now for the Hornady .357" 158 gr. FP/XTP. Same conditions as before. At an estimated 2100 fps., the bullet blew up the first jug and penetrated the second. It hit the back of the second jug hard enough to dint the third jug, which the Remington didn't do.  The core weighed 76.1 grains and the jacket weighed 31.2 grains for a weight retention of 68%.

  Hornady gives a minimum velocity of 1175 fps. 8.5 grains of Red Dot averages about 1200 fps, but isn't as consistent the 10.0 grain load. At this velocity, the bullet penetrated the seventh jug and did not expand. The first jug wan't even split open.

Bye for now
Jack