PART 2

BULLETS...

BULLETS....

But luckily we do have a number of very fine rifle bullets in both cast and jacketed designs on the market. Also there are so many handgun bullets in 35 caliber it would be impossible to write them all up. The nice thing about the rifle and handgun bullets in this caliber is they are interchangeable in long and short guns. And it gives the shooter a valuable ability to tailor his reloads to his shooting needs, to a much greater degree than most calibers.

At one point in our lives the Kelly family lived in the wilderness...a truly wonderful time. I had a Colt SAA 357 mag, a rebuilt (32-20)Winchester 92 into 357 mag, and a 35 Whelen Imp. on a commercial Mauser action. Those three guns could have taken all the game in the U.S. up to buffalo and big bears...much less, the size of the game in the wilderness we were in.

I had four powders....Bullseye, Unique, Herc 2400, 4320...I used all of them in the 35 Whelen for all kinds of loads, from silent to tank killers. And I used the pistol powders in the Winchester and the Colt. I had (still do) the original 172 grain Keith mould, and the Lyman 3589 mould...which is a 290 grain round nose/gas check design, and the 200 grain round nose Lyman made for the 35 Remington. Those three cast bullets did everything I needed done. At one point I developed a short range small game load with power with the 3589/290 grain bullet by casting it absolutely dead soft...loading it deep in 38 cases over 4 grains of Unique. I fired them from the Winchester and the Colt SAA. They sure punched the lights out of feral dogs.

With all three guns and good loads, I hunted black bear, deer of all sizes from small (80 lbs) to heavy bodied (160 lbs), feral pigs from 200 to well over 350 lbs, Russian boar (mixed breed) to 250 lbs or so, and of course all kinds of small game and varmints. Even though I used the Whelen on large game...the Winchester did just as well with heavy loaded 357 rounds in our densely treed wilderness. And of course I killed numerous deer with the Colt....several big pigs and a few black bears. Actually in that kind of terrain, heavily wooded and treed, the Colt and the Winchester could do it all faster then the long barreled rifle. But for the open areas, the Whelen with the right loads could reach out there with great authority.

One heavy load I have with the 290 grain Lyman from the Whelen Imp gives 2600 fps muzzle velocity. Which by the way gives over 4350 foot pound of muzzle energy. Those that write that the Improved Whelen is not worth the effort over the standard, have not tested the two enough. Using nickeled 270 brass fire formed, and 58.5 grains of 4064 under the 290 grain round nose gives this outstanding load. With the standard case I couldn’t get over 2400 fps. This is a very heavy load in the 55,000 psi level so take care working up to it...start well below 10% of my loads. And only modern bolt actions should apply...old Mausers just won’t sustain it. My Mauser 98 action was built in 1968.

When Remington came out with the 600/660 bolt action series rifles one of the chamberings was the 350 Magnum. A short/fat belted mag case that holds about the same powder levels as the standard 35 Whelen case. But the short barrels on these little rifles cut down on the velocities attainable. One of the bullets Remington brought out for this round was a spire point 150 grain soft nose. It is one of the finest jacketed bullets I have found for this caliber .358...and my Whelen Imp will push it over 3200 fps. Clipping the soft nose so it is slightly flat, I have loaded it in 357 mag brass and fired it from leveractions...but the velocity even from the 20 inch rifle is not enough to open the heavy jacket.

With 14/2400/1163 fps/540 ME the 180gr Hornady Bullet expanded to over 45 cal, penetration over 11"

With 15.5/Blue Dot 1710 fps/811 ME the 125gr H.P Bullet expanded to over 80 cal, penetration shallow

With 7.5 BW9/1187fps/501 ME the Gilded 160gr expanded to over 60 cal. penetration over 9 inches

Best Load: out of 4" S&W the Hornady 180 HP XTP Bullet over 11gr Blue Dot/1151fps/530lbs ME expanded to over 45 caliber and penetration was near 12 inches.....TEST MEDIUM FINE SAND......DAMP.

As I have stated before the 125 grain bullets, like the Remington scalloped point are wonderful as anti-personnel loads at across the room to 20 yards or so distances. I’m not saying they are not deadly past 100 yards....I’m saying they are not hunting bullets. I have killed a few deer at close range with them, and lung shots are effective..very...but they are not for the kinds of shots you usually get hunting...not just the longer ranges but quartering, and raking, and such. They lack penetrating power. Now of course loaded to ultra high velocities from leveraction rifles they make superb varmint loads.

The XTP 180 grain hollow point is a fine bullet from 38 special and 357 mag handguns, and the Remington 180 HP is fine from 357 mag leverguns. The Hornady XTP 38 really opens too quickly in heavy game when fired at rifle velocities...but the Remington 180 scallop point works very well under those conditions. It’s penetration at rifle velocities to around 2000 fps is really quite good.

In the photo the XTP is number two(#2), the hollow point is large and it opens very well, I use them in four inch revolvers where velocities are below 1100 fps or so. The Remington 180 grain bullet #3 is right beside the XTP, it has a longer soft nose but a smaller hollow point...it is excellent from handguns because the softnose will expand at those lower velocities, and still hold together well at levergun velocities and drive deep. The first bullet in the photo (#1) is a 115 grain HP for the 9mm. But loaded very hot in 357 mag brass, out of the lever rifles it slugs up well and gives good accuracy for varmints even though it’s .355 caliber...and at 2400 fps it does varmints very well indeed. Both the 9mm 115 grainer and the 180 grain Remington are sold as bulk bullets by MidwayUSA, I always keep a good supply on hand.

The fourth bullet (#4) is a LBT designed WFN at 180 grains, number five (#5) is the same at 187 grains, and number six (#6) the same at 200 grains. These three are from Cast Performance Bullets and are excellent for hunting. Kelly Brost, Cast Performance’s Honcho killed a good sized hog, over 200 pounds, with the 180 grainer over 13 or so grains of 2400 out of a 4 inch S&W model 27/357 magnum handgun. The bullet completely penetrated the hog from the left side thru and out the right side...pulping shoulder bone and cartilage. The velocity with 13.5 grains of 2400 with that bullet from my 357 four inch S&W Mountain gun is a little over 1200 fps. That’s a heavy load for the L-Frame sized guns so approach with care. I don’t shoot many of them out of that gun. But it does prove that 357s can take heavy game with the right bullet. Out of the Ruger SAs...I go a lot higher, with these excellent bullets easily topping 1400 fps.

The second photo shows two heavy cast bullets. The first is a CBE 230 grain SWC...and the second is the 210 grain Lyman Keith. Both are gas check designs. Both are exceptional penetrators. Both give new meaning to the term ‘deadly’ from the Whelen. With those flat faced designs they hit hard!

Using ReL #7 in a 357 magnum handgun case you can get respectable velocities with heavy bullets. Using 16 grains ReL#7 under the CBE 230 grainer, gave close to 1650 fps from my Winchester 94 levergun with a 24 inch barrel. And the Lyman Keith 220 went nearly 1700 fps with the same powder and load. Using 17 grains of WW296 under the 180 grain Remington HP I broke 2000 fps with ease, and with the same load under the Cast Performance LBT 187 grain it was even better at near 2100 fps, this load in the strong Ruger 7.5 inch SA gives 1475 fps for the 187 LBT and 1460 for the Rem HP 180. With 19/296 and the Remington 150 SP from the rifle it was close to 2400 fps (2372 fps). The 357 magnum from a rifle is a completely different performer than it is from a handgun.

In my Whelen with 66.5 grains of 335 under the very fine Speer 358/180 grain jacketed tapered soft flat point, I brake 3000 fps. This is a moose load. 57 grains of the same powder under the Speer 220 grain jacketed soft flat nose bullet, with the same design as the 180 gives almost 2650 fps...56 grains pushes the Lyman 290 grain cast bullet over 2600 fps....and 54.5 grains pushes the Speer 250 grain Grand Slam bullet at just under 2450 fps. Who said the Whelen was obsolete? And the very fine 358 Winchester chamberings (358 on the 308 case) can get within 80+% of the Whelen.

Do you have a 357 Ruger SA? Do you want 357 Maxi ballistics without fuss and expensive custom rebuilding of your handgun frame and cylinder?

I fired his 356 GNR at the Shootist Holiday at the NRA Whittington Center ranges. I was bouncing heavy .358 bullets off of rocks in the hills at outlandish ranges even for me. Dang it...it was neat. Want to get 1600 fps or more from a 180 grain jacketed bullet, or 200 grain cast bullet, from your Ruger? Call Reeder. And his gun work is some of the best I have seen. His is a full service custom shop...and he gets his work out in weeks not months!

Oh and those that worry about setback in revolvers, it doesn’t happen with Reeder’s MegaMags. We tried hard at the Holiday to get both his 356 GNR and his 41 GNR to setback and jam the actions. Shot them till my wrist setback..but not the guns.

Too give you an idea of the power you get, from this kind of velocity from a handgun. Back in the 1970s when we use to rid the range of the feral Tex/Mex cattle (the meat was always donated to the poor), I shot a feral bull in the Texas road map with a 200 grain cast bullet (Lyman Round Nose) at 1650 plus fps (from a Rossi 357 mod.92 levergun). The bullet went from the butt forward, and exited from behind the right shoulder with a 2 and ½ inch exit wound. That’s killing penetration, and the 356 GNR gives that kind of velocities. I will do a full report on the 356 GNR when I get mine back from Reeder and do load development.

From 110 grains to 290 grains the 358 caliber can do it all. From strong handguns like the Ruger SAs and the Freedom Arms SAs, to rifles in 35 Remington (Marlin 336), 358 Winchester (Browning BLR), and the 35 Whelen in standard or Improved...the 358 caliber is excellent...just use the right bullet for the job.