How good is the 35 rem?

Who has one and how do you like them? Ever since I have thought about getting a TC pistol the 35 rem is one of the calibers I have thought about. I would like to here the good and the bad, what do you think about them? I have a g2 contender frame and a encore prohunter frame so I could get a barrel for either. Which frame would you use and what barrel length would you suggest?

I have a 14" on a Contender frame, it"s a good deer round, a good woods hammer, I load the 200 gr. FTX bullets in mine.

I have a 14" MGM barrel on a G2 frame that I run 180gr Hornady XTP bullets out of at 1,960 fps.

Plan to use it hunting for deer/pigs this fall.

http://www.handgunhunt.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=358&ppuser=514

The G2 contender is my favorite firearm of all. Either platform would be nice though. 14" for the contender or 15" for the encore is right for me.
I have used my 35rem rimmed to 200 yrds on deer with 180gr hornady ssp and H322. It hits hard....very impressive with single shot handloads. Reload manuals have data for such and are more powerful than lever gun loads listed. Recoil increases for those loads as well.
If i go hunt deer....it is what i will use.

I cant think of any "bad" unless you were extremely recoil sensitive.

I prefer the g2 contender over the encore too. The rubber grip feels like it was made for my hand. The smaller gun just feels better as a pistol to me. Do you guy's use muzzel breaks or just straight barrels? I would prefer not to have one unless it's a must. The 44 mag, 30/30 and 35 rem just seem like the top 3 must try barrels for the contender to me.

My 35 is not braked. I prefer not, although i could see someone wanting one for that type recoil. I had a 300mag encore handgun with a brake once. I seen it as nearly a must in that chamber lol.

Another favorite contender cartridge is the 30-30 ackley improved. Only 2 deer with that one but a fine second choice. For whatever reason, ,44mag i prefer in a revolver. I didnt keep my 14" 44.

How much speed does the ackley improved 30/30 have over the original 30/30 and how much trouble is it to make the brass?

125 gr @2500-2600fps and 150gr @2300-2400fps in the 14-15" 30-30AI.
All you do is fireform a standard 30-30, factory or reloaded to the improved shape and then use an ackley improved die set to load. So it is no trouble at all.

Back to 35 rem. My 14" using 303british brass for the rimmed version pushes the 180 at 2150+fps.

I load 34gr of H4198 under a 125gr Hornady SST bullet in my 13" MGM barreled .30-30 AI Contender for 2,550 fps.

Brass is easy to make by fire forming.

197yrd shot

I do not have a brake on my .35 Rem barrel.

What does fire forming consist of? Just putting a regular 30/30 shell in a 30/30 ackley improved chamber and firing it. A 13in barrel is what I was planning on ordering for my 30/30 barrel. Why the break on the 30/30 and not the 35?

Pretty much. My current batch of brass started out as .30-30 Win ammo. Just put it in the barrel and fire for target practice or hunting. The end result is AI brass. Accuracy with standard .30-30 Win ammo isn't bad.

The AI barrel is threaded just because I wanted it that way. The .35 Remington barrel is blued with a hooded front sight for a more classic look.

As far as tight groups on target, my 30AI is a little more accurate than my 35rem. It is a special run factory barrel but shoots like a custom made. The 35 still shoots plenty good enough for deer as far as ill shoot.
Love em both.

The 35 Rem is a great deer gun. 180 or 200 grain bullets work well. If you are going custom I suggest the Contender with a 358JDJ. I had my 14" 35 Rem rechambered by SSK Industries in 1981 and its been my primary hunting gun ever since. Its about a 20% performance boost over the 35 Rem. Check out my other posts to see the results. The 358 JDJ is also a rimmed case - much easier to reload in hunting conditions. Especially with gloves on.

What case is the 358jdj made off of? How would the 358 win stack up if I went with a barrel for my encore?

The JDJ is based on the 444 Marlin case. The 358 Win of course is based on the 308 case. Both are more powerful and produce more recoil than the 35 Rem

The JDJ was originally designed for the contender, at the time the Encore wasn't made yet, and the contender can't handle the pressure of the 358 Win. The 358 JDJ and 358 Win are very similar

Does that mean the 358 win would be more pleasant to shoot in the heavier encore than the 358jdj would be in the contender? I know the reload data of the 358 win but have never seen the reload data of the 358jdj.

With a muzzle break the recoil would be similar. Recoil is relative to each individual, some are very sensitive, while others aren't. I don't find either round to be bad. You can easily get reloading data for the JDJ rounds from SSK industries or load data.com.

The Recoil of my Contender 358JDJ with scope -no brake- is about the same as an iron sight 44 Mag. I assume its less in the heavier Encore. I usually shoot 250 grain bullets but for Deer size game 220 or 200 are fine. I personally would not spend the money on a brake.
I like the Contender over the Encore for the balance and weight. In the Encore I would still choose the 358JDJ as I prefer a rimmed case for easier extraction. The cases just fall out when the barrel is tipped up.

My 358JDJ begun life as a TC 14 - in 35 Remington factory barrel with their muzzle tamer (1993), after learning about JD Jones / SSK I sent it in to be re-chambered. Over the years I have had great success with it on Indiana whitetails I call it my ?hammer?. You asked about load data, here is a sampling of some of my results. Pact chronograph used at 10 feet in front of the muzzle.
Hornady 180gr SSSP
N130 ? 2330fs ? Max
N133 ? 2239fs ? Max ? One of my favorites.
H4198 ? 2432fs ? Max
IMR4320 ? 2329fs ? Max

Hawk 180gr x.025 FP
H332 ? 2240fs
N133 ? 2250fs ? Taken 3 deer with this load

Sierra 225gr SPBT
H322 ? 2215fs


For your Encore and keeping with the 358 caliber there is the 35-06JDJ. 15? BBL w/Brake. I have used both the Hornady and Speer on deer with excellent results. I have found the Sierra 225 to be extremely accurate. I have not used the Sierra on game however; wet newsprint testing has been stellar. I consider all loads here right at max velocity.

Hornady 180gr ? SSP
N135 ? 2675fs

Speer 220gr FP
IMR4064 ? 2590fs

Sierra 225gr SPBT
N140 ? 2554fs

Good luck with your decision.

B?