RE: Need help.35 - Which Make and Model?
 

Thank you all for your responses. I really appricate it.

I was under the impression that the .35 was a brush pusher which is one reason that it was attracting me, and the other was the idea of using a larger caliber bullet on deer. When I hit the deer, I would like to advoid having to track them very far.

Several months ago, when I began researching big game rifles, I originally like .30-06 in the Remington model 700 because it could be shot (from my understanding) up to 300 yards, which game me the opition of taking longer shots if I ever decided to hunt out west. But how does the impact shot compare to that of the .35? Is it really going to make that much of a difference.

If anyone has any suggestions about an affordable, quality deer rifle that will last a life time, preferrably in a bolt action, that would be great. Thanks.

RE: Need help.35 - Which Make and Model?
 

A bigger bullet does not necessarily mean bigger power. While the 35 Remington has a bigger bullet its case is much smaller than that of the 308 or 30-06 and thus drives the bullets at much slower velocities. Also the 35 remington only comes in lever actions and thus requires you to use round nose bullets to keep from firing the rounds in the magazine. This eats up any long range velocity and energy. The 35 rem is only slightly better than the 30-30 as far as ballistics goes.

Don't get me wrong, it is a great round for what it was intended to be used for (close range deer) but I would not get one for a first rifle. It severly limits your future hunting oportunites should you hunt for bigger (elk and moose) game than deer or happen to see the buck of a lifetime at more than 200 yards.

To give you some perspective the 35 Remington drives a 200 grain bullet at a muzzle velocity of about 2080 fps and has a muzzle energy of 1920 foot pounds. At 200 yards it has droped to 1380 fps and 840 foot pounds. The trajectory of the 35 remington looks like this. Sighted in 2 inches high at 100 yards puts the bullet back to zero at 150 yards and 6 inches low at 200 yards.

The 308 firing a 150 grain nosler ballistic tip has a MV of 2820 fps and ME of 2649 foot pounds. It equals the muzzle energy of the 35 remington at 300 yards (1935 foot pounds) and has more energy at 500 yards that the 35 rem does at 50 yards. Trajectory for the 308 looks like this. Sighted 2 inches high at 100 yards puts the bullet back to zero at 220 yards and 6 inches low at 290 yards. You can hold dead center of a deer size animal and not have to compensate for bullet drop all the way out to 260 yards with a 150 grain Nosler ballistic tip bullet out of a .308 Win.

The 30-06 beats the 35 remington be even more.

Go to different web sites like Federals, Remingtons, and Winchesters and look at their ballistic charts for different cartridges and bullet weights.


AS far as a rifle is concerned Savage makes a good dependable rifle that won't break the bank. Another very good and much better IMO is the Howa line or Weatherby vanguard. They are essentially the same rifle as both made by Howa. You can get the vanguard in a synthetic stocked blued rifle for less than $400.00 at Walmart. They are excelent rifles for the money.

RE: Need help.35 - Which Make and Model?
 

Jim, The 35 caliber is not as popular as other calibers. The choice of bullets for reloading is also limited but I like the idea of a large caliber for the bush. The large caliber will stand more of a chance as a brush gun then a small and fast caliber. I’m going to be hunting this year with the 350 Rem. mag and I’m looking forward to it and I have it just as a brush gun. My shots will be in the range from 50 to 200 yards and the 350 rem. mag will do just fine.

As bigbull mentioned you should maybe look at other caliber's for your first gun. Look up the caliber's he mentioned, they are popular and the ammo is readily available. Good Luck.

RE: Need help.35 - Which Make and Model?
 

Bigbulls

Remington makes the .35 Remington in the 7600 Pump, just bought one last year. I shoot the 150 gr CoreLoks and get great results on deer. :)Remington is also making another run of 7600's in the .35 Whelen this year. Haven't shot one of those yet, but maybe in the very near future:D

RE: Need help. .22 and .35- Which Make and Model?
 

JimQuinn24,

What part of PA are you from? There are a few decent size gun shows in the next few weeks that would be good for you to go to. Where you can see and handle some of the different guns mentioned above. Let me know where you're from and I can forward you a list of gun shows coming up.

Deer Magnet (Bob)

RE: Need help.35 - Which Make and Model?
 

JQ24- The Marlin 336 .35 Rem is a very good selection for close shots (150-200 yards or less) and is well suited for hunting in the thick or heavy woods. It is a common rifle to find in a deer hunter's hands up here in Maine as it has a proven history in this region. I personally prefer the Marlin 1895SS in 45-70 for many of the same reasons that make the 336 popular but with the added knock down power of the bigger round. For the record I have never had to track a deer after hitting it with the 45-70. At the same time I seldom hunt anywhere that provides more than 50 to 75 yards for a shot with most deer coming within 15 to 30 yards.

My father opts for his Savage 99 in .308 and hunts the same type of areas as I with equal success although he has had to track a few over the years.

Generally speaking bolt action vs lever action is going to be a matter of preference as any accuracy difference will be unnoticeable to most shooters at under 200 yards. I personally prefer lever guns and highly recommend them. Likewise I am very fond of Marlin firearms. They produce excellent quality rifles which you can find at very reasonable prices.

The choice is of course yours but as you asked for suggestions for .35's, I recommend the Marlin 336's in .35 rem.

Best of luck to you.

Maine Hunter