The .350 seems to be making a bit of a comeback. I did a little bench racing with it, and got results that surprised me. Using the Infinity software that comes with Sierra's e-manual, I looked at the ballistics for 200, 225, and 250 grain spitzers. I assumed muzzle velocities of 2700, 2600, and 2500 fps rspectively. One thing I wanted to see was where the bullets would drop below 2000 fps. What surprised me was that the 200 grain Hornady spire point lost velocity relatively quickly and kinda ran out of gas a bit before 250 yards, whereas the 225 NPT stayed above two grand a bit past 300 yards. Its trajectory was a hair flatter, too; about 3/4 inch at 300 yards.

I know that ballistic coefficients are like campaign promises, and ballistics software predictions aren't gospel, but I kinda figure they ought to show the right trends qualitatively.

Not like this would be a crisis if reality obeyed the software predictions, as 225 grains is the sweet spot for bullet offerings in 358 caliber. But I really expected 200 grains to provide a nice 300+ yard deer load and the heavier bullets to provide a 200-250 yard elk load. I know few folks if any measure velocity downrange, but do these results make sense?

Just imagine what a 225 Accubond would fly like!

Yeah, the Accubond ought to give some more reach to the .35s. But its always iffy whether the AB has the right jacket strength for the loading. I would expect that it would be designed for the .358 Win, .35 Whelen, and .350 Rem, but you never know. If so, it might suffice as an all purpose deer/black bear/elk/moose projectile, leaving the 250s for fending off the big bears and the 200s for plinking.

225's will do an easy 2700, and IMO are the best bullet weight in the chambering. I haven't had a chance to work up a load with the barnes TSX, but the 225 sierras group right in there from my Ruger. There is no North American that can't be taken with a properly constructed 225 gr 35 cal bullet, those bullets would be the 225 TSX, 225 Northfork, 225 A-frame and 225 partition.

I'd only go to 250 gr if limited to cup core bullets, and there is no reason to limit yourself to those bullets. I've hit game with a cup/core 250 gr at near point blank range, and it is simply not tough enough for that velocity.

I would be interested in knowing what powder you are using to get 2700 with a 225gr. bullet. I am using 57gr of Varget to push a 225gr. partition to 2595fps in a 24" barrel. I've been thinking of trying IMR-4350 or RL-19 to see what kind of velocity I would get.

I just peeked at ammo guide,
and it clearly looks like Winchester 760 and 748 are good choices with 250 grain bullets.
There are several entries with velocity showing well over 2700 and 1 load is over 2800 fps...tj3006

quote:

Originally posted by Paul H:
... There is no North American that can't be taken with a properly constructed 225 gr 35 cal bullet, ...

I thought we North Americans were tougher than that!

Are you guys having any problems with COL with the 350? Its not uncommon for things to be challenging with big cartridges in short actions, I take it.

I don't know if I'm out of line here but my elk load is a 200gr TSX over 62gr of Vhitavouri N140 with CCI 200 primers and COL of 2.83". This produces 2900fps+ 10feet from the muzzle. How it prints on the 100 yard target and then the 200 yard target comfirms the velocity. The load shoots slightly under MOA at 100 yards through my Remington Model 673 Guide gun with the 22" barrel. This sort of performance leads me to believe that I've got all the elk gun I need. 225grs might be even a little better,what?

2900 fps sounds pretty hot. I just re-ran Infinity with 2800 fps and the 200 grain Barnes X, and got much better looking ballistics; 2061 fps at 300 yards, 1886 ft-lb, and 8.6 inches down from a 200 yard zero. That looks more like a 300 yard deer load to me.

Most of the load data I've seen is pretty tame in comparison. Makes me wonder if the folks doing the tables are choosing the wrong powders.

I'm using 59 gr of Varget and the Sierra 225. The paritions raise pressure due to the partition, so wouldn't just interchange cup/core data for partitions.

I like the way my 350 shoots

My thought on 250 grainers, specifically A-Frames and Northforks, is simply for a 2400 fps bear stopper load. Sufficient velocity out to 50 yards, reliable expansion above 2000 fps, and serious penetration. A specialty load, for sure.

Nothing wrong with a 225 as an all around hunting load, just more thump than necessary for deer.