I just picked up a Remington XP-100 that appears to have less than a box of shells run through it, with a Burris 5x. I am familiar with the XP as I already have a custom barreled 7-08 and a 308 but I have no experience with the .35 Remington. Anybody out there have one that could give me some clues. Gonna use if for bear in September. Got all the reloading stuff and a couple of boxes of factory for sighting in. I think it will work just fine and the ranges that I get bear to come in to are less than 35 yards. Any clues?

In the east many a bear and deer have been taken with the 35 Rem. Though similar on paper to the 30-30 those who use it say it's significantly better [bigger hole !!]
Don't use lighter than 200 grain bullets. Someone makes a 220 [Buffalo Bore ??] which has received great comments.

Thanks Mete
All I ordered were 200 gr bullets. For Bear, I need weight not velocity. I think for the distance, they will be just fine. Can't shoot until August and it's driving me crazy but it will be ready for bear season.

Standard load data is restricted by some of the older guns out there that may not be strong enough to survive modern pressures. Many times even the Contender can out perform rifles chambered for the 35 Remington because the allowable pressures are higher in the Contender.
I think you will be able to develop loads in the XP-100 action that will provide very good performance. Significant difference with loads with the attributes of the XP100's platform, but standard 35 Remington pressures are likely to stop a bear just fine. After all it has for years.

Please keep us posted with your results.

5 shots all touching at 50 yards with factory ammo shooting left handed. I'm not able to shoot it right handed until the 1st of August. I had to adjust the scope significantly because it was sighted in about 16" high at 50 yards, but I believe this will work on bear at under 35 yards. TC, the loading data from Lyman to Hornady to Sierra and on and on is so different, I haven't even bothered to load for it yet. I will this coming week but will be checking for standard deviation through the chrono and pressure signs on the cases/primers. I am sort of looking for a 200 gr load around the 18-1900 fps mark.
Thanks
Rick

I've reloaded for the .35 Remington in my T/C for almost 30 years. It is no trick to get 2000 fps with a 200-grain bullet, why short yourself with just 1800 fps? Hey, recoil and more velocity than needed - I understand that.

You won't see 'pressure signs' with factory-level loads since they are just 35,000 CUP - not enough to cause traditional pressure signs. IME most factory brass is strong enough for more pressure than this....Sierra agrees. The biggest issue with the .35 is headspace - some cases are short head-to-shoulder and some chambers are long head-to-shoulder. The result can be short case life and mediocre accuracy. When sizing cases, be certain not to set the shoulder back. In spite of what so-called experts say, the shoulder is sufficient to maintain headspace if the cases fit the chamber and loads are not too light. Of the thousands of rounds I've loaded - hunting, plinking and several years of IHMSA silhouette - I almost never had a case separation or short case life. Most cases have lasted over 15 reloads. (The handful which did have incipient separations were cases resized by a buddy for his .35 Remington rifle - they had the shoulders set back.)

The T/C will not handle pressures that the XP will. I loaded 200-grain Remington RNs (the "best" .35 Rem bullet) ahead of 40.0 grains of H-322 for 2036 fps in a 14" barrel (Sierra maximum load). That worked very well below 80*F so I never tried anything else. Layne Simpson published loads in Handloader 98 for a bolt rifle with IMR-4320 with up to 2366 fps in a 22" barrel - figure ~150 fps less in a 15" barrel. Those loads are significantly above factory pressures, which are low due to the original weak pump and autos chambered for the .35 Remington.



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Thanks TX
I haven't tried the handloads yet but the factory ammo will do the job on a bear at 35 yards or less, I am sure.
I will get to shoot with my good shooting hand by August 1 and by Sep 2nd, I will have put several hundred handloads through the pistol. I will watch for signs and keep going until I find a load that suits me. Nice to know that it is capable of much more.
Thanks for the help and info
Rick