35-348 Improved

01 September 2003, 12:47

sharps54

35-348 Improved

Does anyone have any experience with this round? I want to put together a single shot rifle to play with and am looking for a rimmed cartridge in either 338 or 358 caliber. I like the availbility of 338 bullets but my buddy has a 35 Whelan and uses revolver bullets which is pretty neat. Looking at the 348 case it seems to have a much larger capacity then the 9.3X74R case. Any other ideas? Since this is a toy I don't mind paying a little extra for the cases and dies but don't want to be stuck with only Bertam Brass.
Jason

01 September 2003, 15:46

Bwana-be

It's a rimmed WSM.
Are you interested in making your own cat, or staying with those already developed? Or only those with "available" dies?
These things can narrow your choices down.
You could do the Whelen on a rimmed case, share componenets with your buddy.
What sort of performance are you looking for?
Rifle weight, barrel length, bullet weights, sort of shooting (e.g., 100 yd target vs squirrel hunting), these will probably bring you some answers.

01 September 2003, 18:59

sharps54

Bwana-be,
I would prefer to stay with a wildcat that is already developed, that way dies and reamers are a little cheaper. It will be used for targets, load experimentation and hunting here in NC. I really like the idea of the 35-348 and will probably go with it. I haven't settled on an action yet, probably a No. 1. I was just curious if anyone had any experience with it. What are the choices in a reasonable price range for single shot actions that will handle this round? I don't want to spend more then $500 or so for the action before any work if possible. I am open to ideas this is a project in formation.
Jason

02 September 2003, 17:29

Russ nFC

Sharps54,

The .35-.348 imp has been around for a long time and is essentially the rimmed equivalent of the .35 Whelen. If you have access to a copy, check page 473 of Ackley's Handbook for Shooters & Reloaders, Volume I. As with any of the Ackley data, however, realize that these loads may be on the hot side relative to modern pressure standards. I have been toying with the idea of building one on a Siamese Mauser action for several years, but haven't completed it yet, so I don't have any first-hand knowledge of it's handling characteristics.

Good luck with your project.

Russ

02 September 2003, 20:15

Bwana-be

quote:
Originally posted by Russ nFC:
The .35-.348 imp [...] is essentially the rimmed equivalent of the .35 Whelen. Russ

Well, wait a tick, here.
I'd think that case would hold quite a bit more than the Whelen case. If you load them each with a 1.2" bullet, out to 2.8" and 3.34", resp., you get about 76gr vs 60gr capacity.
Now, in a single shot, there's no reason at all not to load it out to more like 3.1", which would yield about 83-84 gr with same bullet.
The Norma has about 76-77gr with same bullet.
The STA has about 91-92gr with same bullet.

I think this would be a helluva round.

03 September 2003, 01:38

jeffeosso

gunna throw in the great ole ghost of pressure...

(setting aside #1 and mausers)
.. I've been reloading a 450 alaskan for and with a buddy for years... and in a model 71 lever gun, we found the max to be right at 40,000 psi in that gun... a sticky lever gun, but we still hit 2200 with 400 and 405 grain bullets...

with the same pressure limits, it would be possible to get NEAR 35 whelen factory loads from it... And in a stronger action... it would be possible to get even more... refence the HE mags, that started as derimed 348's, improved, and in a bolt gun....

enjoy it, either way... you can get dies from www.ch4d.com and rent the reamer from www.reamerrentals.com

jeffe

03 September 2003, 13:56

Bwana-be

It's a single-shot, guys.
No reason not to assume 64k psi.

Sharps54, what rifle are you talking about exactly?

03 September 2003, 18:32

sharps54

I'm not locked into a specific action yet. I was thinking something that would be handy in the brush and be able to use a wide variety of bullet shapes (handgun and rifle) so a single shot seems to fit the bill. I could always buy a used Winchester 94 in .356 and single load the more pointed bullets...
I look at the No. 1 action because it is easy to find and used ones in the non-tropical frame are not that expensive. I am open to suggestions for other single shot actions.
The 35-348 just seemed like a neat old wildcat when I read about it in Ackley's book. If I end up with a No. 1 then I could just go 35 Whelen because the rimmed cartidge is not needed. Like I say this is in the thinking stage at this point, probably two or three months before I start buying the components for the project.
Jason

05 September 2003, 16:17

RCHAPURA

Call Frank at mt Baldy bullets . He has a 71 Chambered in 35-348 . WWW.mtbaldybullets.com
He shot a nice moose with it a couple of years ago .

06 September 2003, 05:27

Paul H

I'm a huge 35 caliber fan, and the use of pistol bullets, and cast bullets is a very good reason to choose it over the 338 caliber.

I'd also thought about a 35-348, or similar rimmed round in an encore. The encore with a custom barrel will be about the same $ as a factory Ruger #1 (custom barrel will nearly double the cost), and you also have the option of adding additional barrels in the future.

Having dealt with wildcats and semi-obsolete rounds, I can attest to the advantages of rounds that have commonly available dies and reamers. If you're considering using the Encore platform, contact Virgin Valley and see what reamers they have in that size range. A 35 WSM would be a nice way to go, as you could have the breach counterbored to allow either rimmed or rimless case use.