Case forming for 350 Remington Mag

[Darreld Walton]

I couldn't resist, and traded a shotgun for a Remington 700 BDL chambered to 350 Remington Magnum. I can't just let the thing sit, and the only new brass that seems to be available at the moment is the Nosler stuff at $2.00 apiece. My question is for anyone who's formed 350 from other cases, how'd you do it, and so forth, and what is the best case to use. I'm guessing that something on the order of a 338 Winchester, 7mm Remington, or just about any of the shorter "300 Winchester" length cases are the easiest to find, least expensive, and gives the best results. I'm quite certain that neck work will be required, and am set up to do that, so no problem there.

[Matt Anthony]

RCBS makes a forming die set that uses 7MM mag. brass for $162.00. I know Redding makes it too. I had a 350 and traded it off due to shoulder problems 3 years ago. I sold it with the forming dies.
Matt

[joem]

For the cost of the forming die you could by 80 cases, will you shoot it that much?

[Parashooter]

Since the total case length of the .350 Rem Mag is ~2.17" and the body length of the .300 Win Mag is ~2.20", one should be able to simply run an appropriately-annealed .300 case into a .350 trim die and lop it off - without any neck expansion required. (The 7mm and .338 cases are shorter-bodied and would need a bit more work.) Midway lists the trim die for $40 and Grafs shows Prvi .300 cases at about $60 per 100. Could be a reasonable solution if you don't charge yourself for labor.

At least in theory, this should work about like forming 10.4x38R from .348 Win. shown here -

http://i58.tinypic.com/156d1g4.jpg
Ignore the one on the right - that's just showing someone .45/70 cases are a tad too skinny for this.:icon_e_surprised:

[Matt Anthony]

For the cost of the forming die you could by 80 cases, will you shoot it that much?

You make a very valid point! When I started reloading back in the late 50's, I read an article about reloading and have never forgotten the content. The article stated that if you bought a new rifle and purchased 200 cases for that rifle, you would burn the barrel out before you had to deep six the cases. I would suggest a muzzle brake, this makes shooting larger cartridges very pleasant.....
Matt

[BudT]

Darreld, take a good hard look at the .338 Win mag case before you reform any thing that is smaller in the neck. There's a darn good reason for this and I learned it the hard way.

[da gimp]

the .350 Rem & the .358 Win (very similar in power) both have fairly mild recoil in rifles with decent recoil pads..We have a nice lil early Browning BLR in .358Win... & it has very mild recoil........ similar to that of a .308Win .........in the same rifle.

[Sunray]

Lotta fuss for something you can buy from Midway. Claim they have it in stock too.

[Darreld Walton]

Thanks for the information, Fella's! I see that at the moment, Midway has Nosler brass available for the 350. It's been awhile since I've bought brass, and had a moment or two of sticker shock! Remington brass is nigh unto impossible. None that I've been able to find in the Snake River Valley, and darned little on the internet, except for the scalpers.
One hundred rounds, a set of dies to reload those, and perhaps a bullet mould, and the rifle should be ready to go for another generation or two.
I regularly shoot .35 Whelen, .375 H&H, and prefer 250 gr. bullet loads in my .375 Big Bore M94 carbine, and this .350 is in the Model 700 with the longer barrel, and I'm restocking it at the moment, to fit my "dimensions". It'll all be fine.
I had to ask, and I just would rather have the knowledge, and be prepared, and not be left with an "orphan" that couldn't be used. A notion that I'm sure most of us on these forums knows all too well.
Gimp, I especially am interested in your comment about the BLR .358! Back in another century, my folks bought me my first centerfire hunting rifle, a Belgian BLR .308, and I used that rifle to literally shoot everything from field mice to Shirras moose. That particular rifle, with a 130 gr. Speer hollow point, 45 gr. of 4895, and a CCI large rifle primer in LC NM cases would print little tiny groups all day. Those first year or two rifles sported "chromed" bores, IIRC, and believe it or not, if I gave that bore more than a simple patch or two, and got busy with a brush, the groups would open up a bunch, and I'd have to foul the bore with about five rounds before the rifle would start shooting again.
I was an E-3 about that time, stationed at Malmstrom AFB, Montana, and with a wife and a kid, on 1974 pay scale, just didn't have the scratch for a dedicated varmint gun. Even with the light bullet, and "light" load, the rifle would "sore you up" after a bit in the prairie dog towns around Great Falls, BUT, when the wind would kick up, and everyone else was putting their .223's and 22-250's in the truck, that .308 was still well in the game!
I gave my .308 to my oldest son when he turned 18, and several years back, he gave me a Belgian BLR .243. It shoots as well on paper as the 308, but I just haven't found a use for the 243 that will make me pull it out of the rack before I do my .257 Roberts........

[Richard Turner/Turner Saddlery]

It appears that Lohman Arms, Houston, TX, has just about any quantity of .350 Rem Mag brass that you want. Price for 50 is listed as $49.23. Quantities of 50; 500; 1,000; and 2,000; are listed as in stock at the moment.

http://www.lohmanarms.com/product_p/remu350.htm