I think I may give up

[Tomme boy]

on my 350 legend. Man it is is so picky on everything having to be exactly right. I was trying some new Accurate 11fs powder. Brand new Win cases. Primed with 41 cci primers and the170gr Hornady soft point. The max load for this is 26.8gr. I was only able to get to 25.5gr and that was already giving me a sticky bolt. And the 350 reared its head again. The first shot on the 25.5 load gave me 2241fps. About right for the charge. Then the next 3 were all 2290-2318fps. The first one had a nice round primer and the others were FLAT!.

I have said this cartridge like to give wild swings. And the primers showed this again. It goes from a safe load to the exact same load on the next will lock your gun up.

I have been shooting a lot of slow 1300fps loads and it seems happy other than the feeding sucks on this round. If I do give up I am going to pull the barrel and get something else to replace it. Thinking a 300blk or a 300 ham'r. I have to think about it as I am invested pretty heavy in this with all the molds. I have so much extra 1x fired brass it is not even funny. It is like 556 here laying everywhere. I picked up almost 100 empties today people left laying.

One good thing, I know a guy that is a 35 nut and would probably take most of the stuff off my hands

 

[farmboy]

Somehow, I don't picture you as a quitter. I know you have what it takes to solve this problem. It may take some research...help from some of the knowledgeable forum members...and trial and error...but you will make it work for you. It won't be the first difficult thing you have had to do. And it won't be the last.

 

[Jeff H]

I'd not waste good primers on something that didn't act grateful for whatever I fed it.

I first saw the 350 as a 357 Max that would work in an auto, but s time goes on, it seems more like a turbocharged 9x19. Maybe it WILL do what the Max will do and maybe it won't, but if it won't with what I can feed it, I'd not waste good primers on it.

It could well be that it only does what the maker says it does with special lots of bulk powder we can't buy and bullets we don't make. That'd be fine for those who buy their ammo. I prefer stuff that behaves well and predictably and is not a picky eater. Beating it into submission won't work and pandering to its preferences could get expensive.

 

[Tomme boy]

I got rid of my ar15 in this because of these issues. But if look back myself and @CWLONGSHOT have both had issues. He just had some wild speed #'s out of one of his. We both have the Ruger American in this. At first we had no load data it was so new. So we were using 357max data and even with that it was giving case head expansion problems. At first I thought it was neck tension issues. It does hurt you. But this thing is just weird on the pressures. The gun was getting 15 min or more between groups so it was not a heat issue. But I think it may be a outside temp issue. I found that LILgun would start acting weird when you got down under 60° and this happened. Maybe the 11fs acts the same. But that was why the 41 milspec primers as they give a hot spark.

This 11fs is supposed to be accurate's H110 version with a flash suppressant in the powder. Hence the fs designation. It may just be a little faster than h110.

Maybe I will go back to imr 4227. It does not surprise you with pressure like this. It gives you warnings before it is too late. It does not have the swings like all these ball powders have.

 

[RicinYakima]

Maybe I will go back to imr 4227. It does not surprise you with pressure like this. It gives you warnings before it is too late. It does not have the swings like all these ball powders have.

Most excellent idea! Ball powders were only invented because they were cheap to make.

 

[BBerguson]

I’ve settled on IMR 4227 for heavier loads and BE-86 for plinking/trigger time loads. My bullets of choice, and sorry I don’t have mold numbers, are the Lee 200gr gas checked 35 Rem design and a 127gr flat base truncated cone 9mm bullet with one lube groove. Both feed pretty well, have acceptable accuracy, sized to .358 and are powder coated.

Haven’t had any “hmm, what just happened with that shot” moments.

 

[BBerguson]

My light bullet looks just like this one Ben is using: https://www.artfulbullet.com/index.php?threads/lee-120-gr-9mm-luger-bullet.10339/

 

[Mitty38]

Did you keep a lower? 300 BO is great AR15 round. You can get a complete BCA 16 inch 300 bo upper right now for a little over 200 bucks. I know a few guys that swear by lead bullets in the 300 BO. I just never picked it up because I can't hunt deer with anything smaller then .356 caliber ,in my state.

I've been having real good luck with the 450 BM. In lower weight 45/70 type loads. Once I figured out I needed to load on a single stage press to get good concentricity with the Lee dies. And of course, the picky crimp, you must check rim diameter on every round for case mouth .475.... plus check necks with a v block before and after loading.
Very little leeway. Get the crimp wrong, or an off center neck, and you'll be banging the AR stock against the ground in typical fashion.

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

I like the 9x45 in my bowl a whole lot better than I like the AR. I like my SCR 350 as a rifle and off a lot and I could see it becoming a different caliber down the road as well. It's just never really shined for me. But the bolt gun shoots very very well and it does everything I could ask from the caliber.
CW

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

Darn you Tom...

Mow ya got me re thinking too!!!

I just picked up a set of 300 HAM'r dies for 30$ shipped.......

CW

 

[Mainiac]

Very happy with my ar 350.
As long as i stay with the rcbs 200,,it runs perfect,,shoots tightest at around 1800 fps,and will go 2100 w/1680,2000ish w/4198.
This is a automatic 35 remington.i have very few issues,with this round,it isnt any different then anything else i load for.
All ive ever used is starline brass,,you mentioned win brass,,thats where all the problems stem from,that ive read.also,the ball type pistol powders ,i have no use for.

 

[popper]

I looked at the 40WT and 300Hamr vs BO. Concluded the BO has longer neck and throat where others were limited. Less case capacity but I got 30/30 and 308w so it fits me well, decent ballistics and works well with cast. If I got rid of the 336 30/30, 300 Hamr would be my choice for ballistics and jacketed stuff. Lack of much throat limits weight of bullet though.

 

[Mitty38]

I may be delving into 300 Bo. My son's choice.

 

[Ian]

There are only three AR-15 chamberings that make sense to me. .556x45 with mid-length gas, 300BLK with carbine gas, and .458 SOCOM with pistol length gas. They all take the same magazines, don't have feeding problems, and don't do stupid pressure things when using normal loads.

If you want mo' powah, quit screwing around and get a gun made for it. An LR-308-pattern in .358 Winchester makes a great .35 caliber smacker. The .308 Winchester is no slouch, either.

 

[Mitty38]

Iowa has the same restrictions on bottleneck cartridges for white tail as Ohio.

If 30 caliber or a bottle neck cartridge. Was legal to hunt deer with here, and there.
I would totally agree with you. For the most part. However if we want to load and shoot our own hunting ammo we must find a way around this.

However the 450 Bush Master gives me one cartridge, that I can work around the laws, hunt with an AR style rifle, and cast and load my own for. Works with a little Kentucky windage out to 250 yards. (Which is as far as you can get an unobstructed shot around here.) For Hog, Deer, and Coyotes.

The 350 legend is another way to accomplish pretty much the same goals with a bit flatter trajectory.Maybe a bit more reach if you place the shot well???
It has its place.

Big sense of accomplishment working around restrictions or limits. Coming up with a Start to finish Solution, to getting your game on the table.

Whatever the reason. Everyone has different goals. For some it is just the challenge.

Sometimes we just climb the mountain because it is there and that's ok too.
I'm sure no two people here would agree on everything.

 

[Tomme boy]

We actually changed the cartridge laws here this year. It is now ANYTHING 35cal and larger. Does not matter if it is a bottle neck or not. Local gunsmith has done over 100 35 whelens in Savages and Remingtons. He is buying barrels from someone already set up for barrel nuts and putting them on for the people.

I am thinking a 300blk. The Ruger has to stay with the same bolt. It is a conventional bolt. So I will have to stick with the 223 bolt head.

 

[Tomme boy]

Here is what Iowa says.

• Pistols and revolvers (with a minimum barrel length of 4 inches)
• Straight-wall and "necked-down" cartridge rifles shooting an expanding type bullet of at least .350 inches and no greater than .500 inches with at least 500 foot pounds of muzzle energy.

This includes, but is not limited to, the following common calibers: .35 Whelen, .350 Legend, .358 Winchester, .375 Winchester, .40 S&W, .44 Magnum, .444 Marlin, .45 Long Colt, .45 Raptor, .450 Bushmaster, .450 Marlin, .45-70 Govt, .460 S&W and .500 S&W.
If you’re not sure if your cartridge is allowed, please check with your local DNR conservation officer.

All of them, as long as they have a bullet diameter between 0.350 inches and 0.500 inches.

 

[Mitty38]

Good news!
I hope it goes well with the stats there, and Ohio gets in line to follow that. We have a tendency to follow the lead.
Would love to use the 300 black out for a short range (under 75 yards) brush gun.
Would love to use my .375 H &H safe queen, for its intended purpose.

Still patiently waiting for the day. I can legally take a deer with an 8mm Mauser.With out having to go to wva.

 

[Jeff H]

@Tomme boy , does this rule out cast flat-noses and similar, meaning without a HP?:

"...shooting an expanding type bullet..."

Our pistol barrel minimum is 5", which is the only niggling little thing about our rules that I think borders unnecessary, but Id not want to be the one who has to winnow that pile myself. This rules out the very common 4 5/8" and 4" guns, so many of which are perfectly capable of taking deer in an appropriate chambering. I was grateful that Ruger chose 5.5" for several of their SA models because of this. It's still a handy length, but I once had a 4" N-Frame 45 Colt that I couldn't use.

 

[Jeff H]

....

Still patiently waiting for the deay. I can legally take a deer with an 8mm Mauser.with out having to go to wva.

In YOUR part of the State, I wouldn't feel so bad if someone were shooting something with greater effective ranges. Over here, it's super-flat and just small woodlots here and there. Maybe some day ODNR will draw a jagged line between you and me and let you shoot that Mauser.