NOTES: Accuracy is the average of at least two, five-shot groups fired from a sandbag benchrest. In fact, only about half of my test loads met that mark, so I haven’t changed my mind. The Ruger AR-556 MPR autoloader performed similarly for this report.
350 Legend bolt-action rifle, I concluded it was, at best, a 2-MOA combo suitable for taking deer and hogs at ranges up to 175 yards with selected ammo. In a previous Shooting Times Quick Shot on the Ruger American Ranch. Once again, I’ve learned you can’t be too careful when reloading a new cartridge or a new component. That’s 5.5 grains less (19+ percent reduction) than Hodgdon’s data shows as max for the 9mm jacketed pistol bullets. Based on the recorded velocities, the 23-grain charge essentially duplicated the ballistics of the Winchester 145-grain factory load. I emptied the charged cases, readjusted the expander die, and repeated processing them-again!Įverything went well at the range. When I attempted to seat the first 145-grain FMJ bullet, it snagged on the inadequately flared case mouth and crumpled the case wall. I loaded those five with the same charge of Lil’ Gun right out of the bottle so I could, hopefully, satisfy myself when firing them over the chronograph that I had loaded the “right” powder to begin with. I recharged all but five cases with 23 grains of the recovered but “unverified” powder. The expander die was already set, so I didn’t pay close attention to how much it flared each case mouth. I lubed, sized, and wiped the rest of the batch clean before expanding/belling the case mouths. When Winchester’s 145-grain FMJ bullets arrived, I assumed I could safely substitute it with that recipe, especially since I seated them a bit farther out than the factory loads, i.e., increased initial combustion capacity. For example, using Hodgdon’s load data for Lil’ Gun, I assembled and fired dozens of three different 147-grain JHP pistol bullets with charges up to near-max without mishap. After sizing more than 300 or so cases, I developed a scheme of positioning the case in the shellholder that seemed to work about half the time! I also experienced a few other problems, but they were my fault. 350 Legend’s case head and neck diameters, it’s too often difficult to get the case mouth aligned with the sizer die. Because there’s very little difference in the. Of course, unlike sizing revolver brass with a carbide die, the. Redding was one of the first to offer reloading dies. I had samples of Federal’s 180-grain JSP and 160-grain Fusion bullets, (and factory load data), but they’re not yet available for the handloader. I’m hoping Hornady and Federal add their bullets to the product mix. Winchester is already shipping at least two bullets packaged for sale to reloaders. There’s a good selection of 9mm/.35-caliber jacketed pistol bullets, but because they’re typically launched at 900 to 1,300 fps, they’ll likely not be strong enough to effectively drop a deer or a hog.Īlthough the project started out with a scarcity of suitable bullets and encountered a couple of hitches along the way, I’ll still say any time spent at my reloading bench or at the range is a good thing. 35 caliber typically range from 0.354 to 0.357 inch (jacketed) and 0.357 to 0.360 inch (cast or swaged lead) in diameter. All the rest were jacketed pistol bullets.
Only two “rifle” bullets were listed with the required but unique 0.355-inch diameter: Hornady’s 170-grain JSP and Winchester’s 180-grain Power-Point.
Hodgdon’s data sheet revealed a serious problem with reloading the new cartridge. Small Rifle primers are recommended to withstand the significantly increased operating pressure. I also experimented with a few other suitable powders and added them to the chart. Trimming each batch to uniform length proved to be an important step to ensure correct headspace.įor this report, Hodgdon provided load data for several Hodgdon, IMR, and Winchester handgun propellants with burn rates from medium to slow. 350 Legend cases are more likely to stretch when fired and resized. According to its SAAMI specs, the maximum average pressure (MAP) is 55,000 psi, so unlike similarly shaped pistol cases operating at pressures up to 35,000 psi. It’s also rimless and headspaces on the case mouth. 350 Legend case is a straight-wall case with a slightly tapered body so that it will reliably feed in a bolt-action or semiautomatic rifle. But some of you may be interested in handloading the new round. It’s been featured in just about every gun magazine, including Shooting Times. Just about everybody should have heard about the.
0 kommentar(er)
