First successful hunt for the 35 INDY

[Jason Broom]

Without going into all of the details, I spent a good part of last winter and spring developing a sort of semi-wildcat cartridge. For reasons only deer hunters from Indiana would understand, (crazy regulations!) I created a shortened 35 Remington case from 303 British parent brass. The process requires turning and thinning the case rim, cutting in an extraction groove, shortening the case to either 35 Remington length (1.920") or the Indiana-legal limit of 1.800". Once trimmed, the load data has to be tweaked for the slightly reduced (compared to thinner 35 Remington brass) case volume. I call it the 35 INDY and I was able to try it out for the first time this fall.

Ironically, the first two deer harvested with this cartridge were in Michigan. We have some family land up there and have been fortunate to do some habitat work that makes for much better hunting opportunities than we have in Indiana. I was able to tag a big doe almost at last light on opening day and then got a pretty nice buck four days later, from the same blind. The 35 INDY, which drives a 200gr FTX bullet to 2,350fps, (sort of a 35 Remington +P) performed very well, leaving short, easy-to-follow blood trails.

I recently got my first request for sample cases from the owner of a Marlin 336. He's interested because this tougher brass, loaded to standard 35 Remington pressures, should last a very long time.

Jason

 

[wbpdeer]

Sweet! Congrats on the modification and congrats on two successful hunts!

 

[Jason Broom]

Wayne, both deer were harvested on the same property where 5 of your chestnut trees are planted. Here's hoping for a mild winter to let them really get established, so they eventually feed deer like this every fall.

 

[Native Hunter]

Jason, congratulations on the big doe, the nice buck and going through the development of a wildcat cartridge. I can tell that you put a lot of thought into the cartridge and it obviously gave you fine results. Thanks for sharing the info and picture.

 

[Chainsaw]

Glad your habitat work is paying off Jason and providing you with improved hunting opportunities and lots of great meat as well.

 

[j-bird]

Jason - how does your 35INDY fair now that IN has certain high powered rifle cartridges available? I assume you did this build to combat the HCR regulations. I looked into getting a 358 Hoosier, but then thought better of that. I hunted this year with my 336CS in 30-30. I had this in the cabinet and didn't have to go spend a bunch of money or deal with customization or wildcat round availability and the like.

What sort of trajectory numbers you get with your 35INDY?

303 British - that isn't something you hear about much of these days......I have one in a mid 1940's Enfield battle rifle from WWII.

 

[Jason Broom]

J-bird - If I'd known Indiana was going to make basically all 24 and 30 caliber rifles legal for deer hunting with a rifle on private land, I probably wouldn't have spent the time and money on the 35 INDY, but I really enjoy working with wildcat cartridges. I also have Contender barrels in 30 Herrett and 6.5 JDJ, plus an H&R SB2 single-shot rifle in 358 GNR. I've been reloading since Moses finished wiping the mud off his sandals, so it's all 2nd nature to me.

The 35 INDY still has some redeeming qualities going for it: It's legal on public land and the case life should be excellent. I've already had a couple of people who own Marlin 336 rifles, in 35 Remington, ask for some brass to play with. If you keep the pressures down around 40,000psi, from a parent case that usually runs a lot hotter, they ought to last a long time. (My dad has his father's 336C in 30-30 and he's using 160gr FTX bullets I handloaded, up in MI.)

The 35 INDY pushes the 200gr FTX bullets fast enough for around 225 yards worth of maximum point-blank range, with an 8" kill zone. For those unfamiliar with the term, this means the bullet will never be more than 4" above or below the line of sight, out to that distance. For some perspective, my 270 Winchester has about 335 yards of maximum PBR. The energy of the 200gr FTX bullet should still be sufficient for good terminal performance, within the useful trajectory.

 

[Fish]

Nice work Mr. Broom. Indiana has some crazy regs for sure. Maybe not so much now as in years past.
Looks like Indiana deer harvest is pretty much on pace with last year. 104K to date. I think last years totals were 123K.

 

[j-bird]

Broom - that's awesome. I know there was a lot of talk about the 358 Hoosier in the Post-HCR & pre-HPR days, but your cartridge being legal on public ground is a good niche as well, with our goofy rules. 8" total elevation change out to 200+ is real good. With my limited knowledge that should well exceed the range of the typical HCR rounds allowed on public ground.

 

[Jason Broom]

The 35 INDY falls about mid-pack, in terms of trajectory. It's better than most, but not as good as some of the more potent, WSM-based rounds. Still, if you hunt well, meaning you know how to hunt deer where they live, long-range shots are uncommon, anyway. On our properties in MI, the longest shot we have is about 125 yards, but we usually harvest our deer at less than 100 yards, so the range of the cartridge isn't as important as a bullet that is accurate and performs well.

 

[j-bird]

Well you got a nice buck and developed what appears to be a real nice round as well. I hope you have further success with it.

 

[E_308]

So what are the round limitations in IN? I assume a 35 rem is not on the approved list? Must make the game warden's job a nightmare.

 

[Jason Broom]

The Indiana regulations are really odd. When hunting deer with a rifle, the case length (not including the bullet) must not be longer than 1.800" and the bullet it fires must be at least .357" in diameter. As such, the 35 Remington case is .120" too long, but it's a simple trick for a reloader to trim that much off the neck and then load as usual. All I'm doing is increasing the velocity window a little by reworking the 303 British, which is of a stronger design. The game wardens basically just need to know how to use a caliper or a gauge to measure the case length and the bullet diameter, but I've often wondered how often they really bother.

Ironically, the 303 British (parent brass for the 35 INDY) is now approved on private lands, so even if the CO got confused, I'd probably be safe as long as I wasn't hunting public ground.

 

[swat1018]

So what are the round limitations in IN? I assume a 35 rem is not on the approved list? Must make the game warden's job a nightmare.

And on top of the previous post, now rifles are legal. EXCEPT, only in a bullet diameter of .24 or .30. Nothing bigger, smaller, or IN BETWEEN, is legal. Rocket science at its finest. Morons...

 

[Jason Broom]

And on top of the previous post, now rifles are legal. EXCEPT, only in a bullet diameter of .24 or .30. Nothing bigger, smaller, or IN BETWEEN, is legal. Rocket science at its finest. Morons...

But, those are only legal on private land...the 35 INDY meets the requirement for both public and private. When Indiana FINALLY goes to normal rifle regulations, I'll just stop trimming the cases to 1.800" and have a 35 Remington +P cartridge. Still a very good option for deer at 200 yards or less.

 

[Osceola]

Just stumbled across this thread, Jason. That's pretty cool. I remember the gratification I got from the first deer I took with my own hand loaded ammo. Must be even more so with your own "wildcat". Fun stuff!

 

[Jason Broom]

Just stumbled across this thread, Jason. That's pretty cool. I remember the gratification I got from the first deer I took with my own hand loaded ammo. Must be even more so with your own "wildcat". Fun stuff!

Thanks Osceola,

It's fun playing around with different cartridges and harvesting a deer with this one was definitely gratifying. A couple of other guys have shown interest in the case and are testing with their own rifles. I'm kicking around the idea of having my favorite gunsmith build a custom, bolt-action 35 Remington on a Model 7...He's done a bunch of them in the past and I know I'd be happy with the end result.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[Jason Broom]

UPDATE: The Indiana State Legislature has passed an addendum to the rules that clarifies the legal description of a rifle used to hunt deer. All cartridges firing a bullet that is at least .243" in diameter, with a case that is at least 1.160" long, and not longer than 3.00", is now legal to fire from a rifle to harvest deer in Indiana, on private land. In more common terms, anything from a 243 Winchester to a 460 Weatherby is now legal. There are a relative handful of cartridges with cases that are longer than 3.00" (Nitro rounds) and they are not legal. Other than that, the door is now wide open...but only on private land.

On public land, the 35 INDY will continue to be just as effective as it was before the rules were changed. I may even continue to use it during private land hunts, although my 270 Winchester will be calling to me.

 

[KDdid]

I guess I need to find a good factory load for my .35 Rem Marlin 336. A couple of years ago I had a local gun shop guy cut some brass down, load with a longer bullet and do a hand crimp. Problem was I had several bullets pop off of the brass while loading/reloading, and now he is out of business. Looking at the Lever Revolution rounds online- any input about them?

 

[Jason Broom]

I guess I need to find a good factory load for my .35 Rem Marlin 336. A couple of years ago I had a local gun shop guy cut some brass down, load with a longer bullet and do a hand crimp. Problem was I had several bullets pop off of the brass while loading/reloading, and now he is out of business. Looking at the Lever Revolution rounds online- any input about them?

Most of the guys who have tried the standard LVR loads in either 30/30 or 35 Remington have been very happy with them. They deliver good terminal performance and tend to be among the most accurate lever-action ammo they've ever shot.