35-30/30 (35-30)

Historical Notes:

Although not widely known, the 35-30/30 is one of the oldest wildcats, having originated around the turn of the century. Its original purpose was to salvage worn out 32-40 and 32 Winchester Special barrels by reboring them to 35 caliber. The idea was also implied to improve the performance of Winchester Model 1894 rifles and carbines while staying within the cartridge length and pressure limitations of this action. The 35-30/30 cartridge is based on necking up 30-30 or 32 Winchester Special brass without any other change, although a few rifles have been made up to accept the Ackley Improved version of this case. Recently there has been a rebirth of interest in this cartridge by silhouette shooters who like to use cast bullets. In 1976, Arizona gunsmith Paul Marquart built several 35-30/30 silhouette rifles built on the Remington 788 action, and these quickly established a reputation as being both accurate and effective for the intended sport. Information on these rifles was published in The Fouling Shot, published by the Cast Bullet Association, and other shooters found it promising as a target and hunting cartridge. The 35-30/30 can be loaded to about equal the ballistics of the 35 Remington, and in fact, if Remington hadn't introduced their rimless 35 in 1908, it is highly possible that the necked up 30-30 would have become much more popular than it did. In any event, it is picking up a new but modest following.

General Comments:

With jacketed bullets there is little, if any, difference between the ballistics and killing power of the 35-30/30 and the 35 Remington. On paper the 35 Remington appears to have an edge over the 35-30/30 because it has about 14 percent greater powder capacity, but the factory 200 grain bullet loading rarely attains 2000 fps except in a 24 inch test barrel chiefly because of rather anemic loading pressures. As a cast bullet cartridge, the 35-30/30 with its longer neck permits use of cast bullets as heavy as 270 grains seated to a depth that will feed through magazine rifles designed for the 30-30. This is not possible with the 35 Remington and its short neck. In a strong action, the 35-30/30 can  be loaded to deliver performance approaching the 375 Winchester.  However, in a strong action, the 35 Remington can be stepped up quite a bit too. It is possible to attain 1800 fps with a 300 grain bullet in a strong action chambered 35-30/30, which would make it adequate for elk or moose at short range. It is a good cartridge for upping the performance of 30-30 rifles or for salvaging worn out 32 Special barrels. For a wildcat, it is rather a special purpose cartridge, but one that may fill the needs of a number of shooters. Dies are available from RCBS and chamber reamers from Clymer.

Source: Cartridges of the World

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