.35 Pope [aka .35 - .32-40 Ballard

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  • Last Post 27 December 2023
oldgunnut posted this 14 May 2023

So, in addition to the .32-40 & .38-55 barrels I have for my Stevens 44 1/2, I've been thinking about having another barrel made up in .32-40, albeit necked up to .35 calibre.  A long time ago I read [cannot for the life of me remember where] that Harry Pope used to re-bore worn out .32-40 barrels to .33 & .35 calibre & eventually up to .38-55 & I like .35 calibre cartridges, so figured "Why Not?"

I'm thinking a ~250 grain RNFPPB bullet having a ~70% meplat [for hunting purposes] in a 1:16" twist barrel should do the trick at anywhere from 1,400 - 1900 fps.

I might do the same thing for one of my Ruger #1's in .357 Magnum [no, it's NOT a CHP or a non-marked original, it's a custom barrel job that I'm thinking of either re-chambering to .360 BuckHammer, .35-40 Maynard 1882, .35-30/30 or the above .35-40 Pope.

Thought? / Cautions / Warnings

Thanks all.

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 15 May 2023

i think Mr. Pope also liked the 7mm ... so a 7-30-30 might be acceptable to the elite 44.5 admire-ors ...  the good news .. >>  tooling and dies are readily available ... psssssst ... look under * 7-30 Waters * ...

lots of great molds for 7mm ... and even 140 or 160 grains gives a long wind-bucking bullet ...  easy on the shoulder ...  

and even tho i think the 6mm is the sweet spot for cast shooting, the 7mm is pretty close .. my favorite cast gun was my 7mm Rem. Express ...

bet you will have lots of fun deciding on this project !! ...

ken

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gnoahhh posted this 15 May 2023

I like your idea for a .35/.32-40. It would round out your barrel selection. (But I personally would probably trend toward a smaller bore in this case. Pope had his own favorite 7mm wildcat, one based on the old .32 Ideal case, and ballyhoo'ed by him during his Hartford, Connecticut years before he signed on with Stevens. Not much is mentioned about that one these days but it has intrigued me. The late Wayne Schwartz had developed a .28 wildcat of his own that he was quite fond of, and which he provided to a few single shot shooters. It's based on the .32-40 and/or .30-30 case and looks like a scaled down .32-40, ie: straight taper with a parallel-sided neck sufficient to hold a wide range of bullets. He did more than a couple #1's in this cartridge.)

As for the #1 .357 Magnum, I can speak to having its chamber lengthened to .357 Maximum (also known as .35-40 Maynard). I have a BSA Martini so altered that is a joy to shoot. Accurate with everything from low-vel target/plinking loads with Unique and .357 pistol bullets, up to 200 grain cast deer smackers at nigh 2000fps (out of my 26" barrel, and AA1680 powder). Far more versatility for in a .357-bore rifle than the standard .357 Magnum, and Starline is committed to making .357 Maximum brass (although production thereof is only occasional). Brass is easily found nonetheless. But, for me, the big attraction is the sexiness of that long straight walled .35 cartridge case!

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TRKakaCatWhisperer posted this 15 May 2023

i think Mr. Pope also liked the 7mm ... so a 7-30-30 might be acceptable to the elite 44.5 admire-ors ...  the good news .. >>  tooling and dies are readily available ... psssssst ... look under * 7-30 Waters * ...

lots of great molds for 7mm ... and even 140 or 160 grains gives a long wind-bucking bullet ...  easy on the shoulder ...  

and even tho i think the 6mm is the sweet spot for cast shooting, the 7mm is pretty close .. my favorite cast gun was my 7mm Rem. Express ...

bet you will have lots of fun deciding on this project !! ...

ken

 

7- 30-30  Pope?  If you don't want to trim the brass, 7mm International Rimmed is the 30-30 necked down.

 

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oldgunnut posted this 15 May 2023

Gnoahhh: I think you are, perhaps, referring to the .35-30 Maynard cartridge, rather than the .35-40 Maynard, as the .357 Maximum has a case length of 1.600", a base diameter of 0.379" & an internal capacity of ~33 grs. of H2O, the .35-30 Maynard, Pattern of 1882, has a similar case capacity of 30.5 gr. H2O, while the .35-40 Maynard, Pattern of 1882 cartridge, modified so that I can use necked up .32-40 cases, that I am considering, has a case length of 2.15", a base diameter of 0.425" & an internal capacity of ~45 grs. of H2O.

Not sure how much benefit that case would have over the .357 Magnum, especially in my Ruger #1, with its 29" barrel.

As for smaller diameter cartridges, my Westley Richards in .298 Minex [essentially a .32-20 but utilizing 140 grain, 0.300" diameter bullets at 1,400 fps], handles that task quite well.  It is, in fact, just a wee bit smaller than the .32 Miller Short, although it was invented over a century ago.

I had a Stevens Model 45 in .25-25 & a Stevens Model 44 in .25-20 SS, but did not care for the small bores.

Not saying I dislike 7mm rifles, as my Ruger #1 in .275 Rigby, a Steyr '98, an Oberndorf '98 & a BRNO '98, all in 7x57 will attest; just not in single shots.

As for the other direction; been there, done that & sold all of my .45 & .50 calibre rifles due to their recoil no longer being "fun", although I am in the process of having a .40-65 built on a Martini.

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linoww posted this 24 June 2023

I have a large frame Martini marked 9.1x51R and it's sort of a 30-40 Maynard.The dies I got firbit are C&H and marked 35-40 Lewis and fit the chamber wonderful. it looks like a 38-55 but in..358.

"if it was easy we'd let women do it" don't tell my wife I said that!

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gard72977 posted this 27 December 2023

I really like the idea of 360 Buck hammer. I have a Hepburn in 32-40 with a large bore. The 360 BH has modest case capacity that suits my needs. I need to get this one rebored.

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