thegreatmodel8.remingtonsociety.com

Dear Sirs,

Found five rounds of FN-made .35 Rem ammo at a local gun show and thought someone might be interested to see what it looks like. Four SP's and one FMJ. No boxes, no stripper clips.

The ammo is old, but in fairly good condition.

Now, what should I do with them? Suggestions are welcome.

Perhaps a penetration test like 81police did with vintage UMC ammo? Velocity measurement? G.A. York's FN 1900 would be delighted to take on the task.

Pull and slice the bullets, review contents? The ball is in your court, gentlemen.

I realize that they are somewhat collectible, but I wouldn't mind sacrificing them in the name of research. And before anybody suggests it, I'm not going to sell, send or donate them anywhere. I live in Europe and it's not worth the paperwork.

extremely uncommon ammo here in the States. If I had 1 round I'd likely put it into some ballistic gel just for the results. 1 round only though! haha

As you can see, one of the SP's (middle) has a smaller portion of exposed lead in the tip. This one also has a flatter primer cup, so I suspect it's later production. All the rest have old-fashioned dome-shaped primers.

It would be interesting to test the penetration of FMJ against SP. But then, I probably couldn't recover the bullet and dissect it.

I might pull the FMJ and slice it to have a better look at its construction. Perhaps it's a big-game solid built for thick-skinned African game, as per common practice of the day. But then, I couldn't shoot it...

Granted, the .35 Rem might not be your first choice for African dangerous game, as it doesn't come with the necessary Nitro Express or H&H suffix. But one has to consider that, in those days, the 6.5x54 and .303 British were considered perfectly adequate for elephant.

Actually, the correct test procedure for the FMJ would be to test its penetration against Cape buffalo. A proper big-game solid should slice clean through the beast, lengthwise. Now, I just need someone to sponsor me an African safari. I'll bring the sherry!