What Barrel ?

[ratgunner]

I got a stainless G1 and it's a .35 Rem. Super 14 in great condition. Thing is I wanted a .357 Max. since it should be less pressure,recoil and easier to reload a straight wall cartridge. I'm wondering if I should stick with .35 Rem.(haven't shot it yet) or get a .357 Max barrel OR a .44 mag barrel since I'm already set up for reloading .44's ? I've heard the .44 kicks nasty in Contenders ? Pro's,con's for the .35,.357max and .44 mag ?

[jbj-displays]

I would keep the 35 Rem barrel and get another or 12. The 35 Rem is a nice deer round. The only con I can say about the MAX is the finding brass to reload. The only con I have for the 44 Mag would be limited to pretty much 100 yards on deer. Use hollow point bullets if you do think that you are shooting close to 100 yards. Shot a deer with 180gr soft point and the hole was not bigger than the bullet at that distance. The recoil on the 14" MAX and 44 Mag is pretty tame.

[Bullseye]

I will be in the minority here, but I do not like the 357 max.  It used to make my wrist hurt, the recoil was not terrible, but it seemed to twist my wrist and 10 rounds or more would make it hurt.  I used it for a lot of years and then sent it on down the road in favor of other calibers.  I started out with the 35 rem, do not have it anymore either but I would rather shoot it recoil wise.  Seems like the bottleneck case kick more up where the straightwall kicks more straight back into the hand.
 
I do still have a 44 mag 10" barrel and I have never thought it kicked that bad.  I do load mine with IMR 4227 powder which does not have the velocity of something like 296, but it also does not have the recoil.  Still kills a deer plenty dead though.
 
I have switched to a 375 Win or 41 mag for deer hunting.

[deerman406]

I would stick with the .35 Remington, some of the most accurate barrels T/C made. I have to say it, but I try to get barrels that were made before T/C had the "Fire" stuff made in the early 90"s. The quality control was way better. You will be able to push a heavier bullet quite a bit faster in the 35 than eitherof the others and loading for it is pretty simple with a set of good dies. I shoot H322 with 180 grain hornady SSP and my gun will shoot .75 at 100 all day long. Shawn

[Lonegun1894]

I have .30 Herrett, .22 LR, .357 mag, and .44 mag.  First off, I would definitely keep the .35 you have becasue if you're anything like me, you will regret it if you give it up.  The .357 I love, but since it fires the same bullet that your .35 does, and yours is more capable with heavier ones while also being able to be loaded down to as light as you want, the only advantage I can think of there is the plentiful and often free brass.  The .44 mag isn't bad with either my Unique or 2400 loads, but there have been times it bit me a bit before I got used to it and learned to control it.  The .30 herrett is also a great shooter, but requires you to form your own brass, which is something many people aren't willing to do.  I think it is worthwhile though, and although I havent had a chance to try it on game yet, the accuracy on paper is great.  In the end, if the .35 is the only thing you have currently, and I say this in all seriousness and not trying to be a smart alec, but I would say get a .22 LR.  It is cheap and easy to shoot, and it will allow you a lot of cheap, yet very beneficial practice, and is equally great for both paper and small game, so I see it as a very versatile caliber, having taken squirrel, rabbit, coyote, hog, and several other species, with some of them getting into the 350-400LB range.  Not saying some of those were the smartest decisions I have ever made, but I had to find out the limits for myself and did so.

[ratgunner]

Yes that does make sense. I think a rimfire would be a great idea.