Has anyone played with the 5/35 SMc yet?

[Craiger5658]

Does anyone out there have any experience with this new cartridge? I read the article in the Apr issue of PS and it seemed interesting.

 

[OldPhil]

I am waiting on a barrel from Pac-nor. I have the dies and brass. I talked to By Smalley at the VHA Jamboree and decided I had to have one. I am expecting the barrel in a couple of weeks. I will let you know how it goes.

 

[OldPhil]

I have a 5-35 put together. Pac-nor barrel, Savage PV action and stock. Just shot my first groups yesterday. 40 gr Hornady v-max, cases from Haydon, N133 powder. Groups ran about .5-.6. I am very encouraged. The throat is real short. I am going to think about deepening it a little bit. It would be ok with lighter bullets, but I like the BC on the 40s,
So far, easy to load, seems to shoot good. Next the chrono.
Also, I wondered about neck turning. Not needed.

 

[treeman]

sorry for the ignorance but what is the 5/35smc?______treeman

 

[CJ6]

5mm,bullet Dia.) 35,case capacity in grains) SMc originators of said series of cartridges Smalley/McPherson,sp)? SMc has patents on their series of cartridges and royalties are paid as in the 6.5 Grendel and Simpsons cartridges etc.

 

[Rodbolt]

I don't own a 5/35 SMc but my PD shooting buddy has a Savage LRPV from the factory Savage,Custom??) shop that he special ordered. It shoots well now after three trips back to the factory and two barrel replacements...... He would tell you that he should have went with the 20BR like I did. The SMc brass is softer then the Lapua 6BR that a 20BR is formed from but if I had a 5/35 SMc I'd just buy 6BR Lapua and neck it down in small steps then fireform it to 5/35 SMc. With the Lapua brass you should get the 20BR performance or better, not so with the 5/35 and SMc brass. Still the SMc costs more for chambering, dies, etc. due to the licensing.

 

[BulletBob3701]

I have one of the Savage LRPV i 5mm / 35 SMc from the custom shop. I love it. I am getting about 4300 fps with 40 grain Noslers and TAC powder. It groups in the .4 and 5s with this load and in the 2s with 35 grain Bergers. Lapua brass is the only brass that will hold up to these velocities - the Norma brass is too soft. The sierra 39 grain bullet also disintigates at anything much over 4000 fps. This is a flat shooting cartridge. Sighted in to group 1" high at 100 yards puts you dead on at 300 yards and 8" low at 400 yards. It is hard to break old habits and I find that if I miss I'm shooting over. The round is also destructive. I'm shooting with a 16X fixed power scope and quite frankly its just a little too much. The prairie dogs kind of rocket out of the field of view like a red missle. When I go out to inspect the carnage I generally find the varmint in two pieces about 4 to 6 feet apart. Very destructive. Pretty much everything McPhearson has written is dead on accurate. I am dissapointed in the Norma Brass but I have learned to use it with 39 grain Sierra bullets and it holds up fine. The Lapua brass I formed from 6mm BR has held up well I'm on the 8th loading with some of it and its still good. I recommend this caliber this caliber highly.

Bob

 

[jo191145]

Would it be safe to assume these Savage customs come in 12 twist only?

 

[BulletBob3701]

Yes

 

[Henryp]

I have had a 5x35 SMc for three years. I use 39 gr seirra's and 30 Benchmark for 4000 fps. It will shoot under .1 at 100 and 1" at 500 yards. The recoil is light, but it only has about a .286 B.C. The Burris Ballistic mil dot scope is dead on up to 500 yards at 18X, But it starts hitting low at 600.

 

[LRCampos]

"It will shoot under .1 at 100 and 1" at 500 yards."

Really? It does shoot that regularly or it shot like that once or twice? 3 or 5 shots?

 

[fdshuster]

" under .1 at 100 and 1" at 500 yards". WOW! Lookout 6ppc and 6BR: your days are numbered!

 

[Henryp]

It is accurate. I just dug out three old targets. I could scan and send them to anyone interested. They are .067,.157,.181 with different loads. The .067 had 32 Benchmark & 39 seirras,the.157 30 H4320,and the .181 used 30 H4320 and Hornady 40 gr. After sitting in my safe for several months, the first three shots,no foulers)were 1" on my steel 500 yard target. I hit a coyote with it at about 600 yards, but didn't get a clean kill. The wind will also affect it the same as a 22-250 55 gr bullet.I shoot a 6x47 with 108 Bergers at 1000 yard matches. At the state match I shot two 50's with 5.8 and 4.0"groups. The .546 BC is so much better than the .286 on the 39 S for long range. It is the best small caliber available with high velocity, accuracy, low recoil, and barrel life.

 

[Stormbringer]

I would go for the 20BR over the SMC. Better, cheaper more available brass, ballistics very similar, less fuss and muss. I have been shooting a 20BR for several years and it is very flat and accurate. One day chuck hunting I was shooting peekers at 400 yards and beyond.

My son when he was 12 a few years ago ran of a string of 6 consecutive hits on prairie dogs at 425-500 yards in some stiff wind with the 20BR. After he hit the last dog he asked me if he could take ownership of the rifle. How could I refuse? LOL.

Mike.

 

[Dickhickory]

I recently acquired a Savage 112 LRP chambered in 5mm/32smc. I have everything I need to reload except for the dies. Where would one go to have a set made up so I can reload some of the 500 brass I have prepped?

 

[L.Sherm]

Go over to Saubier.com and p.m. Bowfisher I believe he has one or had one he might be able to help you out and I would just start a thread there too I'm pretty sure theres a couple guys there that had them or still do.

 

[RussellJ]

I am waiting on a barrel from Pac-nor. I have the dies and brass. I talked to By Smalley at the VHA Jamboree and decided I had to have one. I am expecting the barrel in a couple of weeks. I will let you know how it goes.

I have a Pac-Nor 5mm/35 SMc barrel brass, dies & headspace gauge for a large shank Savage for sale on the Saubier site or I would sell the Savage LRPV rifle with the barrel & components.

 

[17VLD]

Byron was a rocket scientist and very smart,rest his soul.
Mic McPhearson probably still has some die sets left,he is in Cortez Colorado,I hope he is still well.As previously mentioned a query over on Saubiers May help a bunch.I remember talking with By and Mic at the VHA jamboree about this cartridge and listening to By talk about the efficiency of this cartridge with Benchmark.They were getting some pretty good speed with 40’s.The 20BR is a heck of a good cartridge also,certainly a lot easier to deal with,got a run of dogs past 500 yards that got me into the 500 yard club with mine.Is it better?Pretty sure they made the 5x35 with Lapua BR brass to start with then they got Norma to make some with their headstamp so in a pinch you could use some necked down br brass.
Neat to see a 12 your old thread still alive.Call Mic,I’m sure he would love to hear about your endeavors with this cool cartridge.Perhaps Redding has some die sets left over they would sell at wholesale
Matt

 

[Kurz]

For those unfamiliar with this idea:





Unfortunately the additional costs of patents and fees brought this to a halt just like the others trying to retire rich.

A call to Mic or a dedicated intense search might yield dies. I've seen brass come up for sale on very rare occasions but I'm certain there is some stashed away someplace.