To stay relevant: I used my M600 350 Rem this weekend for opening weekend of PA whitetail. It did what it does best and brought home some meat for the freezer while being a dandy to carry all day.
To detour:
350 rem mag was ahead of it's time (6.5 rem mag as well). It's a hammer at short to intermediate ranges. If I was going to do one I would do 35 Whelen for brass availability.
Nailed that one, especially the 6.5 Rem Mag, I had one when they first came out in the Rem M700 BDL and loved it, I wanted one in the same model in .350 Rem Mag but never got around to picking one up, sold the 6.5 Rem Mag big mistake on both those calibers on my part Cheers.
The 6.5 Rem Mag is another great cartridge - which I agree, was ahead of its time (in a short action magnum way since the 264 Win was already very alive for ~7 years). That was a "Big Green" failure though in releasing the beast in an 18.5" barrel, then a 20" before it finally clicked that the 6.5 Rem Mag needed barrel run way to really shine. It was already too late. They also left some on the table by pushing the 120gr compared to a 140gr.
For years I wanted one of the factory original BDLs in 6.5 Rem Mag and was finally able to locate one. Then I couldn't leave good enough alone and started searching for its 350 Rem Mag twin. I finally connected after a couple years. Then I started searching for M600s in each to finally realize that the 350RM was exactly what I needed for my style of hunting and the 6.5RM was completely unnecessary in the M600. I stopped looking for one long ago and have passed on a couple since.
I feel the 6.5 Rem Mag is really a cartridge that finds its place in open fields. I've used mine in the woods, and through the thick, and my personal experience is that it is out of its place. I've taken multiple whitetail with it, but tend to leave it home if there is any sort of foliage.
I'm also a HUGE fan of the 8mm Rem Mag. Talk about a hammer. If you want to feel some recoil, get behind one of those suckers. Jeez. It whacks like Thor's hammer on both ends - 200gr TSX at 3,120FPS. I've personally used it to buckle a Maine bull moose to the ground in a single shot. I will forever be faithful to the round after seeing that.
From top to bottom:
M700 BDL 6.5 Rem Mag
M700 BDL 350 Rem Mag
M600 350 Rem Mag
M700 BDL 8mm Rem Mag
Each of the BDLs is factory configured from Remington. The first two aren't very common with around 1,500 of each being produced (to my understanding).
