Bob T
US Veteran
Does anybody have a load for fire forming 35 Whelen brass with Hornady, or other, 250gr bullets?
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Fire Forming 35 Whelen Load
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DWalt
Member
No, but most doing fireforming normally use lighter charges of a pistol powder, say 15 grains of Bullseye, using no bullet at all. Put a wad of toilet paper over the powder, fill the case to the shoulder with Cream of Wheat or corn meal, and plug the case neck with soap or parrafin. That's what I do.
If it is not a Brown-Whelen why do you have to fire form? Ackely shouldered Whelens should head space with the .30-06 angled shoulder in its usual location the same as a standard Whelen. Unnecessary fire forming wastes components. If you want to hold the brass to the rear so it never stretches at the head hold it back by enlarging the neck over size then back down to .35 to create a small shoulder.
I've used cast bullets to keep down the cost of fire forming but not all cast bullet loads will fully expand the case.
I've used cast bullets to keep down the cost of fire forming but not all cast bullet loads will fully expand the case.
Alk8944
US Veteran
If it is a standard Whelen or Ackley just fire factory, or standard loads from the manual. If it's a Brown-Whelen that is an entirely different matter. 4895 is as good as it gets for the standard Whelen.
If you are fire-forming .35 Whelen from .30-06 then 15-16 gr. Unique, a full case of cornmeal well tamped, and a wax wad to keep it in place. Fire with muzzle straight up, they will form better than if fired horizontally! Isn't logical and I have no explanation, but I do know the results I have had making several hundred .35 Whelen from .30-06! You can get a full-length case this way instead of .050" or so short as you will trying to use an expander.
If you are fire-forming .35 Whelen from .30-06 then 15-16 gr. Unique, a full case of cornmeal well tamped, and a wax wad to keep it in place. Fire with muzzle straight up, they will form better than if fired horizontally! Isn't logical and I have no explanation, but I do know the results I have had making several hundred .35 Whelen from .30-06! You can get a full-length case this way instead of .050" or so short as you will trying to use an expander.
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I am never too old to learn something, but please tell me how doing it this way eliminates the shortening of the neck that has to happen when you go from ~.305" inside diameter to ~.355". That metal has to come from somewhere!
OP
Bob T
US Veteran
Appreciate the input guys. I'm forming from '06 cases. to the store for COW.
Bob
Bob
I used to just run 30-06 into the 35 Whelen die and out popped a 35W.
I loaded them and shot them for some years that way till I sold the rifle. Seemed to work fine.
Rifle was a Steyr made 98 rebored to 35W from 30-06.
Is the Remington commercial version of the 35 Whelen a bit different in dimensions than the old wildcat?? perhaps a few .000" longer OAL..
Seems like I had heard that somewhere and that .280 brass was better to make cases from than 30-06 because of that.
Maybe it was all gunshow talk from the experts!
I loaded them and shot them for some years that way till I sold the rifle. Seemed to work fine.
Rifle was a Steyr made 98 rebored to 35W from 30-06.
Is the Remington commercial version of the 35 Whelen a bit different in dimensions than the old wildcat?? perhaps a few .000" longer OAL..
Seems like I had heard that somewhere and that .280 brass was better to make cases from than 30-06 because of that.
Maybe it was all gunshow talk from the experts!
DWalt
Member
Donnelly's Handbook of Cartridge Conversions recommends starting with a .30-'06 case, annealing the case neck, and expanding the neck in several steps, followed by FL resizing in a .35 Whelen FL die. But of course a fire forming as described in #2 would also work. I'd think annealing the case neck would be a good idea in either method, followed by a final anneal after forming..
rockquarry
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Annealing is something you might want to experiment with. Your particular lot of brass, chamber dimensions, or perhaps other factors may require or negate this step. It certainly won't hurt anything to anneal the case neck, but I never found it necessary with any of the necked-up '-06 cases, including not only the .35 Whelen, but the
.338-06, .35 Whelen Improved, .375 Whelen Improved, and the .411 Hawk. I don't recall having problems with split necks or short case life and the necks seemed to have plenty of tension even after repeated loadings.
.338-06, .35 Whelen Improved, .375 Whelen Improved, and the .411 Hawk. I don't recall having problems with split necks or short case life and the necks seemed to have plenty of tension even after repeated loadings.
Alk8944
US Veteran
Doubless,
When fired the cornmeal forms a very dense, solid plug that tends to iron the shoulder forward into the neck. There also seems to be a bit of a drawing effect. If using an expander you are pushing down into the neck which tends to shorten the case. The friction, no matter how well you lubricate, aggravates the situation.
Some cases will come out a bit shorter than the parent, but far less that using an expander!. Often I have had to trim cases once fireformed this way into .35 Whelen.
DWalt
Member
I don't do much case fireforming these days (and have never fireformed a .35 Whelen case, as I don't have a rifle in that caliber), but back when I did, I always used the Bullseye with filler method. My filler was usually Cream of Wheat, but I know some use cornmeal. Fortunately, where I live, I can do it in my back yard, no range access required. They don't make a lot of noise. I fired vertically. I also annealed the case neck before fireforming. It doesn't hurt, and is simple to perform if you have a propane torch.
I still do some case forming, but what I do now normally doesn't require fireforming, such as making .30 Remington and .303 Savage cases from .30-30 brass, 6.5X55 from .30-'06, and .300 Savage from .308 brass. .303 Savage and 6.5 cases do require fireforming, but that can be done using normally loaded cartridges with masking tape around the base as a centralizer.
I still do some case forming, but what I do now normally doesn't require fireforming, such as making .30 Remington and .303 Savage cases from .30-30 brass, 6.5X55 from .30-'06, and .300 Savage from .308 brass. .303 Savage and 6.5 cases do require fireforming, but that can be done using normally loaded cartridges with masking tape around the base as a centralizer.
