Anyone loading for the .35 Whelen? Small hog taken with it in pictures

[Scrapper]

I like the size of that hog ua got there....MMM MMM GOOD!

While I have never delt with the 35 Whelen I have a Rem 700 ADL chambered in 30-06 and have hand-loaded for it since I was 9-10 yrs old with dad.

I did look it up in my new Hornady book and got some info from it as follows:

The heaviest load is a 250 gn SP or RN loaded C.O.L. 3.290" for either bullet.
IMR 4895 Low 46.5gn to Hi 52.5gn MAX
H 4895 Low 45.9gn to Hi 55.1gn MAX
Velocities are from Low to Hi 2100fps-2400fps


200gn SP or RN
With the SP the C.O.L. is 3.100"
With the RN the C.O.L. is 3.070"
H 4895 Low 48.2gn to Hi 56.4gn MAX
IMR 4895 Low 50.7gn to 56.2gn MAX
Velocities are from Low to Hi 2300fps-2600fps

This load data was shot from a Rem 700 22" barrel 1 in 16 twist

PM me if need more.

That sounds like a smok'in deal FT.

 

[Gun 4 Fun]

Hi Scrapper,
The manuals are all on the conservative side for the Whelen due to all the old rifles still in use that were built way back when the round first came out. It'll do much better than what current manuals list, with no problems. It's kinda like the .44 Special and .45 Colt. There are a lot of them around that were built back in the early part of the 20th century that wouldn't be safe with some of the loads that are being used in modern weapons. Plus, the Whelen wasn't entered into SAAMI until Remington legitimized it in 1988, so chamber dimensions of early guns are all over the place necessitating the need for factory loads be kept to lower chamber pressures than would be the case if it had been invented in the last 20-30 years.

I have been loading the Whelen for22 years now, and it is a very easy round to work with.

The .35 bore is largely neglected in this country, what with everyone being speed crazed these days. That's too bad since it is a heck of a round that has mild recoil considering what it'll do.

 

[Cocked & Locked]

The .35 bore is largely neglected in this country, what with everyone being speed crazed these days. That's too bad since it is a heck of a round that has mild recoil considering what it'll do.

Got that right! I wished that round had been named .358 Whelen sounds bigger and badder even though its the same.

 

[Scrapper]

Hey thanks for the info G4fun. I just thought I would put in some load info info lol. I am familiar with the old firearm and modern and being safe with pressure. I must add that I'm always learning and you all give me some really good info all the time which keeps me coming back to this forum.
Also the reason I didn't respond to fast is cause I had to smoke a 10lb pork loin and I gotta tell ya it was delicious. Turned out nice and juicy the way we like it. Boy that hickory wood is good.

I gotta take rest after that lol. I will be Back though. Have a good night.

 

[flat top]

Scrapper; .....and with what did you shoot that 10 pound pork loin with?...............I hated to miss out on that 35 Whelan. I am actually kind of sitting the sidelines on another one, and maybe that deal will work out.....only time will tell.

I was reading on another forum about a fella that grew up with the 35 Whelan. He lived up in the northeast and hunted with all the old timers up there. Evidently the caliber was very popular as a bear and moose gun there, and in eastern Canada. Like G4F mentioned, over time most folks had to have the newest fastest magnums, and the 35 lost popularity. But, this fella who was relating the story said that he stuck with his, and never found fault with it to get the job done...even on those huge northeastern moose. Evidently those old timers taught him right. He also said that the old timers referred to the 35 Whelan as the "poor mans 375 H&H", and that in his opinion and from his experiences with the Whelan, they were not that far off in making that statement.

 

[ElToro]

ElToro.....its sold....darn it!!!!

it wasnt lasting long at that price.

i have .358 win Ruger 77.. no complaints.

 

[Gun 4 Fun]

it wasnt lasting long at that price.

i have .358 win Ruger 77.. no complaints.

Those are hard to come by, since they only made a few, and are really nice guns. I have been watching for one of the original run made back in the early '70's I believe, for years. I understand that they have them cataloged again. Which do you own? The .358 Winnie is a much maligned and misunderstood/underrated caliber.

 

[Paul5388]

Even though I have a .35 Whelen, I don't have much use for a .35 caliber. That is if you don't count my .35 Rem and two .357s.

The Whelen can be loaded down to the level wanted, if the right bullets can be found or made. .30-06 brass is plentiful, so I don't guess the Whelen will ever be without loading materials.

 

[Gun 4 Fun]

That's another good point Paul. I have used .30 /06 brass to make cases, and they work just fine. In fact, my RCBS dies came with a tapered expander plug for just that purpose, and it is even mentioned in the enclosed literature that came with them way back when I bought them. The plug is small enough at the bottom to enter a case as small as the .280 if I recall correctly, and has a longer than normal ball to allow easy necking up to .35 cal in one easy pass. All cases that I did that way came out straight and true in one pass, and I didn't have any troubles with split necks from doing it either.

I am betting that a 125 XTP wound up a bit in the Whelen would make for some impressive diplays out to a bit beyond 100 yards on shots on chucks.

 

[Paul5388]

Those little short bullets probably wouldn't shoot too good at extended ranges. However, the 180 gr SSP bullet Hornady made might do well. I think I shot all I had in my .357, but I've shot other interesting bullets out of the .357 too.

 

[ElToro]

Those are hard to come by, since they only made a few, and are really nice guns. I have been watching for one of the original run made back in the early '70's I believe, for years. I understand that they have them cataloged again. Which do you own? The .358 Winnie is a much maligned and misunderstood/underrated caliber.

Mine is an older tang safety no warning ruger 77 red pad.
sat in a gun shop here in san jose on consignment for a long while and every few months the seller would mark it down i finally jumped on it at $450

the Ruger hawkeye is supposed to be really good. but if nobody is making .358 ammo, why are Ruger and and Browning blowing out all these .358 win rifles !? i would really like a ( a good older) savage 99 in .358

 

[Gun 4 Fun]

Or an older Browning BLR with the steel receiver.

 

[flat top]

358 Win...another great cartridge...rides right on the heels of the Whelan, and in a fast handling lever gun, especially a 99 or old BLR would be a hard combination to beat................G4F; I am still amazed at that hog you took....by the way, and I "think" I know better, did you happen to recover a bullet from that monster?

 

[Gun 4 Fun]

I actually did recover the 225 Sierra right against the hide on the off shoulder. It was a quartering away angle, and I shot him in the short ribs angling forward to the opposite shoulder. About 22" of total penetration on a very heavily muscled/boned animal. I have the bullet in my collection. I followed that up immediately with the 250 Speer GS to make sure he didn't get up and start popping those tusks when we got up to him, plus I got to test out more than one bullet that way, without ruining very much meat. That bullet went clear through side to side like a hot knife through butter.

 

[flat top]

If you run across that bullet, I would like to see it...did it maintain good weight and shape? I have used cast bullets for hunting, for so long, that I forget what a jacked bullet is supposed to look like after the deed is done. Cast bullets done right, like Beartooths, are kinda ho-hum in the looks department..."if" you can find them!!!

 

[4inch357]

54gr of Varget & a 250gr Speer HotCor. Shoots 3/4" 3 shot groups at 100 from my rebarreled Savage

 

[okie john]

I used to have a Ruger M-77 Mk II in 35 Whelen. It had a 1:16 twist, and held 1 MOA with pretty much any 250-grain bullet. Velocity was around 2,550 fps with a near-max charge of RL-15. After a while, it started to miss fire, and I replaced the firing pin spring on the advice of riflesmith Jim Cloward. It worked fine after that, but I ended up selling it when cash got tight. Later I had Cloward build me a custom 35 Whelen on a pre-64 Model 70 action.


Okie John

 

[Old Corp]

I had always wanted something in .35 Whelen. I finally ended up with a T/C Encore and after fixing some misfire problems, really enjoy it.
So far have used Rem 200 gr. CL and factory-equiv. handloads with the same bullet.
Have shot a few deer and the results are pretty boring. They fall down, dead either in tracks or within 15 feet.
Really hope to try the rifle on a hog or bear one day.

 

[charlies]

I shoot a 35 Whelen in a 15 inch Encore unbraked barrel as a handcannon. THe recoil is brutal but its darned accurate...taken several elk with it.
Charlie

 

[greenejc]

Reloading the .35 Whelen

I have had a Remington 700 CDL in .35 Whelen for several years, now. I bought it after I retired from the Army at Ft. Riley, Kansas. I use a load of 60.5gr. of RL15 in a Remington case with Remington 9 1/2 primers behind the 225gr Sierra bullet. This produces 1/2" three shot groups at 100yds and sometimes much tighter groups. It chronographs at 2725 average for 5 shots, 10 feet from the muzzle, and drops Whitetails in their tracks out to 400yds. I have never recovered a bullet, and have killed at least 30 deer with it.
My other load is a 250gr Speer in front of 59.5gr of RL15, at about 2650, up t0 60gr at 2685 fps average 5 shots. Groups hold around 1 inch at 100yds. Same brass (Remington) and same primers. The 250gr bullet has a little too heavy jacket to expand properly in deer, which I found out the hard way. However, the Sierra leaves an exit would that ranges from silver dollar sized up to baseball sized,depending on how far away the animal is when hit. The ballistics of the Sierra are the same as a Remington 180gr Corelokt 30-06 factory round, and the pressure seems to be lower than the factory 30-06. Check out the footpounds of energy though, on both of the .35 loads I use. The high end on the Speer is about 4000fplbs and the Sierra is around 3700. Both will spin a deer around when hit. I hope to get a chance to try them on elk in Colorado this Fall, when I get back from Afghanistan. Almost forgot. Both loads are over 2000ftlbs at 400yds. Compare that with a .300 win mag.