Reloading for the .35 Whelen.

[Adam Helmer]

I got my first .35 Whelen a year ago; it is a Remington 700 BDL Classic circa 1988, new in the box for what the former owner paid for it on the hang tag. I nearly got carpal tunnel in my right wrist when I wrote out the check for this unfired gem!

I bought a set of RCBS dies and some .358" jacketed bullets. I had 100 rounds of new .30-06 nickel brass on the heap, so I ran them through the .35Whelen sizer and made up the needed Whelen cases. All my nickel .30-06 cases are, from now on, made into Whelen brass. If its a nickel .30-06 case, it is Whelen.

I loaded up cast Lyman 358429 172 SWC bullets, 158 grain .357 caliber JSP pistol bullets and 200 grain jacketed Whelen bullets for range testing. The cast and jacketed pistol bullets were fired to set the scope and get used to the rifle.

Some folks say the .35 Whelen has too skimpy of a shoulder for proper resizing and firing. I have not found this to be a problem, nor has the Lyman Reloading Handbook. My Whelen is my biggest gun and one day I will take it to Alaska with my son.

Adam

[Larryjk]

Adam, I made myself a .35 Whelen in 2000 for a moose hunt. I couldn't get groups of less than about 2 1/2 inches at first. I was wsuing 225 Sierra and Barnes bullets. I finally tried BL C(2) and came up with a 3/4 inch group (5 Shots). I was using 60 grains of the BL C(2) for that load. I put three bullets through the heart region of a nice 41+ bull in Wyoming before he stopped and toppled over. My hand covered all three entrance holes and I was concerned that he would make it into a beaver pond. Great memory and a great rifle.

[Adam Helmer]

Larry,

Thanks for the memories. The .35 Whelen can, and will, take anything on this continent with a heartbeat! The Lyman Reloading Handbook says it is the best alternative up to a .416, and you do not have the nonsense BELT that was put on the 7MM Remington Magnum and other mid-bore calibers that had no NEED for a belt!

A Belt was merely a cosmetic addition that was SEARCHING for a NEED! I chatted about that with Remington back in the early 1980s and their chief of ballistics admitted as much. Since there was NO BELT on a .50 Caliber Browning, why was a belt needed on a 7MM RM? Cosmetics and the gun owners assumed they were in "HOT" Territory? NAH, the BELT was a needless addition that the .35 Whelen proved as unneeded. It took since 1925, when the Whelen evolved, to get that point across and now all the NEW RUMS are BELTLESS. DUH! I wonder why there are NO Belts now?

Adam

[skeet]

Adam you know why the belted cases were touted so strongly in the past..It was marketing. They were for the most part based on the 300H&H case. If they were belted maganumbs they were better. Yep they coulda made 'em without but they were making new sales..so had to make 'em different..Lo and behold along comes the new short mags..No belts..hadda have something new to sell. Are the new beltless maganumbs any better than the old belted..nope..but we have somethin new again. They woulda put a belt on these if it didn't take up so much more room. Hate to say it..but the gun companies are no different from dress makers. Gotta have somethin new and improved..or even worse..something like the new Genie Bra LOL Just another over shoulder boulder holder...but NEW and IMPROVED

[Larryjk]

Skeet, Are you telling me the new short fat, magnums are better than the old ones that fed well in a mauser action? Certainly the gun writers wouldn't BS us just to sell new guns and get their discounted samples!

[skeet]

Hehehehehe.. Marketing is such BS

[M.T. Pockets]

A .35 Whelen is on my wish list. When I'm living in northern MN full time it will be my deer & black bear "go to" gun. I love my .300 Win. Mag, but up there 100 yards is a long shot and there's no need for the extra velocity and recoil that comes with it. I plan on using 225 Nosler partitions for everything.

[Catfish]

I built a 35 Whelen acouple of years ago, but so far have not shot it. If I ever get the chance to hunt moose I think it`s the rifle I`ll use. Problem is that around here about all there is to shoot with a rifle is varmints and the 35 is not the best choice for it. I`ve got dies, bullets, primers and powders but just don`t seem to get to loading for the 35 Whelen.

[Larryjk]

Catfish, If I was in your neck of the woods, I would take a woodchuck with the .35 Whelen. Shi-- and grins.

[Adam Helmer]

Larryjk,

We all KNOW the .35 Whelen is the perfect woodchuck gun! Our PA chucks are known to charge when wounded, so we take NO chances! LOL. The 225 grain spitzer is about right, no need for the more expensive Partitions, Ah, Yup.

Adam

[Larryjk]

Adam, You do what you have to do to avoid boredom and lask of appropriate targets.

[Rapier]

Adam,
I found a 1988 Classic in Birmingham at the October Show and it is quite a thumper. It has a 20 inch barrel and the metal was in great shape but the wood was dinged and scratched from use. I refinished the wood in a nice satin oil finish (a lot of fun removing the poly), glass beded the action and trigger guard plus free floated the barrel.

The gun likes 57grains of AA-2520 and the 200 Rem RN bulk bullet at 3.108 OAL, it shoots sub half inch. Unless I decide to go up north or out west, a 200 is just fine for Bambi around these parts. I figure the 200 would also work great for your PA deer. Anyway, it is a load I found that is easy on loading and does work pretty good for a 35.
Ed

[Adam Helmer]

Rapier,

I printed out your last post and will give your Receipe a try. I like the .35 Whelen very much and am still developing loads. Thanks for the data.

Adam

[PJgunner]

I like RL-15 as a propellent for my .35 Whelens. Yes Whelens as I have three and have possibly two more in planning stages. Just have to raise the money so I can chain my gunsmith to his bench for a while.
A couple of my favorite loads are 60.4 gr. RL-15 and the 225 gr. Barnes TSX or either the Hornady Spire Point or the Speer Hot Core over 53.0 gr. of
H-335. I will be trying RL-15 with the 250 gr. bullets.

CAUTION: Start at least 10 percent below those levels as all are pretty much max loads in my rifles. The load with the Barnes bullet has only been used in my custom mauser but I've shot the 250 gr. load in all three rifles.

The Barnes load has been the most accurate with .50 to .75" groups. The 250gr. loads shoot anywhere from .75" to 1,5" depending on which rifle they're used in.

Your Remington has a 1 in 16" twist which should be OK with bullets up to 250 gr. I have the same rifle and it's not bad with that weight bullet. I also have one in a Ruger M77 nd it's the 1.5" gun with the 250 gr. bullets. It too has a 1 in 16" twist. My custom Mauser has a 1 in 14" twist and is the most accurate of the three. It's the one I used to take my cow elk last December.hat 225 gr. TSX was very impressive. With that said, I really do not see the need for pricey premium bullets in the Whelen. With 225 to 250 gr. bullets the velocity is not high enough to justify the extra expense. The only reason I used a TSX on that elk was I'd had them loaded up for another hunt where they were requires, or at least used on a voluntary basis due to the hunt being in the condor flyway. I never got a shot so took them on the elk hunt. I probably would have been just as happy using a Speer or Hornady cup and core bullet. Personally, I think a 225 gr. bullet is probably a good compromise for all round hunting although unless I was using the barnes, I'd look at a heavier weight bullet for the great bears. I have a Canadian pen pal who hunts in Grizzly country and when he finally got a tag for griz, he went with the 250 gr. Speer HC. His thoughts being if they shoot clean through Bullwinkle, then they should do the deed to Brer Griz.
Dunno if you've seen this but you might find it of interest. I go there quite a bit just because. http://www.35cal.com/
Paul B.

[Adam Helmer]

P.J,

Many thanks for the great info. I printed it out and will head for the reloading room.

Adam