Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters JB I Just Read your article about 33s and 35s in Handloader

JB, great article! Have you since tried TAC in the 35 Whelen? I bought some after the great results you got with it in your 9.3s, but haven't tried it in the Whelen due to the lack of data.

Thanks,
JV

I have not read a Handloader or Rifle magazine in a number of years, in fact I only read those that are comped to my business, and only scim through them..I might have to get a subscription to Handloader if JBs going to be there often..

I love the 33s., not big on 35s as I think the 338 Win. about maxed any other caliber in that catagory. For about the last 20 years I have been an advocate of the 9.3x62 and .338 Win. still don't know which one I like best, never will..I know the 35 Whelan, 358 Norma, etc. are just as good, but just never have been of interest to me personally..

I'm curious, John, is this one time thing or are you a regular contributer to Handloader now? Any chance you'll go back to being a regular contriuter to Rifle too ?

J.B. Missed reading you. Glad you are back. Hope it is for the long haul. The magazine lost a good part of it's appeal when you left. I will resubscribe if you are part of it again.

JB: a year ago, when you left Wolfe, you mentioned that Wolfe had several articles of yours that had not been published and that they'd probably publish them sometime. The article on 33's and 35's is excellent; is it a new article or one of the previously submitted ones?

I assume that you will you now be a regular contributor to Wolfe. Will you continue to write for the other publications? If so, I only hope you don't become stretched too thin and let the quality suffer.

JB,
Article would have been perfect except for two minor points.

1. A twist of 1:16" is not traditional in 35s ... it's only traditional for the 35Rem and perhaps the 35Winchester. Otherwise how do you explain commercial production of the 275gr Hornady and 300gr Barnes projectiles at the time? I think the Griffin&Howe 35Whelens were all 1:12" ... but cant be 100% certain. Remington did the diservice of selecting a 1:16" twist. Also note the twist of the 400/350 and 350Rigby magnum ... neither are 1:16".
2. There was a bolt gun designed in 33cal to NOT shoot 300gr projectiles. Very close to the 338WinMag, it was the 33BSA which from inception was for use with a 165gr projectile. Imagine what could have been if that projectile had of had modern construction techniques.
Cheers...
Con

DocFoster: You are so correct. Drive away Barsness and Seyfried but keep Trzoniec? Publisher genius and I don't care what writing faux pas Seyfried committed.

Scroll down to page 3 of this thread:

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbth..._An_Ex_Post_Facto_Thanks_to_#Post4037812

I renewed my subscription to Handloader this morning via telephone. I told the lady at Wolfe that I'm pleased that JB is back and she said she'd pass the comment along. It is a good decision for all of us.

Mule Deer, are you still allowed to use the term "Rifle Looney"? Haven't gotten my issue yet; looking forward to it since I have a .338, a .350 Rem Mag and a .35 Whelen just waiting for some new loads.

I emailed Wolfe a month or so back. They said he is freelance now and they will fit in his stuff if there is room!

Hope that changes. Let them hear from you all

Thinking that Wolfe realizes now that they screwed the pooch....

I just got back from a week on the road so will reply to posts in some sort of order, starting with DocFoster:

Roberta Montgomery/Scovill has been there for 20 years, doing basically the same jobs. She didn't get the managing editor's job since she and Dave got married. She pretty much keeps track of everything, making sure articles get in, the editor reads them, and they get published on time. This is the general job description of "managing editor" at most magazines.

444afic,

I haven't tried TAC in the .35 Whelen, and prfobably should. Mostly I have tried the powders commonly used by handloaders, to see how they work.

If I were to try TAC in the .35 Whelen, I'd start with IMR4895 loading data.

kalbrecht,

No, it's not a one-time thing. Right now I am writing an article for each issue of Handloader and Rifle, and that's the plan for the immediate future. I've also done a couple for Successful Hunter, but probably won't be in every issue.

djs,

The articles that I had in at Wolfe when I left (which was actually close to 2 years ago) were all published within 3-4 months.

I did cut back on some of my writing for other places, but am still planning to write for every issue of Guns, Varmint Hunter and Sports Afield, as well as maybe half the issues of American Rifleman and occasionally for other magazines.

When I was writing full time for Wolfe (just before I became editor of Succesful Hunter) I was writing 20 feature articles and 36 columns a year. After that I was editing six magazines a year, and writing 20 features and 24 columns. I can assure you that my present work load isn't any heavier than it was then!

Con,

In general American .35's have indeed tended to have 1-16 twists. The ones that haven't have been scarce (such as the G&H .35 Whelens) or couldn't use the heavier bullets for other reasons. My own Savage 99 .358 Winchester, for instance, has a 1-12 twist, for what reason only some departed Winchester guy can tell us. My own Pachmayr custom Springfield was originally a .35 Whelen (before somebody rechambered it to .358 Norma) and has a 1-14 twist. The British .35's were never a factor here; in fact I have only seen a handful in many years of gun shows. But 1-16 twist .35's might show up anywhere.

So American bullet manufacturers had to act as if .35 caliber twists MIGHT be 1-16, the reason bullets heavier than 250 grains were scarce. The 275 Hornady and 300 Barnes were blunt-noses, designed to work in 1-16 twists--as is the 280-grain Swift today.

navlav8r,

Oh, yeah, I can still use "rifle loony." In fact I have been using it in articles for other magazines, and so far nobody has objected except one Guns magazine reader. In an article about the .300 Winchester Magnum, I mentioned that there were still some rifle loonies who firmly believe the .308 Norma is a vastly superior cartridge.

This reader took offense at this, and demanded an apology. He then went on to state that he handloads his .308 Normas (he has more than one) to faster velocities than those possible with the .300 Winchester, thereby proving my point.

So I can use the 280 Swift A-Frame in my 358 Norma, which has a 1-16 twist?

Easily, according to Sierra's bullet stability calculator.

Bullet stabilization is mostly (but not totally) dependent on bullet length, not weight. I believe the 280 Swift is a little shorter than the 225 Nosler AccuBond.