I'm going to be ordering a Kreiger heavy sporter in CM to screw on a Kimber Custom Select [currently chambered in .270Win] to convert it to .35 Whelen. Traditionally these are rifled with a 1:16 twist, but I'm thinking I want a 1:14, perhaps 1:12. My intended load will be with 225gr Nosler AccuBonds, with a bailout plan on running PT's or ??? in a similar weight. Estimated MV is 2700-2800 fps, but I may loose a few fps as I also want to trim the barrel at 22" or 22.5".

Question is, should I stay with the traditional twist rate or tweak it a little and speed it up. What is the real world difference in doing so?

Thank you in advance for any help!

12 twist. Also, consider a rebore on such a nice gun. Everything factory perfect and quick turn around. Just a thought.

W

I have a Whelen twisted 16. If building a new one, I'd lean 12 or 14 to keep options open.

Interesting choice on the contour. Do you have a target weight for the rifle?

12 or 14 twist makes sense to open your options for heavy bullets, but is not needed for 225gr pills.

Personally I've never been able to achieve 2700 fps with 225gr in a 22"-24" Whelen without running into obvious pressure signs. Some guys claim to, but I'm not sure how.

Thank you all! This place has so much knowledge it's impressive!

woofer, I don't think the factory bbl has enough wall thickness to go up to 358. I will check though, as that's an interesting, and financially responsible, option.

Shane, no target weight other than I like front-end heavy rifles, and since this will be my local [AZ] elk rifle, it's being purpose build to our AO, amount of forestation, and such. I'm not adverse to a 8.5-9 pound all up rifle. Having 5 down though, is a big plus to me

Yondering, If I can get 2650, I'd be stoked. We're at 1600' here in Phoenix, and our elk hunting is up between 5500 and 8000 feet. I get a few FPS better than most published loads in my rifles, but who knows. I really do not want another 24" rifle. No reason other than the safe is full of them.

Well, then you've chosen wisely.

When using available 250 grain and lighter bullets in the Whelen, 1:16 will stabilize all common manufacturers, i.e. Hornady, Barnes, Nosler, Sierra, Speer, Swift. That doesn't mean that a 1:12 or 1:14 is a bad choice, just that 1:16 is sufficient. 20-24 inches in barrel length is perfect depending on balance and such for your particular rifle. I'd also consider a rebore for your project, definitely would be careful of too much barrel weight with a new/different contour.

I've owned and loaded for several Whelen rifles and with 22 inch barrels never had a problem getting 2700+ with various 225 grain bullets. CCI-200s, Rl-15 or IMR 4064 should get there easily. My present Whelen will do 2800+ with RL 15 and 225 NABs and 2750+ with 15 and 225 TSXs.

Nice! Love TSX's. That would be an excellent elk hammer.

:P

The 1 in 16 works fine but using the faster 1 in 14 or 1 in 12 has no downside and gives you more options. I have run both the 1 in 16 factory and 1 in 12, my current one has a #4 Benchmark 1 in 12 twist and shoots 200's very accurately. RL 15 and Varget have no problem getting over 2700 fps with 225's. Haven't done too much work with 225's in the new gun but IMR 8208 gets close to 2700 with the 225 gr Accubond.

I had my Whelen built with a 14 twist. I have a .375 H&H Mag to shoot 300 grain bullets, so I did not have a need for a 12 twist in a Whelen.

Even if the Whelen is your "Big Gun" I think a 250 grain .358 bullet will do most anything you would want to do in North America and a 14 twist (or 16 for that matter) will handle a 250 gr bullet. I just went 14 to be safe.

I'm doing a rem 700 whelen right now, just dropped the parts off yesterday as a matter of fact. Shilen #3 1-12",@22" mcmillan hunter, gonna run 225 sierras. Should be a dandy.

With all the talk about faster twists increasing the b.c. of a bullet that alone is a good reason to do it.

I did a bit of work with the 275 gr Woodleigh but eventually realized that a 225 gr Accubond will kill anything in North America easily. I have some 250's but when they are gone I'll stick with the 225's.

Thanks guys. I have a .375H&H, so this will be my tweener bridge rifle between a .270WSM shooting 140/150's and the H&H. Basically a <300y elk rifle. 225's, 250's max.bullet wise. Given the great input, I think I'm going to go with 1:14. And I totally agree, a 225 grain TSX or AB moving along at 2700fps is a good thing!

Same here, I'm well north of 2700 with R15 and 225 Accubonds from my 24" 700 KS.

Who are you guys using to screw tubes onto actions and do some basic stock work? I have a few tactical rifle builders, but wouldn't trust a nice wood stock around them for any amount of money. I'll source the bbl myself from Kreiger, but I'd like to find a good 'smith who get's hunting rifles.

Before ordering your barrel, you might want to check if there will be enough wood left when you open up the barrel channel. Kimber stocks tend to run on the slender side.

CCI primers and RL-15 is what I have settled on, but I haven't used the 225gr NAB or TSX. All my development was with 225 Partitions, the old Ballistic Tip, and Sierra Gamekings. Can you hit 2700+ with those bullets? I've generally gotten very flat primers and modest case head expansion around 2650-ish, so I back down from that a little.

With the older NBT and Sierra, yes. Never given the 225 NPT any thought. I have used the 250 NPT at 2550+ fps.

12 twist for certain.....

That 16 business went in the trash with high button shoes.

You have better balanced,and tougher bullets today. Probably not a need for anything over 225 gr bullets for anything on the continent. Might as well get the 12 twist and churn over those great tough bullets like the NF's and Barnes,and help them expand.

Had a 12 twist on a 358 STA,which is a whole lot faster than a Whelen. It was very accurate.If building a Whelen myself it would be a 12 twist no doubt.

I left the twist up to Benchmark Barrels with mine - I told told them I was shooting 250 grain partitions at 2450 fps and it came back with a 1/12" twist. It works great.

I went 1:12 at 22" and am very happy.

I shoot 250 gr Hornady Interlocks and 250 gr Nosler Partitions.

Lost interest in deer hunting so haven't killed anything with it yet after all of these years.

Mike

In the Whelen I have now, I'm loading 61gr Rl-15 for 2580 fps with the 225 NPT. 62gr does 2650 but is too hot. The Sierra bullet needs a little more powder but tops out at the same speed.

This is one of the reasons I disagree with the "pressure=velocity" theory. If I were to load this rifle to published velocity, I'd have some very dangerous loads.

Edit - this is a factory Rem 700 tube with an AI chamber.

My Rem 7600 gave 2675 fps with Sierra 225 BT, several powders--61 VV140, 57 IMR4064,55 Acc 2015.

Is 3000fps possible with vv150 and 200's? By the numbers posted here it doesn't seem like it. I was told by a local Smith he was getting that in his 35 whelen AI.... The AI in the whelen would probably give you close to nothing over the vanilla whelen. I had very good accuracy with blc-2 and 225 Hornady's in mine but didn't chronograph the load yet, so no idea on velocity.

Mine is an AI chamber (forgot to mention that above), but the difference is insignificant, other than using another grain or two of powder. I like the sharper shoulder, but that's about it's only benefit.

My present Whelen takes 60 grains of RL-15 to make 2750+ with a 225 TSX and takes 58.5 of RL-15 with a 250 A-Frame for nearly 2600 fps. I've had similar experiences in other Whelens. Hard to know what's at work in your rifle, but it is what it is. My rifle is a 24 inch barrel with a 1:16 twist.

I think some barrels just run slower I guess.

I had a Winchester fwt rebored from 270 to 35W. I bet you have the barrel diameter to do it.

I'll second this notion.

Mine has Benchmark 1-9.5 twist. I couldn't be more pleased. It shoots 225 into about .6" groups. That includes Nosler Accubonds, Sierra's and Northfork's.
Have had 1-12 and 1-14. Much prefer the 9.5 especially if you use long heavy bullets or monos. The heavy Woodleigh really likes faster twists. If somebody gave me a 14 I would immediate get something faster.
Try Varget and use Nosler data.

There's Rick with the thoroughly modern Whelen....!

I've got a 16 twist 35 Whelen and a 12 Twist 35 Newton. I do okay with 250 PTs and 225 ABs in the Whelen but the 12 Twist Newton is an animal with 250's. If I was rebarreling either I'd follow RinB's lead with the faster twist. No harm and only good could come from it.

Also RL15 has easily gotten me up over 2700 with 225's and right at 2600 with the 250's in the Whelen. My Whelens a plain old CDL with the 24" barrel.

Thanks for the great info fella's! I'm looking into a re-punch of the bore, and will definitely go faster twist wise given everyones experience.

I would suggest you try either Varget or IMR 4320 with the 225 gr. Accubond or Partition. You should hit 2700 fps with a 22 inch barrel.
whelennut

I have a 35 Whelen with a 1:12, a 35 Whelen AI 1:12 and a 358 STA with a 1:12, with 225 to 250 grain bullets they work great. All are 24" barrels.

My Whelen is a factory 700 Classic, 16 twist, and it shot the 275 grain Barnes originals as well as anything, though if I were ordering a new barrel a 12 twist would most likely get the nod.

You might think about your contour a bit though. My Classic has a standard sporter, and balances pretty well. A heavy sporter on a light gun like a Kimber might be too much of a good thing for you...

I built my Whelen in 1966. It is 1903 Springfield with the original barrel rebored with 1:10 twist. It has a long throat and shoots 280gr and 300gr bullets easily. Consistently groups 5 shots inside an inch, and I predominately shoot old 250gr Speer spritzers through her.
Used IMR 4895 powder for years, but have switched to RL 15.
Built the stock myself. Has a Timney trigger. Had a new bolt put on it and it now mounts a Leupold V3 1.75 x 6 scope.

I like the faster twist.

Barstooler