Like JPro, I needed a “primitive weapon” for a special season that occurs in Mississippi and is restricted to private property. The Mississippi definition of primitive isn’t very primitive — .35 caliber or bigger, single shot, and exposed hammer — but I don’t write the regs. I couldn’t find a HandiRifle in .35 Remington so I bought one in .35 Whelen.
Though I am not particularly recoil averse, I found the factory loads I bought to get started and acquire brass excessive for my limited purposes — shooting Mississippi whitetails on my property where the longest conceivable shot is 120 yards. I had time on my hands and like to “play” so I decided to load it down to approximate a .35 Remington. Working up carefully with a chronograph, the load I arrived at is the 180 gr. Hornady Interlock over 63 gr. of H4831SC which gives a MV of 2216 with great accuracy. I believe this Hornady bullet is considered a pistol bullet. I consulted a Hornady tech who told me the bullet would open well at that velocity, but it was not designed for a great deal more. It has certainly been effective on the deer I’ve shot with it. Recoil is easily manageable.
