When i got my Whelen back from rebore I bought every bullet weight and manufacturer on the market at the time. I read everything I could find and did extensive range testing, that's how I found that Sierra Game King 225gr. with IMR 4064 produced the best groups with my rifle. Fast forward several years and I'd had rotator cuff surgery on my right shoulder, I was looking for a load that was gentler on my shoulder not that the 225gr. load was uncomfortable to shoot. Consulting Ken Waters Pet Loads I found the 200gr. load with IMR 3031. Using a 200gr. Hornady Inter-lok RN I got outstanding accuracy often shooting 3 shot cloverleaf groups at 100yds. In 2018 I harvested a whitetail with this load, a raking shot @ 100yds. which traversed the chest entering just ahead of the last two ribs came to rest just under the skin on the far shoulder. The recovered bullet was perfectly mushroomed and retained 66% of its original weight.
