Good Lawd, all this Whelen talk is making me want to load up some Partitions for elk season!
I use TBBC if I hunt elk. But I just got a box of 225 Sierra BT's to load for deer.
I've been using 60 gr REL-15 for a long time but some of the new data is intriguing. Is there any consensus on the top velocity loads?
I am not sure about consensus, but my own experience has been excellent with PP 2000-MR with 250 and 225 grain bullets in the Whelen (AI version). After a lot of testing I concluded there is no reason to doubt the previously unheard of velocities published by Speer and Sierra with PP 2000-MR and CFE223. [The following are max] Speer got 2709' with 66.2/2000-MR under their 250 HotCor and Sierra got 2900 with both 71.6/2000-MR and 70/CFE223 with their 225 SGK.
I used CCI 200 primers for everything below and had no complaints. On a whim I also tried Fed 210Match on one load but it did not shoot as well as the CCI 200.
I worked up with 250 Partitions in my 35 Whelen AI, and I stopped at 65/2000-MR for 2650' and sub-MAO. This wasn't max but seemed plenty, and was about the top end of fun in my 7.5 pound rifle.
For the 225 TSX, I stopped at 70/2000-MR for 2810' and about MOA average. I had to do some tapping the cases and use a drop tube to avoid heavy compression using Remington cases. Hornady cases weigh 19 grains less on average and would probably have more volume [EDIT: "probably" because I have not used them yet, I bought a supply but have only weighed them.] Remember this is a 35 Whelen AI.
Sierra got 3000' with their 200 grain RN and 72.9/2000-MR or 71.9/CFE223. I don't know how they got that much in a basic Whelen case, except for the fact that bullet would be seated very shallow. I wanted to do some workup with the 200 TTSX, and tried up to 71/2000-MR for 2940' but this was too compressed for my taste. I spent some time working with the faster burning PP Varmint, for which Speer had data for the 180gr and the 220gr - I just interpolated and the results indicated that 3000' should be about max. I settled on 68/Varmint (a perfect fit in the case) for 2966' and sub MOA. Unlike my 250 and 225 grain loads above, which I think are a little below max, I think this one is right about max. [EDIT: Reminder - my rifle is a long-throated 35 Whelen AI]
I used some of Mule Deer's rules of thumb for calculating loads and performance to derive 2000-MR data for the 250 NAB and 286 NPT in the 9.3x62, but I missed my predicted velocity by 50-60 FPS with both. I still need to play more with these. Mule Deer's Varget and Big Game loads for these two bullets really don't need any improvement, but I had 10 pounds of 2000-MR and the great resuts in the Whelen indicated it was worth a look. BTW, my 35 Whelen AI and my 9.3x62 have identical water capacity under their respective 250 grain bullets seated to 3.375" (both my rifles have long throats and both are limited to their 3.4" magazines).
63.5/2000-MR under the 286 Partition gave 2440' (I was expecting about 2500'), and 67.8/2000-MR under the 250 NAB gave 2621' (I was expecting about 2670')
Hope the above experience helps. My feel is using modern data in both rounds makes them awfully close in "performance" and as has been suggested - with the right bullets no animal will know the difference. Some African Game departments will though, which is a valid point.
Cheers,
Rex
