The only bullet I didn't like in my Whelen was a 200gr Hornady spire point. It failed to penetrate on whitetail more than once. I think the particular 200gr bullets I tried were designed for 35 Rem velocities in ss handguns. Large surface wounds from my Whelen. Today I shoot 250 Speers with no issues on deer. Have also tried the 225gr ballistic tips when they were available but accuracy in my Ruger M77RS was not as good as the 250gr Speer so I never hunted them IIRC.
Back when Finn Aagard wrote about the Whelen he found that Re15 was the best powder. In the articles I read he liked 59.5gr of the stuff with 250gr jacketed spitzers but said he went up to 60gr with no pressure signs. I tried this and also found no pressure signs, but settled on a working load of 59gr. They leave moderate size holes through deer, and I do mean THROUGH.
