Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles 35 Whelen Load info request

Going to work on some load development for 3 Whelens. A Ruger 77 Boat Paddle, a Howa just back from JES, and a Mauser with a 21" barrel. My hope is to use some Hornady 250gr RN I have in the Mauser, and some 225gr yet to be determined in the other two. Only hunting Whitetail and Blackbear, so I'm not thinking premium bullets are needed. Any tips or suggestions?

While I am a Partition fan, I think most c&c bullets perform well at Whelen velocities. If I were starting from scratch, I would work with the 225 gr Sierra as they tend to be accurate out of most rifles. I would also test drive CFE223.
4064, Varget, and Power Pro 2000MR have produced some great loads in my Whelens.
Hornadys bullets in this caliber have a great track record.
Speers and Barnes are last on my list.

Mine, a rebored 760 Rem. & a Ruger #1 have liked either RL 15 or 8208. Accuracy the same.
RL15 might be faster, like 50 fps(who cares).

With the Hornady 250 RN

I have Ruger boat paddle, and it likes 250 Hornaday rn.

Re15 has been very good with 225 Partitions. For me, that is. It oughta work well with Sierras or just about anything, I would think.

I have owned a pre'64 Win. M/70 rebored to .35 Whelen for more than 25 yrs. now, my go to load has always been a 225 gr. Sierra Game King or Nosler Ballistic Tip over a moderate charge of IMR 4064. A load that I have just started using that has produced outstanding acuracy is one of Ken Waters Pet Loads, it consists of a 200 gr. Hornady RN bullet over IMR 3031. This load produces 3 shot cloverleaf groups at 100 yds. that you can cover with a dime. I hunt whitetails exclusively and don't feel the need for 250 grain bullets.

I have 2 Whelens, a M700 Classic, and a stainless M700 that's a 1-14 JES rebore. For accuracy, I've had good results with 225 gr Sierras. Accuracy with 225 Accubonds was good and 225 gr partitions was good as well. I've used Accubonds and partitions for bear over bait with good results.My only complaint about Accubonds and partitions was they were hard to find for a couple years. I mainly used Accubonds, but bought some 225 partitions as "insurance". This year I had to use the partitions and they worked fine. When 225 Accubonds became available this year, I grabbed a bunch of them. I'm loading the 225's with Varget.

I caught some Midway seconds in the blue boxes on sale, 250 gr Hornady interlock spire points, RL-15 pushes them to a bughole accurate 2600 fps in a JES rebored pre-64 M-70 sitting in a McWoody, I love that dame rifle, AND the cartridge itself, have had a couple over the decades, never had one that wasn't more than easy to get to shoot.

Anyone needing 225 gr. Partitions can PM me I have a couple of boxes that I would sell.

My 700 Classic will do low 2,500's with 250 Hornady SP's over 58.5 grains R15 and F210's, at MOA or better. This load has laid waste to hogs, & toppled a Shiras moose.

60.5 grains of Varget gets 225 TSX's to 2,700 with CCI 200's, though not quite as accurately. I don't have any on-game experience with it, but I'd not want to be on the receiving end of it.

Come to think of it, sometimes I'm not so thrilled to be on the sending end of it, either.

FC

The load I use for everything is a 225 grain TSX over a maximum load of IMR-4069. Submoa in both of my Whelens. I like it because it does little meat damage. This load should be a dandy bear load, any size bear you want.

Depending on where you hunt and distance you intend to shoot, I'd think about the Speer 220 grain Hot Cor.

My Tikka 270 JES rebored to 35 Whelen does best with RL15, I hunt part of the year in Lead free area's so I am forced to use premium Barnes BUT they shoot good!!

This past Friday shooting Barnes 200 Tipped TSX 60 gr RL15 gives me 2672 fps and 3 shot groups that touch..bottom right target at 100 yards. This cheap rebore shoots much better than most of my more expensive guns.

I pretty much stick with Partitions in the 250 gr flavor. Encountering a brown bear while deer hunting is always a possibility and they do come to a deer call (fawn bleat) - ask me how I know.

57.0 gr of Varget or IMR 4064 gets me to 2,500 in a 22" bbl.

I like the Hornady 250 gr. RN, generally pushing it with IMR 3031 to 2450 fps. Excellent load for anything it is appropriate for.

R-15 or 4064 works for me.

IMR 4064 has been my go to powder in the Whelen for more than 25 yrs. now, I have tried RL-15 too but can't say that it is superior. Recently I have been shooting a Ken Waters load with IMR 3031 and Hornady 200 gr. RN and accuracy is outstanding. Since I only hunt whitetail I haven't found the need for 250 gr. bullets so I can't comment on loads for that bullet weight. When I hunted elk the long discontinued Speer 275 gr. RN bullet worked fine for me, the 250 would be my choice in the Whelen for big game.

My favorite bullet is the Hornady 250 grain SP's in my 350 RM. Second favorite is Speer 250 hot core bullets.

I've had a 35 Whelen Improved for 20 years, bought for an AK hunt. The guy I bought it from did extensive load testing and found it loves 250 Horn RN over 53.0 0f 3031. All my shooting since confirms that, although RL 15 is also very accurate and a tad faster. Customized 98 Mauser.

H-4895 with either 200 or 225 A/bond or the Nosler or Speer 250 gr spitzers.

rem 7600 35 whelen

Take a look at new Speer data on its website.
The new powders allow it to reach 338 Win performance.

My list of powders for my 1982 vintage Rem 700 35 Whelen BDL: RL15, RL15 and RL15. Best velocity and accuracy. I shoot Hornady 250 SP's and RN's into under an inch with around 58.0 gr of powder.
Dropped a nice 5x5 Bull Elk last fall with the 250 SP at a confirmed 554 yds. That's as far as I would have stretched the old girl and the we couldn't get any closer. Try RL15. You won't be disappointed.

My 760 shoots 225 game kings into an inch with a generous helping of 4064. Varget just wouldn’t play.

Tried 220 Speer, 225 gn (TSX, Ballistic Tip, Partition) and 250 gn (Speer, Nosler, Hornady RN) bullets my 77RS. In all cases 8208 XBR achieved the best accuracy and velocity beating TAC, Varget and Reloder 15.

Just back from a Kentucky whitetail hunt, I took a 7 pt. buck with the Ken Waters load I mentioned in my earlier post. The bullet struck just ahead of the last two ribs on a quartering shot at 100 yds., it passed completely thru the chest destroying the heart and lungs and I found the perfectly mushroomed bullet beneath the skin on the offside shoulder. The buck managed to run 40 yds. surely on adreniline before crashing into a fence and becoming entangled.

My go to load for the .35 Whelen is 60.4 gr. of Rl-15, 225 gr. TSX, Remington brass and Winchester WLR primer. The load is fine in a custom Mauser but shows to be too hot for a Remington M700 Classic. I do caution that one work up to it from about two grains below the posted load.
Paul B.

I have also found 58.0 Re15 with Woodleigh 250 RN or PP give me just a shade over 2,500 fps and they impact the same point as my 225 TSX doing 2,623 with 60.0 Re15 at 100 yards. My barrel is 23.5". Terry

When I loaded and shot the TC Encore 15" 35 Whelen handgun I used 49.0grs. of IMR3031 with a Hornady 250gr. RN. Used a Federal Gold Match 200 Large Rifle primer. I got a chronographed average of 2100fps out of that 15" barrel handgun. Got 1/2" group at 50yds.

225 gr. Sierra Game Kings over 54.5 gr. IMR 4064 is my go to whitetail load, has been for many years it is accurate and performs well on game.

Hey boys. Y’all should join the “35 whelen” Facebook page