Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles New .35 Whelen data from Speer

Gotta be my I.T. skills Gerry, there's a very good reason my Wife saves the campfire over in a favorites box for me. ;]

Now I know why it wont open, this home computer is tied into a hugh network of computers at Wifeys work. all kinds of programs open up I'm not familiar with.

I'll just buy a Speer manual and read em for myself ;]

tag

Another [bleep] "tagger"..
Ya ever hear of using the "thread options" upper left side of this page?

I have some CFE223 but my old manual loads with 3031 offer all the speed and recoil I need with 250 grain bullets in my Whelen.

Post your findings, as I will too. More interested in 225 ish

With 225 gr. bullets in the Whelen IMR 4064 is your huckleberry, no need to look any further. In separate load development efforts 25 yrs. apart I got the same result, 4064 was the accuracy champ above the other powders I tested. Those powders included IMR 4350, RL-15 and Varget. With 4064 and 225 gr. Sierra of Nosler bullets I get three shot cloverleaf groups at 100 yds., better than "minute of deer" and plenty good enough for me.

So far my Whelen has shot everything very well, in fact I did not expect under MOA accuracy with such regularity using powders From H322 to IMR 4350.

What speeds you getting with 225’s and 4064? Thanks

They seem to often shoot quite well in my experience too. Have had great loads in the past with AA 2015, H 322, Varget, RL 15, Big Game (250's and 275's) and most recently IMR 8208.

I don't have a chronograph so I can't tell you, I am loading 54.5 gr. which is Sierra manual's accuracy load Nosler manual says 54.0 gr. gives 2450 FPS and is listed as MAX. Both bullets shoot fine and neither shows any pressure signs.

Anybody using BL-C(2)? Guy I bought my barreled action from had some damn accurate loads using it with 225's. I use Varget right now, and getting beautiful groups with it. Mine is an AI, only because it came that way and with Redding dies. Need to check speeds this weekend, but unless it's ALOT slower than I think, I'm calling it good.

I tried BL-C(2) years ago but didn't have much luck with it. Found it erratic in both speed and on the targets.

I have been a Whelen fan for many years taking elk, moose, grizzly, black bear, nilgai and a few mule deer with it. Early on I used the 250 gr Speer then moved to the 225 gr TSX. The latter going 2700 fps in my old Ruger tang rifle via 60 grs of RL15.

Resurrect this ?? I just tried cfe223 65 gr. with Hornady 200 spire point. got 26xx on them, but it was a group just over 1/2 at 50 yards (see the thread on "doing my part"). I am trying to duplicate whatever Federal Fusion does, their 200s clocked at 2950 or so on my chronograph (maybe 8 feet out). Primers show some room for increase, but I don't have good data and don't want to exceed one of those curves that suddenly take a climb.

This is through a 22" handi, I am having a hard time getting it to shoot different wieghts any where close to the same POA. I am also tired of buying powder and bullets. Maybe I should either just stick with factory or find one I like and use it. This thing isn't that much fun to shoot from a bench for very many shots.

Trialed the Power Pro 2000 MR under 250 gr Partitions and got some of my best accuracy ever at 200 yards. I am now into my second pound of the stuff as it is proving to be consistent. Guess this is now my new "go to" load for my CDL Whelen.
When I first got into Whelen, my whitetail load, for many years, was the 200 gr Hornady spitzer under 55.5 gr of 3031. It never disappointed and successfully took a pile of Pennsylavania whitetails. For no logical reason, a decade or so ago, I standardized on 250 gr Partitions.
One of the great things about the Whelen is that it does not require lightning velocity to be extremely effective on game. Go for accuracy first.
Never trialed the Fusions as I typically use factory stuff only as a benchmark. 2950 fps seems extreme and suggests a problem.
The Remington factory stuff, with any weight bullet, was always relatively slow, but very accurate.

"The Remington factory stuff, with any weight bullet, was always relatively slow, but very accurate."

Yeah, Remington screwed the pooch on the .35 Whelen, loading them up to make their pump and semi-auto guns happy. Seems they did that same bad deed on the .280 Remington as well. Somebody in their top offices has their head up their rectal orifice. What were they thinking?

Anyway the first serious load I worked up for my .35 Whelen turned out to be 60.4 gr. of Rl 15 and the 225 gr. Barnes TSX. Recoil is reasonable and accuracy runs from .50" to .80" depending on how well I'm shooting on any particular day. The load was worked up in my custom Mauser with 24" barrel. Pressure signs seem mild in that rifle. However, the load is too hot for my Remington M700 Classic. I haven't shot it in the Ruger 77 as it shows signs of possible headspace problems with the underloaded factory ammo. I haven't decided what to do with that rifle.
Paul B.

Often lightly loaded ammo makes a gun seem like it has headspace problems when it doesn't. The case just doesn't come back and seat the primer again.

One shot had a complete head separation. I just use that rifle for cast bullets long enough to run into the rifling. It seems to be happy being used that way.
Paul B.

I'd think that with headspace issues that bad, you'd have misfires every now and then. That, or your firing pin protrudes too far as well. I'd get a cast of the chamber or get it to a gunsmith, were I you. Case head separation on first firing of brass signals bad brass more than a bad chamber.