Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats 338-06 & 35 Whelen

Those Nickudu files are a treasure trove!

I really miss Finn's writing, it was good to read some again.


Thanks,


Mike

Aagaard's writings are detailed with lots of reserach and info, always with a practical approach.

I shot my 338-06 today, sighted it in with the 225 Fed Fusion over 4320. I haven't shot it enough to know which loads are going to perform best. I was using a standing bench, set up to sight in my bud's M-70 .416 Rem

I'm not going to try 250's, thinking those are best reserved for the bigger 338's. The six bullets I now have are the 160 TTSX, 180 Weldcore, 200 Fed Fusion, 200 Speer, 215 Sierra and 225 Fed Fusion. The Sierra is said to be pretty tough, may not be the best 338-06 choice for our local WT's. The softer Speer and Fusion bullets are probably going to do well. In addition to 4320, I plan to use RL-15, BG, maybe RL-17, have them all. Some 338-06 shooters like 414/760, but I think the newer powders may be better.

Will report.

DF.

Are you sure that stock is a B&C?

Looks to me like a Pacific Research stock.

Pacific Research? Not sure. My gunsmith/FFL bud thinks it may be an early B&C before they started with the aluminum chassis, which it doesn't have.

So, it could be. It seems to be a well crafted fiberglass stock, whoever made it. And it's pretty light, like 30 oz or so. I did reinforce the forearm, embedding strips of metal from windshield wiper blades, then bedding the entire barrel channel, using tape to allow for full free float. That did stiffen the forearm so that it can't touch the barrel, even with considerable pressure.

DF

I put together my 338-06 in 1994, a Cliff LaBounty M700 rebore. I bedded it in a McM KS takeoff. Nice relatively light rifle. I killed a decent bull elk the following year with a 210 gr Partition. Since then it has taken a couple off more bulls (185 gr TSX), a grizzly (225 gr AB) and black bear (225 gr AB). I have also taken bull elk (225 gr TSX), moose (225 gr TSX), black bear (250 gr Speer) and nilgai (250 gr Partition) with the 35 Whelen and saw no difference in outcomes. The same can be said for 9.3x62 on all manner of plains game up to eland (250 gr X). Next fall I will be taking the 338-06 to northern BC for goat, elk and moose, maybe mountain caribou, bear and wolf, if presented. I will be using the 185 TSX.

Definitely try some rl-17, it works great with a 225 interlock for me. H4350 is also a great choice, rl-19 even worked pretty slick. All with 225s of various brands. Rl-16 is supposed to be more better, and I may try some after I burn through the six, seven pounds of -17 I have left.

Very nice LW rig.

My 338-06 weighs 8#'s, 13 oz as shown. It kicks with full house 225 loads, I bet that LW rig of yours talks to you when you shoot it.

How bad is it?

DF

I have made quite a few of both. The 338-06 was a bit more popular here in Wyoming then the 35 Whelen, but just a bit. 35 Whelen supposedly had factory ammo available but we'd seldom see it and I don't think I ever met a 35 Whelen fan that didn't hand load anyway. I have never heard a single complaint about either one that could be blamed on the cartridge. A few reports have come to me and one time I saw a ba dfailure when a slammish deer was shot, but in all cases the blame could be placed on a bad bullet for the job. (In the case I just named however the bullet that blew up was a 338, not a .358)
I can see a reason why there are some bullets in .358" size thast are not right for the 35 Whelen. That being the existence of the 35 Remington and it's popularity. Bullets with thin jackets, made to expand at impact velocities of 1900 FPS and all the way down to 1300 fps do not hold up well when shot at the much higher speeds available in the 35 Whelen.

BUT I see NO reason when ANY 338 bullet should come apart easily. Yet I have personally seen them fired from the 338-06 and had them break up just like a big varmint bullet. The 225 grain Hornady did this and so did the 250 grain Round nose (that one was a shock to me, but I was there and saw the deer shot, and I was the one that gutted it and butchered it and that is the way it happened. The bullet went only 6" deep, destroying some of the spine and we found the flattened empty jacket laying against the spine of the deer. My friend Randy who shot the deer had to kill it with a 22 revolver because it was crippled, but still alive when we got down to it.

I have seen the same (slightly worse) performance from one kill I made with my 9.3X74R with a Speer 270 grain bullet on a 120 pound white tail too.
So bullets should hold together at least 50% on any big game rifle in my opinion, but if you use a bullet that doesn't break up badly, any of the mid bore guns work wonderfully.

Rusty Zipper.
The 35 Whelen all day. With a 225 grain accubond at 2,800fps with 60.5 grains of Varget or a 250 grain Speer hotcore at or hornaday roundnose or spire point at 2,700fps gives you 4,000,fpe of smack down power. Using Speers load of CFE223 directly from the Speer reloading site.
Those loads should cover all your needs but If'n they don't you can always step up to the Woodleigh 275grain PPSP and 310grain round nose or solid. The other good bullet is the 280 grain Swift A frame.
Thirty five Whelen nut.
Bob Nelson

Ready on the Right.
My Whelen is built on a Stevens 200 action with a 25inch stainless barrel, radial port muzzle drake, rifle Basix trigger and Zies 3to 9 x40 scope. Tips the scales at 9# field ready.
Even with 250grain Speer hotcore leaving the muzzle at 2,700fps (yes you did read correctly) it's a real pussycat. I have a shoulder injury and it doesn't affect me. It does get your attention without the brake tho.
Bob Nelson

Ready on the Right.
My Whelen is built on a Stevens 200 action with a 25inch stainless barrel, radial port muzzle drake, rifle Basix trigger and Zies 3to 9 x40 scope. Tips the scales at 9# field ready.
Even with 250grain Speer hotcore leaving the muzzle at 2,700fps (yes you did read correctly) it's a real pussycat. I have a shoulder injury and it doesn't affect me. It does get your attention without the brake tho.
Bob Nelson