Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles 35 Whelen Loads?

Finally picked up a 35 Whelen ? I have always been intrigued by this round and ever since a buddy of mine got his I have been itching to get my own. It's a VZ24 action with 24" Douglas tube, grey teflon finish, boyd trigger and safety, and an unknown model B&C stock. The Redding Dies are in, just need some input from some of you guys that load for the Whelen. I know that I primarily want to load 225's and 250's, but would also be interested in some lighter whitetail loads. Any insight will be greatly appreciated.

Chris

I have had good sucess with RL 15 and IMR 4320 with Speer 250 gr bullets
around 2500 fps, lots of groups under 1". STD CCI primer and RP .35 Whelen cases. Works well on Moose!!

225 BTs between 2350 and 2450 work very nice on whitetails.

Sounds like a nice one! I used IMR-4895 and 4064 behind Sierra 225's in my Sucks 700 Classic. If I still had it I'd try RL-15. It works great in my .338-06.

I have reloaded for the 35 Whelen so much in the last two years, I feel I could write a college thesis on the subject. I did all this in preperation for an African plains game hunt. The best loads used either IMR 4320, or Reloader 15. Reloader 15 giving the highest velocities and best accuracy with 225 grain Barnes X and 225 Nosler Partitiions.

The best (most accurate highest velocity) was with IMR-4320 and Nosler Balistic Tips. But I didn't consider the Ballistic Tip sturdy enough for the heavier game I was after. It does in fact have a much heavier jacket and would be a great bullet for most game. Also the IMR 4320 was the best powder for Speer 250 gr spitzer.

The load I ended up taking was 62 gr R-15 with 225 gr Barnes-X. With this load I recieved 0.75" groups and 2650 fps. (22" barrel)

Shot oryx at 100 yards to zebra at 350 yards and was quite satisfied with overall the performance. It has now become my favorite rifle/cartridge combo.

BigBullet

I'll have to say cheap bullets and cheap whiskey are good enough for me most of the time. With an expensive hunting trip way over yonder or company coming in, I'll get out the good stuff. I like the Speer 250 grain SP for every day loads and a 250 grain Barnes X for insurance. Of course, if it bites back, I'll be using some kind of Swift A-Frame, Barnes X, Fail Safe, or what ever. Dollar bullets need a substitute for everyday shooting. Develop your loads for the premium stuff, set a couple of boxes aside for serious use and save some money at the reloading press using a round with the same ballistic coefficent and 10% of the cost. The paper won't mind and your pocket book will thank you for it.
Carson
I have other rifles, for fun and serious, but my Remington 700 Classic .35 Whelen just amazes me with it's efficiency and performace with just a little more powder and bullet than the .30-06, but a lot more punch!

Carson,
I've been seriously looking for a 35 Whelen in the Remington Classic. I agree, the 250 Speer is a great all around bullet and load. It holds together very well when shot into wet newpaper. This bullet compared favorably with the 225 gr. Nolser Partitions for %retained weight and penetration. Haven't used it on game yet, though I believe it would handle nearly all thin skinned game quite nicely. It also shoots very well. My experience with the 35 Whelen has been that it is significantly more then the '06 and up to 200 yards is the equal of the 338 Winnie.

John

I have data from 158 grain to 300 grain bullets on my pages.

Sirloin,


When I got the Whelen about 10 years ago I loaded everything and most powders. Its been some time since I did any load work ups but the best combinations in my rifle are;

Winchester 30-06 brass
WLR Primers
250 gr bullets (Hornady, Speer, Barnes X, Nosler, Woodliegh)
RL 15, H4895, BL-C(2), AA2495, AA2015, H414

My rifle has a very long throat and longer magazine box, COL 3.54, this COL is like having an improved version. The rifle also likes max loads, anything under max the groups would start to spread out.

The last loads I crono'd with RL 15 and 250 gr. Hornady's/Speer were at 2620 fps, this is my all around load and above max. in most manuals.

It may no be sexy on paper but it flat out get the job done.

So enjoy it!

35

If memory serves me right, I have owned 4 of the 35s. Most powders I have used through the years have worked well. I now load R15 with 250 and 225 grain bullets. Most of the game I shot through the years were with the Speer and Hornady pointed bullets. Most of this was years before the Noslers,BarnesX and other fine 35 bullets that are out there now. A 250 grain spitzer at 2500 fps sighted in at 200 yards will hit any whitetail in the boiler room at 300 yards with a hold on the top of the shoulder. 59 grains of R 15 with 250 grain bullets work well in the bolt rifles I had. Probably my second favorite powder was IMR 4064. Hope this helps.

Good shooting,
Dave

I have a Rem 700 classic and it likes 60 grs. of 4320 with a 225 nos. part. It avg. about 2675 fps and shoots about 1moa when I do my part and forget about the whack im gonna get when I pull the trigger.That load is in the 47th edition of Lyman. I've shot the 225 sierra with the same kind of load, and it totally blew up on a little 4 point buck, it was FUGLY.That buck still ran 40 yards with a hole the size of a baseball in/out and jello in between.Lung shot.