Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 35 Whelen with modern powder and bullets...?

Have to respectfully disagree with Mule Deer here.

The Whelen is quite a bit more flexible than the 9.3 for most North American hunting. Mostly because there are no longer any bullets for the 9.3 that are both soft AND aerodynamic (aside from the discontinued 250gr ballistic tip).

In 9.3 you can get soft 232gr bullets OR you can get a slick 250 accubond but you can't get both in one bullet. The 9.3 accubond is a way tougher bullet than the .358 accubond.

The 250 9.3 accubond flies great but below 2000 fps it needs to run into a big tough animal to expand. That is what I have personally found. If someone has found differently--ie run it into smaller animals below 2000 fps and seen good expansion, I would love to hear it. I wanted those bullets to work on animals at longer ranges but they do not seem to expand at slower speeds.

From what I have personally seen the 225 .358 accubond is a very different animal even though it looks very similar to the 9.3 version. The 358 accubond expands (minimally but reliably) down to about 1700 fps--it is actually about the softest .358 bullet I have found (strangely enough it is softer than Sierra and Hornady round/flat noses and way way softer than the 225 SGK). The only 358 bullet I found that is softer are the Hawk bullets. And even at 1700 fps it tends to expand reasonably quickly; there is not much "neck" length to its wound channel even at those slower speeds. And even at higher speeds it seems to retain a good long shank.

Mule Deer has mentioned several times that Nosler understates the BC for the 225 Accubond and based on my come-ups, at least out to 750 yards, that bullet seems to have a G1 BC in the .460 to .470 area, out of my 1:12 twist, anyway.

To sum it up, the .358 225 accubond is a 500 yard bullet (at sea level) if you can get it started at 2700 fps. This is also about what the Nosler factory ammo is loaded to, at least out of three different rifles I have chronographed.

By comparison, if you load it to 2600 fps, the 250gr 9.3 accubond is a 300-350 yard bullet if you are expecting it to expand on non-dangerous game. But, at least out of my rifle, the factory 9.3 250 accubond ammo is way slower, 2400 fps from my 24" barrel, which makes it a 275 yard bullet. Again, if you want expansion without having to run the bullet into a grizzly or moose shoulder.

As far as I can tell the only downside to the 225 accubond is that it seems to be pretty jump-sensitive. But once you get it tuned, again at least from my 1:12 twist, it flies great. At 750 it was holding under 1/2 moa on a calm day. In terms of come-ups and wind and overall predictability to me it feels like shooting a 168gr Federal GMM load out of a 308.

If you need to launch 286gr+ bullets at animals or you're shooting shorter distances, the 9.3 is your huckleberry. But the Whelen is in another class in terms of flexibility. At least until someone comes out with a soft 9.3mm bullet that also flies well.

Some good points. MV from my Tikka T3 Lite in 9.3 x 62 motivates the 250 AccuBond at +2700 fps from a good dose of RL-17, WLRM primers, Hornady brass @ 3.37" COL. At 500 yds it's still making over 1900 fps. I've not tested it for expansion yet, except in one 6' black bear at 85 yards where it left a blood trail for 20 yards to a very dead bear, that looked like it came from the nozzle of a water hose! With a (claimed) BC of .493 I'd surely take it on a moose hunt to the north of our province and take a poke at a bull at up to 500 yards (my limit). Even if it expanded little, with over 2000 ft-lbs KE nothing good would happen to the moose if hit where aimed. I'd believe that until proven otherwise.

Still, I agree, a good lighter bullet like the GS 195gr might be preferable in some scenarios. But the 250 AB at +2700 fps and 286 NP at over 2600 fps are both more than I'll ever need.

Bob

www.bigbores.ca

I'm getting 2515fps from Saeco #352 248gr cast gas-checked boolits with 53.0grs of IMR-4320. Accuracy is outstanding out of my '88 classic. Shoots 1" groups at 100 yds and bangs steel pans at 300yds with ease. It's my deer load for hunting iowa this year

Some good points. MV from my Tikka T3 Lite in 9.3 x 62 motivates the 250 AccuBond at +2700 fps from a good dose of RL-17, WLRM primers, Hornady brass @ 3.37" COL. At 500 yds it's still making over 1900 fps. I've not tested it for expansion yet, except in one 6' black bear at 85 yards where it left a blood trail for 20 yards to a very dead bear, that looked like it came from the nozzle of a water hose! With a (claimed) BC of .493 I'd surely take it on a moose hunt to the north of our province and take a poke at a bull at up to 500 yards (my limit). Even if it expanded little, with over 2000 ft-lbs KE nothing good would happen to the moose if hit where aimed. I'd believe that until proven otherwise.

Still, I agree, a good lighter bullet like the GS 195gr might be preferable in some scenarios. But the 250 AB at +2700 fps and 286 NP at over 2600 fps are both more than I'll ever need.

Bob

www.bigbores.ca

Sir, if you're still watching this could you post all the other details about your load? Including how hard your alloy is. Also any other loads with other powders that have worked well for you with the Saeco #352?
I bought this same mould expressly for my Whelen, though I expect it'll be nice in the .358 Win too. It's still unused at this point but looking forward to playing with it in the spring, along with the RCBS 35-200-FN.
Thanks in advance,
Rex

Thanks I'm looking forward to getting it done. I've been wanting to try those hammer bullets! My younger brother is a big fan of them. He's shot several elk with them in his 338 win mag, I can't remember what grain he used. The hammer bullet is becoming his favorite go to. He gets some impressive accuracy in his 338 lapua with hammer bullets as well.