Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting .35 Whelen super performance

There has been several discussions about bullets for elk. I am planning to take my Remington 700 Classic in .35 Whelen for a combo elk and muley hunt in Idaho this fall. Right now I am shooting the 200 grain Hornady super performance load around 2900 ft/sec with good accuracy. I would welcome opinions on this bullet's performance on elk from anyone who has used it. My backup load would probably be one of the buffalo bore loadings. Thanks.

Just curious. Did you chronograph that load? It seems like it is pretty fast. Barrel length?

I know a guy who killed a bunch of big bull moose with that bullet, so I’d guess it’ll work great.

Did not chronograph the load. The velocity is on the box. The barrel length on the 700 classic is 22" I believe.

That's enough testimony for me.

If you're shooting it well, I wouldn't worry a bit about it in the Whelen.

From Hornady, 24" barrel.

Distances? Why the need for speed? A 250 at 2400 kills everything out to 300 yards plus if the scope is zeroed appropriately and one can shoot.

The guy is shooting a Hornady factory load, not a handload. Actually, I've just loaded a bunch of those 200gr Hornady SPs for my new .35 Whelen for sighting in the gun. I'm expecting 2850 to 2900 fps. The barrel is 22".

Bob
www.bigbores.ca

Still don't get turning a cartridge into something it wasn't meant to be. If it ain't broke why fix it?

I messed around with the 200’s and 4064 back a few years ago and got 2850-2900 pretty easily out of my old 24” 700.

The 22” Ruger does about 2890 or so with 8208 and 200 TTSXs.

Makes for a good packing rifle with some good reach.

The 200 grain Hornaday factory load claims 2910 FPS out if my Highwall with 28" barrel they went 3026 FPS

Scotty, I used H4895 under the 200gr Hornady SPs back in 2010 when I had an H&R/NEF single shot in .35 Whelen. It had a typical 22" heavy barrel, and it delivered an average, corrected to MV of 2997 fps, with no appearance of being too hot! The loads for this single-shot are 2 grains less for starters.

I've a source for the 225gr NP, and a few on hand, so I expect those to become my go-to load for everything and anything at around 2700 - 2800 fps. From a light and handy rifle they'll be "snappy" for sure, but the muzzle brake will help with that!

Bob
www.bigbores.ca

Bob, I use H4895 for my 7600 Whelen with 225 Sierras. Can’t remember the charge but it’s about 2675 and accurate to boot so I’ve never monkied around with it more. For the use of that rifle I don’t see me gaining much. On a bolt gun, that I’d be using for elk I might try pumping it up a little.

Just looked. It was 58 grains in Hornady cases.



These were the two last sets I shot at 200 getting it zeroed



And these were at 300 on the steel



Good nuff for what I use it for.

That's good data. I've only killed deer and pigs with it as I use heavier bullets on bigger animals, so unless I had heard otherwise, I'd maybe try to keep it off an elk shoulder at muzzle velocity. But for how simple of a bullet it is it kills really fast and the 200 grain bullets definitely are way shockier on smaller animals (probably on bigger ones too, though I haven't tried) than the heavier 358 bullets are. From what I have seen, the 200 SP seems to penetrate about like a 225 Sierra game king (which forms a very large blunt mushroom). The 200 SPs end up a smaller diameter and have sharp edges when they expand, which probably makes up for their lack of weight.

I'd be interested to hear from someone who has run it into an elk or moose shoulder. The SD is the same as a 150gr 308 bullet but in my experience it outpenetrates a 150 corelokt, if that is useful at all.

That’s good info TX. I’ve got a good load for the 200 Hornadys that should be around 2500 from my 1-12 twist 358 Win. I may try putting one into jugs just to see how it works. I agree about probably keeping them off a shoulder but hell, that’s decent advice for anything less than an all copper anyhow. Seen elk tear up a lot of 180 Partitions from similar shots as well.


And agree about the Sierra. That sucker is my favorite for deer. It’s an expanding SOB, that opens big holes and shuts stuff down quick.

Hey Beretzs,
I am partial to the 225 sierra as well. They make big holes and they are accurate.

The 200gr SPs aren't sexy, look like half a bullet, but seem to kill extremely well. I'd be interested to hear how you think they compare to the SGKs.

In this case, a couple of state game departments allow the 35 Whelen as a primitive weapon for deer. The logic is bizarre, but it's a very good thing for the 35 Whelen and the hunters who love it. Plus we now have powders that take the Whelen to that level of performance safely, so why not? We do it with plenty of other cartridges like the 45-70, 45 Colt, etc.

Speed sells ammo, so the makers are building ammo that sells.


Okie John

Sounds like a good choice IF accuracy holds up at long range. I have not tried Superformance loads in the 35 Whelen, but I have in the 30-06 and 338 WM. Long-range accuracy was not impressive.

There's some good reading at https://www.ballisticstudies.com/Knowledgebase/.35+Whelen.html if you're interested.


Okie John