Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles 35 whelen load data dump

I decided to buy dies. Local factory selection sucks and loads seem anemic. I have a ton of once fired brass.

I am looking for pet loads. I am shooting a factory TC Encore Pro Hunter 26" overall barrel length. Primary service will be Mississippi Whitetails and Hogs.

300 yard maximum intended range. 50 - 100 yard typical range.

Looks like a good 225 grain bullet will be your huckleberry. Mine loves Re 15 and any bullet, especially the 250s.

My favorite load is 60 gr of Varget and a 225 gr Nosler Accubond it will do anything you could ever want, Nosler's max load is 60.5 gr, work up slowly. Like mentioned above RL 15 is another great 35 Whelen powder. The 225 gr Partition is another real good bullet.

I have been loading & hunting with a Whelen for 25+ years. Over that period of time I have used a bunch of different bullets & powders, in 3 different Whelens. I have found it a very easy round to get a long with as nearly everything has shot & killed pretty well. I have decided that the modest velocities (2400-2500fps in my case) of the Whelen don't require premium bullets necessary, tho they have shot pretty well. I have taken many whitetals with the 200gr Hornady SP over 55.5 gr of 3031. In recent years, I have been using the 250gr Hornady SP over 56gr of 4064. The Speer version is a good one, but I seem to have found "deals" on the Hornady's. I have avoided the 180 gr bullets and the various pistol bullets as I just didn't see the point.
The 250 has produced numerous DRT kills. I have used it on whitetails, muleys & moose, plus an occasional woodchuck.
Over time I have learned that I did not seem to gain much by pushing the Whelen to max velocities, as it has been remarkably effective on game. When I benchmarked factory ammo, I found relatively low velocities, but great accuracy, and lots of game get taken with that stuff every season.
I spent my early hunting years using a 270 & occasionally a 6mm Rem. Trialed the Whelen when Remington introduced it in 87 or 88.
Did not know what to expect when changing from light & fast to big & slow, but was absolutely dazzled with the Whelen on game. There is not much I would not hunt with 130 gr Partitions in a 270Win or 250 gr Spitzers from a Whelen. In 40+ years of hunting, I do not remember a single head of big game that could not have been nicely taken with either caliber.
Bottom line, its hard to go wrong with the Whelen.

i have found the speer 220 gr bullet to work like magic on whitetails i am using 61gr. of blc2 with the 220 speer

Ed

I am glad to hear this, loading for this rifle is definitely the way to go.

The beauty of the Whelen is that you don't have to push the velocity envelope, it'll push itself...so to speak.

I run 57 grains of H-4895 under my favorite 225 grain bullet, and 54 grains of the same juice under 250's.

Ya done good..!

I have had very good results using the Whelen on elk and moose. I don't see the point of using it for deer, but it will kill them too. I use 250 gr. bullets almost exclusively, and really like how the Speer Grand Slam punches all the way through elk and moose to leave air in and blood out on both sides. That bullet is too tough for deer, but will kill them, it just takes longer than I like. A good 250 gr, bullet at 2500 fps will kill big stuff real dead from 1-250 yds or so. Works for me.

Overkill on whitetails for sure but the 35 whelen is allowed in Mississippi primitive weapon season. Beats the hell out of a muzzle loader overkill or not.

I have a 1:14 twist and am able to stabilize 250 grain Speer Hot-Cors with enough IMR-3031 to get just under 2500 fps. For me that is 50.0 grains. My Brother's rifle is a ruger and has a 1:16 twist and couldn't get 250s to stabilize so he went with 225 Partitions and is using IMR-4064 and I forget the charge but he's getting a smidge over 2700. I have a boat-load of 250 Speers but if I was starting new today I would either go with them or 225 Accubonds. Any of these bullets I would trust for anything in North America out to 250-300 yards.

OK I understand your goal of shooting deer with a .35 W now. In that case a 200 gr. RN would be my choice, good expansion against thin skinned targets. I don't have experience with the 200 PSP from Hornady, it might b OK too.

The 200 Hornady spitzer at about 2600+ does VERY well on whitetails as do the Nosler 225 Partition and the discontinued 225 Ballistic Tip at around 2600. Probably a bit of overkill but they don't go far, if at all, and they leave a blood trail like it was poured by a garden hose.

I'm loading 200gr. Hornady SPs at approx. 2700 fps. for three Encores. They have worked very well for us so far. I've also used 225gr. TSXs on bear. This summer I'll be trying some loads with 225gr. BTs that I've bought. If they group well I'll use them in the 26in. barreled Pro-Hunter.

What powders do the encores seem to like? Any good benchmarks you have ID'd?

I'm good with RL 15 but quite a few have posted of good results with Varget.

RL=15 and Speer 250's @ 2500 will work for everything. I get the best accuracy with this combo and my rifle has a 1:16 twist.

Overkill is way under rated.

+1

What Ed (1234)said.

WN

My pet load for the .35 Whelen is 60.4 gr. og RL15, Remington brass, Winchester WLR primer and the Barnes 225 gr. TSX bullet. Do start about two grains loawer and work up. Velocity in my rifle is 2710 FPS, accurcacy runs .50 to .75" and when that bullet and elk come together, the elk goes down like right now.
Paul B.

Another MS whitetail hunter here. Just tested a couple of loads in my Whelen in a Handi-rifle. Using 225gr Sierra Gamekings and RL 15. Loaded a few at 59.5gr and a few at 60.0gr. The 59.5 gave me about 1-1.5 inch group and shot very smooth. The 60.0 gave me tremendously more recoil and barrel jump. Scope tapped me above the eye. Groups opened up slightly. Think I'll stick with the 59.5