35 caliber sectioned and recovered bullets

[Guy Miner]

I am so doggone impressed with the guys here, testing bullets for accuracy, penetration, and then taking the time to photograph & document their findings.

Good job all - and I really appreciate those sectioned bullets. I've never done that, will have to give it a try.

Re those doggone Accubonds - they're slowly convincing me that they're great bullets!

Regards, Guy

 

[gerry]

Glad that you guys are posting some pictures as well hopefully we will see some more.

Velvetant,
The 250 gr Hornady did better than I would have expected at 358 Norma speeds that's one bullet I have never tried.

 

[velvetant]

Glad that you guys are posting some pictures as well hopefully we will see some more.

Velvetant,
The 250 gr Hornady did better than I would have expected at 358 Norma speeds that's one bullet I have never tried.

Gerry
Unfortunately they don't make that bullet anymore.
They redesigned it and now it's called SP-RP
It fails at Norma speeds.
Lucky for me I've got 450 of the old style stashed.

Randy

 

[HeathSexton]

Glad that you guys are posting some pictures as well Unfortunately they don't make that bullet anymore.
They redesigned it and now it's called SP-RP
It fails at Norma speeds.
Lucky for me I've got 450 of the old style stashed.

I have never understood that mentality.


"Dang, this bullet works great!"

"Sure does, wanna change it?"

"Yeah, yeah, great idea!"

 

[SJB358]

Glad that you guys are posting some pictures as well Unfortunately they don't make that bullet anymore.
They redesigned it and now it's called SP-RP
It fails at Norma speeds.
Lucky for me I've got 450 of the old style stashed.

I have never understood that mentality.


"Dang, this bullet works great!"

"Sure does, wanna change it?"

"Yeah, yeah, great idea!"

Slightly off the topic, but I think I would have liked the Nosler Solid Base bullets a bunch without the plastic tip... Seems they were overcame by innovation! I would have loved to been able to try them.

 

[gerry]

Glad that you guys are posting some pictures as well hopefully we will see some more.

Velvetant,
The 250 gr Hornady did better than I would have expected at 358 Norma speeds that's one bullet I have never tried.

Gerry
Unfortunately they don't make that bullet anymore.
They redesigned it and now it's called SP-RP
It fails at Norma speeds.
Lucky for me I've got 450 of the old style stashed.

Randy

Didn't know that, they did the same thing with the 375 cal 270 gr makes you scratch your head :?

 

[PJGunner]

"This takes nothing away from the TSX though for performance. They also zipped through a quartering to bull elk at 150 yards and left him dead FAST. This was the first time I saw the effect of a larger diameter bullet taking the fight outta an elk, immediately!."

I got the same results on a cow elk hunt last year. Bullet hit, cow dropped, DRT. it was the fastest I've ever seen any animal go down. My .35 Whelen absolutely loved the 225 gr. Barnes TSX. Guess I'll stick with them fo that rifle. I wouldn't want to violate Murphy's second law. You know, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." :wink:
Paul B.

 

[JD338]

35 Whelen and a recovered 250 gr PT.

JD338

 

[Bonz]

That is a beautifully recovered bullet. Is that from an elk/animal or from water jugs?

I'm surprised there aren't more recovered bullets from animals in the test section. Is it because there aren't any to recover because they are exiting?

I posted another thread a while back with a couple of Barnes Bullets recovered from elk over the years. And I have only recovered those two bullets, out of 10 animals taken with the 35 AI. And those were strong quartering shots that traversed a whole lot of animal before coming to rest just under the hide of the neck in one case and the rump in another case.

 

[lefty315]

Given the merits of the 35 Whelen, I can't understand why it didn't catch on and become a more popular cartridge. It truly is for the man, or woman, who only has one gun. Just goes to show you marketing is everything.

 

[Bonz]

I bought into the magnum mania in my mid- 20s (early '90's) and did successfully use a 300 Winchester Magnum up until early the 2000's. Shot my first bull elk with it and took a number of mule deer and whitetails as well. An article by G. Sitton in a Petersons hunting magazine sold me on the merits of the 35 Whelen Ackley improved, although he also enjoyed a 300 Winchester Mag with a 200 gr Hawk bullet.

At the same time, Barnes was ahead of its time with lighter for caliber X bullets that could substantially flatten the trajectory of the Whelen with no compromise in terminal performance compared to the century old cup and core technology and much slower velocity of 250 grain bullets that made the cartridge.

By taking an elk with every weight (other than the 180 gr) of .358 Barnes X bullet (200x, 225x, 250x, 200 TTSX) compared to a couple elk taken with the 250 gr Hornady spire point, the X bullet has shown no difference in the ability to penetrate from the lightest to the heaviest versions. They flat make a great wound channel for a long distance and exited on anything but strong angle shots where the bullet travels diagonally through 5' of animal. With that said, those harder angle shots are a sure killing shot and can be taken with confidence that I would not necessarily have in a cup and core bullet.

I saw the opportunity for a versatile round to handle elk (my main quarry each fall, with muleys as well) from closer range to beyond 300 yds, with as much or more bullet weight available for handloading and burning 10 to 12 gr less powder. And I can honestly say from experience the larger frontal diameter of 35 caliber bullet makes a positive difference in visual impact and reaction of an animal when struck compared to a 30 caliber or smaller.

Long live the 35 Whelen, it is making a nice resurgence in some states that allow a single shot centerfire of 35 caliber or bigger to be considered a primitive weapon.

 

[salmonchaser]

If I knew then what I know now I would likely own a 35 Whelen. That being said I'll look for pictures of the last bullet I recovered and post it in the bullet test section, if I did not. I'm getting old enough to forget such things.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[gerry]

Good to see one of my old threads again

Would be nice to see some more pictures of recovered 35 cal bullets if anyone has any new ones.

 

[SJB358]

It's pretty danged tough to recover them! I've caught a grand total of one. It was the 225 TSX from a bear. Everything else has just left a dead animal behind.

 

[gerry]

It's pretty danged tough to recover them! I've caught a grand total of one. It was the 225 TSX from a bear. Everything else has just left a dead animal behind.

I have only caught two over the years which are on other threads, maybe after work I can put them in here also so it will be a bit easier to find when someone is doing a search.

 

[Guy Miner]

I'm surprised there aren't more recovered bullets from animals in the test section. Is it because there aren't any to recover because they are exiting?

With me, it's because I haven't recovered very many from animals. Usually get a pass-through. But then, I'm usually hunting deer sized game.

Have recovered one, 260 .375" gr AccuBond from a black bear, a finishing shot at about 15 feet. It was hanging in the off-side skin. And a smattering of others, such as the .30 caliber 165 gr Ballistic Tip from this year's bear at about 325 yards. Normally though, my son and I aren't able to recover our bullets, mostly Noslers, from game.

Regards, Guy