35 whelen suggestions

[OU812]

Don't know about the Whelen but TAC has been awesome in my 350 with 225 partitions, scoots them along at 2725. Might see if TAC is good for a Whelen.


Bill

 

[nvbroncrider]

Isn't TAC really similar to RL-15 Varget and that new CFE223? Gonna be picking some of that CFE223 for my dirty AR and 22-250 as a test. Might end up using it in the 338-06AI also.

 

[dlove]

finally had a chance to shoot some tests today with RL15. every combo I tried today shot under 2 inches with several under 1.2. the RL15 seems to shoot everthing better in this rifle. I was disappointed with velocities. my best group came with 58.5 grains, RP brass, and 200gr cor lokt. speed was 2587 with ES of 75 and SD of 31.7 that went into .875. I don't know how this powder groups so well with the high es and sd numbers. I think I could do a bit of work on this one and have a pretty great hunting load.

the hornady SP shoots about 50fps faster with the same charge. with 8208 I was able to get the hornady just over 2800 with my 22" barrel. this load had 2 touching and another 1.5" high. I'm going to work on this a bit more as I already have a whole box of these bullets to waste. the velocity difference between these 2 loads only equals about 2" @ 200 yards.

I have some Nosler 225AB ordered. those are next on the list to play with.

 

[dlove]

BTW, I really do appreciate all the great advice you guys have offered in the past few days.

 

[SJB358]

Your ES and SD's will come down as you approach higher pressures. Right now, at 58.5gr's you aren't pushing much of anything pressure wise. If I were you, and it is feasible in your rifle, push the powder charge up .5 at a time. I think you will be surprised. I think RL15 is on the cusp of being a touch to slow for the 200's but not overly so. The only reason I say that is you will start running out of powder space. I am not sure you could get enough RL15 in the case with a 200 to get extreme pressures. Again, I am not shooting your rifle, just my experience with it. Seems like you are really getting close though. I know if my rifle, accuracy always seemed to get better as I got a little higher in the pressure ladder. Good luck, let us know how you make out. Should be a super deer basher come Fall for ya.

 

[AzDak42]

Since we're talking about the Whelen...

I'm not a speed freak. I want a good solid load that will do the job, but I'm not trying to draw every possible fps out of the gun. And while the 225g Accubonds are shooting well, I've picked up a box of 250g partitions. Is 2400fps too slow a target to shoot for? Even at 300, it's still got almost 2000 ft/lbs of muzzle energy. Seems to me that is still plenty to take on Elk at modest ranges.

Or, is it better to just suck it up and run them hot and near max? Is 2400@95 degree Arizona day just asking for trouble when it's -10 and up at altitude?

 

[JD338]

Since we're talking about the Whelen...

I'm not a speed freak. I want a good solid load that will do the job, but I'm not trying to draw every possible fps out of the gun. And while the 225g Accubonds are shooting well, I've picked up a box of 250g partitions. Is 2400fps too slow a target to shoot for? Even at 300, it's still got almost 2000 ft/lbs of muzzle energy. Seems to me that is still plenty to take on Elk at modest ranges.

Or, is it better to just suck it up and run them hot and near max? Is 2400@95 degree Arizona day just asking for trouble when it's -10 and up at altitude?

Az,

I am running the 250 gr PT with 59.5 grs RL 15 for a mv of 2584 fps, ES 8 and SD 4 and just over .5 MOA accuracy. I have no excessive pressure signs and case life is good. My rifle is a M700 Classic with a 22" barrel.
You should be fine running at 2500 fps. I would think 58.0 gs should get you there.

JD338

 

[DrMike]

Twenty-four hundred should be easily obtained with the 250 grain Partition. It still packs a terrific punch. With that bullet, a stiff charge of VihtaVuori N550 would give you a great punch.

 

[SJB358]

I am with Jim, tune your load for the speed you are looking for with a powder near 100% fill and 2400 will get it done all day long. I think Remington loads their 250's around 2400 and folks that use them seem to rave about the load. Makes good sense, bullet performance is probably excellent at those speeds. My rifle didn't shoot real well with the 250's till they were ran a little harder, but I am sure with a different powder selection, like Mike suggested it could be done pretty easily.

 

[PJGunner]

"Is 2400@95 degree Arizona day just asking for trouble when it's -10 and up at altitude?"

I worked up my 2710 FPS/225 gr. Barnes TSX load for my Whelen during Tucson's summer. Don't remember exactly what the temperature was but probably right around 105 in the shade. I as using RL15. I can't say what the temperature was on my elk hunt in New Mexico other than it was a few degrees below freezing. The load shot just fine and the elk died. Dunno just how temp sensitive RL15 is supposed to be but I haven't had a problem with it yet.
I'm sure some of he gentlemen here who live in much colder areas can give you a better idea on RL15 as it seems to be one of the most popular powders for the Whelen.
Paul B.

 

[AzDak42]

Excellent. Always love getting first hand experience from folks in a similar situation.

I wonder why the published load data is so far off what a lot of folks are reporting? The 250g data on R15 from Nosler shows 53g max.

Much obliged,

- Pete

 

[dlove]

for a 250 the hornady 8th shows 55.1gr and lyman shows 54g. I never know which one to trust.

 

[PJGunner]

for a 250 the hornady 8th shows 55.1gr and lyman shows 54g. I never know which one to trust.

All you can do it start low and and work on up with what ever bullet you're using. Methinks Remington deliberately kept pressure a bit low due to the fact that an awful lot of 1903 Springfields were rebarreled or rebore to the .35 Whelen, not to mention a few 1895 Winchesters. I was offered an 1895 Winchester at a gun show that had been rebored to the Whelen and rattley old gun scared the hell out of me. Then, "Big R" decided to chamber a few semiautos and pumps to the round so there you have it. Remington set the bar, SAAMI went along and the loading manuals have to abide by what SAAMI says they have to be. Regardless, I still do a work up from below, even though I know I can go farther. You never know when a gun just might bite you in the butt, even when max pressure was set at a lower level.
Prime example, although not a .35 Whelen. I have three rifls in 7x57 Mauser and the max load I worked up is just fine in two of the rifles, factory models. The third, a nice custom has a match grade chamber and barrel and the load that is just fine in two guns will lock the bolt up solid in the custom gun. I di an experiment with the 175 gr. Hornady round nose bullet using max load data that was supposed to deliver 2300 FPS, thus duplicating the original 7x57 loading. It worked exactly as planned in the two factory rifles delivering velocity in the 2300 to 2320 FPS range depending on the rifles. The custom Mauser? That one did 2430 FPS with that very same load.
Just goes to show, even when loading for a cartridge that you know is kept at lower pessure for one reason or another, it still pays to start low and work up.
Paul B.

 

[dlove]

I figured the light powder charges were due to seating that long bullet to factory like COLs.

I can go over max with powders like varget but can't get to max with 8208. I can't seem to stuff enough RL15 into a case to get to max loads.

 

[SJB358]

I figured the light powder charges were due to seating that long bullet to factory like COLs.

I can go over max with powders like varget but can't get to max with 8208. I can't seem to stuff enough RL15 into a case to get to max loads.

I need to use a drop tube to get a few charges into my Whelen. I think it is a 4", but man, it works great for those upper end charges.

 

[nvbroncrider]

for a 250 the hornady 8th shows 55.1gr and lyman shows 54g. I never know which one to trust.

All you can do it start low and and work on up with what ever bullet you're using. Methinks Remington deliberately kept pressure a bit low due to the fact that an awful lot of 1903 Springfields were rebarreled or rebore to the .35 Whelen, not to mention a few 1895 Winchesters. I was offered an 1895 Winchester at a gun show that had been rebored to the Whelen and rattley old gun scared the hell out of me. Then, "Big R" decided to chamber a few semiautos and pumps to the round so there you have it. Remington set the bar, SAAMI went along and the loading manuals have to abide by what SAAMI says they have to be. Regardless, I still do a work up from below, even though I know I can go farther. You never know when a gun just might bite you in the butt, even when max pressure was set at a lower level.
Prime example, although not a .35 Whelen. I have three rifls in 7x57 Mauser and the max load I worked up is just fine in two of the rifles, factory models. The third, a nice custom has a match grade chamber and barrel and the load that is just fine in two guns will lock the bolt up solid in the custom gun. I di an experiment with the 175 gr. Hornady round nose bullet using max load data that was supposed to deliver 2300 FPS, thus duplicating the original 7x57 loading. It worked exactly as planned in the two factory rifles delivering velocity in the 2300 to 2320 FPS range depending on the rifles. The custom Mauser? That one did 2430 FPS with that very same load.
Just goes to show, even when loading for a cartridge that you know is kept at lower pessure for one reason or another, it still pays to start low and work up.
Paul B.

Precisely. Mainly to protect owners of pump and semi-autos from blowing themselves up same with the .280 Rem.

 

[dlove]

range day... at least until the thunderstorms hit. I had to revisit the 200gr NAB after reading some of the recent posts. these are the only 2 loads from today that shot OK. I'm still not impressed with the velocity but I'll take what I can get. I didn't get to shoot any of my 225 NABs before the rain.

2655 ES=32 SD=13.4



2670 ES=6 SD=4.9

 

[sask boy]

Hi dlove, just wondering what you load data is for these 2
reports

Blessings,
Dan

 

[dlove]

the top is 60.2gr RL15. bottom is 60.5gr RL15.

 

[SJB358]

I know the speed isn't exactly what you want, but man, the accuracy looks pretty good. I would think with a little tweaking you could pull them in, if you wanted. You have some room to grow in your powder charge as well, I would go slowly like you are, but I would continue to push it a little. Great shooting