Brown Bear bullets for the 35 Whelen?

[salmonchaser]

More of an auburn tint. Interesting, she was raised in Louisiana. A Cajun through and through. She had a lot of French in her blood.


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[35 Whelen]

Sounds like a firecracker in small package!
Sorta like a 22/250!! Lol

 

[salmonchaser]

Perfect analogy.


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[kselkhunter]

Well, thanks to 35 Whelen and other posters on this thread and other forums I was convinced to join the 35 Whelen crowd. Had an old rifle rebored by JES reboring, had my gunsmith cerakote the metal in matte black, and refinished the stock to darker color in oil rub finish. Shot <1" as a 30-06, and still shoots <1" at 100 yards with factory ammo Nosler 250 partitions. Now to work up some reloads.

 

[SJB358]

Dang! Welcome to the club! Now that is a great looking Whelen! Congrats on a beautiful rifle. If it shoots Nosler's factory loads at MOA I believe you are going to have a blast developing your own loads.

 

[kselkhunter]

Thanks. The comical thing is I spent more on gunsmithing than on the rifle. It's an old Parker Hale built in 1962 that I bought used in 1991 and hunted with for many years but less frequently lately due to other choices in the cabinet. I had it glass bedded and new recoil pad added years ago when it was a 30-06, which helped it's accuracy tremendously. But wanted a medium bore so figured I'd just update this old gun as I was already quite familiar with it and knew it shot well. Came in right at 8.06lbs w/scope and sling when finished. As the factory ammo is a bit pricey, will try some 250 grain speer hot cores first for reloads.

 

[SJB358]

Get yourself some RL15, Varget, IMR4320, 4064, etc and have fun. I would bet it doesn't take much for load work. Most of them are pretty accurate with a little bit of work. Great rifle, old rifles like that deserve a new lease on hunting life and that is one of the best ways to do it. Seems like a perfect weight as well for a 35 Whelen.

Oh, and those Hot Cores are great bullets. I wouldn't be scared hunt much of anything with them at Whelen speeds.

 

[DrMike]

Very nice. Welcome to the club. We haven't been near hard enough on people in the last several months. Glad to see that some of the nagging, er, counselling has worked.

 

[kselkhunter]

Thanks guys. This gun will be used for black bear, elk, and moose. Although some of that will be in grizzly country. As this thread is about brown bear bullets, here's a question. I plan to deploy bear spray first, as I'm a big believer in that. However, I'm contemplating using a 310 grain Woodleigh as my first bullet in the gun as defense "just in case", but using 250 grain bullets as shots on game for moose/elk/black bear. Is it worth the expense of the 310 grain just for having one round, or am I just a worried wimp and should stick with the 250s for all rounds? Have you tried those 310 Woodleighs (either the weldcore or FMJ)?

I have to admit the cool factor of being able to load up to a 310 grain bullet. They're rather expensive though. I doubt I'll go down the to the smaller 180 Barnes bullets, as if I want something fast and longer range I'll just shoot my 7mmRM long range setup. That's not the purpose of the 35 Whelen for me.

 

[DrMike]

The 250 grain bullet will prove more than adequate for grizzly should it be required. I've hunted in grizzly country for many years, and I would not feel in the least in danger with a good 250 grain bullet. I have a supply of 280 grain Swift A-Frame and 275 grain Woodleigh. Candidly, the 250 grain Partition is more than adequate for grizzly. In a tight situation, you will not have opportunity for multiple shots. A bad shot with a 310 grain bullet is still a bad shot. A good shot with a 200 grain AccuBond will deliver a ton of hurt on an agitated bruin. For my own Whelen, I'm very comfortable with the 225 grain Partition. At least, that is my take on the issue.

 

[PJGunner]

"I have to admit the cool factor of being able to load up to a 310 grain bullet. They're rather expensive though. I doubt I'll go down the to the smaller 180 Barnes bullets, as if I want something fast and longer range I'll just shoot my 7mmRM long range setup. That's not the purpose of the 35 Whelen for me."

You might want to give the 225 gr. Barnes TSX a look see. I can get 2710 FPS in my Mauser with Re15 and have taken elk as far out as 350 yards.
I too looked at the 250 gr, bullets but had to go with the TSX for a hunt where monometal bullet were requested. Once I determined a max load (2710FPS .50to .75" groups) I took it hunting. I've shot five elk with the load, two DRT and three anchored so hard the could not get up and run off. Decided why bother with the heavier 250 gr. bullets?

On a lighter note, this thread is definite proof of life after death. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Paul B.

 

[gerry]

Well, thanks to 35 Whelen and other posters on this thread and other forums I was convinced to join the 35 Whelen crowd. Had an old rifle rebored by JES reboring, had my gunsmith cerakote the metal in matte black, and refinished the stock to darker color in oil rub finish. Shot <1" as a 30-06, and still shoots <1" at 100 yards with factory ammo Nosler 250 partitions. Now to work up some reloads.

Welcome to the forum, and thanks for resurrecting a great thread again. Your gun looks great and 8 lbs is a nice place to be for a hunting gun.


My take on it your bullet question is the 310 gr Woodleigh would make a really great bear thumper. I would also agree with DrMike's take on bullets. I normally run 200 and 225 gr AccuBond's and 200 gr TTSX and feel comfortable doing so. Nothing at all wrong with 250's I may run some Norma Oryx this fall depending on what tags I draw. In the Whelen it is tough to beat a good 225 or 250 gr bullet for what you are wanting to do.

 

[salmonchaser]

Having spent quite a bit of time amongst the bears on the Alaska peninsula, from a tactical standpoint, the last thing you should be thinking about is trying to get a round out of the chamber and one in. Your choice is very adequate.


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[Thebear_78]

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[kselkhunter]

Thanks for the feedback folks. I've been reading this forum, and others, for years. This was my favorite thread of them all, so decided to post the photo here.

For range, with a 3-9 power scope my personal limit is 250 yards, regardless of cartridge. Just personal preference on size of animal framed in my scope.

I shot some factory 200gr Federal ammo as well, and those were mild to me in terms of recoil. The Nosler 250s were definitely more stout, but manageable compared to the 338 win mag and 375 H&H loads I've shot in friends' rifles. I might load some 225s to try as well someday.

My hunting with this gun is black bear and elk in western WA and OR, and moose if I ever get a draw in WA/ID/MT/WY. Although with the plan to increase grizzly numbers in north cascades to 200 bears, I will probably take it on those deer hunts I like to go on up there in the Pasayten wilderness. Plus I'm planning moose hunts the next few years in British Columbia and Alaska, so this gun will be used on those trips as well.

 

[DrMike]

Your rifle will serve you well on those hunts. Welcome to the forum.

 

[truck driver]

Don't let the 35 Whelen fool you. Just because it's a necked up 30-06 doesn't mean it isn't a powerful round because it is and they don't call it the Hammer of Thor for nothing.
Look at the bullet test section for .358 bullets and you will see what everyone is talking about.
A 225gr PT at 2800fps will deliver the same goods as a 225gr PT out of a .338Wm at at the same velocity.

 

[Blkram]

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Too funny!!!

 

[kselkhunter]

Truck Driver - the 35 Whelen is definitely an interesting round which is why I chose it.

I'm a Nosler fan, and am new to reloading, so have used Nosler factory ammo in all my rifles previously and have chronographed them in all my other rifles and know it is close to stated specs. Here's some interesting data points from factory ammo:
250 grain Nosler Partition in 35 Whelen - 2618 ft-lbs energy at 200 yards
250 grain Nosler Partition in 338 WinMag - 2781 ft-lbs energy at 200 yards
260 grain Nosler Partition in 375 H&H - 2792 ft-lbs energy at 200 yards

So within 160-170 ft-lbs of 338 WM and 375 H&H, but 25% and 30% less powder respectively. Pretty darn close to the same energy, with substantially less recoil.

 

[35 Whelen]

If more hunters knew the potential of this cartridge , which is really a .338WM in disguise........ Without the long barrel and extra 2 lbs to lug around, hundreds would flock to the caliber.......... However it is still really unknow to 95% of them.
The same thing can be said for the 6.5/06........ Incredible performance with out the weight of a big long
Magnum gun, when loaded to its full potential it right at the
Heels of a .264WM !!!!
I gotta say these two calibers truely cover everthing as well
As you can do it from an 8 lb gun that has a scope on it !
Anyway welcome to the informed!
E