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I decided to make a precision bolt gun in a 35 Whelen last fall, finally got it finished this spring. I took my first shots with it on what would have been Townsend's 145th birthday (March 6th), this year marks 100yrs for it's inception.
I sized down some .366 250gr AccuBond's (59756) in a two step process. The starting BC is a quoted .494 and since they get skinnier and longer.. their BC gets better. It's hard to reverse engineer based upon drop, especially where I shoot long range it's up a huge hillside.
.270 Win brass, Less powder, greater bullet selection.. Only a fraction of the cost . Needless to say it will outperform the 375 at range as well.. I have a Speer 250gr Hot-Cor (2453) load that launches at 3,000fps+ 2/3 IPSC Steel @ 1000yd is still 1,000ft lbs. Knocking over 1/2" steel chickens @ 750yds brings smiles to my face..
I wish you the best of luck on you're long awaited journey to SA! That was a heck of shot at 306yd on your bear with that Nosler! Watching to find a pattern in the bear's berry reaching, 375 H&H Sniper shot
The 375 H&H is a very capable and well renowned cartridge. Those Ruger No. 1's are beautiful guns and the history of yours is especially special.
Now not to rain on the 375's parade.. But here's my PoorMan's version..
I like your idea of making a precision bolt gun in 375
I decided to Load some Nosler's as well, but not .358 ones
Here's my rifle, It started out as a Savage 110E in 30-06
View attachment 16920
Now, It's a 31" 1:12 Cryo-treated X-Caliber braked barrel. MDT ORYX Chassis, Elfman trigger, Athlon Helos BTR GEN2 4-20x50 MOA, It uses Accuracy Internationl 300 WM mags with bent feed lips, It will hold 6+1 oh and those are custom fabricated Golf bag backpack straps.. Because the thing weights 17.25lbs! But i'm only 33 and in good shape.
View attachment 16921
Anyways... I acquired a large amount of reloading components as I was waiting for the barrel to manufactured.. I chose RL17, even though most books don't even list it as a powder for 35 Whelen. Everyone says RL15 is the best.. Well I blended 46lbs of various RL17 powder lots together.. Did barrel break-in (200rd) with 180gr Hornady XTP's.. HBN coated my barrel and my Accubonds.. and here's my numbers.
Nosler 250gr 9.3mm/.366" AccuBond 59756
COL Gauge 3.495" COL 3.490"
Hornady 1x Fired Brass Fully Prepped 2.496" 2.004" Shoulder Bump +/-.001/.002" 74gr H2O
Extensive testing was done, including a chamber cast to come to the conclusion that Hornady .270WIN brass @ that legth results in a safe high capacity case that most people would compare to a AI or Brown Whelen.. Nope just a standard Whelen chambering. (Still need to test Norma .270WIN)
RL17 Blend. Pulldown LRP's, HBN Coated Bullets and Barrel
63.7gr 51,766 2762 102.8%
2788,2780
HI 2788 LO 2780 ES 8 SD 5.6 AVG 2,784 fps 4,303 ft. lbs.
64.2gr 53,217 2783 103.6%
2806,2794,2786,2767,2768
HI 2806 LO 2767 ES 39 SD 16.8 AVG 2,784.2 fps 4,304 ft. lbs
64.7gr 54,717 2804 104.4%
2832,2918,2900,2826,2836
HI 2918 LO 2826 ES 92 SD 43.1 AVG 2,862.4 fps 4,549 ft. lbs
65.2gr 56,263 2825 105.2%
2861,2824,2811,2822,2821
HI 2861 LO 2811 ES 50 SD 19.2 AVG 2,827.8 fps 4,440 ft. lbs.
65.7gr 57,859 2846 106%
2846,2826,2836,2865,2851
HI 2865 LO 2826 ES 43 SD 14.8 AVG 2,844.8 fps 4,493 ft. lbs.
66.2gr 59,507 2866 106.8%
2868,2873,2864,2895,2856
HI 2895 LO 2856 ES 39 SD 14.6 AVG 2,871.2 fps 4,577 ft. lbs.
66.7gr 61,208 2887 107.6%
2915,2845,2931,2916,2923
HI 2931 LO 2845 ES 86 SD 34.6 AVG 2,906 fps 4,689 ft. lbs.
67.2gr 62,965 2907 108.4%
2880,2872,2890,2874,2919
HI 2919 LO 2872 ES 47 SD 19.2 AVG 2,887 fps 4,628 ft. lbs.
67.7gr 64,783 2928 109.3%
2913,2911,2930,2917,2935
HI 2935 LO 2911 ES 24 SD 10.6 AVG 2,921.2 fps 4,738 ft. lbs.
68.2gr 66,643 2948 110.1%
2941,2928,2934,2913,2921
HI 2941 LO 2913 ES 28 SD 10.9 AVG 2,927.4 fps 4,758 ft. lbs
Oh, here's the groups.. All 5 shots from a bench @ 100yd,
View attachment 16923
As the saying goes, there's more than one way to skin a cat. But me personally, I'd gladly take a 35 Whelen over a 375 H&H any day.. It performs just as Whelen intended, the PoorMan's H&H
Guy I really do enjoy all of your work, knowledge, and the time you take to share your experiences and journey's with others. Please don't take this as any disrespect. I can't wait to see the adventure you have in SA.
Cheers from Spokane, Ben
That should be a terrific rifle Jim! Looking forward to seeing your posts about it.
Thank you. One of these days I want me a Ruger # 1. Just not sure what caliber yet. I like "traditional classic" calibers.
Very handsome; it will serve you well for many years.
I like the Traditional Classic calibers as well and have a couple-
All great suggestions. 257, 280, 35, 45/70 I don't have...so it will be one of those.
Nice variety of calibers there. The only thing missing is a little varmint round
257 bob is a fantastic varmint cartridge!
