Finally found a Whelen

[Daved]

I have had a bug lately for a 35 Whelen. I have the Remington 750 semi auto in 35 whelen, but the gun does not excite me out in the field. It was big fun on a pig hunt though. I was getting all geared up to have a 35 whelen built on a Remington 700 action So, I found a Ruger M77 in 35 Whelen today, used at a good price. So much for the Remy.

I like big holes in the critters I shoot, so the bigger bullet diameters appeal to me. I don't like the recoil as of late that the big bores produce. So, I think the 375 Ruger will sit for a bit and I will try smaller calibers. Any thoughts on the 200g ttsx vs. the 225g tsx. I am leaning toward the 200 or even the 180 just to keep some recoil down. If all else fails, I will load up the 308 with a 168 tsx and kill critters with that. They will have to have smaller exit wounds. Anybody shoot the factory 35 whelen with the M77? How did it go?

[Amigo Will]

For me big bore means big weight or why bother,Heck I shoot 180 and 200 grain in 308.

[7STW]

All things are relative.Often, we try to find very miniscule nuances to justify buying something new.

My 375 H&H Sako loafs along...with a field weight of 8 lbs out the door loaded and scoped...and a 21.50" barrel...shoving 260 NPS out at 2670 over the screens.

It is braked..and so feels, as about 6 very experienced shooters (besides myself) have opined, like somewhere between a factory 270 and a factory 30-06.

This will outperform any Whelen ever built.The 260NPs shoot very accurately.In a pinch,factory ammo is available anywhere men shoot guns and hunt.

It will kill just about anything on the North American Continent very dead if you do your part.

Excellent balance..very reasonable field-ready weight...no issues with potential 65,000PSI+ loads...why send a boy to do a man's job?

[GD Yankee]

Whelen? 225 or 250. Why go lighter? The Whelen doesn't push them very fast, so recoil is actually relatively soft. My 300WM shooting a 180 grain bullet stings a lot more than my 9.3x62 (what the Whelen should be) does shooting a 286 grain bullet. Go big or go home! :topjob:

[hodgeman]

Easy- go load up some 225 ABs or PTs...you might try a few of the excellent 250gr PTs in the Whelen as well. A buddy has busted plenty of critters with the plain old 250gr Corelokt loafing along at 2400fps.

IMHO- the Whelen just doesn't zip them out fast enough for a mono-metal bullet...better grade cup and cores or controlled expansion should get all the Whelen has to offer.

Nice find BTW!

[BRWHUNTER]

Finally found a Whelen

Why stop at 250 I too will be purchasing a 35 whelen in the bear future. And think these 310 grain woodleighs looked like a round worth trying. Hand loaded of course. Who wants to spend $82 for a 30-06 derivative.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/954...core-box-of-20

Edit: *near future... A very telling slip of the fingers

[Daved]

I agree, if you can handle the recoil, the 375 is the ticket. I have one. But, I can't/don't tolerate the recoil as of late so I am looking to get a big hole with a smaller bite. I looked into the 375 win, and 444 marlin (loaded down) but they were too anemic in my opinion.

I kinda forgot about the cup and core bullets being made for whelen velocities. I will look into that more, thanks. The 200g monolithic should be moving 2700+ fps. I would think that would open up to a least 250 yards. The cup and core would open up at slower velocities and stretch it out a bit.

[walk-in]

I also have a M77 Whelen. I use 250 gr. Kodiaks. Next time I load up a batch, I may try A-Frames. Personally, I hate Remington brass and factory loads. If you are going to use Remington brass, I strongly suggest you fire-form them before using them for hunting. Remington seems to be very conservative when it comes to the shoulders on 35 Whelen brass. The only misfires I have ever experienced with any rifle have been with unfired Remington 35 Whelen brass.

[Akheloce]

I run 310 gr woodleighs in mine at 2350-2400. Great performance, and little meat loss. Ruger says I have a 1-16 twist , but I measured 1-12. They stabilize just fine. No need for TSX's in the Whelen IMO, and no need to go lighter than 250. YMMV

[Daved]

I also have a M77 Whelen. I use 250 gr. Kodiaks. Next time I load up a batch, I may try A-Frames. Personally, I hate Remington brass and factory loads. If you are going to use Remington brass, I strongly suggest you fire-form them before using them for hunting. Remington seems to be very conservative when it comes to the shoulders on 35 Whelen brass. The only misfires I have ever experienced with any rifle have been with unfired Remington 35 Whelen brass.

Do you neck size, or full length size your fired brass? I have heard some concern that the shoulder is small on the Whelen. Thanks for the heads up.

[walk-in]

I neck size fired brass. I don't think there is a real problem with the shoulder on the Whelen. I think the real issue is risk-averse ammo manufacturers & sloppy reloading. Once your brass is fire formed you should have no issues.


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[1Cor15:19]

I have had a bug lately for a 35 Whelen. I have the Remington 750 semi auto in 35 whelen, but the gun does not excite me out in the field. It was big fun on a pig hunt though. I was getting all geared up to have a 35 whelen built on a Remington 700 action So, I found a Ruger M77 in 35 Whelen today, used at a good price. So much for the Remy.

I like big holes in the critters I shoot, so the bigger bullet diameters appeal to me. I don't like the recoil as of late that the big bores produce. So, I think the 375 Ruger will sit for a bit and I will try smaller calibers. Any thoughts on the 200g ttsx vs. the 225g tsx. I am leaning toward the 200 or even the 180 just to keep some recoil down. If all else fails, I will load up the 308 with a 168 tsx and kill critters with that. They will have to have smaller exit wounds. Anybody shoot the factory 35 whelen with the M77? How did it go?

I know I've said a lot of this stuff before, but I've killed deer, caribou, moose and several brown bears with my Whelen and I really like what it does for the price in gun weight and recoil. I've used the 200 TTSX enough on big stuff to know that it is a bona fide killer and having used the 225 TSX, 225 NAB, 250 A-Frame and cup & core bullets by Hornady, Sierra and Speer I think I'm convinced to stick with the TTSX from now on. Penetration is superb, trajectory is indistinguishable from the '06 and recoil is reasonable from a <8 pound rifle. I prefer the larger hole you get from a Whelen, but I've killed enough to know that it isn't magic just very effective.

A couple other thoughts. I've used Remington Whelen brass and a host of other manufacturers 30/06 headstamped brass and wouldn't turn my hand over for the difference. I prefer to start with unfired brass, but haven't lost a single case in the reforming process. I've probably only reformed 600-1000 cases. I've tried a variety of powders and Reloader 15 is tops. There are a couple of others nearly as good, but only nearly. Whatever shoulder the Whelen has, the only thing you need to know is that it is ample for perfect functioning. My Whelen must be getting tired as it has fired nearly 3000 rounds. When I rebarrel that rifle it will be to the same boring Whelen chamber. Mine is a 1:16 and it will stabilize even the 280 A-Frame, but I might twist it a little faster. Though if the next barrel performs like this one it won't make a bit of difference on targets or game..............

If you are interested in some reloading data you can PM me and I'll send some of my load work your way.

[Daved]

Excellent balance..very reasonable field-ready weight...no issues with potential 65,000PSI+ loads...why send a boy to do a man's job?

All well and good. Unless you are a boy or girl and not a man. Then what.

[knikglacier]

I found a barely used Ruger tang model in 35 Whelen last month here locally. It came with 3 boxes of 200 Core Lokts and it has been a super accurate rifle.Last week 5 would go into an inch at 100. Handloads have been with 200 gr. Hornady Interlocks, 225 gr. Paritions and 250gr. .Horn IL's - all with Varget powder.
Factory 200 gr. CoreLokts were 2630 fps., hand loaded 200gr. HIL's were 2675 fps, 225gr Paritions were 2645 fps and the 250 HIL's went 2550 fps.
I'm using the Rem. brass and annealing them after every two cycles. I have some Hornady brass tucked away for "later". I prefer Varget over R-15 but with the powder shortage, you work with what you can get.
Good luck.

[Homer Oz]

G'Day Fella's,

I know this isn't a Whelen but it is the same,....... ballistically!

Its a Rem M-763 (a Model 7), in .350 Rem Mag that I gave a face lift to.
I run 250 grain www.woodleighbullets.com.au Protected Point (0.358") Weld Core (bonded) bullets, at 2500+fps from the 22" barrel.

Similar (to a .35 Whelen) but different!

D'oh!
Homer