35 Whelen woes

[Blammer]

I finally got out to do some shooting and had loaded some 35 whelen ammo to test.
50yds was the distance
Well to say it sucked is and understatement.

30-06 brass necked up to 35 FL sized
Wolf Primer
52gr of Varget
RCBS 35-200 96/2/2 alloy AC
sized to .358 (as any larger and it won't chamber)
5 shots would be covered by about a 5" sqare piece of paper.
sooty necks

53gr
only 4 hit the paper, no pattern
sooty necks

54
worse group
sooty neck

55gr
56gr
57gr
shot one shot each of these for pressure and to see if they would actually hit the paper. none did hit the paper and none were over pressure.
none of these had sooty necks.

no leading at all in the barrel

well, looks like I may have to go to a lighter charge of Varget or go for a diff powder all together.

any powder suggestions for the RCBS 35-200?

[stocker]

Blammer: If it won't shoot with 4895 (H or IMR) I'd be surprised. Pick a charge that holds the velocity to about 1900 +/- a bit with that AC metal. I have had good results with that powder(s) with 358318 and 358009 boolits.

[rockrat]

Also try water cooling some and see if it makes a difference. Also, try some 270 brass, so when you open it up, you might have thinner necks, so you could go to a .359" or even .360" diameter.

[Larry Gibson]

Blammer

You're probably pushing 2400+ fps at least with 52 gr of Varget under that 200 gr bullet. The inaccuracy may have something to do with exceeding the RPM threshold, especially with a 96/2/2 alloy AC cast bullet, eh? I've a 14" twist 26" barrel on my 35 Rem and 2200 fps is about max for accuracy with my soft alloyed 35-200-FN bullets.

What's the twist of the rifle barrel?

Larry Gibson

[Marlin Junky]

I don't understand your statement, "...sized to .358 (as any larger and it won't chamber)". A SAAMI 35W should accept a .360" boolit. Was your chamber cut with a custom reamer?

MJ

[Shooter]

I never had luck with cast in .35 Whelen.
I was looking for LV loads, and in most of them the primer pushed the shoulder back.

[Blammer]

mine's a 14T (If I remember right)

hmm, guess I forgot to look at the velocity.

2500fps at a starting load of 52gr of varget may be a bit much. :)

[Ben]

I do believe things would brighten up quickly at 1,800 - 1,900 fps.

[selmerfan]

And if you want to try a couple of other boolit options I could pitch you some 358627s and/or RD359-190-RFTLs if you're interested. Just let me know and I'll FRB some your way.

[waksupi]

I recall Shuz and Pilgrim shoot right around 2200 fps with their Whelens. Same as my .358 Win. They seem to do fine killing moose with them.

[Larry Gibson]

mine's a 14T (If I remember right)

hmm, guess I forgot to look at the velocity.

2500fps at a starting load of 52gr of varget may be a bit much. :)

I bet if you switched to 4895 and dropped a couple hundred fps that alloyed 35-200-FN would do fine. You might have to clean the barrel every 10 shots or so to maintain the best accuracy but that shouldn't be aproblem with a hunting load. Switch to WQ'd WWs with just 2% tin added and I'll bet 2400 - 2500 fps will be probable for a "all day" use load.

Larry Gibson

[Shuz]

Blammer--I use AA 4064 and the 358009 in my 1:12 twist .35 Whelen. Velocity is at 2150 with 48g in my gun. Accuracy is about MOA. Boolits were heat treated 3:1 alloy(ww:lino).

I'm still working with the RCBS 35-200 boolit in my other Whelen which has a 1:16 twist. Jury is still out, but Unique is showing some promise @17g and mil surp 4759 @ 24g. Hope this helps.--Shuz

[Blammer]

thanks for the offer of other boolits to try, I have a barn full of choices, so to speak here are a few.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/Cast%20boolits/DSCN7523.jpg

I have a few more that are not in this picture.

I'll likely try IMR4895 and possibly use a 'tougher' alloy, yea that 96/2/2 may be a bit soft, now that I think about it.

4064 huh? I may have to dust off that can and give it a go.

If I water drop the 96/2/2, will it be "too hard" for expansion on deer out to 200yds? I may have to go HP. :)

or go back to just my standard WW alloy whatever that is.. :)

I was hoping for a good 200yd boolit for deer hunting with.

[Larry Gibson]

The 35-200-FN cast of WWs + 2 % tin and then 50% lead makes for a marvelous deer slayer at 2150 fps out of my 35 Rem. I HP them to 3/16" deep with the Forster 1/8" HP tool. They expand very well at 200 yards also. Downside is cleaning every 8 - 10 shots to maintain the best accuracy. 1st photo shows accuracy at 100 & 200 yards with 2 groups at 100 yards in top target. Sight was adjust for second group at +2" aboove POA with 6 o'clock POA on bull. The bottom, at 200 yards was with 3 moa put on sight. 2nd photo is of the bullet, loaded and HP'd. 3rd photo is a Texas buck shot with same at 90+ yards.

Larry Gibson