.35 Whelan and cast

[Goatwhiskers]

Never thought I'd find myself on the internet asking about loads. Got a friend with a Mauser based .35Whelan, no details on the barrel yet. He's one of the old school that won't shoot cast in a rifle 'cause it leads up the barrel, pistols are OK. Problem is he can't find any ammo right now and deer season is close. I have some 250gr and 200gr Beartooth WFN boolits, and access to 4831,IMR 4350, 4895, 3031, 5744, and 2400. Problem is I'm not finding any starter loads in my books for the 250's, got more of them and he likes heavy bullets (the condom kind). Looking for ideas on those heavy boolits, I'm gonna try to convert him. Appreciate the help. GW

[Blammer]

read this post all the way to the end. It has a happy ending and good info.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?169630-35-Whelen-powder

[TXGunNut]

Wish I'd found your thread a few weeks ago, Blammer. Tried a lot of the same stuff and am coming up with a very similar conclusion.

[Goatwhiskers]

Well, guess I don't have to worry. Talked with the guy today, he's adamant about no cast boolits in his rifle barrels, claims it'll lead 'em up. Some old dogs can't learn new tricks. Maybe I can figure a way to fit those long 250"s in my Max Cadet. GW

[TXGunNut]

His loss. Finally cleaned my 35 Whln today and sure enough it's leaded up. ;-) I saw at least 3-4 tiny specks of lead after giving the bore a good scrubbing. Last trip out it fired 30 rounds at velocities around 2500 fps, ten were ACWW. I guess I've been lucky with slick bores, good fitting boolits and good ol' LLA or SPG but I can't seem to get a decent coat of lead in any bore I shoot those nasty lead boolits in. Once I get the powder fouling and lube out, I'm done! Almost as fuss-free as BPCR cleanup. :-)

[Wolfer]

That same line of thought kept me from shooting cast in rifles for years.

[Shuz]

wolfer--methinks TXGunNut was being a bit facitious. I shoot 48g of 4064 and a 358009 at Saeco 10, with absolutely no leading, and it has worked well on several game animals. My velocity is around 2150 fps in the .35 Whelen.

[Hamish]

GW, was reading this a few hours ago: (Lyman 358627 215gr boolit)

http://www.lasc.us/FryxellLyman358627.htm

" The .35 Whelen is a grand old cartridge, with a well-earned reputation as a serious hunter’s load. This Lyman 220 grain SWC could be hard-pressed to find a better home than a .35 Whelen case. Early tests utilizing bullets cast with straight wheel-weights revealed that velocities in excess of 1900 fps resulted in key-holing and abysmally large groups (when lubed using commercial hard lube), thereby revealing after the fact that the .35 Remington loads were pushing the wheel-weight bullets to their limits. As a result, recourse was made to a harder alloy consisting of 7 parts stereotype and 2 parts wheel-weights (this alloy is approximately as hard as linotype). These bullets could be pushed up to about 2000 fps with very good accuracy. A general trend was noted in the rifle testing -- groups would shrink as the load was increased until the 2000 fps mark was reached, beyond which group size grew quickly. As a result, the loads listed are the starting load and the most accurate load for a given powder. Surprisingly, IMR 3031, traditionally a favorite in the .35 Whelen, provided very inconsistent velocities with this bullet. Much more consistent velocities (and better accuracy) was obtained with slower powders. The most accurate loads shot right at, or just below, 2 MOA (using a 4x scope). The clear-cut winner was 43.0 grains of IMR 4895, giving an excellent combination of velocity and accuracy.

These bullets were also employed in putting together “grouse loads”. For this purpose, 6.0 grains of Unique is hard to beat as it is quiet, very accurate and shoots to the point of aim at 25 yards (when sighted in with full hunting loads). For those who want a little more punch for their small game loads, 20 grains of IMR 4198 is also a good choice. Both loads are accurate and generate little noise and recoil."

" IMR 3031
38.0 1851 Erratic velocities
40.0 1971 Reasonable
IMR 4895
40.0 1845
43.0 1972 Very accurate
IMR 4064
40.0 1802
42.0 1916 Accurate
Accurate Arms #2520
41.0 1946 Very accurate"

[nanuk]

... Finally cleaned my 35 Whln today and sure enough it's leaded up. ;-) I saw at least 3-4 tiny specks of lead after giving the bore a good scrubbing. Last trip out it fired 30 rounds at velocities around 2500 fps, ten were ACWW. I guess I've been lucky with slick bores, good fitting boolits and good ol' LLA or SPG but I can't seem to get a decent coat of lead in any bore I shoot those nasty lead boolits in. ...

as lead is a lubricant, how the heck do you get any accuracy/velocity without the lead lube in your bore???
there is a reason they put it in gasoline, ya know!?!?!?!?

[TXGunNut]

wolfer--methinks TXGunNut was being a bit facitious. I shoot 48g of 4064 and a 358009 at Saeco 10, with absolutely no leading, and it has worked well on several game animals. My velocity is around 2150 fps in the .35 Whelen.


Actually I'm a bit puzzled. I've spent countless hours with stinky chemicals removing copper from bores over the years. OTOH I simply don't have a rifle/boolit/load/lube combo that leaves a noticeable amount of lead in my bores. I know it's possible, even probable that I will but at this time I don't. Once I get the powder residue and lube out the miniscule amount of lead is long gone. And no, I don't expect the J-word disciples to believe so it'll be our little secret, OK?