.35 Whalen

[atr]

went out this morning...cool 64 deg F
250 gr NOE FN gas-checked sized .358 / about #2 lyman hardness
48 gr / IMR 4064....I don't know the exact velocity but think it is about 2000 fps / No leading
100 yds from bench rest
5 shots all within a 2"x2" box

any thoughts that might help reduce the size of the group?
Actually I suspect it is more the shooter than the load or rifle but I though I would ask anyway
thanks
atr

[Oklahoma Rebel]

is that with a scope or iron sights? honestly I would consider that good, I don't have very steady hands, and for hunting that's good too. but I would like to hear what you are using for sights?

[Chill Wills]

It is spelled Whelen, not Whalen. Just saying.

I have had two Remington 700 Classic rifles in this chambering. One was just so much fun I got a second when it came up for sale. I had great loads made up for both Jacket and cast for elk hunting.

Sounds like you are on the right track. You may improve accuracy in the normal ways. Finding the much talked about one MOA load may not happen but as a hunter cartridge for large game using cast, you are edging up to what most of us settle on.

I (in 1990) had LBT make me a 275gr bullet for my Whelen and built a load around it. I do not have my load data at hand but ended up with a 2300 -2325 fps hunting load that was in the 3" five shot group at 200yd range. Plenty good enough for Colorado Elk.

Good luck

[Chill Wills]

Townsend Whelen (March 6, 1877 – December 23, 1961), called "Townie" by his friends, was an American hunter, soldier, writer, outdoorsman and rifleman. Whelen was a colonel in the United States Army, and a prolific writer on guns.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Townsend_Whelen

[358 Win]

I've got two .35 Whelens and really like the old cartridge. One is a Remington 700 Classic and the other is an 18" heavy barreled carbine cobbled together from a Savage 111 action. I shoot the 200 grain 35-200 RCBS boolit, the Lyman 358311 boolit at 247 grains, and an NOI 282 grainer. Still a work in progress for me but sure love my cast boolit shooting in my .35 Whelens and .358 Winchesters.

358 Win

[atr]

opps for my spelling error...Whelen not Whalen
I am using a scope for sights...my eyes at 70 years old are NOT what they used to be

With a 5 shot string I am trying to get the box down to a 1-1/2 x 1-1/2 rather than a 2x2

[Texas by God]

Try the RCBS 200 rnfp and IMR 3031. It's very good in my .358 Win.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[Walks]

I prefer the LYMAN #3589 (358009) cast of straight linotype over 34grs of H-4895 or the LYMAN #358315 over 16grs of UNIQUE. The 1st is a hunting load(no longer legal in CA). The 2nd a light plinking load that shoots easy & has the same point of impact (at 50yds)as the 1st does at 100yds.

[Yodogsandman]

Could you be more specific about your boolit? You state that you're using a "250 gr NOE FN gas-checked sized .358" but, I can't find any reference to it in the NOE catalog.

[MT Gianni]

You could reduce the load a couple of grains and go up a couple by 1 gr increments to see if that improves group. Is the barrel used to shooting your lube? Sometimes when you change lubes the barrel needs reconditioning to group well.
Either way that is minute of Elk lung at 250 yards.

[35 shooter]

Might try sizing .359 or .360 just to see if it makes a diff.
Mine likes .360, but shoots very well at .359 too. .360 fills the throat area better in mine.

[Shuz]

I believe you are on the right track with 4064. For about 20 years I have used 48g and the Lyman 358009, sized to .3585. My alloy is 3:1(ww:lino)and is heat treated to a Bhn of 22. Weight is about 280g. Velocity is 2169fps and the Sd is 9. Twist in my Douglass bbl is 1:12.
This load has accounted for 2 bull moose and one bull elk and countless white tailed deer down thru the years. On a good day it will group 1 inch to 1-1/2" at 100 yards, but most of the time it is 2". My scope is a 2x7 Leupold, and the rifle is a Remington 700 with a Douglass bbl.

[atr]

Yes, I think sizing to .359 is going to be my next step.
the rifle is built on a 98 Mauser action with a green mountain barrel 1:14 twist....Mueller 3-9 scope
NO recoil pad...I was only wearing a t-shirt the other day and my shoulder shows bruise marks !! this winter I am installing a recoil pad !
thanks for your thoughts
atr

[35 shooter]

atr,

I've also had 2" groups @ 100 yds. go to 1" groups just by experimenting with seating depth a few thou. further in or out when i felt like i was right on top of a good load.

Sometimes a combo of seating depth and sizing dia. can work wonders. At least i like to try things like that before moving on to another powder.
Push comes to shove though, sounds like you've got a pretty good hunting load already worked out....just gotta love those whelens!

[oldblinddog]

What kind of trigger do you have? Also, I agree that you should adjust seating depth to find what it likes.

[Oklahoma Rebel]

walks- what is no longer legal in cal, hunting with lead? I thought that was only in "condor zones"

[Shuz]

NO recoil pad...I was only wearing a t-shirt the other day and my shoulder shows bruise marks !! this winter I am installing a recoil pad !
thanks for your thoughts
atr[/QUOTE]

Even tho my rifles do have recoil pads, I also use a "sissy pad" on my shoulder when I shoot the .35 Whelen or my 444 Marlin from the bench.
I also use a basketball player's elbow or knee pad on my elbow when shooting from the bench. The elbow pad can also be used in place of the
usual "sissy pad" if you can't find one.

[LAGS]

I want to get that new 310 gr NOE for my Whelen.
So far it likes the 358009
But I am a little reluctant because my rifle with the 1 -14 barrel prefers 200 to 247 gr in cast.
And 250 in J bullets

[5Shot]

I want to get that new 310 gr NOE for my Whelen.
So far it likes the 358009
But I am a little reluctant because my rifle with the 1 -14 barrel prefers 200 to 247 gr in cast.
And 250 in J bullets

I have that one, and so does Yodogsandman. It shoots really good out of my 1:12, but should be stable even in a 1:16. I lubed with 2500+ and was getting one big hole with surplus WC852f.

[LAGS]

Thank you.
I PC almost all my cast stuff

[35Whelen]

Might try sizing .359 or .360 just to see if it makes a diff.
Mine likes .360, but shoots very well at .359 too. .360 fills the throat area better in mine.

Yup...........

[parisite]

Did they name the cartridge after Waylon Jennings?

[MostlyLeverGuns]

Yeah, the .359 or .360, also a recoil pad, slip-on Limbsaver from Walmart, a folded towel works, you will shoot better if you are comfortable. Laddering the powder charge can give surprising results.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

Another thing, sometimes neck annealing the cases helps with more consistent bullet pull.