.35 Whelen CB hunting load - looking for advice please

[njc110381]

Hi guys. I'm just in the process of building a .35 Whelen on a Sako 75 action, 1-12 barrel. I need to make 1700ft-lbs here in the UK to hunt deer legally, which equates to (roughly) 1960fps with 200gr, 1870fps with 220gr and 1750fps with 250gr.

Would the Lee C358-200RF be a good choice? It's easy to get here, choice is limited. Or should I put a bit more effort in and look to go heavier? With the 12 twist I should be able to handle upwards of 300gr if needed. My deer weigh anything from 30lb to 200lb so nothing huge.

What would you choose if not the Lee? Thanks.

[cwlongshot]

I havent tried down loading my Whelen.

But in my Norma Mag I load a full not compressed load of Trail Boss under a 270g cast Accurate 36-270c. For almost 1800 fps. Its far far to powerful as loaded for deer here and Id like to use it so I worked these up last summer. They will be good inside 75/80. I cast them softer so they should expand too!

I dont know that the '06 case has the volume to reach the velocity ya need. But you can try. Use the heaviest cast that ya have and figure out 100% fill to base of bullet then back off 30% and work up. Rem TB is high volume and low speed not low pressure.

Good luck

CW

[JDL]

The Lee should serve you fine as it looks like a copy of the RCBS of which I use in my .358 Winchester. The speed that you seek is easily attainable in the Whelen as that is the speed in my .358 hunting loads.

[njc110381]

Thanks both.

Trail Boss is unfortunately not an option here. It was, but it was banned recently due to one of the ingredients. I have however found fairly low velocity loads using Accurate 5744 and a few other powders that are available to me so can substitute that data to get a similar result.

Knowing that the 200gr Lee can reach those velocities is reassuring. How does it perform on game? In the UK most if not all hunting is done with expanding jacketed bullets. In fact for deer a soft nosed or expanding bullet is specified in law. My take on it - a gas check means the nose is softer than the base, it's just a really short jacket!

[farmbif]

the 200 grain RCBS design bullet is very accurate in my 700 classic using 4198 equivalent, this is on my Fall to do list is work up whelen loads with 2520 and 8208

[Shuz]

The boolit I recommend for hunting with the. 35 Whelen is the nominal 280g Lyman 358009..The load I use contains AA 4064 and it chronos 2250 fps with no signs of pressure. My Whelen also has a 1:12 twist, and this long boolit stabilizes very well.
I have killed a couple of bull moose and bull elk and countless deer with this combo..

[rking22]

The Lee bullet will be fine. It actually runs 217 gr in my alloy(96/2/2). I have killed several deer and a hog with the NOE version (220gr) of the RCBS which Lee cloned as well. The bullets were running 1850fps from my 22 inch M14 and M141 remingtons. The case was 35 Remington, don’t have a Whelen.

[MT Chambers]

Saeco 245 gr. flat point gas check boolit is the best in most .35 cals., deadly in my .356 Win.

[gwpercle]

The Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook 4th Edition has 35 Whelen Loading data on page 191 .
It shows data for Lyman #358430 , 195 gr. RN w/ 5 different powders and Lyman #358315 , 205 gr. RN w/ 6 different powders .
I would post this information for you but I don't have a way to copy/cut / paste (or whatever) it and there may be a rule against posting copyrighted material .

The Lee C358-200-RF appears to be very similar to the Lyman # 358315 205 gr. boolit and should work just fine . 200 grain boolits in the 35 Whelen seem to be par for the course .
Gary

[farmbif]

I found my old load for 35 whelen using the rcbs 35-200 is 35 grains Swiss precision powder spp210 (an imr 4198 equivalent sold by wideners years ago) I don't know what the velocity was but I would not hesitate pulling the trigger on a white tail with it. was easily 2" groups at 100 yards. The load data western powders has for the 358009 200 grain bullet using 2520 powder starting load is 2410 fps out of 24" barrel and the rcbs 35-250 at 2088 fps.

[njc110381]

If I could get 2450fps from it that would be perfect. Sometimes I hunt in Scotland and that's their legal minimum velocity for deer.

[KMac]

The load data western powders has for the 358009 200 grain bullet using 2520 powder starting load is 2410 fps out of 24" barrel
Be careful with that. Western has the Lyman 358009 listed both as a 200 grain and a 280 grain on the 2520 load data. It is a 280 grain boolit.

[njc110381]

Be careful with that. Western has the Lyman 358009 listed both as a 200 grain and a 280 grain on the 2520 load data. It is a 280 grain boolit.

All good fun when the published data is misprinted! I hadn't even picked up on the mould number - I was thinking a 200gr at 2410 would be a good starting point! Trying to push a 280gr to that sort of velocity is right on the limit of the Whelen I think, probably even dangerous in some guns.

I've been reading a lot on here the last few days. I like the sound of heat treating my boolits - I reckon I should be able to get more than I need velocity wise. Time will tell, but it's an exciting new chapter to my shooting experience. I've still not hunted with cast yet. I remember the first deer I shot with home loads - my first deer with my own cast ammo will be even better.

[njc110381]

Well nearly a year down the line the rifle has arrived and I'm back to thinking about this. I thought I'd bring up the old thread as it's pretty relevant to my progress. I've sourced a Lee C358-200-RF and also a NOE 360-294-RN-PB. I'm going to aim to try to get to 1625fps without a gas check - seems fast but who knows, it may be possible with the right alloy?

I have a bucket full of monotype and plenty of pewter for the tin. I think the next stage in my casting is learning the finer details of sizing and alloy to make everything run smoothly. Until now I've cast light .357 loads and 405 or 500gr .45-70's, so velocity hasn't really been a consideration.