35 whelen on game.

[canuck4570]

with 250 gr. cast.... how is it on game.... moose and deer..... any of you had the experiance of hunting with this caliber...

[jhalcott]

I've killed a couple deer with the whelen using the lyman 358318(250 gr) bullet. I tried some "soft nose" cast slugs but had no confidence in them for hunting.Half WW and Lino alloy came out of the mold at 250 gr.I started with minimum charges of 3031(jacketed loads) and worked up to an accurate load that performed well in wet paper medium. Exit holes in the deer showed good expansion.I hollow pointed a few and shot a crop damage doe at 150 yards. the deer died as the others had! .I could see NO difference in either bullets effects.

[waksupi]

Shuz and Pilgrim have both used them on moose. I've used it's little brother, the .358 Win. Killed an elk this past season with a 237 gr. FNGC bullet. In years past, with the 277 FNGC, I've killed deer, elk, and buffalo. Average velocities for both weights, around 2000 fps. The .35 bore will do the trick.

[bart55]

Have killed several whitetails with a 35 whelan (rebbl mauser, 200gr rcbs gc and ww with a little tin, all of them went down just as nice as any jacketed bulllet I ever used . great cast shooter

[Doughty]

Have taken elk, deer, and antelope with a LBT .35-280 grain bullet at 2200 fps in the Whelen case. Complete penetration with about an inch diameter hole left behind. Killed them all. In my opinion it was more than was needed for deer and antelope and probably elk. Don't know about moose, , , , or buffalo, or maybe BIG bears.

In my opinion the diameter of the meplat is more important than the diameter of the bore. Then velocity as the meplat is going through the body. Of course weight affects momentum which affects penetration. The backside of which is that weight and velocity greatly affect recoil. Since bullet placement is the most important factor lots of practice is recommended. However heavy recoil tends to inhibit lots of practice.

Long and short of it, for me, there are better compromises. I like the .33 calibers,,, maybe even a .32. I have never been able to get drawn for moose. At this point in life, I likely never will. However, you can buy a buffalo about anytime you want. Would love to hear of any cast bullet-moose encounters you have had.

[africa]

Not moose, but I guess feral cattle bulls are on the same class of animal. There are some remnant wild cattle without commercial value at a farm we are allowed to hunt deer, and nevertheless their meat is not softer than a combat boot sole dried in Iraq's desert, it's tasty. The farm owner usually shoots at them with a .375 HH - factory ammo, but once he used a .35 whelen with 225 casts @ 2100 fps. None of us could tell the difference.

[JDL]

Not moose, but I guess feral cattle bulls are on the same class of animal. There are some remnant wild cattle without commercial value at a farm we are allowed to hunt deer, and nevertheless their meat is not softer than a combat boot sole dried in Iraq's desert, it's tasty. The farm owner usually shoots at them with a .375 HH - factory ammo, but once he used a .35 whelen with 225 casts @ 2100 fps. None of us could tell the difference.

Care to share the specifics of the cast boolit, alloy, hardness, etc.? Thanks -JDL

[africa]

Sure, JDL. The mold is a custom one, not a comercial brand. The bullet has a generous meplat, 2 lube grooves and a crimp groove, and is gas checked. Alloy was straight linotype, lubed with a double coating of liquid Alox from Lee, and sized .360. Load is 40 gr. of IMR 3031. Owner says it's muzzle vel. was chronographed at around 2000 fps. The bull was hit broadside, and the bullet passed through, leaving an exit hole quite wide, lots of blood.

[JDL]

That's what I like, wide exit hole and lots of blood! Probably didn't get much expansion with that linotype boolit but, that generous meplat did the trick. I have a 225 grain mold also that produces a meplat of .200" and although I haven't made meat with it yet, my son-in-law killed a big bobcat this past fall with it. -JDL