Soft bullet 35 Whelen

[L Ross]

I've been wanting to post in this forum for a couple of years but never got the photo thing down. With some help on the Testing thread I think I have it.

I have shot a few head of game with cast bullets and round balls. Here is a deer from last Nov. I shot with a 35 Whelen that Norm Johnson rebored/chambered for me. Bullet was an RCBS 35-200 my brother had cast up for his 35 Rem Contender. They are soft, I used a LBT hardness tested and got a reading of 6. Load was 30 gr. of XMP-5744 for exactly 1800 fps chrono'd.

I'll put in a photo of the deer and then one of the autopsy.

[L Ross]

Now the autopsy of both lungs. By the way, range 55 yards, steeply uphill, bullet did not hit either the shoulder blade nor the spine passing about an inch and a half beneath it. I expected the deer to run a short distance but it dropped to the shot and slid down the hill almost 100 ft, DOA.



L Ross

[MT Gianni]

Great Pics, How does a lbt 6 compare to Saeco or Brinell #'s or to pure lead vs ww? Thanks, Gianni.

[Bass Ackward]

Ross,

Nice job getting those out of there like that. From the way you wrote, you almost sounded surprised things would go that well.

Bullet weight with cast often does not correlate to jacketed. And velocity is what does the damage. So when extra penetration is not needed, a lighter per caliber, chunk of lead does the job.

IF you ever feel you need it, you can hardened that with tin to 20-1, you could get 2200 fps out of it. And the lungs just pour out. So far, 20-1 is the most accurate mix in mine.

Gianni,

An LBT tester is a direct read to BHN.

[L Ross]

Gianni, as Bass said it reads directly in Brinell. A store bought round ball reads 5.

Bass,
I was a bit surprised. I have killed big game with cast in a 50 cal flinter, a 54 percussion, a 03 Springfield with RCBS 150 gr fn @ 1630fps, a 44-40 loaded pretty snotty, a 40-70 SS, a 45x2.4"and a 45x2.1". Other than deliberately neck shooting an eight pt. buck with the 44-40 and breaking both shoulder blades and cutting the spine off another buck with the 50 flinter (not quite deliberately) most game seems to stay on their feet from 4 to 15 seconds with the usual distance of 20 to 100 yards traveled after impact. When I shot the 35 Whelen doe it was only 5 minutes after opening time and the light was poor. I had to establish the sight picture against the snow and then raised the sights into the grey of the deer. The way it collapsed I thought I erred and spined her, but field dressing provd otherwise.
Mr. Johnson's reboring was such a professional job I also really couldn't find any leading after firing a total of 12 rounds for sight in and the hunt. All that said i am still uncomfortable with a bullet that soft.

L Ross

[Bass Ackward]

I can't tell you how this caliber surprises me. I have shot 17 deer to date with it and I have had more TV type, instant collapses than I have my whole life using everthing else under the sun combined. And the farthest run has been 40 yards on a heart shot. I have whacked them from about 70 yards out to 225 and stand in awe as distance doesn't matter.

I use a 250 grain bullet at 14 BHN for what is between 2000 and 2250 fps with all the different loads used, and the lungs just pour out. As I said in another thread, you eject that case out into your hand expecting to see a pop (soda) bottle with a belt judging by the reaction on game. It is just amazing to me, considering it's simply a medium bore. Why oh why couldn't I have discovered this sooner.

[nicholst55]

I call my .35 Whelen my 'Bang-Plop' rifle, coz that's what I hear when I shoot something with it. I really like my Whelen! The only gun I have that compares to it is my .257 Weatherby - my 'Death Ray!' It ruins meat unless you use controlled expansion bullets in it, like Nosler Partitions, but it's a killing machine.