Norm Sauceman Posted April 1, 2005 Report Share Posted April 1, 2005 It should be just about right... C/P from another site: Advice on 35 Whelan Posted by CURT PA on Mon Sep 16 11:49:27 2002: Anyone know anything about the Ruger M77 35 Whelan? Friend at work is selling one for $350, its in pretty much mint condition small scratch in stock and he said he only shot about half a box thru it. I don't know much about the 35 Whelan and I never owned a ruger but I think ruger no longer chambers the 35 Whelan in any of there rifles. I dont really need it but if its a good deal I will probably get it. Thanks... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- .35 Whelan Posted by Ray on Mon Sep 16 13:48:19 2002: The .35 Whelan uses a .30-06 case necked up to the larger .35 bullets. Ruger recently produced a special edition .35 Whelan, but most manufacturers don't nowadays. Like the .338-06, factory ammo for it is hard to get by, but Remington still produces a load or two for it. It means that you will have to reload for the .35 Whelan. You can use .30-06 cases, but the easiest way is to buy existing (stamped) .35 Whelan cases from Remington. Both the .35 Whelan and the .338-06 are much easier on the shoulder than Magnum cartridges. The recoil should feel just like shooting a .30-06 with the heaviest bullets for it. They should produce velocities somewhere around 150 to 200 fps under the .338WM depending on bullet weight. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- .35 Whelan Posted by Daveinthebush on Mon Sep 16 20:34:55 2002: The Whelan is probably one of the most underrated cartridges of the medium bores. It is overall an excellent cartridge for the purpose intended, elk, moose, bears.. I have one in a 7600 pump that is really accurate and a pleasure to shoot. It does not kick that hard, is easy to reload for and ammunition is not that difficult to find. Remington still produces ammunition as well as custom and an occasional run of the Whelan in some configuration from time to time. You can always reload and reduce the velocity to .35 Rem. or .358 Win. Loaded correctly I never feel underguned here in AK with it. Buy it! If you don't like it send it to me! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Whelan Posted by Naconah on Wed Sep 18 01:23:33 2002: I have used one for over twenty years, and have killed two big elk dead on the spot. I do handload for it using Winchester brass and IMR 4320 powder. My favorite load kicks the big Speer two fifty grain bullet out at 2630 fps and has the same ballistic trajectory as the 30.06 180 grain. The Whelan is an outstanding caliber and is very effective on big game and easy too shoot well. It kicks, but far less than most heavy magnums. Too bad, the public consumed with magnums don't know what they are missing. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Whelan Posted by skandiaman on Wed Sep 18 16:04:56 2002: I bought an older Remington 700 and use it in Alaska. Shot two caribou and both just dropped. I used 225gr. Federal premium ammo (about $27.00/box) It is harder to find ammo but if you reload its no problem. I reload to match the Federal ammo. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Whelan Posted by SVANCE on Thu Sep 19 01:11:41 2002: Just got back from a bear and caribou hunt and used a 35 Whelan. Took a nice caribou with it. I have also taken a nice black bear in Newfoundland a couple years back. Federal loads the Trophy Bonded Bear Claw bullet in the 225 grain for the Whelan. Mine is a Rem. 700 Classic. Very accurate, great gun. Great caliber. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Whelan Posted by VernAKTue Aug 20 11:14:40 2002 Naconah, The 35 Whelan is a wonderful cartridge for Alaska. A great all around cartridge....very effective while easier on the shoulder. I have used it's little brother, the 358 Winchester with good results and am considering another in a light rifle for an old guys gun. Not at all afraid to take on a grizzly with that round. The newer generation hasn't taken to the 35 Whelan much....they lean toward ever larger magnums.....I suspect a 358 WSM would be a very effective short action rifle. A friend and his two sons all hunt with the Whelan very effectively and recently have been playing with the Barnes X bullets. I'm not sure they will gain much with taht bullet as I find that most any good bullet performs well when the velocity is moderate as in the Whelan. If I were moving to Alaska and was limited to one rifle, it would probably be a 35 Whelan.....Probably not the best sheep/goat rifle but able to handle bears and moose. Good luck on your hunt! I hope this little bit of info helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted April 1, 2005 Report Share Posted April 1, 2005 Re: 35 whelan [ QUOTE ] This may be quite a stretch. The fastest 250 grn load in the speer manual is going 2386 fps. The powder he has listed is not in the speer manual though. He must know something that I dont. [/ QUOTE ] Yep, he knows how to build a load that is too hot, or he is using a 26" barrel. IMR 35 Whelen lists the following: IMR 4320 55.0C 2475 51,300 CUP. If a compressed load of 55.0 gr only gets 2475, how does he gets an additional 150 fps? If he is using a 26" barrel and has a tight bore he could get that velocity. You can see my write up on the 35 Whelen by clicking here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iron buck Posted April 1, 2005 Report Share Posted April 1, 2005 Re: 35 whelan The 35 Whelen would handle elk out to 300 yards with no problem at all. As for the Speer manual.......if you compare it to the others you will see that they list some very lame velocities for the whelen. about 100-130fps behind other manuals. If fact, in the speer book they have the 35 whelen & teh 358 win being equals. Could just be the test guns they were using, but the point being ......the speer velocites are poor indicators of the cartridges true potential. The concensus among the posted loads I've seen from gun writers is between 2500 to 2600 fps. I am sure some rifles do better, and some less. I will be out in Colorado this year for a rifle elk hunt instead of a bow. And my mauser Whelen........if finished......will be along for the ride. That big 250 Hornady hits with authority! It has become my favorite round. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Colorado Bob Posted April 1, 2005 Report Share Posted April 1, 2005 Re: 35 whelan Willie------All I've got to say is besure to take a sharp knife. The 35 Whelen is an elk killing machine. Good Luck---CB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimT Posted April 1, 2005 Report Share Posted April 1, 2005 Re: 35 whelan A 200gr bullet will drop about 10" at 300 yards. I would not use it anything beyond that. I would try and keep it within 200-250 yards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iron buck Posted April 2, 2005 Report Share Posted April 2, 2005 Re: 35 whelan I agree that it is not a long range caliber. But I do not consider 300 yards all that far. And well within the 250 grain whelens capabilities. Especially when you are shooting at a traget with the vitals the size of an elk. A 250 grain, 35 caliber bullet hits with much more authority than a 30 caliber 180. I have first hand experience with its sudden & dramatic effect on game. It has proven itself in the field to me as a much better game dropper (as in "in it's tracks") than the 180 gr 06. A 250 grain HSP @ 2500 fps has 3469 FPE @ the muzzle. And 1859 FPE @ 300 yards. That is hard hitting big caliber whallop from the plain jane 06 family case. The same load, sighted for 200 yards is 2.6" high at 100 yards. And at 300 yards it is only 10.8" low. A hold to the upper part of a bulls vitals would yield a hit...........and a kill. We are talking about a round that only has 2" difference in drop at 300 yards than a 180 gr 30-06. And only a 3" difference in drop than a 180 gr 300 win mag!!! Not much diff at all between the 3 of them in trajectory. And all will kill elk at that range. Long range shooting for me begins above 300 yards. Now I will agree that trying to take a big game animal beyond that range would make me wish for my 300 WBY. But then, even with that rifle , or any 30 cal mag for that matter, I'd want to be within 400 yards. Field conditions & those ranges make for tough shooting. And without long range practice........I do not care what someone has. Hits will be unlikely. Even wih the long range super ulta short & or big long buster 30 cal. magnums. if someone only shoots from a bench @ 100 yards they will have more hits in there mind from theory than in the practical hunting world. Regardless of caliber. I regularly shoot at ranges or 300-400 and 500+ yards while hunting groundhogs all summer. Mostly I use my 22-250. But I also take out my big game rifles for long range practice. It is amazing how easy it is to make hits at 300 yards even with mundane calibers like the 308 win & 300 savage when you know your rifle. And the counter of that is how easy it would be to miss at that range, even with a 300 mag. Those elk are in trouble if I have my Mauser Whelen in hand LOL Besides......The real fun is in hunting closer Some more fun facts [ QUOTE ] Discussion: The 35 Whelen was originally a wildcat round developed in 1922. If a rifleman wanted more punch but wanted to avoid the short lived cases of belted magnums, the 35 Whelen is the only cartridge between 30'06 and the hard kicking 416 Rigsby. This is one of the reasons why the 35 Whelen was one of the few of the wildcats to survive WWII. There were no SAAMI standards for the 35 Whelen prior to its domestication by Remington in 1987. Therefore this data is not for use by custom wildcat chambered rifles. A 250 grain boattail spitzer will deliver a ton of energy at 300 yards when launched at 2,500 fps. A 250 grain boattail spitzer can have a point blank range of 300 yards on elk by zeroing 3 inches high at 100 yards. [/ QUOTE ] A link on reloading: 35 Whelen data 35 Whelen [ QUOTE ] 250 grain JSP H335 55.7 gr. 2,514 FPS H380 59.0 gr. 2,416 VARGET 55.0 gr. 2,486 BL-C(2) 59.0 gr. 2,503 H332 52.0 gr. 2,398 H4895 53.0 gr. 2,455 AA2460 56.0 gr. 2,520 RX12 58.2 gr. 2,578 IMR 3031 51.3 gr. 2,485 IMR 4064 56.7 gr. 2,529 IMR 4895 55.3 gr. 2,511 IMR 4320 56.0 gr. 2,501 [/ QUOTE ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reloader Posted April 3, 2005 Report Share Posted April 3, 2005 Re: 35 whelan [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] IMR 4320 powder...kicks the big Speer two fifty grain bullet out at 2630 fps and has the same ballistic trajectory as the 30.06 180 grain. [/ QUOTE ] This may be quite a stretch. The fastest 250 grn load in the speer manual is going 2386 fps. The powder he has listed is not in the speer manual though. He must know something that I dont. [/ QUOTE ] My Alliant manual lists the 250 gr at 2550 fps with R15 powder. He also doesn't state what barrel length...he may be using a 26 inch to push it that few extra fps... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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