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> 35 Whelen
35 Whelen
@ 09:31 pm (GMT) |
Joshua MayfieldGood Evening Gentlemen,I've been studying up on the 35 Whelen of late and have seen some real disparity in ballistics between various manuals. I am particularly curious about shooting 225 and 250 grain bullets. Any of you guys have any first hand data on real world velocities for this old cartridge? |
Replies
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@ 09:35 pm (GMT) |
Joshua MayfieldRe: 35 WhelenNote: Just saw Nathan will soon be adding a 35 Whelen article in the Knowledgebase. Very exciting. |
@ 12:06 am (GMT) |
Nathan FosterRe: 35 WhelenWhen I get my ass into gear yes. I will be attempting to get the .338 data edited for uploading this Thursday / Friday.I hope to keep to this two day per week regime for sometime so that we can get through the .338's and so forth.Joshua, the .35 Whelen is one of my favorite cartridges. It is also one of Steph's (the others being .270 Win and 7mm RM). I prefer to build rather than buy. A basic bolt action rifle with 24" barrel is the go or 22" for those who insist. From a 22" barrel and up to 24", budget on 2400-2450fps with a 250gr bullet and 2600-2650fps with a 225gr bullet. You may get higher velocities but you said real world and these are the averages and typical accuracy sweet spots. These velocities produce a slowish, rolling type recoil that enables accurate shooting. If you look through the forum threads, you will find another long thread regarding the Whelen, .358 Win and 9.3 bores. You will also see a hot load from Hornady which goes around 2900fps, something that cannot be reproduced with hand loads unless using Hornady SF powder. We all enjoyed this past thread and I am sure you will too. The thread cost a couple of blokes a bunch of money (Marty's current 9.3 posts bear witness to this) but all's well that ends well. |
@ 08:29 pm (GMT) |
Jared ThibodauxRe: 35 WhelenCall me crazy but I never thought the Whelen needed 30-06 speeds to flatten most species of game within woods range, the Whelen is NOT like a 7mm Rem Mag it cannot shot crazy high BC bullets at 3000+fps but with that kind of frontal area, mass, momentum and energy "hydrostatic shock" does not appear to be needed nearly as much. .358 cal bullets generally suffer from low BC values, so the 35 Whelen comes into it's own as a close-intermediate range cartridge. Leave the 400 yard shots to the belted mags and WSMs given the option. The appeal to me is I hunt around underbrush so dense you can hardly crawl through it, blood trailing can be vital if they run at all and it has been well established that larger caliber bullets tend to make larger PWC (permanent wound cavity) and hence more free bleeding wounds, and given the limited visibility having 35 caliber penetration is never a bad idea you might only get one brief glimpse of a shot and it is usually not a clean broadside. |
@ 10:27 pm (GMT) |
Martin TaylorRe: 35 WhelenYep, new toys gotta love it!Whilst l was researching a med range cartridge for med/heavy game l came across all sorts of velocities for the Whelen, in the end l ignored them all and went with Jared's take on things! Velocity is a bonus if it's in your barrel! A Med bore with a good engine that most people could shoot. I looked at building as Nathan says but economics settled me on the Metric "Bastard Whelen" as a mate called it! Cheers Marty |
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@ 12:01 pm (GMT) |
Joshua MayfieldRe: 35 WhelenWow - I just got through reading the older thread that Nathan mentioned above. I can safely say I've learned something today although I'm a bit peeved with Nathan for nearly getting me to smack myself in the face.I hesitate to do this but in the prior thread a Springfield action was mentioned, which resurrected an old debate. I own a 1917 Enfield (Remington built) that is in very good condition. I hunted with it for several years after inheriting it. It's been used to cleanly kill whitetail deer, a black bear, an unlucky coyote, a turkey (please don't ask), and I do believe my grandfather terrorized both carp and moles with it in the 1970s and 80s. I retired it 3 years ago because I didn't want to bang it up in the woods any more and I was not getting acceptable accuracy from it. I don't like the idea of it sitting in the safe never or rarely being used but I've never been able to talk myself into sporterizing. So two questions: 1. Would the Enfield action be a good base for a Whelen build? 2. If you guys had a 1917 Enfield in good condition would you do anything to it? |
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@ 06:55 pm (GMT) |
Nathan FosterRe: 35 WhelenHmm, if its in good nick Joshua, I would would prefer to keep it as is. But if the bore is pitted, then yes, it would make a nice Whelen as long as the butt stock pitch is not too low.You will need to get right up close to the muzzle and have a good look for pitting or erosion, methods as described in the book series. Ignore the shine of the bore as this can be very misleading. From what you describe, the bore may be on its way out. But it could also be suffering from severe stubborn fouling and simply need a birthday. |
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