200 grain bullets in 35 Whelen

[Cecil]

And, as far as a chronograph goes, I won't punch paper in load work without one.  If mine goes down I break into a sweat, start shaking and cry uncontrollably...    I was shooting late yesterday evening and the light ran out just before my last string.  So no readings from my chronograph, only {err}.    Now I've fired my max load tried in the 270 I was shooting... AND I DON'T KNOW HOW FAST IT WAS GOING!!!!!     You just don't know the emotional distress I'm suffering!    
[/quote]

You almost had me crying I was laughing so hard, But now you have got to go back and shoot that max load again under sun lite hmm this sounds like a plan to me?

[Cecil]

bajabill  The Ruger I bought for my wife the 1st of August I tried a load I use in a custom Whelen I built early in the year which is 59gr of RL 15 with a 225 gr sierra game king this groups well in the custom but the Ruger liked the 200 gr rems the best!

[AtlLaw]

Pretty darn good load!     Average for 3 shots was 2680 fps, remember, that's outa a 24 inch barrel.  group size was .870.     Heck!  I'd use that for a hunting load this year if I wasn't getting even better groups with the 180 gr. Speer @ 2800 fps!  I'll take a picture of the group and post it first chance I get!   

Cecil,
Finally got some time to upload the picture.  Here's what your load does outa my M700 CDL.

P.S.  I bought another pound of Rel15 because of this!   

[Cecil]

AtlLaw
       Nice group, sorry about you having to spend hard earned money on RL-15. Oh well something more to play with! I finally got my wife to shoot the Ruger yesterday and she did pretty well once we got the scope set for her seems she shoots a little differant sight picture than I.

[Sweet 6.5]

 

So it is not only just the tongue that is sharp Atlaw!
Nice shooting.

Cheers
Sweet

[doeroller]

Don't own a Whelen but have done a lot of work with a 358 Norma. As far as bullets go, the 180 Speer will hold together and kill real well. I push it close to 3200 in the Norma. I have never caught one of the 200 gr +bullets that I have loaded in a deer. I have always have had complete penetration. I have use the 200 Hornady Spire Pt and the 225 Nosler BT. At the lower velocity of the Whelen, you should have no trouble with any of the bullets you have mentioned.

[AtlLaw]

sorry about you having to spend hard earned money on RL-15.

That's okay... I kinda like that powder anyway.      I was trying to concentrate on H powders for a while but it's hard to just abandon ones you've worked up good loads with!   

Nice shooting.

Thanks, but it was (a) Cecil's load, (b) an accurate Remington bullet launcher and (c) a good Leupold bore/target optical mixing instrument.  All I had to do was insert (a) into (b), set (b) onto bags, look at the diamond through (c), manipulate the primer activating device and Voila!! 

have done a lot of work with a 358 Norma.

   I always wanted a rifle in that caliber!  or maybe it was a 35 STW... or maybe both... Anyway, I like the 35 caliber.    But I'm over the short lived and minor case of "magnumitis" I had a long time ago.   

the 180 Speer will hold together and kill real well. I push it close to 3200 in the Norma.

Now you've got me really interested!  And to tell you the truth I still get a little excited about velocity every once in a while!     As I said before, this year's hunting load for my Whelen is the 180 gr @2800.  I should be able to get close to 3000 but I stopped at 28 because it was so darn accurate.  I plan to go back and play with it some more, but give me your opinion of the 180 at 3K +/- velocities on game!   

[45north]

RL15 is the powder for the whelen. I have tried many but now I only use 250 gr. bullets. Hornady and speer mainly, there cheap and work great on animals around hear. For smaller animals like deer a lighter bullet might make cense. Up hear you need to be concerned not with the animals you are hunting but the animals that are hunting you. Love the Whelen!!!

[doeroller]

The Speer FP Hot Cor shoots well and holds together for broadside shots. A raking shot might be suspect. This bullet at 3000 fps is destructive. As a matter of fact the 180 Speer is the most destructive, meat ruining bullet I have ever shot. Exits on rib shots are big as a baseball and there is alot of bloodshot meat. If a bone is hit, like the shoulder, it is ground up like hamburger. It is the quickest and most consistent killing load short of my hot loaded 45-70 with 300 hollowpoints. I have not tried the Hornady 180 Spire Pt pistol bullet. Has anyone else put this bullet outside of its velocity that it is supposed to work best?

[rickt300]

The exit hole on the 30 pound raccoon I shot saturday was 6 inches across with associated insides on the outsides. This coon was slate grey and a friend who wanted to make a coonskin hat advised me to shoot the next one with a .22, no meat loss though as we fed him to the coyotes.

[AtlLaw]

This bullet at 3000 fps is destructive. ... the 180 Speer is the most destructive, meat ruining bullet I have ever shot.

I would kind of expect that.  That's why I didn't keep going when 2800 fps gave me sub MOA groups.  I almost had a chance to find out what it would do this weekend, but after 10 - 15 minutes of playing "peekaboo" the little buck decided to leave without giving me a good shot.   

I think I'll try it in my 358 at 2500 fps or so...   

[Gun 4 Fun]

If you get a chance try AA-2015BR. Best powder I have ever used in my .35 Whelens.
The following are top end loads in my Rem 700's 24" bbl's. [also Rem's have long throats as they came from the factory]
180 Speer FN-61 GR. AA2015BR- Fed210- Rem. cases-2935 FPS @ 15' from muzzle    Oeler 35P chrono.
200 Hornady SP-59GR. AA2015BR-Fed210-Rem. cases-2876 FPS @ 15'   "      "
225 Sierra BT-56GR AA2015BR-Fed210-Rem. cases-2676 FPS @ 15'      "      "
225 Nosler Part.-""    "       "     "      "    "         "   -2761 FPS @ 15'      "      "
250 Horn. or Speer GS-54GR AA2015BR-Fed210- Rem cases-2535 FPS @ 15'
_________________________________________________________________________________________
 REMEMBER- THESE ARE TOP LOADS IN MY RIFLES AND WERE COMPLETELY SAFE IN THEM. REDUCE BY AT LEAST 15% TO START AND WORK UP CAREFULLY
__________________________________________
The jump between the Sierra and Nosler Partion was due, I believe to the fact that the Nosler is a harder bullet due to the partition. In my experience the Sierra is a softer bullet jacket wise.

[rickt300]

I don't need all that speed for my under 200 yard shooting of deer. I have noticed recoil gets up a bit with the top loadings and I hate a real bucker when I am in a tree stand.