Can we talk about the 35 Whelen now? ; )

[Not the 10th Man]

I just bought my first one.  I think it was a pretty good deal.  I got an excellent cond. Remington 7600 factory chambered for .35 Whelen, and it'd been fired twelve times. 

So, just like my .358 Winchester thread....I'd love to hear your thoughts, stories, ideas, pet loads, idiosyncrasies, favorite powders, bullets, etc.

Right now I'm having a tough time finding .35 Whelen brass locally, so I'm hoping I won't lose too much case length by necking up my 30-06 brass.

Right now I got some 250 grain Hornady Spire points I'm hoping to load.  They seemed to do well enough out of my .358 as far as accuracy, and have a great repution as a hunting round.  I'll also wanna play with some of the 200 grainers.  Specifically, should I pick a fight with a bear, I think I'd like to get some of the A-Squares in 280 grain. 

I'm hoping the .35 Whelen and .358 Winchester have similar taste in loads, powders, and so forth.  It would sure make my reloading room alot easier to manage!

As ever, I appreciate your thoughts, and ideas.

[Barstooler]

250 gr bullets are a good place to start.  Others prefer 225gr, but I always like the Speer or Hornady 250.
 
The following powders shoot best in my Whelen: Rl 15 and IMR 4895.  Others get good results with IMR 4064 or IMR 4320.
 
Your barrel is probably the Remington factory slow twist at 1:16 and it may not handle the heavy bullets, but it does not hurt to try.
 
Mine has a 1:10 twist and is long throated to take heavy bullets.  It was built back in 1966 when the Whelen was still a wildcat.
 
Barstooler

[cwlongshot]

Many of us here have an affinity for the 35 calibers.

I built a 35Whelen when the 358 Norma and 350 Rem Mag proved unrealistic for my needs. This was 1986. I bought a 1909 Argentine Mauser rifle, a Butler Creek hand laid Kevlar stock, a Shillen short chambered barrel, Timney DLX trigger and various pieces parts...

A little over a year later, my GS called with the finished rifle. I decided to keep the barrel long at 28". After seeing, shooting and handling the rifle I had the smith prune it back 1" to 27", make a thread protector and remove the muzzle brake.

I loaded many different powders and about 6 different bullets. The best was the excellent Speer 250G! Second best for med game was the Hornady 200g Spire point. The Hornady 200 was best with a near max load of AA2520 with the bullet seated .010 off the rifling. The Speer 250 shoots best with IMR 4064. Later I used the 225 Nosler Accu points with RL15 powder. Because of my longer barrel I get velocities surpassing the "book" quotes. My 200G loading is right at 3000fps and my 250 is right about 2600 fps. I have not chrono'd the 225 loadings.  A word on the 225G bullet. I have tried the Sierra bullet with the 357Herrett, the 358 Win and the 35 Whelen, I was never able to attain acceptable accuracy. I used to choose the Sierra line for all premium loadings.

I have shot deer with all of these bullets and the 250 and Nosler 225 are OK better if bones are hit the 200g Hornady is light with expansion nearly to the base! Bang flops are common place!

I built the 225 loadings for a Elk hunt we had planned for the 2010 season. A heart attack early 2010 put the kibosh on that trip.. But The Mauser is ready!!

its a GREAT do it all caliber, I would LOVE to find a 7600 in Whelen and would buy it on the shot should I run across one! For now I will have to live with my 760's in 35 rem.

CW

[mauser98us]

Especially the Rem they made in small numbers with the short barrel. Had one offered to me by a friend when they were new. Was raising three kids at the time and could not afford it. I was building my 35 Whelan Ackley improved at the time.Now I'm raising three grandkids and can't afford it. Go figure.

[drdougrx]

My whelen is a rem CDL.  It shoots 225gr tsx over a good dose of rl15.  Also, same load with sierra game kings.  Love the caliber!

[StrawHat]

When you get tired of buying bullets, clean the copper out of the bore and get some 35 caliber bullet molds.  From the Whelan, you can use cast lead and get great performance on game.  Easier on the bore also.  I had a Whelan when I used smaller bored rifles. 

[RevJim]

 I have had several 35 Whelens, all but one I had Ackleyized immediately. I love the Remington 700 Classics, but I like the looks/versatility I get from the Ackley 40deg case design. I had a Mauser 98 made up into the Whelen AI for my SIL, only standard Whelen I had was a Mod 750 auto, a very accurate rifle! I used CCI BR2 primers.
  I started out with the original 250X bullet over 53.5 gr of the old BR2015 powder for 2600fps. I could push it much faster, but I got extremely good accuracy with moderate pressures this way. I only recovered two bullets from several big Plains game in South Africa from that load. I came home, ruined that rifle by having it converted/rebarreled to a .416 Taylor ( a bad idea) found another 700 Classic that I had set up in AI and it too shot the same 250X load well. I then tried the 200X and I finally found outstanding accuracy and speed ( 2970) using 58gr H322 ( I now use 58.5gr with the newer 200TTSX. +3"@100= -4"@300) I made another trip to SA, never ecovered a single bullet! Shot a Black Wildebeest at 347yds! It let me know I didn't need anything heavier in the Barnes style. I only recently made up a load with R15 and the 310 Woodleigh just to be nostalgic, and it too made a wonderful game load at 2400fps! I had no problem getting 1/2MOA with it out of the 1/16" twist of the factory remington barrel. Speed is your friend with the slower twist rates anyhow.
 I loaded both the Hornady 250 and the Sierra 220 over R15 out of that Mod 750. Even though I had a .358 BLR and several 35 remington Marlins, I only have my one Mod 700 35AI now. I only hunted with my ol Whelen! I found I just like that rifle, it's Shilen trigger, the Leupold 1.5x5 for everything. I do have a similar affection for the 30.06, but only have one of those anymore too. I love any medium bore, the 9.3s,etc, but I have found nothing my .35 Whelen hasn't done as well. Maybe on elephants/or Aliens? The .358/35 Whelen can use the same bullets, i.e. the Remington 200 PSP/Hornady 200sp,etc make great deer bullets, anything heavier works fine on elk/moose size.
  If I had a 700 CDL w/24" bbl, today, I would not go the Improved case "for Improvement". With todays modern bullets, modern powders, there is nothing to gain by going the extra steps in fireforming/dies,etc. However, I "have" to have the Ackley Improved as it is the only earthly thing that continues to make my soul "satisfied", ha. Your 7600 will do just fine, but don't be surprised if you end up as allficted as I am! ( Its a good kind of affliction,to be sure)

[rickt300]

Mine is a Mauser with a 19 inch 1-14 twist barrel. It shoots everything well except the short 200 gr. RN's designed for the 35 Remington. I have used H380, H414, 4320, and 3031 under bullets weighing 200-250 grains with perfect satisfaction. The vast majority of all my hunting can be covered with any of those bullet weights going 2500 fps. A little less even. I have shot some pretty good sized feral hogs with it and have yet to recover a bullet. Always get a nice blood trail too if needed, barring rain.

[336SC]

I've got two 35 Whelens.  One is Remington 700 Classic I bought new and the other is a Savage 110 with an E.R. Shaw barrel with a 1:14 twist rate.  The Savage 110 barrel started out as a 24" Magnum contour.  Too heavy so I had it shorted to 18.5".   I'm still able to drive the 200gr HDY & Remington pointed bullets to 2700fps and the Speer 220gr Flat Nose to 2600fps.  I'm using TAC and H335 powders.  Seems to shoot better at 18.5" than it did at 24".  The Remington 700 classic prefers IMR3031 and RL-15 powders.  It also shoots the HDY 250gr RN just fine!  Since we don't have any critters here in Pennsylvania that bite back, I'm happy with the performance of the 200gr HDY's and Remington pointed bullets.
cwlongshot, I've got a .358 Win in a 760 pump and a 7600 pump chambered in .35 Remington.  I +P+ load the 7600 .35 Rem to 2400
fps with the 200gr HDY RN with accuracy which rivals any bolt gun.  My 760 .358 Win, which has an 18.5" barrel, has been my go to rifle for over 30 years.  Never, ever, needed a second shot!!!
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[mauser98us]

Had ER Shaw barrel my 98 with a 21 inch medium stiff tube about 25 years ago. THEY DID A GREAT JOB.

[cwlongshot]

Cwlongshot,
I've got a .358 Win in a 760 pump and a 7600 pump chambered in .35 Remington.  I +P+ load the 7600 .35 Rem to 2400 fps with the 200gr HDY RN with accuracy which rivals any bolt gun.  My 760 .358 Win, which has an 18.5" barrel, has been my go to rifle for over 30 years.  Never, ever, needed a second shot!!!
336SC

I'm VERY jealous! !!! A 358 760/7600!!!

I have hunted your state many times years past.  One bay my brother and I waded they over the knee blueberrys to reach a deer stand... Just before dark a large black hear came ambling down the run... I could see most of his body ABOVE those blueberrys as he walked by on all fours. He had peas for eyes and tiny teddy bEar ears. He was THE largest bear I ever have seen. Dwarfing many grizzle us I have seen mounted. You DEFINEATELY have things that can bite back!! Lol!!

So to amend a previous comment... I will buy the first 358 & 35 Whelen I see in a 760/7600 remmy!!

CW

[336SC]

CW, you are correct about our Black Bears here in Pennsylvania being large and very capable of biting someone very bad, however, in
my 48 years hunting in my home state, any Black Bear I ever encountered just wanted to put as much real estate between us as he could.
My .358 Win 760 pump is an oringinal carbine from 1979 that was chambered in .35 Remington.  A local gunshop in my area bought all
of them he could get his hands on, both 18.5" carbines and 22" rifle models, and had everyone rechambered to .358 Win.  Sold everyone
within a month or so upon completion by the gunsmith.  A better deer killer I have not found to date.  The 7600 in .35 Remington is one of 300 pieces made up for Grice Gunshop in Clearfield, Pa.  I also have a beautiful 7600 in .300 Savage which is 1 of  300 pieces
made up for Grice.  I had both the 7600's triggers worked on to a crisp 3.5# trigger pull.  The 7600 in .35 Remington is more accurate
than some of my bolt guns in the gun safe.  With the 2400fps +P+ handloads, it kills as well as my .358 Win carbine.  My two bolt
guns in .358 Win shoot faster but the extra 100fps does not kill any better.
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[RevJim]

 I found an older mod 760 in .35 remington a year ago, even had it on hold, but got the .358 BLR instead. I wish I had played with the 760 and the .35R with some modern powders/bullets. Oh well, I would have still ended up at the same place with my Whelen! ha
 

[rickt300]

My 35 Remington is a 1957 Marlin. It carries a Williams peep sight and a big fat post front, I carry it when stalking and have only shot deer with it. Even though it doesn't have a lot of speed it sure kills well.

[cwlongshot]

Here is my early model 760 in 35 remington..





CW

[336SC]

CW, that 760 is in nice shape yet!  You can +P+ load that .35 Remington with H4895 or IMR3031, after all it was chambered in the .270
Winchester, one of the hottest factory loads ever developed.  I use RL-12 in mine for 2400fps with the HDY 200gr RN.  I was so fond of
RL-12 that when Alliant discontinued it, I bought 19lbs, all the same lot number.  Use RL-12 in my .358 Winchesters, .300 Savages, and
my 30-06's.  Worked well in the .35 Whelens but found my accuracy load with IMR3031, TAC, and H335.
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