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Author Topic: 35 Whelen  (Read 1365 times)

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Offline poncaguy

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35 Whelen
« on: June 20, 2006, 12:01:34 PM »
Get my new 35 Whelen Handi Thursday, will be my largest except for my 45-70. What kind of recoil do they generate?

poncaguy
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Offline quickdtoo

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35 Whelen
« Reply #1 on: June 20, 2006, 12:26:59 PM »
Haven't shot mine yet, but according to this chart, a 200gr bullet at 2675fps is close to a 300gr bullet at 1800fps in a .45-70, but there's a 1lb difference in their rifle weights.

Tim

http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm
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Offline poncaguy

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35 Whelen
« Reply #2 on: June 20, 2006, 03:35:40 PM »
Thanks, I had found the chart........looks like another Choate stock for me......
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Offline Paul5388

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35 Whelen
« Reply #3 on: June 20, 2006, 05:39:27 PM »
I think my heaviest Handi is 7 pounds 10 ounces including the scope (that's a pallet wood stocked version).  That puts the recoil of a .35 Whelen in a Handi over the 350 Rem Mag and 7mm Mag.

Here's a calculator for figuring recoil with a particular load in a particular gun.  The weight of powder affects the recoil too.
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Offline mattparliament

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35 Whelen
« Reply #4 on: June 21, 2006, 04:24:07 AM »
should be fairly stout, just got mine last week and that sure is a big hole in that barrel....  Loading up some Barnes 225 TSX and should end up around 2800 fps according to their manual.  Ouch...
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Offline Paul5388

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35 Whelen
« Reply #5 on: June 21, 2006, 05:17:38 AM »
I don't know this for a fact, but it would seem reasonable the .35 Whelen barrel is the same as a .357 Mag barrel, with a different chamber.  If this is true, both .357" and .358" bullets can be used with good accuracy.  This opens the bullet selection available by a considerable amount.

The Whelen isn't restricted to 200+ gr bullets when all of the pistol and cast bullets are thrown into the mix.  I have some 205 gr LRNGCs loaded right now with 28.0 gr of AA 5744, but haven't had a chance to shoot them yet.  A Keith type 358429 at 173 gr would probably make a good shooter too, if velocity is kept down to 1600 fps or so and it would be an easy recoiling load.

I would also expect a 180 gr XTP to shoot well, if it isn't run up to 3000 fps!

The use of AA 5744, SR 4759 and even Blue Dot can be a real recoil reducer too.  :grin:
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Offline Bamaflyer

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35 Whelen
« Reply #6 on: June 21, 2006, 06:07:27 AM »
I can't say what recoil the 35 Whe. will have in the handi but I have an Encore in 35 Whe. with a 24" barrel. The rifle is at approximately 8 pounds. The recoil is just slightly more than my 3006 Handi. I don't find it uncomfortable. I tried for a long time to come up with a Handie in the 35 Whe. and had to settle for the Encore. I topped it with a very good scope and have been pleased with it. I don't reload and have found that the 200 G core locks shoot moa at 100.
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Offline quickdtoo

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35 Whelen
« Reply #7 on: June 21, 2006, 06:22:38 AM »
Along the same line of thinking, the Hornady 180gr SSP might be a nice spitzer choice if the velocity is kept down. I considered it in my .35 Remington Handi but decided it was too fragile at the velocities I wanted to shoot it at when I read a hunt report of it being used on a deer at 1700fps(IIRC), dead deer but there wasn't much left of the bullet.

Tim

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=556754
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Offline myarmor

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35 Whelen
« Reply #8 on: June 21, 2006, 07:11:01 AM »
Quote from: Paul5388
..... If this is true, both .357" and .358" bullets can be used with good accuracy.  This opens the bullet selection available by a considerable amount.

The Whelen isn't restricted to 200+ gr bullets when all of the pistol and cast bullets are thrown into the mix......


This is my second reason for interest in the Whelen lately.
I can't wait to hear from some rangetime with them. And I am looking forward to hearing how the .357 pistol bullets would perform as compared to the intended .358s Kept under their speed limit of course  :)
-Aaron
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Offline 358Win

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35 Whelen
« Reply #9 on: June 21, 2006, 08:01:35 AM »
As you can tell, I'm partial to the 358 Winchester, but love all the 35's.  If your loading your own there really is no good reason to drive the 225 TSX faster than 2,600.  Even at 2,600 it will bounce a very large bear and is pretty much overkill for everything else in the U.S.A.  Take a look at the drop figures with a 200 yard zero the difference between 2,600 and 2,800 is just over an inch in drop at 300 yards.  I think you can live with that.  The bonus prize is that at 2,600 the recoil and the muzzle blast are A LOT more tolerable.

All pistol bullets for 380/9mm (.355), 38/357 (.357) will work handily in the .358 bore of your 35 Whelen.  This allows you to use your rifle for more than big game.  Load the pistol bullets down to about 1,800 fps and you have a fine small game load up to about 200 yards.  Then if you ever go to coastal Alaska and want to get a really big bear then go ahead and load it up to full steam.
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Offline Paul5388

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35 Whelen
« Reply #10 on: June 21, 2006, 08:21:52 AM »
This is an interesting thread!  :-D

My Whelen isn't a Handi, it's a custom built 1917 Enfield from probably back in the '60s.

http://www.handloads.com/gallery/file.asp?ID=497

The use of pistol bullets increasing its versatility was part of what attracted me to it.  

It's certainly overkill on Texas whitetail with factory type loads, not that I've ever had a factory load for it.  Even the 200 gr Rem PSP or Hornady 200 gr are too much for anything native to Texas.

Looks like there's some kind of block on the image, but you can C&P to take a look.
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Offline quickdtoo

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35 Whelen
« Reply #11 on: June 21, 2006, 10:52:27 AM »
Really nice looking rifle, Paul!! I fixed it so you can just click it, [img] tags require a .jpg or similar type file extension to display here.

Tim
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Offline RemingtonMagnum

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35 Whelen
« Reply #12 on: June 21, 2006, 02:18:34 PM »
:toast:   Paul

Don
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Offline DakotaElkSlayer

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35 Whelen
« Reply #13 on: June 21, 2006, 03:52:56 PM »
What kind of groups are you guys getting out of your whelen?

Jim
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Offline Paul5388

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35 Whelen
« Reply #14 on: June 21, 2006, 03:56:42 PM »
Thanks Tim!  :grin:

I forgot to mention that Whelen is about 10 pounds with a fairly heavy barrel.  With 250s at more than pedestrian speed it will still get your attention.

When #1 son was still a teenager ( he'll be 40 this year!), he shot the Whelen from the prone position and you could see the skid marks from his toes going backwards!  

In a moment of insanity, I let him use it for a deer hunt and he says the button buck he shot with 200 gr PSPs flipped the little buck and ruined all the meat in the front half.

With that in mind, I think the 180 gr Hornady SSP would have to be loaded down to something under 2000 fps to compensate for a thinner jacket material.
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Offline poncaguy

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35 Whelen
« Reply #15 on: June 21, 2006, 04:56:11 PM »
Since  I don't reload yet, ordered some Remington loads from Mid Way. Probably remove  my Mueller 2x7 Multi Dot from my Stevens 7-08 and use it on my Handi 35 Whelen..........
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Offline mattparliament

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35 Whelen
« Reply #16 on: June 22, 2006, 06:43:15 AM »
Haven't shot mine yet, plan to this weekend. Getting a box of remington factory's and I have a couple of good reloads.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Matt
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Offline poncaguy

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35 Whelen
« Reply #17 on: June 22, 2006, 09:08:50 AM »
Picked it up today, great trigger, barrrel was even clean, but will clean it good anyway. Mounted my Mueller 2x7 Multi Dot on .....waiting on ammo from MidWay, shoot it tomorrow I hope.
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Offline jpuke

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35 Whelen
« Reply #18 on: June 23, 2006, 03:39:56 AM »
Anyone thought about getting their Whelen chambered to an Improved version?  I've always wanted one and I've thought about doing it when I do.   Read some Paco Kelly stuff that piqued my interest.
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Offline quickdtoo

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35 Whelen
« Reply #19 on: June 23, 2006, 05:10:48 AM »
Rechambering a Handi to AI in a rimless cartridge is a sticky wicket since the barrel can't be set back like it can in a bolt action. Use the search feature on the subject, it's been discussed many times. :wink:

Tim
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Offline jpuke

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35 Whelen
« Reply #20 on: June 23, 2006, 06:28:23 AM »
I did not know that - Thanks!
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Offline Sourdough

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35 Whelen
« Reply #21 on: June 23, 2006, 07:10:26 AM »
Shoot mine several times a year.  Recoil is comperable with my 30-06 Handi.  I have the 26" barrel, a few ounces more weight on the barrel.  I shoot the Nosler 250gr bullet.  I'm shooting RL-15, with a CCI LR primer.  

Then again I shoot daily, and recoil means little to me.  Not that I'm macho or anything, I'm just insensative to most recoil due to my daily shooting routine.  Just remember Newton's Law, "To every action there is an opposite and equal reaction".  A 250gr bullet will recoil harder than a 180 gr bullet.  To me the 180gr .35 Whelen recoils just like my 30-06 with 180gr bullets.  I recommend your first two shots be from a standing position.  Shooting from a bench is a poor way to judge recoil.  When shooting from a bench I set my rest up to where it is high enough for me to sit up straight, just like when I stand.  If you are leaning forward when you shoot, your body has no way to flex back to absorb recoil.  If your local benches are not suitable for this type of shooting, find someone with a lead sled, or comperable rest and shoot from that.  In that way it will prevent you from developing a flinch.  Finding or procuring a recoil reducing rest is much easier than curing a flinch once it has developed.
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Offline poncaguy

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« Reply #22 on: June 25, 2006, 05:39:09 AM »
Shot my Handi 35 Whelen yesterday, sighting in  my Mueller 2x7 Multi Shot. Just shooting off hood of my pickup at 35 yards. After getting it sighted  in, shot a 2 shot group that was one ragged hole! Recoil wasn't as bad as my Mossberg 270  ATR I shot the day  before. I don't like big bores, but this one changed my mine! I'm in Love
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Offline Paul5388

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35 Whelen
« Reply #23 on: June 25, 2006, 05:49:22 AM »
Poncaguy,

Bigbore starts with a .4" or more!   :lol:

The .35 Whelen is just a medium bore, but it's a nice one.  Glad you have taken a liking to it!  :D

BTW, keep us updated on your progress with it.
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Offline poncaguy

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35 Whelen
« Reply #24 on: June 25, 2006, 09:21:59 AM »
Well, except for my 45-70, 35 is "big bore" to me. :)  I usually shoot 270 and 270 WSM ............ :wink:
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