.35 whelen Speer or Hornady

WhelanLad

WhelanLad

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have you had more success with a good load with the Speer hot cor or hornady interlocks in the past?

i felt like i didnt acheieve a decent load with the Speer 250gr in my last attempts an not sure if it was the Gun not liking them or the combo of powder etc.

in the past i have had reasonable sucess with the Hornadys 250g an Varget......

the speers dont have a cannelure, but the hornadys do - i think i am going to load up some new rounds but havnt decided which projectile to use!?!?!


none will matter on intended game an distances to be used.


not looking to hot rod the gun either, its a Ruger hawkeye---

keen to hear ya thoughts-
 
Both pretty equal with what I have used ...6mm, 7mm, 8mm, 9.3mm the Speers were much better though.
They have many different lines, standard cup/core, hot core, grand slam, deepcurl bonded. Only ones I really never use are the standard cup/core as the hot core are basically the same price.
 
I had trouble with all 250 grain bullet weights, getting accuracy that I was satisfied with for hunting.

I tried Hornady, Speer and Sierra type bullets.

You don't mention the twist rate or velocities so it's hard to give an opinion on your issue.

The rifle I used was a Winchester Mod 70 with a 23 in ER Shaw bbl, with a 1-12 twist rate.

I used Varget, IMR3031 and W748 and after a half dozen attempts with each of the above makers bullets gave up, after the best groups I could get were just around 3 inches at 100yds.

A friend suggested that I switch to 225 grain bullets with flat bases.

I bought a couple of 100ct Hornady and Speer cup and core offerings and my first load of IMR3031, 52.0grains went into 2 inches with either bullet.

I finally ended up increasing the load to 55.0grains of IMR3031 over CCI250 primers until I was getting just over 2600fps and the groups shrank to around 1.5 inches at 100 and maintained the 1.5moa out to 200yds, which is as far as my records show.

My records also show a couple of loads of Varget out to 200yds, the final ''best'' consistent groups were just over 2 moa, which would have been fine for most hunting I do.

I didn't find much if any difference between the Hornady and Speer as far as accuracy was concerned. They're both proven good performers on game.

Most people shooting the 338 and 35 cal cartridges really can't handle the recoil generated by heavier bullets. Not saying that's an issue with you.

So, they tend to opt for the lightest game bullets available for their loads, right down to the mid 180s grain weight. Why bother???? Go with a cartridge/rifle combo you can tolerate.

The 35 Whelan is a great cartridge and when loaded to its full potential, it's capable of taking any game animal I've hunted in North America ethically and cleanly if the shooter does their part.

My rifle was satisfactory for the ranges and type of hunting I do. However, the bbl was definitely not ''match quality" and I believe the two moa and 1.5moa group averages were about the best that could be wrung out of them.

At the time, I didn't need more and it was already obvious to me that the 338 bore cartridges were more attractive as I already had a couple of other rifles chambered for them and there was a much larger selection of components available for them.

No flies on the 35 Whelan and if it were the only cartridge available to me, I wouldn't feel the least bit under or over gunned.
 
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I was speaking to a fellow this morning about his 35 Whelan, with a custom barrel, made in Canada.

The barrel maker asked him what weight bullets he intended to shoot and then suggested that they cut the rifling 1-15 for 225-250 grain bullets of all configurations.

I have seen this rifle shoot and it shoots better than the owner.

Maybe WhelanLad's barrel twist rate is over stabilizing the bullets he's using????
 
bearhunter said:
I was speaking to a fellow this morning about his 35 Whelan, with a custom barrel, made in Canada.

The barrel maker asked him what weight bullets he intended to shoot and then suggested that they cut the rifling 1-15 for 225-250 grain bullets of all configurations.

I have seen this rifle shoot and it shoots better than the owner.

Maybe WhelanLad's barrel twist rate is over stabilizing the bullets he's using????
Click to expand...

its a ruger hawkeye with the lc6 factory , id have to google its twist lol but 1:12 rings a bell doesnt it
 
I've shot a lot of Speer Grand Slam 250's, some of the Speer Hot Cor 250's and both the old RN and Spitzer Hornady Interlock 250's out of the three different .35 Whelen rifles that I've owned. 1:16, 1:14, 1:12" twists. I couldn't say I have a strong preference. All shot accurately enough for the large game they are intended for, all were very effective on Elk / Sambar size game, all functioned well in all three rifles. The Hornady RN tended to produce somewhat smaller groups, the Speer GS was the penetration / weight retention champ. IMR 4064 is the powder I have used the most, but Varget / ADI AR2208 is good stuff too. My loads average 2500 fps from a 22" barrel. I've mostly used standard, not magnum primers. Load up any of them and go kill stuff.
 
The Whelan I had loved 250g Hotcors and a heavy dose of Reloader 15. I did have one core separation on a broadside bull elk at 240yds. Found the jacket skinning him out but man what a perfect hole right through the lungs and out. Looked like a 2” core sample taken. His 90yd run was not hard to track lol

PS MV was mid 2500’s, just over 2600 on hot summer day. Generally moa or less with a Rem 7600.
 
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