.35 whelen max load

asphalt599

asphalt599

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I had heard previously from quite a few people that they found 59gr of RL-15 was the prefered load for their Rem 750 .35 whelen with a 250gr bullet. (I'm loading for the same rifle) I was looking in my manuals and the max load between the 2 books varies quite a bit. Hornady says 55.1gr is max. Lee says 59.5 is max. I had loaded something around 53-54gr previously and would like to move up to the 59 as others had suggested. I was hoping a few of my fellow gun nuts would check their reloading manuals and post the max loads so I can compare. I have Lee and Hornady so any others would be appreciated.

caliber- .35 whelen
powder- RL-15
Bullet- 250gr RN
 
Reloading manuals are only guidelines it is up to you to work up to a max load a little at a time while watching for pressure signs.
 
I had a 700 Bolt action rifle in 35 Whelen. I worked up to what appeared to be a working Max load with the 250 Speer, and it was 61.0 grains. No pressure signs, but proper velocities.
This rifle had a pretty generous length throat, so that may have had a bearing on the "big" load.
I seriously doubt that 53 grains would be a max load in any production rifle.
Regards, Eagleye.
 
Today's moose are tougher then yesterdays and require 59grs. in that load, less then that will just bounce off, even if a case "lets go" in the chamber.
 
For years the Alliant site listed 59 gr as max with a 250 gr bullet. Currently they list 54 gr as max. I guess someone at Alliant read the Speer manual.

I used to load up to 59 gr but, while other traditional pressure sign weren't apparent, brass life was notably short.

I dropped back to 57-58 gr and brass life improved and I was still getting 2600-2650 fps out of a 23" barrel.
 
asphalt599 said:
I had heard previously from quite a few people that they found 59gr of RL-15 was the prefered load for their Rem 750 .35 whelen with a 250gr bullet. (I'm loading for the same rifle) I was looking in my manuals and the max load between the 2 books varies quite a bit. Hornady says 55.1gr is max. Lee says 59.5 is max. I had loaded something around 53-54gr previously and would like to move up to the 59 as others had suggested. I was hoping a few of my fellow gun nuts would check their reloading manuals and post the max loads so I can compare. I have Lee and Hornady so any others would be appreciated.

caliber- .35 whelen
powder- RL-15
Bullet- 250gr RN
Click to expand...

I came across this issue a couple years ago. I had loaded 59.5 grains of R-15 for a long time and a lot of practice shooting then one day Alliant dropped the maximum load by a great deal. There is a lot of discussion about it in this thread that I started on 24Hourcampfire.com:

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/2695794/1

Apparently Alliant can't explain why the max was lowered so dramatically except to say that Speer was now doing their pressure testing and that's what they came up with. As for me, I kept loading 59.5 without any issue.
 
I appreciate the info guys. I think I am going to bump by loads up to 59 gr this time. Just finished sizing and priming 40 .35 whelen brass. Maybe this afternoon I will get a few minutes to load them up.
 
I am using 59gr R15 in my Whelen but with the 225 partition @2700fps. What is the max for this bullet? Says this is max in Nosler manual. I want to try the 250 Partition this year, I'll give 59gr a try. Should get 2600fps ish???
 
asphalt599 said:
I appreciate the info guys. I think I am going to bump by loads up to 59 gr this time. Just finished sizing and priming 40 .35 whelen brass. Maybe this afternoon I will get a few minutes to load them up.
Click to expand...

You really should start 5-10% low and work up to max in steps.... jumping straight from 54 to 59 grains is not a recommended procedure. That's why the loading manuals all list a starting load and a maximum load. They don't mean that you're supposed to start at the maximum load.

I'd recommend that you start at 55 gr and load a couple cartridges at each of the 1 gr steps (55 gr, 56gr , 57gr,) and then 1/2 gr steps as you get closer to 59 (57.5, 58, 58.5, 59) .

Maybe you wouldn't have a problem - but you could and it's not a good way to do it. Your call but I wouldn't increase by 5 grains without making some steps in between. Check your fired cases as you work your way up firing them, maybe you'll see something that makes you pause and think.
 
Hey asphalt599 I loaded up my 750 carbine to 59grs but never really saw any real improvement in accuracy. I settled on 55grs of RL 15 with my 250gr RN bullets. I use this gun for 150yrd max range brush rifle so if I'm 1.5-2" groups at 100yds I'm happy. I do load my 35 Whelen Ruger bolt with 60grs of RL15 for my longer range rifle with the 250 Sp and 225gr TSX's, with MOA results.
 
Interesting thread. I load my Whelen to 2500 FPS from a 24" barrel with RL15 and the Hornady 250. My load is just under "max" in the old manuals and just over "max" in the new ones. I'm pretty happy with accuracy, killing power and case life. I think loading a 250 gr. to over 2600 might be pushing things a bit too far, but the factory loads from remington at 2400 are not to full potential. I have also reached 2500 fps and got good accuracy from IMR4064.
I do wonder if the formula for RL15 has changed in recent years, nobody seems to be able to give a clear answer on that.
 
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