35 Whelen 225gr bullets

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eric2381

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Medicine Hat, Alberta
Hello. A little while ago I got a 35 Whelen. I've been working up a load with RL15, 225gr. Sierra gameking, and CCI250 primers. It shoots accurately and fast.

Does anybody have any experience with these bullets on game?

I've read in a few places guys prefer the 250gr. bullets in the Whelen, but I wanna give these a shot.

Thanks for your time, Eric
 
I use a .35 Whelen for moose hunting. When I first got it I tested the Speer Grand Slam 250gr, the HotCor 250gr, the Hornady IL 250gr and the Barnes TSX 225gr. Both Speer gave me excellent accuracy (under MOA) and I'm sure would have also given great results on game. I ended going with the 225gr TSX. In my tests, the TSX was just as accurate, shot a little flatter (higher velocity they the 250's), expanded to a wider diameter and penetrated deeper than the three 250 grainers.
 
Are the 225 Sierras a boat tail design? If so, I have had poor results on game with them out of my 358 Winchester. I was pushing them at about 2450fps. I have switched to 225 Partitions.
 
Yes, the 225 SGK are boat tails. I use my Whelen for large game so I use the 225 TSX. If I wanted a deer load for it, I would probably try the 225 SGK. Don't know about their
.35 cal bullet but Sierra are knonw to be "soft" bullets.

What do you plan on hunting with yours?
 
I'm planning on hunting mainly black bear with it. I've heard the same thing about the bullets being soft, but often rumours are just that. My Dad has excellent luck with the SGK out of his 6.5x55.

I have a box of 225gr. Nosler Accubonds as well. I may give them a shot. I also have 250gr. Hornady IL RN, and 250gr. Hornady IL SP. I want to try a few bullets to find the one that shoots the best. I have a feeling it'll be the AB's, but they aren't cheap, and they can be hard to find.
 
bcsteve said:
Yes, the 225 SGK are boat tails. I use my Whelen for large game so I use the 225 TSX. If I wanted a deer load for it, I would probably try the 225 SGK. Don't know about their
.35 cal bullet but Sierra are knonw to be "soft" bullets.
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Boat tails are prone to lead and cup separations, if not bonded. I use only flat base, spire points only. Sierra BT, should be the last bullet, considered for hunting heavy game. They are excelent for plinking, though. Generaly, in 35 Whelen, stick with 250gr regular lead & cup bullets, or 225gr premium ones, whatever gives you the best accuracy. There is absolutely nothing wrong with yours 250gr Hornady ILSP, or 225gr Nosler AB, for general "kill it all" bullets in 35 Whelen.
 
bcsteve said:
I tested the Speer Grand Slam 250gr, the HotCor 250gr, the Hornady IL 250gr and the Barnes TSX 225gr.
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I tried the same bullets as BCsteve, the only difference is that I used them on game. Perfectly satisfactory performance on everything I shot with them, mostly elk and moose, with a few whitetails. About 20 head in all. The ONE deer I shot with a Sierra 225 BT was at less than 20 yards, broadside. Bullet passed through the chest just behind the shoulders. bullet speed was over 2600 fps on impact but the bullet apparently failed to expand at all. If it wasn't for the fresh snow the tracking job would have been difficult, well over 100 yards, no blood at all. That whitetail buck died all right, but the tiny wound channel looked exactly .35 caliber. I will never use another .35 225BT Sierra on game. Accuracy and speed are fine, but I have no confidence in them any more.
 
Old topic i know but its all good.

I've just got ahold of some 225gr Woodleigh weldcores RN . will be loading them up in a few weeks an then i duno how long until il shoot a deer but will post up how they go
 
Where did any of you end up with 225gr. (especially partitions), with CCI250 or Std primers, and RL15 for charge weights? I have ran into something I have not seen before with a model 750 Rem. and the loads I am working on.
 
eric2381
Lotsa good advice above.

To start with I should say that to date I've got 35 Whelen hunting experience with 250s not 225s.

But I've collected the voices of hunters using this bullet for years. I've got many field reports on that 225 Sierra from all over the world in the last 10 years. I'm of the opinion the bullet has a Jekyl and Hyde character. Reports are split between those that report poor terminal performance like Longwalker above, to those who swear it kills everything with stellar terminal performance. I'm talking about hunters that have taken the time to relay their experiences with that bullet to me.

I don't trust it myself because of these credible sources that seemingly disagree. A bullet that works as it should - and then not - is not for me. Incidentally I know of one hunter who was doing culling of elk in the States and claims to have killed many dozens with that bullet from his 350RM with only perfect results. It's hard to figure. Could the manufacturing process be variable enough to give lot to lot significant differences that could account for this - not sure.

BTW, for bears, 250s (SpeerHC and both Hornady Interlocks) have ALWAYS worked perfectly for me at around 2450MV thru the years. Pass thru is the norm thru the chest broadside - good blood trail - bear doesn't go more than 18yds - usually less. Here's and birch tree that was about 6 feet behind a 200 lb bear my son shot from a tree stand with a 250 HornadyRN at about 2400 impact - it went about 5 or 6 yards - warning quite a graphic image - http://35cal.com/pics/blood_trail.jpg

IMO if 225s are wanted for bears, stay with the partitions, ABs, TBs, and TSXs. They are all premium and I think (opinion as I've never used em to hunt with myself) will work as intended more nearly all of the time. From a 22" barrel 2700MV is about tops with ReL15 in most rifles I've used.

You say you are kicking em out fast - how fast is fast? Just curious.
 
Steve Holborn hunts with a P17 .35 Whelen and he swears by the SGK. He says the results are explosive on deer, often blowing a frisbee sized chunk of skin off the opposing side. Personally, I had bad luck with the standard factory 250 grain bullets and after some research and experimentation, I settled on the 225 Grain TSX with 60 grains of RL15. I was getting 2720fps and shot a couple of bears with this load. I really like it.
 
Steve Holborn hunts with a P17 .35 Whelen and he swears by the SGK. He says the results are explosive on deer, often blowing a frisbee sized chunk of skin off the opposing side.
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Yes - when I tried to understand from him his experiences with that bullet he described to me the bullets as "vaporizing" in the deer. He's never found a bullet. His loads are 2700MV and he shoots deer at longer range usually and reports getting this explosive effect. How different from Longwalker's "tiny wound channel" report with the SAME BULLET AND COMPARABLE VELOCITY. This is the Jekyl and Hyde quality I mentioned above. I've seen this again and again. One begins to wonder if they are even using the same bullet - but they are. Still ???? to me.
 
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