35 Whelen, alternative
- Thread starter ratherbefishin
- Start date
Turkeyslayer 1300
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Russell, Ontario
why don't you just neck up .30-06 brass and a strange caliber e.g. .35 whelen should lower the price of any rifle
- Location
- maple ridge b.c
Maybe he's talking about the availability of the rifles themselves at that price point.ratherbefishin said:
if the 9.3x57 is effective and closely matches the 35whelen,which I understand is a very efficient round,-why rechamber it to 9.3x62?My main concern is obtaining factory ammunition,I don;t shoot a lot nor do I reload-but would plan use the rifle strictly for my annual moose hunt
ratherbefishin said:
There are two excellent factory moose loads for the 35 Whelen. One is the Federal 225gr. Trophy Bonded Bearclaw, the other it the Remington 250 Corelokt. It would be hard to improve on either of these loads for Swamp Donkeys. Sight your gun with either load in and buy a case of ammo. Then you're good to go for life.
I dumped this fellow in 2005 shooting the Federal Factory TBBC.
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nice bull!I'm just at a loss to figure out why the 35's aren't far more popular than they are-even Ruger dropped the 350 magnum in it's allweather model which I would have thought is as good as it gets for a tough functional hunting rifle for moose/bear,and they don;t even chamber a 35 whelen[not sure if anyone does].I understand the 358 is the replacement-Is it as efficient?
The .358 is to the .35 Whelen what the .308 Win is to the 30-06.
Any one of those is an excellent choice for moose, bear and deer inside 250 yards.
If you don't handload, perhaps you should take a close look at the .338 Federal. That looks like an excellent caliber for bigger game and there's a very decent selection of factory ammo.
IMHO, all of these calibers are peas in a pod. Get any one of them and don't look back.
Any one of those is an excellent choice for moose, bear and deer inside 250 yards.
If you don't handload, perhaps you should take a close look at the .338 Federal. That looks like an excellent caliber for bigger game and there's a very decent selection of factory ammo.
IMHO, all of these calibers are peas in a pod. Get any one of them and don't look back.
I'm told the 35 whelen[and clones] is more efficient than the 338 and has less recoil.My friend just picked up a ruger allweather in 338 -and said it just isn;t pleasant to shoot-and he's a very experianced rifleman.I understand the 35's areconsidered to be ''sub 250 yard'' hunting rifles-but for all practical intents and purposes-thats where 95 % of any shots on game I have fired have been.For a hunting rifle-stainless and a composite stock seem to be the most practical choice
beretta boy
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Orillia, Ontario
Remington has lots of 35 Whelen bolt rifles. 
Lots of ammunition for them too !
Lots of ammunition for them too !
- Location
- marmora ontario
Just go for the 35 whelen or 358 win. They are NOT short range Ctgs.!This crap about 250 yds as a maximum just ain't so. I dropped a young bull moose at 468 yds(used a laser range finder) with 1 shot using a 98 barreled in 358 Win. Cheers JITC
ratherbefishin said:
Where do you buy 9.3x57 ammo?
Buy the .35 Whelen, or failing that, a .358Win. The .348Win is another option but would be a handloading proposition. That might be a problem since you have stated you want to use factory ammo
The .35 Whelen
The .35 Whelen was a popular wildcat cartridge for decades before being civilized by Remington. It is created by simply necking up a .30-06 case to accept .35 caliber bullets. The result is a powerful medium bore cartridge that does not require a magnum action or a magnum bolt face.
Like its ballistic twin the .350 Remington Magnum, the .35 Whelen works best with medium burning rifle powders such as H335, RL-15, IMR 4320, IMR 4064, and W748. Suitable .35 caliber bullets range from about 150 grains to 250 grains, with the 220-225 grain bullets representing a sound choice for all-around use.
Here are some .35 Whelen statistics of interest to reloaders: Bullet diameter is .358", Maximum COL is 3.34", Maximum case length is 2.494", and Maximum permissible pressure is 52,000 cup.
The Speer No. 13 Reloading Manual shows that 61.0 grains of H335 powder behind a Speer 180 grain bullet yields a MV of 2804 fps, and a maximum load of 65.0 grains of H335 powder gives the 180 grain bullet a MV of 2,891 fps.
Speer data also shows that their 220 grain bullet can be driven to a MV of 2515 fps by 59.0 grains of W748 powder. A maximum load of 63.0 grains of W748 powder gives the 220 grain bullet a MV of 2,560 fps.
53.0 grains of W748 powder drove the 250 grain Speer bullets to a MV of 2277 fps, while a maximum load of 57.0 grains of W748 powder gives the 250 grain bullet a MV of 2,350 fps. These Speer loads were developed in R-P cases and used CCI 250 primers. The test rifle was a Remington Model 700 with a 22" barrel.
The .348 Winchester
The .348 Winchester was introduced in 1936 in the Winchester Model 71 lever action rifle. The .348 cartridge was a modernized replacement for the old .33 Winchester and .35 Winchester cartridges, and the Model 71 was essentially an improved Model 1886 rifle.
The current Winchester .348 factory load uses a 200 grain Silvertip bullet (SD .236) at a muzzle velocity (MV) of 2520 fps from a 24" barrel. The muzzle energy (ME) of this load is 2820 ft. lbs. The figures at 200 yards are 1931 fps and 1656 ft. lbs. The trajectory of the Winchester factory load looks like this: +1.4" at 100 yards, 0 at 150 yards, -3.4" at 200 yards, and -9.2" at 250 yards. Winchester recommends this load for medium to large and heavy game.
The reloader is handicapped by the small selection of .348" bullets. To the best of my knowledge no other cartridge uses bullets of this diameter, so .348 bullets are not big sellers for the independent bullet makers. However, there are a few available. Hornady offers a 200 grain Flat Point in .348 caliber, for which they claim exceptionally reliable expansion and sure killing power. And Barnes offers two .348" bullets, a 220 grain Original, and a 250 grain Original.
The Hornady 200 grain bullet (SD .236) can be used to essentially duplicate the Winchester factory load. The third edition of the Hornady Handbook shows that maximum loads of several powders, such as 54.1 grains of IMR 4320, will give that bullet a MV of 2500 fps. If one wants to stretch the trajectory of the .348 to its practical maximum, zero this bullet at a MV of 2500 fps at 200 yards. Then the path of the bullet will look like this: +3.1" at 100 yards, +2.6" at 150 yards, 0 at 200 yards, -5.2" at 250 yards, and -13.5" at 300 yards. Hornady recommends this bullet for medium and medium-heavy big game.
The .358 Winchester
The .358 Winchester was introduced in 1955 as a modern, short action replacement for the aging .348 Winchester, which was available only in the Model 71 lever action rifle. Although its case is smaller, ballistically the .358 Win. is nearly identical to the larger .348. This miracle is achieved through higher pressure, up to 52,000 cup in the case of the .358 Win.
The current Winchester factory load propells a 200 grain Silvertip bullet at a muzzle velocity (MV) of 2,530 fps and muzzle energy (ME) of 2,840 ft. lbs. The figures at 100 yards are 2,210 fps and 2,160 ft. lbs. Midrange trajectory for the 200 grain bullet is 3.6 inches over 200 yards, which makes the .358 Winchester about a 200 yard big game cartridge.
The .358 is best served by medium burning rate rifle powders such as H335, IMR 3031, VIHT N-135, and W748. Bullets from 180-250 grains are most appropriate.
Here are some specifications important to reloaders: bullet diameter .358", maximum COL2.780", maximum case length 2.015", trim to 2.005".
The Speer Reloading Manual Number 13 shows that their 180 grain Flat-SP bullet can be driven to a MV of 2511 fps with 48.0 grains of H335 powder, and 2,732 fps with ME of over 2915 ft. lbs. by a maximum load of 52.0 grains of H335. At 2700 fps the tajectory of that bullet looks like this: +2.5" at 100 yards, 0 at 200 yards, and -11.3" at 300 yards. With this load the .358 becomes a 250 yard deer cartridge.
The Speer 220 grain Flat-SP bullet can be driven to 2328 fps by 48.0 grains of W748 powder, and 2481 fps by a maximum charge of 52.0 grains of W748. These Speer loads used Winchester cases and CCI 250 primers and were tested in a 22" rifle barrel.
The trajectory of the 220 grain bullet at a MV of 2450 fps looks about like this: +2.9" at 100 yards, 0 at 200 yards, -4.6" at 250 yards, and -12" at 300 yards. This is the type of bullet in the velocity range that Jack O'Connor recommended as an ideal load for a woods and brush rifle.
Articles by Chuck Hawks.
