.35 Whelen bullet penetration & expansion test with pics

Bullet placement is the key but those TSX bullets got me thinking about a new hunting round for the 243. I bet an 85 gr TSX will flatten deer out past 300 yds. with over 1000 ft.lbs. and 2400 fps@ 350 yds. Has anyone tried the TSX in the 243?
 
A great report - very useful info and very well done pics! All those pills will sure do the job it would seem. But those 225 TSXs seem an impressive standout.

What no 225 or 250 NOSLER PARTITIONS?

Thanks again bcsteve!
 
Wow. Just stumbled on this. I've forwarded it to my buddy with his new .35 Whelen 7600.

Thanks for this BCSteve. Have you considered submitting this and the 6mm review to a magazine?
 
I have been using 200gr Barns exclusivly with R15 in my 35Whelan improved.
for going on a couple of years now on everything from Deer, Pigs, Elk and Moose. Nothing was able to get out of sight before dropping.
I may be looking @ the 225gr. But then again why work up another load
when this one works so well.
 
skeetgunner said:
Wow. Just stumbled on this. I've forwarded it to my buddy with his new .35 Whelen 7600.

Thanks for this BCSteve. Have you considered submitting this and the 6mm review to a magazine?
Click to expand...

Both tests have been posted on 24hourcampfire where several well know american writers post but I've never had any comments from them, maybe it's not scientific enough for them. It's good enough for me:p
 
deersmeller said:
Interesting tests and good pics. thanks. :)

The Barnes 225gr TSX looks really good.

Any experience of this bullet on game ?
Click to expand...

I had some loaded at 2700fps in my Ruger last year for moose hunting but unfurtunately the moose were not cooperative. Hopefully this year I'll post results from afield test on a more realistic media than newspaper:evil: .
 
35 whelen

Steve you did a great job.

I have been using a 35 whelen IMP since 82 and can't say enough about how well the Speer 250 HC have worked for me 3/4" groups at 100 yds and the last Elk I shot I hit her in the neck and we found the bullet perfectly formed. It traveled from 1/2 way on the neck down the spine to the hip joint. This is twice I have had that happen on neck shots.
I have tested bullets from 180 to 250s and like the 250s best. Have some 310 gr Woodlieghs to test yet:) Not sure what load to use with my IMR 4320 powder.
 
I'm liking the performance of the barnes bullets. I don't reload, but federal makes a cartridge with them. I'll have to give them a whirl this deer season.
 
I think this is a great thread, but testing bullets for penetration in a whelen isn't the best test. Velocities are very friendly tostandard bullets, I usd to shoot a speer hotcore in my 30-06 and it worked great, I'm not so sure it would work equally well fmor a 300 winny.

Finding a 250 grain bullet that won't penetrate at 2500 fps would be like finding a 300 gr 375 that wouldn't at teh same velocity, impossible. I think the grewat advantage of superbullets like the TSX is you can go lighter and flatter and still know that they will penetrate from bad angles etc. I shoot the 168 version from my 300 win, last fall at about 250 yards I shot a big moose, took out a rib going in, heart and lungs badly damaged, broke the far should and I found the bullet in the skin on the far side, it weighed 164 grains, penetrated at least two feet of moose and it looked like a Barnes commercial. I bet penetratiin would be similar to that of a 200 gr partition. I expect if I had been shooting a whelen, any of the 250 gr bullets would have done a similar job, but I would have been thinking about how long the shot was rather than just taking it.
 
Any bullets that penetrate like those shown and open up to twice their diameter or more - seem A-O.K. to me ... as long as they retain some 70 percent of their original weight. The "weight loss" factor isn't perhaps as crucial as one might initially think ... all that lost lead/copper "schrapnel" does a lot of damage disrupting tissue and cutting blood vessels to help get the job done.

Not sure, but think I would prefer a bullet that comes to rest beneath the hide on the far side - to one that exits. The former would indicate that all the energy was expended withing the animal - while the later might provide a better blood trail.
 
Hi!

Good works Sir!, That type of test remind me why it is so cool to be a member of Canadian Gun Nutz.

Keep the bullets flying guys and gals

Yves
 
good work Steve....I have a Whelen here that I haven't blooded yet...this is good info.....looks like "premium" bullets aren't really necessary for most work.

PS..that must be one heckuva Whelen you've got there...that's a lot of 35 cal shooting..,how's your shoulder?
 
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