35 Whelen info please

Brambles

Brambles

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Not sure if this is the right forum for this or not

I'm planning on having a 35 whelen put together and I've read guys saying their rifles have long throats so they can seat the big 250 and 300 gr bullets out far, this seems to be a trait that they like.

Do the bigger bullets crowd the powder charge that much that its become a big issue needing to seat the bullets out far?

Not sure what the magazine length on my M70 .270 donor rifle is but should I forsee any problems with COL and getting near the lands?

How do I go about getting the rifle set up so that I can shoot 225gr-300gr bullets accuratly or do I have to pick a more specific bullet when getting the throad set up?

FYI its a 1:14 twist #3 contour King CM barrel and its going on a m70 push feed lightweight sporter originally .270 cal

Thanks for your help

Brambles

Any advice regarding this cartridge would be appreciated
 
The beauty of the .35 (and the .338-06 for that matter) is that they don't need huge charges of powder to be really effective. The geometry of the cases is a beautuful thing. With that barrel I doubt you'll see COL as much of a problem and if it turns out you're crowding a 300 gr bullet don't use it! Can't think of a much better bullet for the .35 than a 225 gr Accubond or a 250 gr Partition Spitzer seated out to the 3.340 max. You'll want to check of course but these should give you plenty of room in your M70. You can safely launch those 225's @ 2800+ fps - what more could you ask for? I'd avoid heavier than a 250 for the very reasons you're asking about - tons of data around for slightly lighter bullets.
 
My .35 Whelen has a 23" #2 Douglas Premium barrel with a 1:12 twist. It came from Douglas pre-threaded and pre-chambered so I assume it has a standard SAAMI chamber. It was installed to the action with no adjustments to the chamber other than establishing proper headspace.

So far, I've established the following max. COL's(bullet firmly engaging rifling)

1.) Hornady 250 SP - 3.400" - bullet engagement with case - .337"

2.) Hornady 250 RN - 3.420" - bullet engagement - .175"

3.) Nosler 225 Partition - 3.348" - bullet engagement - .283"

The only bullets I've ever had cause a problem with regards to COL was the old 250 gr Barnes X. It was simply too long. Bullets seated on a max load of RL15 would actually rise out of the case after seating. I haven't tied the triple-shocks.

The mag box on my FN Mauser is 3.40" long but I don't consider this to be a problem. I load to an COL that will function flawlessly in the rifle and not worry about the relationship of the bullet to the lands. The rifle shoots fine anyway.

Alliant's RL15 appears to be the premier powder for the .35 Whelen and is pretty much the only one I use. It is a simple matter for me to get 2550-2600 fps with 250 gr bullets and a bit over 2700 fps with the 225's. I do this with below book loads.

I know it's possible to get +2800 fps with 225's but the combination of very short case life, loose primers and the hair on the back of my neck standing up caused me to back off.:)
 
Mine is built on an M-70 push feed featherweight 30-06 action. It is throated slightly shorter than the Remington 700 classics that were in .35 whelen--the original ones had a very long throat (at least the two I had did).

My present whelen has a 24" barrel and I get around 2550-2575 with 250 grain speer or hornady spitzers. I get just over 2600 with 225 grain partitions. I use imr 4064 with the 250's and RL 15 with the 225's.

Be really careful working up the loads as there is a lot of conflicting data and the safety of the load depends a lot on the throating/chambering of your rifle. Loads that are perfectly safe in my Remington factory chamber will loosen primers in my Custom m-70--it has a tighter chamber and a shorter throat.

Have fun with it.

44Bore
 
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