.35 Whelen load for moose

bcsteve

bcsteve

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I didn't want to highjack BIGREDD's thread so I started my own...

I'm having a .35 Whelen built and plan on using it for moose. I'm tryin to decide which bullet to use. For those who have experience with the Whelen, what would you guys suggest for moose?

- Regular 250gr Speer/Hornady?
- Bump it up a notch, but stay with a lead bullet like a 250gr Speer GS/Nosler Partition/A-Frame?
- Or 225gr TSX?

Would the a 250gr lead bullet have an advantage over the 225 TSX or would the 250 lose 25+gr in the first few inches and the TSX would still come up on top for weight retention and penetration?

thanks
 
My 35 Whelen load gives me 2600 to 2650 fps(measured) from 60.0gr(0.5gr over max as per Alliant load info) of RL-15 behind a Hornady 250gr SP. That load in my Rem 7600 will shoot into .75" .
I have dropped Moose and Elk out past 400 yds(measured) on several occasions and that load has accounted for many Moose and Elk.
The 250gr Hornady bullet does very well for me and I don't see any advantage in a "premium" bullet as I believe that the Hornady products are already premium.
Too many hunters place too much emphasis on "bullet performance" when what really counts is bullet placement.
The way the advertising comes across for "premium bullets", it's a wonder that any animals got killed before "premium bullets" came along.
The 35 Whelen brass is cheap and easy to find and will feed reliably from any magazine designed for the 25-06, 270, 280, 30-06 and 338-06.

Good Luck
John
 
I use the regular old 250gr Speer, based upon the advice of a couple of Yukoners who have shot more moose, and have seen shot, than I will ever see in my lifetime.

They performed well on the measly little, one, moose I used them on and are accurate at the range all the time.




sc :)
 
That seems to be the concensus on premiums with the Whelen, they are not really needed. I already got some Speer 250gr Hot Core, I'll try to get some Hornady and see which one she prefers. For some reason the Speer 250gr comes up more often when you mention the .35 Whelen, It seems to be the bullet of choice.
 
I'd take the extra velocity of the 225 grain load, and the deeper penetration of the TSX. Make mine a 225 Barnes :) ;)
​
 
In my Whelen, I use 57-58 gr of RL15 behind the 250 gr Hornadys for 2575-2600 fps out of a 23" barrel.

My last moose was shot at about 30 ys with this load. The bullet clipped the beasts elbow, punched through both lungs and carried on into the bush. He went a little ways and went down. The lungs were pureed.

On the first moose I shot with the Whelen, I used the 225 gr Nosler Partitions ahead of 60 gr of RL15 for about 2730 fps. The shot was 100 ys and I spined him. Bang. Thud.

In my opinion, RL15 is THEE powder for the Whelen although IMR4320 isn't bad. This year I will once again be using the Hornady 250 gr.

IMHO, the 35 Whelen is a best moose/elk cartridge. Lots of energy, makes a big hole, shoots as flat as a .30-06 with a bullet 25% heavier, reasonable recoil, 4-5 down in the mag, good bullet selection, etc

What's not to like:) :)
 
200gr or 225gr Barns& R-15 and workup to find what your rifle likes best.
I use exclusivley Barns 200gr good B.C. and at over 2800fps out of my
35 Wheland improved. Nothing goes far after being hit with Hammer of Thor.
Regards
 
Given the testimony of many moose hunters-I still don't see why the 35 whelen isn't more popular.The 350 magnum appears to be making some comeback with several rifles chambering it-but that doesn't seem to have spread to the 35whelen-yet, anyway
 
Went around the local gunshop today and grabbed a box of Hornady 250gr SP and some RL15. Most places don't stock a lot of .35 bullet so the picking was slim. Nobody had any 225 TSX which I really want to try, not even Wholesale or Russel. I'll try again in a couple week and if nobody got any I'll special order a box. Until then I'll have the Speer vs Hornady to play with.
 
35 whelen

In my 35 imp I use Imr 4320 and get excellent results. 57 gr = 2565 fps. I prefer Speer 250 sp but have used and still have Hornady in both rnd nose and sp in 250s also some Norma hollow pt and sp with steel jackets in 250

The interesting thing I have found they will all shoot almost into the same hole. the 35 does not seem to be fussy re bullet make at 100 yrds. I did a test one day with them all many yrs ago and it made no diff which bullet was used they all went into the same spot.

I have found the 250s to be the best alround bullet for the 35 so far.

I hit a cow elk 5 yrs ago in the neck at about 100 yrds, it broke her neck and then traveled along the spine to lodge against her hip joint. That's about 6+ feet of meat the speer 250 sp was perfectly formed. Thats a lot of penatration.

If you ever find any to the Norma 250s in the steel jacket hollow pt they sure make a mean bear bullet:))
 
Great to see so much 35cal savy out there in the GWN!!!

Most places don't stock a lot of .35 bullet so the picking was slim.
Click to expand...
- Sigh - one of my pet peeves!

I have found the 250s to be the best alround bullet for the 35 so far.
Click to expand...
- I very much agree with this assessment (but as mentioned, the premium 225 Barnes TSX and Nosler 225 Partition too I would add should be pretty good on the bigger critters too)

Hey Mr Pike - I got a 100 count of those Norma 250gr FN HP bullets with a steel (???) jacket in 358". Thanks for the tip as I hunt bears here in Ontario. Maybe I'll try em on a bear this fall - out of my 356win maybe. Also got a 100 steel (???) Normas SANS the dimple - just a FN.
 
I have hunted with a 358 Norma Mag for over 30 years(its just a big 35 whelen:D )I have tried Speer,Hornady,Grand slams and most of the other premiun bullets,the only bullet weight i ever shot was 250 grainers.I can tell you from experince the 250 Speer will do the job as good as any other bullets out there.There cheap and they work.I have a whole collection of good bullets sitting on my shelf but i keep loading 250 Speer's.
 
I use a .35 W with a 1:14 twist, 59.3 gr of RL15 behind a 250 gr Hornady round nose and get a bit better than 2600 fps out of it. Being the lazy sort that I am, I haven't bothered developing other loads for it since this one seems to work just fine on everything from javelina to moose.
 
I've found 58gr. of RL15 behind the 250 Hornady RN to be quite adequate on the last 4 moose. Nothing more desired. My tamrd-down deer load is 50gr. of H4895 behind a Speer 220 FP - much like a 35 Rem. load. Also VERY effective !
 
I mainly use the tough 250 speer grand slam in my M700 for two reasons - during recoil, the long magazine allows regular softpoints to hit the front hard enough to flatten the point significantly. the Grand Slam bullet has a nice protected point so no problem. I also hunt early season, and like bullets to pass completely through to leave a better blood trail with an exit wound. A regular soft point likely opens easier and kills a little faster, but the GS worked well for about six elk, a moose, a big mountian caribou with no complaints.
 
The more I think about it, I think I'll try the Grand Slam, even though they no longer are a two core bullet like they use to be. They would be a "semi premium" and a step up from the Hot Core and Interlock. A lot of guys with Whelen experience say you don't need the premium bullet at Whelen velocity but the GS would give a little extra insurance withou the premium cost. I'll see if I can find a box somewhere and give them a try as well.
 
Just ordered a box of 250gr Speer Grand Slam and a box of 225gr TSX. I already have 250gr Speer HotCore and Hornady SP. I've been saving newspapers and when my Whelen gets here I'll do some wet newspaper tests to compare the four for penetration and expansion. Stay tuned.
 
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