I have reloaded quite a bit for standard cartridges, now I am building a 35 whelen and want to learn about necking up brass for it. 30-06 up to 35 cal. Do i need an intermediate step like 338 0r 8mm? don't want to wrinkle alot of brass in the learning curve. also, haven't taken the time to look, but is there an ackley version (40 degree) shoulder of the 35?

Please, someone with experience walk me step by step through the process. I have rcbs 30-06 dies, 338 win mag dies, and will get 35 whelen dies one of these days when i finalize on 35, 375 and improved or standard.

also, if i do 375 whelen with 40 degree shoulder, would it be easier to neck down from 30-06 "base" brass (straight wall, unformed brass)?

First let me say there is no way I would fool with forming 35 Whelen brass since I can buy factory brass with the proper headstamp.

That said if you have a tapered expander then you can go from .308 to .358 in one pass. If you have trouble then the 338 step inbetween is fine.

Yep there is an 35 Whelen AI, a 35 Brown Whelen witch moves the shoulder forward and I believe uses a 35deg. The are the 358Hawk, 350 Howell, 350PDK and any number of other variations.

The Whelen sure isn't a wildcat anymore.

As to 06 Cylinder brass last time I checked Z-Hat was the only one selling it and his price was $170/100. It is also 2.65" long so you would have a lot of trimming. Bitteroot here on AR is with American Hunting Rifles. they sell their Howell Basic which is a 06 cylinder.

I shoot a 380PDK which is a blown out 280 case necked up to 375. So no problem getting to 375 from 06 just take it slow. However if it were my $ and I wanted a 375 on an 06 case I would contact Wayne (bitteroot) they build a 380 Howell, sell brass dies on the very resonable side. http://www.hunting-rifles.com/Ammo/ammunition.htm This pic shows the 375-06 with my 380PDK. The Howell will be real close to my PDK just different shoulder angle and touch less taper. The Howell gives you about 10.1% greater case capacity. Left is 375-06, 380PDK using 280 brass, 380PDK using Howell brass, 380Howell and the 375H&H.

1. Purchase new 35 Whelen brass.
2. Prep new brass, load it.
3. Shoot it.

Unless, of course, you just want to do it for drill. Don't forget, the first loads from your formed brass will more than likely need fire forming, which means more bullets, powder, primers and time. Not worth the time and effort in the case of the 35 Whelen.

quote:

Originally posted by Joe Elrod:
I have reloaded quite a bit for standard cartridges, now I am building a 35 whelen and want to learn about necking up brass for it. 30-06 up to 35 cal. Do i need an intermediate step like 338 0r 8mm? don't want to wrinkle alot of brass in the learning curve. also, haven't taken the time to look, but is there an ackley version (40 degree) shoulder of the 35?

Please, someone with experience walk me step by step through the process. I have rcbs 30-06 dies, 338 win mag dies, and will get 35 whelen dies one of these days when i finalize on 35, 375 and improved or standard.

Try it! Open up some 06 necks with the .338 die expander. Generously lube neck ID. Using the 3 or 4 cases sized to .338 expand them with your Wehlen die. If the cases are new or close to that, you should not have to anneal. Don't be fraid. make some mistakes and get the experience.
That advice changes a lot when you start using powder. roger

I have shot the 35 Whelen since 1966 when it was a true wildcat.

I have necked up probably a thousand 30-06 cases with one pass through a normal FL resizing die. However nowdays I just buy Whelen headstamped brass.

If I had it to do over again, I probably would have went with 35 Whelen Ackley Improved. Easiest wildcat to use and fireform brass.

Whether you go with a a regular Whelen or some improved version, get/order a barrel with a faster twist (at least 1:12 or 1:14) in case you desire to go with bullets above 250gr.

As to the 375 Whelen. Too much trouble. Just get yourself a 375 Ruger which fits in a standard action.

Barstooler

quote:

As to the 375 Whelen. Too much trouble. Just get yourself a 375 Ruger which fits in a standard action.

I agree unless you are wanting something different or want to stay with an 06 size case head.

I shoot a 35 Whelen Ackley, and have formed 06 brass in my whelen dies in one pass. That said the 35 whelen brass is cheap and is correctly head stamped. If your thinking about 375 whelen you might want to form it in two passes to get to .375.

thanks for the input. want to stick with the -06 head diameter, so 375 ruger is out. like the arua of the whelen name (he didn't design the 375 as i understand it). like the shoulder of the ackley on the 375. I'm not looking for the biggest or the best. Just wanted something fun for an old mauser action.

what about coming down to 375 from basic (straight wall) 30-06?

Thanks for the input.

The middle case in my picture is a howell basic case run into my 380PDK die. However if you stay with something like the 375Whelen the cylinder brass is 2.65"+ so plan on trimming.

375Whelen, 375 Whelen AI Brown Whelen etc will be special order dies. AHR sells the 380 Dies for $86.