That's pretty much the question. Anyone here have some good/bad experience with this? I have a box of 125 gr Hornady XTP's that I was hoping to work up some recipes for. Here's some possible issues I've thought about.

1. Accuracy. Twist rates in a 35 Whelen are rather slow, so this could hurt accuracy even though I'm not expecting such a round to be a tack-driver.

2. Velocity. I'm sure such a bullet COULD be pushed very fast, but what about the bullet coming apart mid-air, or worse, in the barrel?

3. Performance. Such a round would only be used for vermin and maybe coyote. A bullet driven past it's optimum velocity range would probably give very shallow penetration, with the exception of loading up an FMJ.

So if any of you have any input on this, I'd sure like to hear it. My reconing says if loaded, pistol bullets in a 35 Whelen should be shot at moderate velocities.

Just load some up and try them.......I load all kinds of pistol bullets for my .358 Winchester. Even lead bullets....with which Blue Dot shotgun powder works great. My favorite load though, is the 150 grain Sierra hollowpoint, ahead of a full charge of IMR 4895 powder. Varmints hit with that bullet, at high speed, just go "SPLAT!!!" Grant.

Thats a big reason why I like 35 and 45 caliber rifles, you can shoot cheap lead pistol bullets in them.

We could spend all day debating the pros and cons, but my advice to you is get away from the computer and go do it!

-Spencer

quote:

Originally posted by ShopCartRacing:
Thats a big reason why I like 35 and 45 caliber rifles, you can shoot cheap lead pistol bullets in them.

We could spend all day debating the pros and cons, but my advice to you is get away from the computer and go do it!

-Spencer

Is it possible to use in .45 rifles .45 pistol bullets? I believed that pistol bullets are too small .452, comparing to .457 for .45-70

Is it accurate?

I have loaded many pistol bullets (jacketed and cast) in my .358 Norma Mag.

By coincidence, I have shot many 125gr Hornady hollow points. In my rifle, they are accurate up to 2900fps -- I have not tried to load them even faster.

At 2900fps these bullets (designed for about 1200fps) will convert a fox to its constituent atoms! :-0 The muzzle flash and blast can be a bit stunning even from the shooter's perspective as well.

However, note that I have a custom barrel that is extremely smooth -- if you barrel is a bit rough your bullets might not stand ths velocity. Still, you can count on 2500fps I'm sure -- accuracy should be great and recoil very low.

If you email Vihtavuori (do a web search - I am not on my computer with my bookmarks) you can ask and they will send you loads (and of course, you may find loads like you want already on their website).

158 gr XTPs with 10 gr of pistol powder give three holes touching at 50 yards every time I try it in the 35W.

Excellent! Advice taken gentlemen

I forgot one thing (of minor importance to most I suspect).

Some rifles won't feed loads with short flat-nosed pistol bullets so you may have a single shot.

However, I can assure you that if you hit a fox or feral cat or dog with a Hornady XTP 125gr hollowpoint travelling at twice the velocity it was designed for, there will not even BE anything left for a second shot!

John

Shoot .357 pistol bullets in my 9x57 mauser- 158's give better accuracy than regular 256grn bullets.

Shoot 100grain .32 cal XTP's in my .303 Brit rifles. Better accuracy than any factory 174grn ball except PMP '67. Load to give 3000fps for best accuracy (using S335 powder). Awsome on monky's, dogs etc.

Here's a heavier one that was recommended to me...

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=556754

quote:

Is it possible to use in .45 rifles .45 pistol bullets? I believed that pistol bullets are too small .452, comparing to .457 for .45-70

Silly me, I was just thinking of lead bullets in general.
45 pistol bullets wouldnt work too well in a 45-70.

-Spencer

I played with the 158gr Speer on the weekend infront of some Blue Dot in my 358Win. Hitting a rabbit out to 100m is not really an issue, very accurate load. But as mentioned, the flat-nosed pistol projectiles dont often feed, so I'm going to try the Sierra 170gr FMJ for plinking loads that feed from the magazine. The pistol projectiles for practice are one of the greatest strengths of the 35s.
Cheers...
Con