I have a 35 whelen that I plan on using next year on my trip to Africa. The load I am currently using is a 225gr sierra gameking spitzer on top of 57gr's of IMR 4064, I have great accuracy with this load 3/4 - 1/2 groups if I do my part. My question is how do the gamekings hold up on plains game???

Craven

Craven,
In 35 Whelen the 225 Sierras will probably do OK on plains game.... but why take a chance.
I have taken a lot of deer sized game with Sierra's without problems.
However I have found that Nosler Partitions usually shoot as good as any other bullet. Why not try the 225 Nosler Partition. I used my 9,3x74R double on plains game last June with 286 woodleigh Softs on waterbuck and 286 Nosler Partitions on kudu with excellent results. Also on Impala either one would penetrate from front to back or back to front. With a deep penetrating byllet yiou can take shots from ANY angle without worry.
Good luck on your hunt, let us know how it turns out.

What country are you hunting in and what game are you after.
The 35 Whelen is a great caliber.

Throw those Sierra's in the trash.

Will, Will, Will, relax... do not have a heart attack... those Sierras are OK for deer sized game.
craven, try some Nosler Partitions. Let us know how they shoot.

Again, too many hunters over think the bullet vs term. perf. vs. accuracy thing. A true 1/2moa rifle is a joy to own & shoot, but if you never shoot past 300yds, about the range of the .35wh, it's of little real value. I will always pick a bullet that groups 1mo, that I know works, every time over one that shoots 1/2moa & worry that it's going to do what needs done on impact. Nothing against SKG, but are you sure they'll hold up on a Gemsboks shoulder @ 50yds? If you have confidence in that bullet, then use it, be happy & practice a lot before you go. You have to pay for anything that does get away.

Unlike the quotes above I feel they would serve you just fine.

Good Hunting!!!

In my experience and I was forced to use them for years back when that was the only bullet available for what few handloaders existed,most folks thought handloaders were nuts back then, they were and they are...

Sierras work most of the time with an ocassional failure, facts are they are an old time bullet that relies strictly on case thickness for expansion and the changes with range and velocity...that is why you get those ocassional failures, they have never tried to rectify that problem by trying to make us believe they are as good as premium bullet...Thats just simply not the case...

If I were spending the big bucks of going to Africa, knowing that if the bullet failed I still had to pay for the game animal, I would use plain old common since and shoot a premium bullet, why take a chance and if you do then you deserve the results...

The 225 gamekings have handled moose and elk shoulder just fine for me. Can't imagine they wouldn't work in Africa. Hey, 225gr of lead at 2600fps will do the trick on most anything.

Craven,

The 35 Whelen is a great cartridge for African plains game, I've used it twice thus far and plan on taking it again this year.

You do not say what game you will be hunting, so making strong statements about acceptablity of a bullet is tough. But lets say you will be hunting hartebeest, kudu, wildebeest, gemsbok as the largest game. My thoughts are that the Sierras will handle most of your shots. But if you are making that trip, a bullet that will handle 100% of your shots IMO is the way to go. If your hunt includes eland, then the premiums are a must.

I personally like the 225 grain Barnes TSX (or older X style) but others have used the 225 grain Partitions, and Swift A-frames with good success. Federal also supplies their 35 Whelen ammo with Trophy Bonded Bear Claws which others will recommend. These are all quality bullets that will handle all the needs, for what, maybe an additional $20 - $30 in reloading costs. Pretty small change on a $5k hunt.

Good luck with your hunt.

BigBullet

I've experimented with a lot of different 35 cal bullets in two rifles. If I was taking a 35 Whelen to Africa, I would load 250 gr North Forks at 2500 fps and keep the shots within 250 yards. The 225 Sierre is the most accurate for me, but I wouldn't want to depend on it in a tight situation. The North Forks I have used aren't quite as accurate as the Sierras but are more accurate than the Nosler Partitions. I have also found the 250 Speer to be very accurate.

Paul

Having never shot the 225 grain 35 cal. Gameking at "plainsgame?" I say that 225 grains of bullet at 2600 fps is going to be effective. The difference between Africa and here is that shots at poor angles are more likely to be expected by your proffesional hunter. I think I have to accept the others opinions here and go with at least the 250 grain Speer Hotcor or Nosler partition if it were me.

quote:

If I were spending the big bucks of going to Africa, knowing that if the bullet failed I still had to pay for the game animal, I would use plain old common since and shoot a premium bullet, why take a chance and if you do then you deserve the results...

Mr Atkinson makes perfect sense to me!!!

N E 450, I will be in RSA along the Limpopo river about forty miles south of the Tuli Block. Im hunting with Tumuga hunting and after Kudu,Gemsbok,Blesbok,Impala,Warthog,and Blue Wildebeest. The last Elk shot with this load droped in his tracks. I dont know what velosity I will get with the Noslers, I am hovering above 2700 fps with current load.

While Iknow that we're not talking about a 7mm Rem Mag here I saw 5 game animals shot with 175gr sierras ranging in size from impala to kudu and gemsbok and while they were selected shots by my expeienced hunting partner, only the kudu travel any distance with two shots right into the lungs we still had to track him over two hundred yards. All the bullets blew up causing massive damage but did not penetrate any of the game animals shot except for a Blesbok and then only the first shot went completely through. I used Northforks in my 9.3x62 on ten animals an with the same massive damage but only one bullet recovered from a blue wildebeest, a second raking shot as he began to run. My conclusion....why take a chance. Use bullets that will hold together from any angle.I recommend Northfork, Barnes X, and Partitions.

While I've never hunted with 225 Sierrra it the bullet that I used for fireforming Norma's from 338's. A buddy of mine glammed a box from me and uses them with great praise on brown bears and moose. In my 30gibbs the 165 gameking has felled everything that it's been shot at. On the other hand if I intended to shoot everything in the ass a barnes X would be a better choice. Jim

If you are talking Speer bullets their "Hot Core" are their Cheepie bullets, atleast spring for their Grand Slam bullets.

Never having hunted africa I'd err on the side of caution
and suggest:
a) Barnes X-bullets (I'm not sure they make a .358TSX yet)
b)Nosler Partitions
c)Barnes "Solids" you should load a box "just in case".

AllanD

I won't hunt Africa with tin-foil bullets. If owned a rifle that only shot Sierra, Speer Hot-Core, Ballistic-Tips, or Hornady bullets well, I'd either take a different rifle, rebarrrel and try again, or trade that rifle in on another one.

African hunting is best conducted with premium bullets, and there are so many good ones available today that shoot so very well that you can assume that something is fundamentally wrong with your rifle if it won't shoot at least ONE of the premiums acceptably.

AD

I would not use the Sierra bullets simply because often the perfect side profile shot is not the one you get. You need a bullet that will handle that tough quartering away shot if needed. Also your PH is going to lecture you about shooting them in the shoulder. On some of the larger and tougher animals such as zebra and wildebeest a Sierra on the shoulder could lead to a long walk. As someone posted earlier "if you hit it you bought it" and that can really upset you if you lose an animal and have to pay the trophy fee and cannot shoot another of that species. Use anyone of the premium bullets mentioned.

quote:

Originally posted by craven:
I have a 35 whelen that I plan on using next year on my trip to Africa. The load I am currently using is a 225gr sierra gameking spitzer on top of 57gr's of IMR 4064, I have great accuracy with this load 3/4 - 1/2 groups if I do my part. My question is how do the gamekings hold up on plains game???

Craven

Craven,

If you can afford a trip to Africa, then you can afford better bullets than Sierras. There are better choices. While I have not hunted with Sierra bullets, I did make the mistake of using the .375" 300gr RN Hornady Interlock on my first trip to South Africa (in 2000). I figured that since it was only a plains game hunt, the Hornady would be fine. I was wrong. The bullet did fine on Impala and Warthog but I had one come unglued on a Gemsbok. Then the chase was on. We chased that Gemsbok for 2 or 3 miles before we (my PH and I) put him down with finishing shots. (My PH shot him with his .458 Lott at the same time I fired with my .375 H&H. We were tired and wanted to make sure we got him.)

Listen to what the much more experienced hunters here like N E 450 No2 , Allen Day and Ray Atkinson are telling you. They know what they are talking about. I learned my lesson. On my next trip to South Africa (in 2002) I used my .30-06 loaded with 220gr Woodleigh RN bullets (handload at 2460 fps). Performance was perfect on everything I shot. I'm going back again this coming August and I will be taking my 9.3x62 loaded with 286gr Woodleigh RN soft points.

You're better off using a true premium bullet. Nosler, Swift, Woodleigh, etc. all make good bullets. Pick one you like and use it.

(BTW: I hunted both times in the northern Limpopo as you will be. Roughly between Swartwater and Alldays; north of Tolwe. I'm going back to the same place this August.)

Just my two cents worth,
-Bob F.

quote:

Throw those Sierra's in the trash.

On second thought, use them for practice. Then load up with Barnes X and aim for the shoulder. They not only drop big animals like zebra and kudu in their tracks, but expand on small ones like steenbok too. I would suggest a bullet weight of 225 grains.

You're going to be shooting offhand or off of shooting sticks when in the veld. Before you go, practice at hitting a paper plate from 50 to 350 yards. Once you master that you'll be confident when that trophy presents itself. You need a tough bullet for tough game. Terminal performance trumps ultra accuracy any day in the RSA. The few extra pennys per shot add up to nothing when compared to the total safari cost.

Would you charter a sportfishing boat for marlin and use a rusted hook you picked out of the dumpster?

To paraphrase the commercial, "Friends don't let friends us Sierra bullets in Africa."

I've hunted with a 35 Whelen for a lot of years and shot a quite few animals with it. I took it to Africa with me last year and it was perfect. I have used Nosler's in it and found then to "get the job done". The 250 gr. Partitions are not the most accurate bullet in this rifle's 1 in 16 twist barrel but they blew through or got fantastic penitration on all angles. I was hunting in Namibia to the east of Etosha and the bush is quite thick. I had shots where the bullet must have contacted bush on the way to the target and yet hit close to the aim point, penitrated well and expanded well and most importantly held together. If you have a slow twist barrel then try the 225 gr. Partitions, they shoot as well as the Hornady or Speers in my rifle and will hold up better. Here in Montana I hunt in black timber quite a bit and having a bullet the will hand together after impact with bush is as important as it was in the African bush. When you are close to the game, 100 yds or often much less, you may have to take a quartering away shot or a full on shot. In either case the bullet will have to penitrate a lot of flesh, a bit of gut perhaps on the away angle and the heavy muscles of the chest and shoulder face on. The Whelen, like the 9.3x62 made its mark with heavy bullets at moderate velosities, stop trying to wring every last FPS out of the case. 2500 or 2600 FPS will give you more than enough energy and flatness of trajectory. You might even get better penitration and bullet preformance and accuracy at around 2400. We Americans put too much faith in velosity and pin-point accuracy. Getting close to the animal and shooting when the chance presents itself from any position are much more important.

Craven - I live close to the Sierra bullet factory and talk to the "guys" who give advise on their web site now and then. When a couple of years after Sierra came out with their .35 cal 225gr bullet, I made a trip to the factory and talked with one their "experts" on the reports they were getting back from the field. This particular "ballistic tech" said the bullet was not designed for elk or "heavy" game although many of the "whelen" users had "fairly good" results with it on even moose. He did not recommend it for my upcoming African trip. When you are paying for "wounded" animals, as said many times here, "premium" bullets makes alot of sense whether it is an actual or a perceived advantage on every shot. Favoring complete penatration of a big animal over (sometimes) quicker kills of the "conventional" bullets insures you always having a "trail" to claim your "prize" if you "held well". I've used the 225's on deer with good results; there are better bullets, as recommended by the knowledgeable and experienced "AR bunch" for the "big stuff" IMHO. Mags

Thank's for all the advice gang, with this being my first trip that is why I asked. I received an eye opening chart from one of our members that was very revealing. Im picking up some Swift A-frames and mabe some Barnes in 225gr to play with. Remember have the fun of shooting is working up the loads.

Craven

Barnes offers .358 dia triple shock flat base 225 grain bullets factory direct for $42.99 a box of 50. Spend $50 or more and shipping is free.

Also, 200 grain XFB (not triple shock) for $37.99.

Good deals on all calibers of discontinued X bullets.