My .35 Whelen wears a 23" Douglas premium barrel. I get +/- 2700fps with 225 Noslers using RL15 and +/- 2630fps with 250 Hornadys using RL15.

I think the barrel on my 700 Classic is 22". I am getting 2560 fps with Sierra 225 BT, nice to shoot and accurate. I still haven't shot any game with it yet, but every dog has his day!!!! I do love shooting it.

I'd get the twist right too. 1-10" if you can find it so you can fling those 250gr bullets with some accuracy. Any lighter bullets and you may as well have an /06, IMO.

Steve,

I have studied the ballistics quite closely, and the 35 Whelen with 225 gr.bullets have much more punch than the 30-06 with any bullet. And it makes a bigger hole initially. NOt that the 30-06 is anything to sneeze at, for mine has killed deer quite effectivly. But the 35 Whelen 225 gr. does generate over 600 ft/lbs more than the '06 165 gr.at the muzzle, and maintanes that edge for a good 200 yds. I'll take that edge.

great info guys... I was just going to ask this!!! if I can get 2700... hmmm, whats the upper upper limit for velocities with the Whelen??? 200s, 225s, or 250s???

I'm [image]this[/image] close to buying one and want to be sure on it.

Mike,
A fairer comparison would be the 225gr .35 Whelen and the 220gr. .30/06.

It's the old frontal area/sectional density trade-off; ballistic tables shed no light on that. Not to mention only about a 13% difference in weight at comparable velocity. The higher BC bullet wins at the outer ranges but the larger bore ratio has the efficiency advantage in the shorter barrels.

Nada difference in the field IMO.

I'm not a Whelen-hater. I have two and one that morphed into a .358 Norma.

I'm shooting a 7600 in .35 Whelen with a 22" barrel. I haven't done a great deal of load development, but I'm shooting 220 grain bullets of my own manufacture out of it at about 2630 fps with no pressure signs of note.

Rick,

I find your statement about making your own bullets very interesting. I have never tried it, so I am ignorant of the process. Can you completely control bullet weight,(180-300 gr.) with the same dies, or are you limited to 1 bullet weight (+ or - a few grains)?

Mike:

It depends largely on the equipment you buy. I have a Corbin Series II Press (now called the "S" press). This press has a limit of 1.3" for the forming stroke when you're making a bullet. I have used a 1.28" jacket to make a 300 grain soft pointed bullet. I use a light tip in my favourite bullet design, so there is no swaging pressure applied to the tip itself, and I can make a 290 grain bullet that is approximately 1.45" long.

I haven't done much experimentation with lighter bullets, but my point forming die has a 4 calibre ogive, which should allow me to get down into the 150 grain area. So far the lightest I've made are 180's. You have a limit on the "light" end when making a spitzer bullet, because you begin running out of shank length when you get too light. A "rule of thumb" is that you should try to keep the shank at least 1 calibre in length.

There's a bullet making forum on this site where you can get a lot of info on bullet swaging. There's also an older forum at graybeardoutdoors.com that has a lot of older threads you would likely be interested in reading.

The two main providers of swaging equipment out there are the Corbin brothers. Dave's site is at www.corbins.com, while Richard's is at www.rceco.com. Both have a lot of on site swaging info.

Rick

steve y; I noticed you have a 358 Norma. What kind of velocity are you getting with 225 grn sierras. I have a Competitor pistol with 16" barrel and am getting 2715 fps. Just curious. Thanks

The .35 Whelen is one cartridge I have always wanted but something always got in the way. Now I have no excuse as last week I was given a Rem. M721 .270 that the throat is pretty well ruined. I figured what the heck so I ordered a Shilen .358 barrel for it and Royal Arms stock blank. This is my 2004 project. I going to have the barrel cut to 24", for use out west here where the shots can get longer. Lawdog

JoelS

M7600 cut down to 20"? Well, I see no major problem with that. I have a bunch of M7600's in various calibers including the Whelen and never gave bbl length much thought until this fall. I bought a M7600 in 35Rem with the 18.5" bbl. Wow, is that a short and sweet deer rifle. The velocity loss is there but for deer at short range it really makes little difference. I could see a short bbl Whelen for moose/bear would be the real deal. Might be a little loud...he, he.

However, one thing I found with my 35 Rem carbine is that if I use a faster burning powder like 4895, I don't get as much noise from the shorter bbl as I do with the slower burners. Accuracy is excellent with 200 gr Hornady RN or PSP.

If you go through with this, I'd be interested in your results. I have a spare M7600 in 35W that might just get shortened.

WN

I have put a series of 225-grain Federal Premiums through my Special Edition Ruger over a chronograph. Please keep in mind that this Whelen only has a 22� barrel. The slowest shot was 2566 ft/sec and the fastest was 2591 ft/sec. The mean was 2578 ft/sec. With another Whelen that I had with a 24� Shilen barrel, I was averaging a tad over 2600 ft/sec with the same round. CP.

From my Rem. 700 Classic with the 22 inch barrel, I get 2620fps from Federal Premium 225 grain TBBC. Not shot any handloads with the rifle.

Anyone have any experience with the Barnes 225 gr. XLC's (preferably with 4064 or RL15)? I recently acquired a Rem. 700 Classic, and CP and duckster's posts now have me wondering if I shouldn't just buy the Federal Premiums. Thanks.

Whelen nut,
I turned it in on the 23rd to have the bbl cut to 20" and work on the trigger (the shotgun trigger is less than desirable on a hunting rifle). After I run it through the chrony, I'll let you know.

Pioneer,

It's a 24" Douglas bbl.; I can't say about 225gr accuracy. I probably load-tested that weight but this 1-14" twist bbl. hasn't shot anything really well so I'm sure I tossed the chrono results. My previous post attested to my preference for heavy bullets- as a Whelen this rifle shot only 180gr acceptably well (about 1.5 MOA). I had hoped the extra velocity of the Norma would spin heavier bullets enough. No great results so far. My hunting load is a 280gr Swift A-frame at 2475 fps. and about 1.5MOA.

This rifle is the "Black Beast", 8lb.6oz. empty, and recoil is substantial with that load. Stock fit is fine but even so eye relief has been an issue for me. I bought a VX2 1x4 which will lighten it furthur and add eye relief as it has a Burris 2x7 on it now. Light is what I want as I'm pretty recoil tolerant and I bought the rifle to chase elk over the mtns of Idaho. But the relatively heavy Simmons Aetec is attractive with 5" of eye relief as is the Bushnell Banner cantilever shotgun scope with 6" (That would leave the 1x4 free for my 7600 .35 Whelen) I wonder how many rounds they would take before something inside rattles? I trust the Leupold.

Ironically, I wound up taking my M70 .300 Win for the next elk hunt as I was hunting new ground and didn't know what ranges I might encounter. It's honest MOA with 200gr. Partitions.

BTW,I dug up somebody's data on the .358 Norma (possibly here on AR); 250gr Speer @ 2778fps from 24" bbl. Check out Steve Ricciardelli's webpage, he might have some data.

My 7600 with factory length bbl in the Whelen yields only 2436fps with 225gr X-bullets off lands .050". Pressure signs abundant. Yet the same rifle spits the 250grX @ 2472fps at .045" from lands; that's more in line with book velocities. Accuracy poor @ 2.5MOA. This 7600 will do honest MOA with Matchkings.

I hope Barnes brings out some .358 Triple Shocks soon. I'd like to see if they would alleviate my pressure and accuracy issues. Hey there's always Partitions, just maybe not as heavy as I would like.

(Also ironic is the fact that my other Whelen is a 1-10" A&B from Midway, no longer offered, on a Mark X action. Would have been perfect for the Norma and 280-310grainers but the Norma was converted prior to its acquisition. I might still put it on the magnum action.)

I have a 2003 made special run 7600 rem 35 Whelen. I love it and it balances well. It gets 2550 fps with the 225 gr Nosler BT and this is how she groups at 100 yds.



Great gun!

POP,
Gotta love those 7600s. Shoot like blue blazes in spite of the triggers. And so fabulously light; that's why I hate to weigh it down with a big scope. Leupold owns the compact scope market in terms of weight (Weaver a close second), I wish they had some competition in that area.