I love the Whelen, got two of 'em. One is a Remington 7600 pump, and the other is an NEF Ultra-Handi. I came across (3) boxes of 50 Hornady 275gr jacketed round nose bullets and bought them.

I know the general consensus is that these are too long for the Whelen's 1:16 twist, but the Greenhill formula says that a bullet less than 1.21" will stabilize in 1:16 rifle. These Hornady's are 1.18"....right at the upper limit.

Assuming they will stabilize, I'm looking for a powder charge starting point and estimated max point for Reloader 15.

Also, these bullets are too long for the magazine in my 7600, but they should work fine in my single shot NEF.

Also (part II), I did some ballistic comparisons, and it seems that the difference in ballistic coefficients between the 275gr round nose and 250gr spitzer offsets any momentum or energy differences, and that the 250gr spitzer will actually hit harder at 200yds than the 275gr will. I used a BC of .3 for the 275 and a BC of .375 for the 250.

Basically, the 250gr spitzer will fit in both rifles, and due to its higher BC, it will do everything the 275gr round nose can do in the Whelen. Is there a .35 caliber cartridge that would make good use of these 275gr round nose Hornady's?

All opinions, ramblings, and help appreciated.

Good score on the bullets. I have never had a chance to shoot those, but did get a Lyman 358009 mold that drops a nominally 280 gr bullet. I've loaded them to an estimated 2000 fps from my 1-14" twist 350 Rigby, and they printed 5 into 1 moa, this with a 44 gr charge of RL 15.



If I were loading those in a whelen, I would interpolate RL 15 data for lighter bullets. As I recall (refer to a loading manual and determine for yourself) max whelen loads are 60 gr for 225 gr and 58 gr for 250 gr, so 55-56 gr might be a prudent max for 275 gr bullets. You'd probably be looking at 2200 fps.



IMHO, the 358 Norma, 358 STA or 350 Rigby pushing the 275's @ 2400-2500 fps would be a better match.



With a 250 gr X bullet, a-frame or partition at ~2500 fps from the whelen, I doubt you'd gain anything by going to a heavier and slower conventionally constructed bullet. The more stoutly constructed "premium" bullets should penetrate as deeply as the slightly heavier conventionally constructed bullet, but they'll also shoot flatter as well.

Published load data for 275 gr bullet (maker not specified...data by Hercules Powder) and Reloder 15: Start Load 48.0 gr for 2,234 fps at 42,000 CUP; Max Load 55.0 gr. for 2392 fps at 47,500 CUP. If you want to sell those roundnoses let me know your price and I'll consider them.



Also, the Speer 250 gr HotCor has a B.C. of .446 rather than .375. I'm sure it is adequate in your Whelen for anything you'll hunt in the lower 48. They work well here in Alaska too.

Jerry/AK

P.S.: I reduce the Speer 270 gr 9.3mm Semi-Spitzer HotCor to .358" in a Corbin die. Care to try some?

.446? wow, i need to try some of those. They would definitely offset any gain in penetration that the heavier 275's would offer. I bought the 275's for $50, so if anyone is interested I guess I'd let 'em go for $50, not including shipping. They are 3 boxes of 50 Hornady 275gr JRN .358", all three for $50.

TXpitdawg

Jerry is right. The Speer 250 grainer is all you need in the Whelen. The Nosler Partition in 225 gr is also a good choice.

I am lucky enough to have a bunch of the old style Speer 250 Round Nose that I use for short range bear hunting. I wish they still made that bullet.

WN

Hey Whelen Nut,
I recently purchased 1000 .358" 250 gr RN "seconds" from Lock, Stock, and Barrel (800-228-7925) at the amazing price of $75. The manufacturer is not identified. You might call and ask if they still have more at that price, but if you order specify Parcel Post shipping. They normally ship Priority Mail and you don't want that.

I have a box of the old Speer RN and these are very similar, just a bit longer (1.078" vs. 1.048" for the Speer.
Jerry