Just picked up my Remington CDL and now I need some help with load developments. Never worked with a 35 Whelen befor this is all new. I am thinking of using 225gr Nosler BT's for deer and need to know what everyone's opinion is on these in this caliber. I'm not a fan of the BT's with higher velocities, but i figure with slower speed here that this bullet would be perfect. Also will be hunting PA black bear with this gun. Will the ballistic tips be ok there or should I opt. for the 225 barnes TSX(my fav. in all other calibers) Thanx for the input

I hear that Ballistic Tips in diameters over .308" are tougher than those under, but I think anything that needs a Whelen needs a Partition. Hornady 250-gr. bullets usually shoot well over RL-15. Your rifling twist is almost certainly 1:16, so the faster you push the 250's the better they'll shoot.

Good luck.


Okie John

At the velocities the Whelen operates finding a good bullet is not a problem especially for soft game like deer and black bears.. I have a friend they uses Sierra 225gr bullets for everything he shoots with his Whelen..mostly deer and hogs and they work great. I have been using the 250gr Hornadys in mine and they will stomp a big hog flat. There are lots of good bullets out there, and I am too cheap to buy premium bullets when there are a pile of good plain vanilla bullets.

But, if I was going after elk, or big bears...or on a trip to Africa..I would be using the premium stuff. For your purposes, I would be willing to bet that the 225BTs would work fine..I have used Nosler BTs in my 257 rbts, 7x57, and 280 and have shot a pile of stuff with them..and only recovered one bullet...I would expect that .358" BT to be pretty tough...

Zeeriverrat1

i use 225 sierras in my 700ks, my hunting paerner uses hornady 250 round noses in his..boyh are instant death on deer & hogs..My partner has used his on moose & bear with his..all dropped on the spot

I haven't shot anything with the BT yet, I need to lengthen the mag box on my 98. I have shot deer with the 250 speer- through the first deer, then an 8" tree, and then the deer I could not see behind the tree. My buddy shot his elk running away- just in front of the hind qtr. went through and broke the shoulder on the other side. Deer with the 225 Sierra works well. I shot my black bear in Manitoba with 200gr Hornady sp- instant death, bear just let out a woof and dropped. I think the BT would add some range to the Whelen due to its high BC.

I shot the 200 gr BT .338 for years from a .338-06 which is as close as you can get to the Whelan and it performed flawlessly. It shot through everthing from boars up to 300lbs to several Axis bucks which are much thicker bodied that Whitetails. The 338 had a reinforced shank section because it was designed for the 338 Win Mag. If the 35 is built the same you can't go wrong.

boattails have a good log drag purpose, but only at long range (over 600) other than that about the only thing going for them is making bullet seating easier

That and the ogive they use also make the bullet longer and difficult to seat to the lands in shorter magazine boxes. That's probably my only rub with Ballistic Tips. If they made a flat base hunting bullet with the same characteristics I'd buy more.

I have only shot one deer with a 225 BT in my Whelen. The deer was about 140 pounds, and I wasn't impressed. Albeit, only one instance.

The deer was 40 yards and I hit him behind the shoulder (there were 2 bucks), off they ran. I than saw a deer through the trees at about 80 yds. I assumed it was the other buck. I looked through the bino's and could see blood coming out behind the shoulder.

It was the offside, so I know it went all the way through. I didn't have a clear shot, and I didn't want to move and spook him some more.
It was obvious he would die, so I waited.

It took about 3 minutes and he finally fell over. When I dressed him, it looked as if I had shot him with a solid. The lungs where very much intact, just a 35 caliber hole through both of them. The bullet entered without hitting any bone and exited the same way.

If that bullet expanded, you couldn't prove it by me. If it had hit some bone going in it would probably have helped.

I have shot several deer with 225 and 250 grain Partitions and they have shown expansion, not dramatic, but much more than that BT did.

It is only one instance, but it would appear to be a VERY tough bullet. I have since switched to the 220 Speer for deer killing.

Don't forget the Nosler 225 grain Partition. My buddies used them in Africa with excellent results launched from the ballistically identical 350 Rem Mag. It opens quick and penetrates deep on everything from blesbok to zebra. I'm pretty sure neither of them ever bothered with any other bullet. Good hunting!

Redneck:

Here is some actual Whelen experience, with both 225 grain BT'S, and 250 grain Speer hot cores on elk.

The 250 grain Speer was launched at 2615 fps, the shot was 130 yards, right in the heart, no bone hit. The recovered bullet weighed 56 grains, and never left the heart area. Elk walked 10 yds and fell over. I would call that good performance, although I question what may have happened had I hit some bone. Non the less it did its job.

Another elk with a 225 grain BT velocity was about 2675+ and the shot was 225yds. Hit him in front of the left rear quarter, bullet traveled all the way thru and stopped on the brisket. The recovered bullet weighed 206 grains and held together nicely. The elk ran about 50 yds and folded up. I consider 200+ yds to be a bit of a long shot, but we killed three out of that heard and I was the last shooter.

Some other bullets guys in my group have shot, are partitions, and Hornady spire points, with the Hornady'S giving the worst performance, most blew up.

As to BT'S in the Whelen, in my opinion they are great!

Hope this helps.


Jerry

Jerry, what kind of accuracy do you get with BT's? My Whelen will shoot them into about 1" with one load, but with about 10 other loads it goes from 2-3". Do you have a good load for them? I have used some of your loads you have posted for other bullets with good results.

Thanx guys for all the input, I think Im going to give the ballistic tips a try. Now I need to start somewhere with powder. What types of velocities should I expect with a 24"tube?

Redneck:

My barrel length is 24", so I would expect you will get about the same as me. Give or take 100fps.

Sambubba:

I have been using IMR4064 in the Whelen since the early 70's. The load I use came out of the old Speer #8 and is 56 grains of IMR4064. I use the same load with both bullets. Because of throating etc, go a grain or two lower, and work up until the velocites are 2600 fps+, or you start to have pressure signs. Both bullets shoot around an inch, better some days, if I do my part.

Jerry

Thanks for the reply, Jerry.