Most likely beaten to death already, but I need some inputs from actual users on this one.

Thing is; I have for many years used the 250 grs Woodleigh RN as the "go to" hunting bullet in my 35 Whelen, and with exellent results.

Where I live Woodleigh costs close to three times more than the Hornady, and I have started thinking about using the Hornady as my hunting bullet.
So far the Hornady (both RN and SP) have been used for practice only, and they deliver exellent accuracy in my rifle loaded to 2500 fps.

Actual game will be red deer, roe deer and wild boar.
The rifle is also my back up rifle hunting moose should my 375 Ruger fail.

So what do you say, is the Hornady good enough for hunting such game, and which is the best, the RN or the SP?

A friend has used the 250 RN Hornady in his .35 Whelen for decades on dozens of American elk with great success, it will do fine for you.

But I have a question: how many shots at game do you take each year with the .35? Five? Two? I ask because the price of bullets is tiny compared to the other costs incurred on the average hunt. Even if they were made of gold, premium bullets don't add that much to the overall cost of hunting - you just don't shoot enough of them. Use the Hornadys for range practice and keep the Woodleighs for game.



.

Thank you TX Nimrod.
Had that same feeling about the RN (besides a RN bullet really looks good in the Whelen case )

About then cost; Yes I know that bullets are not what ruins my hunting budget.
Still they cost $2,6 a piece here comparet to the $ 1.- for the Hornady.

Where I live we have to take and pass a shooting test each year for those of us hunting big game.
Ammo used for the test will be the same ammo useded for the actual hunting.

For accuracing, training and the test that means I usually blow away a box of bullets for each rifle this way.
Added up, it matters a little bit after all.
( I shoot a lot more than one box of bullets in each rifle each year, but this is training and accuracing connected to the annual Shooting test)

To keep things simple I thought that one bullet for training, shooting test and hunting would be a winner. Even more so concidering the price

I used the 250gr hornady sp in my whelen and it worked great on hogs and whitetails... Didnt damage any meat on the deer...they would run a little ways, but left a red trail a blind man could follow...

Shot 2 big feral hogs with it...neither hog took a step...actually it slapped them down like they had been hit by a truck... I don't think you could go wrong with either of those hornady bullets...RN or SP..

Z

I use the Hornady 250 RN in my Rem 7600 carbine 35 Whelen. It's great for moose (within reasonable range, of course) but does a lot of meat damage on deer.

Hugh

I have been using the 250gr Speer in my 35 Whelen AI, I have never recoverd a bullet from anything I have shot, some deer and a 2400# bison. I have always been going to try the 250 Hornady. I have shot a few deer and a bear with the 200gr Hornady with no issues or animals running after being shot.

quote:

ply

I have used the 250 Hornady in my 35 Whelen (improved) for elk hunting and it works just fine. I will continue to use it.

Can I assume then that the RN does make a little more mess than the SP in regard of bloodshot meat?

I have no doubt that the 250 grs Hornady RN/SP will kill any deer or boar I might stumble over, but am a bit conserned about bloodshot meat.
A plain meat hunter like myself, prefere nice meat in exchange for the money and effort I put in my hunting.

I have used both the spire point and the Round nose Hornady in the 35 whelen on Deer. Neither will be guilty of "bloodshot" on your deer or Elk or moose.
The RN does open faster but it doesn't over expand. I never really liked the Spire point on Deer. It never failed me but it did want real bone to open up well whereas the RN was happy on Ribs. Both as noted above, worked just fine though. I also happen to just like RN bullets and especially in a 1950's Whelen.
Best regards

quote:

Originally posted by DuaneinND:
I have been using the 250gr Speer in my 35 Whelen AI, I have never recoverd a bullet from anything I have shot, some deer and a 2400# bison. I have always been going to try the 250 Hornady. I have shot a few deer and a bear with the 200gr Hornady with no issues or animals running after being shot.

I have also used the 250 grain Speer spitzer in my 35 Whelen when I had one. It will shoot through an elk from any angle. I am sure the Hornady bullet will too. At the modest velocities of the 35 Whelen, tough guy bullets are really not necessary. With 225 and 250 grain bullets, ordinary cup and core bullets work fine. The spitzer bullets will shoot somewhat flatter but I agree with you that the round nose bullets look cooler

The 250 grain Hornady is the only bullet I use in my 35 Whelen. The bullets arent that soft,
the velocities aren't very high and I thought red deer were scrawny when I hunted them in South America. Moose die easy no matter where they live.

I can't imagine why you would waste Woodleighs for your uses; save those for a buffalo hunt where you need all the help you can get.

The 200gr did not impress me. The deer I shot at 10 yards was pretty impressed even though it only penetrated about 7 inches. I was amazed how that little deer stopped that bullet. I expected it to blow through.





The 200 TSX impresses me. This is what they look like after smacking my 600 yard gong.

Use cast bullets if conventional bullets are to expensive
Here in Australia 400 gn 416 Swifts are $116.00 for 50, while the TSX s are $110.00....i cast 416 proj and can shoot the big girl for ever, and the cost does not spoil a good afternoon of shooting

I use cast as well in the Whelen. I have not shot a jacketed bullet in several years in the old girl. 280 Lyman mould with GC A lot of fun to shoot and hunt with.

The Hornady 250gr is a good bullet, it will work on thengame you have mentioned.

However the Woodleigh is a Great bullet, one of the best hunting bullets made. How many of them do you need to kill the game you shoot in a year???

Remember, it is the Bullet that does ALL the work.

Truth be told the money I spend on bullets is less than one tenth the cost I spend on gasoline, plane fare and Scotch when I am hunting...

I NEVER skimp on hunting bullets, or on getting the perfect Zero with my guns...

Gentlemen.
After re-thinking a bit, and tested that the 250 Hornady RN and the 250 grs Woodleig RN behave like twins in my rifle, I will coninue to use Woodleighs for hunting and Hornady for training and the annual testshooting.

Thank you for inputs and sound advise

Arild, looks like you found the ideal solution. I try to zero any rifle with the cheapest and/or most common factory ammo I can find. I want to know what it will do with a standard, common load. Then I experiment with different brands, bullets and reloads. If I develop a load with an expensive bullet, I throw a Remington CL or Hornady bullet on top of the same charge to see what it will do. Disclaimer: I am not a "bench rest accuracy" fanatic for a hunting rifle. I am very content with MOA to 1.5 MOA for the most part.

More often than not, (if using a similar profile and weight bullet), the Remington CL factory ammo will shoot to the same point of impact as the Federal Premium and my premium bullet reload will shoot the same as my less expensive option.

However, NE 450 No2 nailed it. My Scotch definitely costs more than my bullets and needs reloading more often!

Larry

quote:

However, NE 450 No2 nailed it. My Scotch definitely costs more than my bullets and needs reloading more often!

Larry

Larry.
I´m in the same boat more or less
With my fancy for single malt, my stock of Laphroaig, Lagavulin, Ardbeg, Old Pulteney and Tallisker, cost a bit more than my yearly use of hunting bullets

Arild, don't forget Caol Ila, which I happen to be sipping on at this moment!

Oh you single malt guys. Try a little Famous Grouse.

quote:

Originally posted by Arild Iversen:
Most likely beaten to death already, but I need some inputs from actual users on this one.

Thing is; I have for many years used the 250 grs Woodleigh RN as the "go to" hunting bullet in my 35 Whelen, and with exellent results.

Where I live Woodleigh costs close to three times more than the Hornady, and I have started thinking about using the Hornady as my hunting bullet.

Mr. Iversen I have 90 .358 Woodleigh RN's that are collecting dust. They were pulled from Norma 358 Mag Rounds that I bought on clearance at Grafs ten or so years ago.

I dont have the first clue about shipping anything to Norway or what it would cost.

They are yours for the cost of shipping if you want them.

If he passes, I'll pay the cost of shipping (Priority Mail Flat rate box) to Florida!

BTW a 225 TSX is faster. flatter and more nasty than a Woodleigh. Deer. Moose. Elk all DOA one shot kills from 35 Whelen.

All quartering away, all bullets found in neck. (About the only way to recover a Barnes)

@PaulH
Thank you so much for your generous offer
I´m afraid that including postage and the never escapable VAT/Tax here in Norway, the bullets would be just as expensive as bought in a store.
So I have to let it pass, but thank you again mate

Arild, what kind of number are we talking about to get the projectiles to you? I am not made out of money but would contribute to get the bullets to you. Maybe if a few more would do the same we could get you back to shooting Woodleighs...

What about it, guys? How many of you would be willing to pony up a $20 or so to help a gent halfway across the planet? Sometimes we here in the States still don't realize just how good we have it...

@Doubless.
Firs of all, thank you for your kind thoughts.
The thing is that all kinds of reloading stuff are available here in Norway.
There is no shortage on brass, bullets, primers, powder or any other things needed (among others Midway has a great internet shop here)

Prices are a bit higher than in USA, but I can manage that, so fundings are not the problem.
My initial question was if I could use only one bullet, the Hornady RN for all my shooting with the Whelen (range work, annual shooting test and hunting).
Mostly for simplicity, but also to save a couple of bucks on bullets.

As I mentioned further up the thread, the Hornady RN and Woodleig RN shoots to same point of aim in my rifle, so I will use the Hornady for rangework and shooting test, and the Woodleigh RN for hunting.
That means mostly 10 critters each season with the Whelen, so the expences are not that high.

Still, you guys are most generous and I´m really thouched, but as I said to PaulH, when shipping and customs are paid, I will most likely get the bullets just as cheap here at home.

(Another thing is if a private person actually can get an export permit these days for any stuff gun related...?)

Understood. It was just a thought...

quote:

Originally posted by Arild Iversen:

As I mentioned further up the thread, the Hornady RN and Woodleig RN shoots to same point of aim in my rifle, so I will use the Hornady for rangework and shooting test, and the Woodleigh RN for hunting.

Arild:

I don't think you need the Woodleighs anymore. At Whelen velocities, I think those 250 grain Hornady Roundnose bullets will work just fine for hunting.

Arild, I thought you might like to see a picture of a 250Gr. Hornady RN that I used to kill a spike bull elk ( about the size of a very large red deer) Bullet crossed the chest, broke a rib going in and another going out, found under the skin on the far side. 153 grains remain of the original 250. Bullet was fired at 2500 fps muzzle velocity and range was 120 meters. I would use this bullet again with confidence but prefer slightly "tougher" bullets and exit wounds. I have taken two elk with the Hornady 250 RN and one with the spire point. I did not see a noticeable difference in bullet performance between the two styles. I like your solution of using the Hornady for practise and the Woodleigh for hunting. And if you get them mixed up, you can still be confident!

The 250 Hornady Interlock Spitzer has always been the most accurate bullet with several different powders in my 35 Whelen AI, and it supposedly opens a little more slowly than does the RN. At muzzle velocities of around 2500-2600 it should be just fine.

So far I have not recovered a single bullet from my 35 Whelen.
Animals taken are roe and red deer, a single mose and wild boar.
The thoughest one to flatten is most likely the boar, as they are high on adrenaline and on guard all the time.
The deer are mostely taken while feeding from a blind or a high seat, and for moose I have the 375 Ruger as my primary gun.
So the boar will sort of lay the line in regard of thoughness of bullets.

An interesting fact is that the 250 grs Woodleigh PP has reached our shores and is now available at Midway and at a lower price than the RN.

Woodleig PP and Hornady SP could be an interesting alternative to the RN stuff

Sometime it turns out that beeing a reloader is just as time and money consuming as beeing a hunter and shooter

True, but . . . it is SO much fun to experiment!