35 Whelen load

coleridge

coleridge

Active member
I've got a friend that changes guns like underwear. He recently came across a 35 Whelen and has decided this will be his whitetail gun this year.

Needless to say our deer here in NC are not so tuff it takes a bowling ball to knock one down. Still, he plans to thump deer with it this year, and wants me to load for it.

I have never loaded for anything larger than .30 cal. Can't imagine it being that different. Just wanted to see if anyone needed to give me any hint/tips on this cartridge.

Also, any loads will be appreciative. Knowing him, 99% of shots will be in the dense woods from point blank (under the tree) to ~75-100yards max.

What is the bullet of choice for our 110-150lb (average) deer. After doing a small amount of research, I was looking at the 225gr Sierra GK. Anything better? Not really concerned about saving every inch of meat. By the size of the hole in the end of the barrel /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif I think he is wanting stopping power.

Thanks
 
I've owned a 35 Whelen since 1988. I got it mainly for elk hunting. The 225 grain Nosler partition and IMR 4895 have been my favorite load in that rifle. There are 180 grain bullets available in .358 diameter. Why not give some of them a try for deer?
 
I have taken several whitetails and one cow elk with my Remington 700 Classic .35 Whelen. All of the animals acted as though they had been swatted to the ground, stone dead. Meat damage has been minimal, no worse than any other caliber I have used. None of the shots were over about 75 yards. As they say, "you can eat right up to the hole."
The load recipe I use is the 225 grain Sierra GK over 54.5 grains of IMR 4064, Win. primer. Accuracy is overkill for big game, usually around 1 MOA.
I love the Whelen!
Hope this helps.
 
Hornady makes 200 grain bullets (both round-nose and spire-point) and Speer makes both a 180 flat point and a 220 flat point. The Speers are primarily designed for deer and the .35 Remington in lever guns, so I would avoid driving the 180 too fast with the bigger Whelen case. Either the Hornady 200 or Speer 220 would by my choice. Use medium-speed powders in the 4895-4064-2520 range as the large bore diameter makes the slower powders run at too-low pressures for proper velocities. Though, for deer, that probably wouldn't hurt anything (except the deer that gets shot).
 
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