Heavy Bullets in the 35 Whelen

[MS 9x56]

Sierra loads always seem “hot” compared to other manuals, with bullets of similar weight and construction.

Always makes me wonder if those are manufacturer suggested loads?

 

[bruce moulds]

which just goes to show there is no escaping doing your own homework.
bruce.

 

[35400Whelen]

I don't think those universal guns and test barrels are as close to real world rifles that we use as the manufactures want us to think they are.

 

[bruce moulds]

35400 whelen
play it safe and get a 9.3x64.
bruce.

 

[MS 9x56]

which just goes to show there is no escaping doing your own homework.
bruce.

And there in lies the rub in our addiction. This hobby of ours exercises your mind and resourcefulness along with providing hours of enjoyment.

 

[35400Whelen]

35400 whelen
play it safe and get a 9.3x64.
bruce.

I have not had the pleasure of seeing in person a 9.3 rifle much less the chance to shot one, I am a gun guy so I'll shot any rifle if I get the chance. With that being said comparing the 35 Whelen to the 9.3's from what I have seen, read, heard, ect., trying to make one better then the other is the same as comparing the .270 Win. and the 30-06 (witch I have both) is like betting a dead horse. I am not knocking ether, I think it comes down to personal chose. If I need more then the 35 I can use my 400.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

35400 whelen
play it safe and get a 9.3x64.
bruce.

The .35 solution to that problem is a 358 Norma mag.

 

[bruce moulds]

if you had a 9.3x64 you could sell both the whelens, 35 and 40 and never look back.
bruce.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

if you had a 9.3x64 you could sell both the whelens, 35 and 40 and never look back.
bruce.

That's a bit cheeky Bruce. You could sell the 9.3X64 and buy a 375 Weatherby. At least ammo for both the Whelens is cheap compared to the 64.
Bob

 

[35400Whelen]

if you had a 9.3x64 you could sell both the whelens, 35 and 40 and never look back.
bruce.

The 9.3 is only .008 of an inch larger in diameter witch is not enough for a huge difference. I have looked in my Woodleigh loading manual and in comparing the 35 and all the 9.3 cartridges there really is not that much difference. If the 9.3 is what you like by all means use it, they are good rifle cartridges, but so are the 35's. And as to giving up two rifles to have only one, what fun is that. And if I was going to only have one rifle to hunt the world over I'd go with a 458 Lott, and why I am shore you ask, it can be loaded with both 458 Lott ammo and 458 Win. mag. ammo, and by hand loading you can load as low as the slowest 45-70 loads all the way up to the hottest 458 Lott loads.
But this thread was not created to compare rifle cartridges or what would we use for a all over the world one rifle. It was created to simply talk about 35 Whelen loads with 275gr. to 310gr. bullets.

 

[bruce moulds]

bob, you know the rules.
heck you invented them.
bruce.

That's a bit cheeky Bruce. You could sell the 9.3X64 and buy a 375 Weatherby. At least ammo for both the Whelens is cheap compared to the 64.
Bob

 

[bruce moulds]

35400
don't confuse the x62 with the x64.
check rws factory ballistics of the x64 with 286 and 293 gn bullets.
bruce.

 

[35400Whelen]

35400
don't confuse the x62 with the x64.
check rws factory ballistics of the x64 with 286 and 293 gn bullets.
bruce.

Yes there are a number of 9.3 cartridges, not confusing them. I only said similar not the same, yes the 9.3x64 is faster but not enough to make up for the wrong bullets or shot placement and if those two things are not met it's a bad day with any caliber/cartridge.

 

[MS 9x56]

Why do we do this? I found an old but still sealed box of 275 grain round nose speer bullets at a gun show. While quarantined I loaded them up. Now I gotta go to Alaska or the Yukon for moose or grizzlies. Talk about putting the cart befoRe the horse. It is a crazy obsession and I love it.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Why do we do this? I found an old but still sealed box of 275 grain round nose speer bullets at a gun show. While quarantined I loaded them up. Now I gotta go to Alaska or the Yukon for moose or grizzlies. Talk about putting the cart befoRe the horse. It is a crazy obsession and I love it.

@MS 9x56
What are you loading the 275s in.
If it's the Whelen then they will give some serious penetration. Elmer Kieth shot his world record grizzly with a 35 Whelen loaded with 275s.
Bob

 

[MS 9x56]

@MS 9x56
What are you loading the 275s in.
If it's the Whelen then they will give some serious penetration. Elmer Kieth shot his world record grizzly with a 35 Whelen loaded with 275s.
Bob

I loaded 50 for my 9x56 and 50 for my whelen.

 

[Art Lambart II]

The difference between the 35 Whelen and the 9.3 x 62 is simple, it's geographic location. I was a huge fan of the 35 Whelen long before I went to Africa and I had never heard of a 9.3 x 62. On both of my safaris, I used a 35 Whelen and none of the PH's in the camp had ever heard of or seen one before and had to look it up in one of the cartridges of the world books that seems to a staple of every hunting lodge in SA. Their response was always the same it's an American 9.3 x 62, to which I would respond "Yes it is, only better". If I lived in Europe or Africa I would own and use a 9.3 x 62 but I live in the USA so its the 35 Whelen for me all day every day.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

The difference between the 35 Whelen and the 9.3 x 62 is simple, it's geographic location. I was a huge fan of the 35 Whelen long before I went to Africa and I had never heard of a 9.3 x 62. On both of my safaris, I used a 35 Whelen and none of the PH's in the camp had ever heard of or seen one before and had to look it up in one of the cartridges of the world books that seems to a staple of every hunting lodge in SA. Their response was always the same it's an American 9.3 x 62, to which I would respond "Yes it is, only better". If I lived in Europe or Africa I would own and use a 9.3 x 62 but I live in the USA so its the 35 Whelen for me all day every day.

@Shootist43
I had the same issue in Namibia Art they hadn't heard of the the Whelen. When I showed them they thought it was a 9.3x62.
I don't know about the Whelen being better than the 9.3. In 225 and 250 grains yes the Whelen is a bit better but over 250grain they are much of a muchness.
Bob

 

[Art Lambart II]

@Shootist43
I had the same issue in Namibia Art they hadn't heard of the the Whelen. When I showed them they thought it was a 9.3x62.
I don't know about the Whelen being better than the 9.3. In 225 and 250 grains yes the Whelen is a bit better but over 250grain they are much of a muchness.
Bob

Bob,

This is just my highly biased opinion but the 35 Whelen is better than the 9.3 x 62 because of the lighter weight bullets available for it, currently, you can buy factory ammo for the Whelen from 180 thru 310 grains. My favorite ammo for deer-sized game and feral hogs is the 200 grain Hornady Superformance at 2910 FPS, if I hunt bear, elk, or Moose I can switch to the 180 of 200 Barnes or the 225 TBBC I could use the 225 or 250 grain NP / Accubond / Swift A-Frame, or the 310 grain Woodie. In the old days prior to minimum caliber requirements, the 9.3 x 62 was a great DG round but now it's only legal for PG, and do you really need 286 grains for PG (Eland being the exception)? The 9.3 x 6 is a great round but its lack of lighter bullets limits its flexibility as an all-around anything but DG rifle. With the Whelen I can match my bullet to my quarry allowing me better bullet performance over a larger variety of game. This is just my opinion and as such may not be worth much to anyone but me and I'm sure the 9.3 fans will have a completely different spin on the subject and that's great but as long I own a Whelen I'll never need 9.3 x 62.

 

[35400Whelen]

Why do we do this? I found an old but still sealed box of 275 grain round nose speer bullets at a gun show. While quarantined I loaded them up. Now I gotta go to Alaska or the Yukon for moose or grizzlies. Talk about putting the cart befoRe the horse. It is a crazy obsession and I love it.

I loaded 50 for my 9x56 and 50 for my whelen.

We do it because it is fun to us. What load powder are you using with the 275gr. in your 35 Whelen?