Advice wanted on the .35 Whelen

[S Mac]

I see. At first glance I thought it was a 35 as well. Good looking bullet.

 

[fiver]

250's ain't too bad until you get up near 2400 fps.

 

[CZ93X62]

What Fiver said. No time-in-grade with the 35 Whelen, but LOTS of work with the very similar 9.3 x 62. The recoil level is MUCH nicer with the 250s compared to the 286 grain monsters in .366".

 

[RBHarter]

Just a tiny 358 Win in this corner . 8.5# Mauser in a vintage Fajin Carlo stock . The 250s were actually quite nice at 2100 fps but that has an upper at about 2250 for jacketed so not really a full bore capable comparison .

 

[fiver]

RB... RL-19.
another 100+ fps easily.

 

[RBHarter]

Not to excited about it , that is about a gr short of into the neck with IMR 4350 and it shoots about .900 unless I mess it up or spit a check then it goes out to about 1.5 . It's working for me .

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

RB... RL-19.
another 100+ fps easily.

Try TAP too if your wanting more...

I also recently back with the lil 358 and was repeatedly advised on TAC. I didn’t listen and loaded the standby 3031/4320 and 4064 cause I have all on hand. Good accuracy was achieved but vel was very sub par for even what was advertised. A friend handed me TAC and I loaded up a advised loading. But at 49g and books saying 46.5 was top load I started at 44 and worked up. Well my gun shoots 48.5 as good as 49 and only looses 10-15 FPS. All under a 225 SGK. Velocity was above advertised numbers. I WAS HAPPY!

I always say velocity is over rated. Energy bullet diameter and SD is where it’s at. Getting Energy, Accuracy AND VELOCITY, well it’s the trifecta many search for.
CW

 

[RBHarter]

Oh jacketed data ........
No, no,no , I was shooting the 35-250 SP .
I think that's about where BC starts come on in 35 cal pretty much w/o regard to shape .

 

[fiver]

2600 is when BC starts working.

momentum of energy is where the 35's make their living.
you get 250grs cruising along and it just keeps on going.
I have no jacketed bullets for my 358,, well unless you count some swaged stuff I made up for the 357.

 

[RBHarter]

Maybe I should have called it wind cheating through momentum sort of like the 500+ gr 45s .

Aerodynamics don't matter under 70 mph ....... Which is why Subaru wagons with 10-25 less HP out run Explorers that weigh the same at the pumps and in the wind ....... It also should be as easy to walk in the wind with a 4×8 of plywood as an 8' 2×4 .
Not to argue a point but a wadcutter even at 250 gr would be beat up on by the 250 SP past 75-80 yd .

 

[fiver]

well yeah eh I think we both knew where we were going.

 

[RBHarter]

Yep . Clarity for the googlefu lurker .

 

[Spindrift]

Just came back from my gunsmith. The Whelen has landed!
In addition to the new barrel, a few other upgrades. Contessa picatinny rail, 10MOA tilt. Contessa scope rings on three different scopes, so I can have dedicated scopes to the different barrels (the Vortex on the rifle is meant for the 6,5x55 barrel). I think the «gun of my dreams» is now completed

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

I LIKE IT ALLOT!!

good luck!!

cw

 

[fiver]

that should do the job just fine.
so you have to unscrew the barrel and HS on a cartridge/gauge each time?
or it just 'times out' on the recoil lug for each barrel?

it looks like your trying to have spring there already.

 

[Spindrift]

Headspace is set once and for all, by my gunsmith. I only unscrew the barrel by hand, and screw in the new one. In theory, I can bring one rifle and four barrels to the range, and switch barrels with no tools, as easily as switching muzzle devices.

Winter have been weird, and mild. I live in the south-eastern low-lands of Norway, 200 feet above sea level. We have 4 inches of snow, most of the winter we’ve had none. Usually, we have 2-3 feet. In the highlands, we have a lot! Like 12 feet. This winter, explosives have been necessary to clear the road on some mountain crossings.

 

[Spindrift]

 

[fiver]

neat trick with the little extension behind the threads.

I live at 6,000' and tend to forget there are lower altitudes until I go down in the valley to shop.
today for instance we went down there and it was in the mid 50's with no snow.
up here it was barely 34-35 in the afternoon and I can just barely see the top of my sprinkler heads [about 18"s] on the sunny side of the yard.

 

[Ian]

Nice rig, Spindrift. Lots of thought, time, and money there, glad it has all come together for you.

I gotta ask a out the muffler. It appears to be a reflex chamber design with tubeless baffles that just screw into one another and can be lengthened or shortened as desired by adding or removing baffle sections, is this correct? One of our complicated legalities in the USA mostly prevents these designs due to not being allowed to have any "extra parts" on hand if we wish to configure shorter, though some commercial offerings of this type somehow have managed to come to market. We cannot build our own in such a way that they could be used without all the pieces assembled; the commercial manufacturers are given more "professional leeway" by the regulatory agency.

 

[Spindrift]

That is correct, you can add or remove baffles as desired. That is, if you take care of the threads and lube them every once in a while
This model has a quite large reflex chamber. The muzzle ends about where the baffles start, it adds about 4 1/2 in to the total length and weighs about a pound.

Lots of thought, time, and money there,

Absolutely. This is, by far, my most expensive gun project. Lots of parts, and gunsmithing. At the moment, I can’t get any more gun licenses. With the changes I’ve made to this gun, I can add new cartridges at the cost of a barrel.

My next range trip (tomorrow, probably) I’ll shoot some 44 auto mag loads with PC I want to check out, then I’ ll swap to the Whelen- barrel and start assembling loads for my new thunderstick