For 35 Whelen and .358 Win Reloaders...

[GAHUNTER60]

What bullets are you shooting and where are you finding them?

In my Whelen, I'm a big fan of 225-grain Nosler Partitions. I like the Partitions because of the broad spectrum of game-weight it is effective on -- from little Key Deer, to Yukon moose and grizzly bear -- I wouldn't feel under-gunned with my Whelen spitting out this bullet at 2,600 fps. I also like the 250-grain Speer Hot-Cor for deer. I may not drop him in his tracks, but there is usually a blood trail a blind man can follow.

In my .358 Winnie, I again like a 225-grain bullet, but since it spits them out a little slower than the Whelen (2,375 fps), a softer bullet is preferred -- in this case the Sierra Game King. Now, I am not a fan of Game Kings in any other caliber (I find them too soft and they tend not to exit, therefore leaving little blood trail), however, Sierra has made the .358 bullet with a heavier jacket, limiting upset and therefore causing deeper penetration. It is a very good bullet in the Winnie!


I also very much like the 220-grain Speer Hot-Cor in the .358 Winchester. Though considered a non-premium, standard cup-and-core bullet, it is made in such a way that it holds together without core separation for deep penetration on even the largest game!

Now, the problem: ain't none of the above bullets available to buy anywhere in the U.S. of A., as far as I can tell! (And the Speer 220-grain will not ever be in stock, as it has been discontinued!) I did recently find an individual seller on Gun Broker that was willing to let go of a box of 50 Partitions for $200, But I'm not that desperate ..... yet! Before doing something that stupid, I'll search out alternatives to my favorites that are available.

I noticed that Hawk bullets, a small custom bullet manufacturer from up North, makes several different .358-caliber bullets of different weights and jacket thicknesses, depending on what size game you are intending to hunt. They get good reviews, and are not outlandishly priced. Also, a small company named Fury Bullets is making a replacement for the Speer 220-grain Hot-Cor. I have no idea if they perform like the Speer bullets did, but, again, they get good reviews, and at $42 for a box of 50, I'm willing to take a chance.

What bullets are you guys using in your .35 Whelen and .358 Winchester loads? More importantly, where are you buying them?

 

[35 Whelen]

Bought every one of these I could find when Nosler discontinued them:

 

[35 Whelen]

And these:

 

[35 Whelen]

35 Caliber .358 Diameter 200 Grain Spire Point With Cannelure 100 Count

35 Caliber .358 Diameter 200 Grain Spire Point With Cannelure 100 Count by HORNADY AMMUNITION AND BULLETS Aerodynamic secant ogive delivers flat trajectories and great accuracy. Tapered jacket for deep penetration and controlled expansion. InterLock ring locks core and jacket together...

www.midsouthshooterssupply.com

 

[35 Whelen]

35 Caliber .358 Diameter 250 Grain Spire Point With Cannelure 100 Count

35 Caliber .358 Diameter 250 Grain Spire Point With Cannelure 100 Count by HORNADY AMMUNITION AND BULLETS Hornady's Interlock havean aerodynamic secant ogive delivers flat trajectories and great accuracy. Tapered jacket for deep penetration and controlled expansion. InterLock ring locks...

www.midsouthshooterssupply.com

 

[GAHUNTER60]

Due to past bullet failures, Hornady bullets are not welcome on my bullet shelf.

 

[bullethead]

35 Caliber .358 Diameter 200 Grain Spire Point With Cannelure 100 Count

35 Caliber .358 Diameter 200 Grain Spire Point With Cannelure 100 Count by HORNADY AMMUNITION AND BULLETS Aerodynamic secant ogive delivers flat trajectories and great accuracy. Tapered jacket for deep penetration and controlled expansion. InterLock ring locks core and jacket together...

www.midsouthshooterssupply.com

That is a good bullet. I've used them in a 350 Rem Mag with good results.

 

[bullethead]

These various .358 bullets I use in 350 Rem Mag and 35 Rem.
My buddy ues the 225gr Sierra in a Whelen and it is accurate and lays a good beating on deer.
I am shocked that you have not had success with Hornady Spire Points in .35 cal. The 200gr have flattened deer for me.
I've never been disappointed in Spire Points in any caliber.

 

[GAHUNTER60]

I'll send you my address so you can forward those two boxes of Speer 220s and the box of Nosler Partitions. You can throw in that box of Sierras for good measure !

 

[GAHUNTER60]

My aversion to Hornady is strictly a personal idiocyncracy. I know they work perfectly for the vast majority of reloaders who swear by them, but I tend to hold a grudge for a long time.

It's a confidence thing, I guess.

 

[bullethead]

My aversion to Hornady is strictly a personal idiocyncracy. I know they work perfectly for the vast majority of reloaders who swear by them, but I tend to hold a grudge for a long time.

It's a confidence thing, I guess.

I was soured on the SSTs when they first came out and have not given them a 2nd chance since.
The only Spire Point that "failed" to me was a .277 130gr ripping out of a 270WSM at 3300fps. I shot a large doe , 131lb dressed weight, broadside, dead center shoulder at 35yds. She started to collapse, caught herself, and did a death run to right under my stand. That bullet, or parts of it made it to the opposite shoulder blade. She was dead in 2 seconds. Lungs mush. But it was a lot to ask of a light for velocity non premium bullet, and it is the only the 3rd Spire Point that I ever recovered. The other two were also close range, high velocity, and traveling lengthwise through deer.

 

[GAHUNTER60]

Likewise, a Hornady Interlock I loaded for my son in .277 caliber (but in 150 grain, instead of 130) failed on a big doe he shot while hunting on my lease. The deer went down at the shot, but got up and took off. There was almost no blood -- until 300 yards away, I happened upon a single drop. Then another, 50 yards further away; and then another 40 yards until the faucet got tunned on a good 500 yards from the spot where it was shot.

When we finally found her, we found that my son had hit her low in the shoulder, almost blowing the entire shoulder off the deer. Behind the shoulder, there was a six-inch gash where pieces of bullet and bone entered the chest cavity, but didn't penetrate more than an inch or two. The reason she didn't bleed is she was bleeding into the empty chest cavity and didn't start leaving droplets until that cavity filled up with blood. We were very fortunate to recover that deer!

BTW, I had loaded those 150s with the intention of letting my son use them on a cow elk hunt he was going on in Colorado. Needless to say, I changed the load to a more appropriate bullet for elk (150-grain Partions).

 

[RamblinWreck88]

Being new to the Whelen, I've only loaded 200 gr Interlocks (#3510). I've gotten them at Sporting Arms in Winterville and MidwayUSA, both of which have them every time I look.

I've got some 250-gr hot-cors that I've not yet loaded. Those are in and out of stock on MidwayUSA.

 

[35 Whelen]

Being new to the Whelen, I've only loaded 200 gr Interlocks (#3510). I've gotten them at Sporting Arms in Winterville and MidwayUSA, both of which have them every time I look.

I've got some 250-gr hot-cors that I've not yet loaded. Those are in and out of stock on MidwayUSA.

Welcome to the 35 Whelen fan club!

 

[furtaker]

There are not nearly as many 35 caliber bullets for the reloader to choose from as there are in many other calibers.

 

[GAHUNTER60]

BTW, What are your pet loads for the Whelen? Mine are 59 grains of Re. 15 behind a 225-grain Nosler Partition (it used to be 61 grains, But Alliant decided that the thousands of folks shooting this load with no problems for 50 years were on the verge of a horrible death, and lowered the manual max to 57 grains). At 59 grains, I'm still 2 grains over book max, but considering that I had no pressure signs at 61 grains, I certainly shouldn't have any at 59!

Likewise, Alliant dropped the max load for a 250-grain bullet down to 54 grains of Re. 15. For years, I loaded 59 grains of Re. 15 behind a 250-grain Hot-Cor and lived to talk about it. Many others still swear that 61 grains behind a 250 is perfectly safe in just about any modern sporting rifle. I'm still loading 58 grains behind my 250s, , but may drop it anoher grain, if I can still stay at around 2,500 fps.

 

[furtaker]

Most manuals have throttled back max loads over the years since lawyers run the country.

RL-15 didn't give me good velocity in my 350 RM with the 250 Speer. IMR 3031 works better with 200 and 250gr bullets in my rifle.

 

[GAHUNTER60]

For years, Re. 15 was pretty much universally recognized as the "go to" powder in the Whelen when using 225- and 250-grain bullets. Still today, it is the best I've used but only if you're willing to exceed the manual max loads.

Heck, sticking with the book with 250-grain bullets, the max load in the Whelen is about the same velocity as my 358 win. Shooting the same bullet!

 

[GooseGestapo]

I always wanted to rebore or rebarrel my .30/06 (1976 Interarms MX) to .35Whelen.
However when I got around to it, circa 2002, I had an Adams and Bennet .338/06 barrel installed instead. I never was satisfied with the accuracy of the A&B barrel, so in 2022, I had the .30/06barrel re-installed. (Still shoots sub moa 5-shots w/165gr BTSpt over 57.5gr of IMR4350 @2,800fps).

I do however have both a BLR’81 in .358win, and a Marlin M336C in .35Rem.
I no longer use jacketed bullets in the .35Rem rather a 200gr RCBS FNGC @218gr over 39.5gr of BLC2 for 2,050fps. Shoots flatter and hits harder than any factory load.

In the BLR .358, I’ve tried a lot of combinations, but stumbled onto Ken Waters “Pet load” of 48.0gr of H4895 under the 200gr Hornady PtSpt for 2,500fps. Shoots near MOA. Between many other options, and having another unopened box of 200gr PtSpt Interloks, as well as an unopened box of 200gr Remington 200gr PtSpt Corlokts, I’ll likely never use them up in this lifetime. Though I did buy a pound of TAC and considered a box of Nosler 200gr Accubonds, but at nearly $2.00 each, they can keep them…

I do have a partial box of Hornady 180gr SSP, and have considered loading them over some LVR. I’ve run them to 2,400+fps from my .35Rem, but the deer and pigs have never cooperated to see how they do…

 

[bighonkinjeep]

Check shooters pro shop for Nosler 2nds. They shoot and perform as well as first run bullets and the only difference I've noticed is either a small tarnish on the finish or the wrong color nose caps. I bought 500 180gr Accubonds and they only difference was somebody forgot to change over the nose caps so theyre orange instead of white. Also shot a bunch of 110gr Accubonds in .257 and they go into one hole and kill like lightning while saving $$$