Starting to play with my 15" 35 Whelan AI barrel while I'm waiting for bullets for the 450 Marlin.
Anybody else out there have any favorite 35-06, 35 Whelan or 35 WAI loads? Made up one & tried it last week, 54 gr Varget with a 200gr Hornady. Shot into .45 @ 50 yds but was only about 2170 fps. Have some more to try today, 56.5 & 57 gr Varget with the same bullet. 57 is supposed to be max for the Whelan (not the AI).
Does the Whelan in a handgun perform the same as in a rifle, that meaning it performs well with heavy bullets & you can shoot 225s or even 250s just about as fast as 200s?
Anyone have a favorite bullet for big & heavy game (moose & big bear)? I assume the Hornady 200 gr SPBT bullet would be fine for anything smaller.

In my guns (rifles) the Whelen always did better with heavier (225-250 gr) bullets. My standard deer bullet in the Whelen is the 250 gr Speer SP. For heavier game, I went to the 225 Nosler or 250 gr Speer GS. I have killed 4 elk with my chopped (20") .358 Norma Magnum and the Speer 250 GS. Those elk all hit the ground faster and deader than anything else I have used, including the .375 H & H.

At HG velocities, all of the above bullets should give you reliable expansion with any of the cartridges you mentioned. I suggest you try AA-2520 powder, as it seems to have a great affinity for the .35 bore. I got my first Whelen in 1970, and used the Speer 250 SP and IMR-4320 as my standard load for years, until IMR began having problems with 4320. I found AA-2520 to be a good substitute. Be sure to use Magnum primers (F-215) with AA-2520.

Hi Vance keep us posted as to your results. I have been thinking about that caliber too

I've had a 17" (counting brake) SSK 35 Whelen Encore pistol barrel since April 2005 that I'm loading 56.0grs of Varget under a Hornady 180gr SSP with a CCI BR-2 primer that shoots extremely well....loads have not been run over a chrony.

I did go both under and over 56.0grs when working up the above load but with some of the harder thumping cartridges, in a pistol length barrel that I've had (338-06 & 45-70), I have a tendency to go with a load that I feel will get the job done that also shows extremely good accuracy and is somewhat user friendly....as opposed to going for published max charge / velocity loads.

Ike

Thanks for the input guys. Maybe a powder change will be in order, along with looking for some 220-225gr bullets to play with.
The 57 gr Varget with woo gr Hornady oads showed no pressure signs & were sweet to shoot. Playing on the pistol range so I only had 53 yds, but the last group 3 went into 1 hole (.25 c to c)a 4th opened it up to .5". There was a flyer that made it 1" (now I remember why I usually shoot 3 shot groups ). Problem is I'm still only getting about 2330fps avg. Like I say, no pressure signs at all so I'll bump it up a bit more.

Have you considered H4895? I have enjoyed shooting reduced loads using this powder in my 350 Remington Magnum which is almost the same load volume as the above mentioned cartridges.

I follow Hodgdons 60% rule stated on their website under youth loads. Any bullet weight listed with H4895 as an acceptable powder can be reduced down to 60% of maximum load listed. Hornady 180 SSP works great.

Thanks Leverman. It might be fun to play with some plinking loads sometime.
For now though, I'm trying to raise the velocity. Think I'll jump to a 225 if I can find any locally & play with that for now.

Vance, I'm loading 54gr 4064 under Sierra 225 Spitzer or the Nosler BT and it shoots awesome. I have Hornady 250 over 52gr of 4064 and would be afraid to take it for Bear. Both are SUPERBLY accurate but a true handfull with an unbraked Encore. My 358JDJ was a thumper too, but DanB has that one I think.

In my .358 Win. RPM, I generally get higher velocities (within acceptable pressure limits) with heavier bullets. The reason being that the increased resistance gives a little longer burn time for the powder. You might also consider using Federal Magnum Rifle Primers. In the old Contender loading manual, Sierra recommends the use of magnum primers with all rifle cartridges in handguns. I specified Federal because I have never had a misfire with them (or WW). Some of the MRPs have thicker cups which will not ignite reliably in certain handguns. I am considering a new barrel in either 35/284, or 35 Whelen, and anticipate using 250 gr bullets and AA-2520. FYI IMR-4064 and AA-2015 have given me highest velocities when using lighter bullets in 35 caliber.

Bullelk Hunter,
What kind of velocities are you driving the 225s & 250s at respectively?
Do you get expansion at hunting distances (say out to 250-300) with these bullets?