35 whelen

Im about to start loading this round. Anyone have a favorite powder for this? The guns used will be TC's. Open to suggestions on bullets as well. This will be for deer.

i like Reloader 15 in my .35 Brown-Whelen (the most radical form of the Whelen.) IMR 4064, 3031, or BL C(2) are all good choices. My hunting bullet is the 225 grain Nosler Partition Jacket.

I had severe hangfires in my 35 Whelen, in 30-40 F weather with AA2520, a ball powder.

I changed the mainspring of the rifle and stopped using ball powders. Stay with stick powders.

Based on my testing with Varget, IMR 4895, IMR 3031, AA2520, IMR 4064, this cartridge did its best across a number of bullet weights with IMR 3031. IMR 3031 is on the fast side so I believe faster is better than slower in the 35 Whelen.

One of these days I am going to try N135.

That being said, my best accuracy was with IMR 4064. I would not go any slower than IMR 4064, I would use the most sensitive primers on the market, Federal, as I believe the shallow shoulder of the 35 Whelen cushions the firing pin blow.

I believe the shallow shoulder of the 35 Whelen cushions the firing pin blow.
That's why the .400 Whelen was a failure.

The .35 Brown-Whelen has a sharper shoulder, pushed well forward, and with less taper in the case body. Mine is extremely accurate and reliable.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I just ordered the dies today.

I don't reload for the 35 Whelen but a buddy does. He claims BL-C(2) will deliver the highest velocity and good accuracy but IMR-4064 is even more accurate. Varget seems to be in the running with almost any caliber you can load.

Sorry, double-tap...

My whelen likes IMR4350 with 225 grain bullets the best.

That's why the .400 Whelen was a failure.

http://finegunmaking.com/page33/page51/page51.html
http://finegunmaking.com/page33/page52/page52.html

Most of the problems with this cartridge I have been able to trace to one factor. The .30-06, .25 Whelen (.25-06), .35 Whelen and .38 Whelen all have a shoulder diameter of .441. “The ORIGINAL .400 Whelen shoulder is .458". When and how this information got lost to modern riflemen and writers I have no idea. Many .400's that were made in later years for which I have measurements have the .441" shoulder; this is also true of many resizing dies.

If you read the cites, you see the problem. Most .400 Whelens were necked up .30-06s, with the original taper, and that doesn't work very well. You need a cylinderical case to get enough shoulder. There's a reason cartridge cases are tapered -- cylinderical cases have problems with the case sticking in the chamber -- not good for a dangerous game rifle in field conditions.