Got a great deal on a Rem 700 CDL in .35 Whelen. The gun shop had used it as a demo at gun shows and no one bought it. Saw it in the used gun section of the shop`s web site, $200 off, and drove 2 hours through a snow storm to have a look at it. Not a mark on it, never fired. Grabbed it and beat a hasty retreat back home before someone changed their mind.
Have owned a .35 Rem and .358 Win in the past and have been impressed with the effect of .35 caliber bullets on deer. Always wanted a .35 Whelen for moose and now I have one.
Cleaned the bore, mounted a 3-9 Bushnell on a Weaver extended Tactical rail, part # 99499. Wanted to get the ocular bell as far from my forehead as possible while working up loads on a bench. Weighs 7 3/4 lb all up.
Bought a box of 20 Rem 250 gr PSP cartridges. Wanted to see how they did in the CDL`s 16 twist barrel. Pulled a bullet and found 49 gr of an extruded powder which seemed a light charge compared to the reloading manuals. Looked at the Hodgdon web site and saw the new IMR 8208 powder giving the best velocities with reasonable pressures.
Factory COAL for the 250s is 3.245 inch. Used my Sinclair OAL gauge to determine seating depth for the 250s and got a COAL of 3.420 to put the bullet 20 thou off the lands. So another Rem centerfire rifle with a long throat, almost 2/10 inch of freebore for the factory cartridge. But still plenty of room in the magazine with the 250s seated out to 3.420.
Pulled all the 250s and threw out the factory powder. Neck sized the Rem brass and loaded with 56.0 gr 8208 under the 250s. Chronod at 2550 fps. Do not use this load in a rifle with a shorter throat. Put three 250s into one inch at 100 metres. Looks like the 16 twist is fast enough for the 250s. Range temperature was -5C (23F), light tail wind.
Next worked up a load for the Sierra 225 gr Sierra spbt, using Rem virgin brass. Here the long throat came into play. Seated 20 thou off the lands the bullet was barely in the case neck. So seated bullet 1/10 inch deeper to give adequate neck retention, COAL 3.340. Chronod at 2710 fps over 57.5 gr 8208. Put three into 5/8 inch at 100 metres. I was pleased with that. Looks like the jump to the lands doesn`t bother the 225s. Same warning about using this load in a shorter throat.
Pix below show the two groups, 225 Sierra on the left, 250 Rem on the right.
Have owned a .35 Rem and .358 Win in the past and have been impressed with the effect of .35 caliber bullets on deer. Always wanted a .35 Whelen for moose and now I have one.
Cleaned the bore, mounted a 3-9 Bushnell on a Weaver extended Tactical rail, part # 99499. Wanted to get the ocular bell as far from my forehead as possible while working up loads on a bench. Weighs 7 3/4 lb all up.
Bought a box of 20 Rem 250 gr PSP cartridges. Wanted to see how they did in the CDL`s 16 twist barrel. Pulled a bullet and found 49 gr of an extruded powder which seemed a light charge compared to the reloading manuals. Looked at the Hodgdon web site and saw the new IMR 8208 powder giving the best velocities with reasonable pressures.
Factory COAL for the 250s is 3.245 inch. Used my Sinclair OAL gauge to determine seating depth for the 250s and got a COAL of 3.420 to put the bullet 20 thou off the lands. So another Rem centerfire rifle with a long throat, almost 2/10 inch of freebore for the factory cartridge. But still plenty of room in the magazine with the 250s seated out to 3.420.
Pulled all the 250s and threw out the factory powder. Neck sized the Rem brass and loaded with 56.0 gr 8208 under the 250s. Chronod at 2550 fps. Do not use this load in a rifle with a shorter throat. Put three 250s into one inch at 100 metres. Looks like the 16 twist is fast enough for the 250s. Range temperature was -5C (23F), light tail wind.
Next worked up a load for the Sierra 225 gr Sierra spbt, using Rem virgin brass. Here the long throat came into play. Seated 20 thou off the lands the bullet was barely in the case neck. So seated bullet 1/10 inch deeper to give adequate neck retention, COAL 3.340. Chronod at 2710 fps over 57.5 gr 8208. Put three into 5/8 inch at 100 metres. I was pleased with that. Looks like the jump to the lands doesn`t bother the 225s. Same warning about using this load in a shorter throat.
Pix below show the two groups, 225 Sierra on the left, 250 Rem on the right.
