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Anyone loading .358 Win or .35 Whelen?

Treerat-sniper

So, the great state of IA just made bottlenecks .350 & larger deer legal. I screwed a Shaw .358 Win barrel into a Savage 16 I have & so far results have been great. A friend of mine has a .35 Whelen barrel on backorder for his 110 (hoping it shows up before December rolls around).

The problem is bullet & powder availability (like everyone else). I have a pile of Hornady 200 gr RN & 200 Gr SPs from years of playing with my MGM .357 max Encore. So far H4895 has been the winner, but I have a limited supply. RE7 was so-so...anyone tried RE15 or W760? My manuals are fairly dated, can't find much on either & have a decent supply of both RE15 & W760. Any favorite powder/bullet combinations here?
 
I can’t find loads with either of those powders. I think it would be better if you went on a hunt for 4895. But if you run across RL7 or 748 there is data for those.
 
I would say 760 is too slow for either of your 35s. It may be usable in the Whelen with 250s, but likely less than optimal.

For the Whelen RL15 has been a good choice in my rifles with 200s & 225s as is IMR4064, H4895, & even IMR3031. RL15 start load in Sierra #VI is 60gr. with 200s. If you can find it, Alliant Power Pro Varmint & PP2000MR have opened up a whole new world for Whelen users. Speer #15 & Sierra #VI have data.

W-748, RL10x, IMR3031, N133, & Acc2015 all worked very well for accuracy & velocity in my 358s with 200s. Listed in my order of preference with 2015 being my favorite with the lot #s of stuff I have. H4895 & RL15 should also be fine with 200s, but you may not get top velocity. I doubt if the deer will know the difference. You already have a 4895 load. Thinking around 44-45gr would be a good starting place for RL15 with 200s but cant put my hands on any data quickly & it feels like time to go to sleep, so will leave that up to you. Hoping powder availability is on the upswing & next year should be better.

Edit... OOPs. 3AM transposed V & I after Sierra #
 
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1634049016872.png

I suggest going to the Hodgdon website for reloading data for both cartridges:

https://www.hodgdonreloading.com/reloading-data-center?rdc=true&type=54

If this link works it should be for all the data for the .358 Win. from Hodgdon. Well, it doesn't help with a data list so you have to select the cartridge then select 'all' of the powders and bullets weights then print it out.

This is what each section will look like:

1634049638056.png


And this is from Nosler .358 Win.:

1634049802125.png
 
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Thanks all, I have checked the Hodgdon & Nosler books (& about 1/2 a dozen others). The newer stuff on the websites show a lot of powder I don't have on hand & can't find.. I figured W760 would be too slow, might have to play with W748 a bit more. I've tried RE7, W748, H4198 & H4895. I've also heard good things about TAC but unfortunately, its unobtanium around here. I'll probably try 358WCF's recommendation with RE15... As a last resort, the H4895 grouped the best so far and I have a so-so supply, could just stick with that this season and hope supply chains loosen up.
 
The Mississippi guys have been all over the 35Whelen for yrs since they opened up what used to be ML season to single shot 35s
 
I have a new unfired 35 Whelen rifle. I haven't loaded any ammo yet but I have purchased the components that I intend to use. I bought H4895 powder and Hammer 259 gr bullets.
 
All I've ever used in my 35 whelen imp is 250s. Mostly with IMR4064, though I have tried Varget, RL15 and probably a few others. 4064 does what I wanted. Shot lots of critters here in AK with it. From grouse up to moose.
 
I looked up my copy of Wolfe Publsihing's combined 'Pet Loads' articles by the late Ken Waters as he usually has interesting things to say about cartridges like this. He did a 358 Win update published in Handloader magazine in September 1992. So, the many subsequent new and improved powders and bullets are missing and a few powders he used have gone. (Having said that, there aren't that that many new powders around with suitably quick burn rates - 8208 XBR, AR-Comp maybe.)

He used a 20-inch barrel Mannlicher-Shoenauer M1956 carbine as his test rifle, Winchester brass and WLR primers. Four bullets were tried: 200gn Hornady SP; 225gn Sierra SBT; 225gn Partition; 250gn Speer SP.

Accuracy-wise, the winners were IMR-3031, 4064 and for the 225/250 bullets IMR-4320. (Did I see somewhere recently on here that 4320 has been withdrawn?) IMR 4895 was also used as was W748 and H. BL-C(2), but they picked up no special mentions/plaudits. Re7 was only loaded with the 200gn Hornady but was a couple of hundred fps down on3031.

Top MVs came from H335 and the old Accurate Arms Co-2015 across the board with 4320 catching up with the 250gn Speer. 3031 was fast with the 200 Hornady, but less so comparatively as bullet weights rose.

AAC-2015 is a relic of the pre-Western Powders company ownership period and AAC using Czech manufactured products. IIRC, it wasn't replaced in the new 'Accurate' line-up using Canadian/US made powders. We (in Europe) still have it as Lovex SO60, but so far Shooters World hasn't adopted this grade as it has with several other Czech Lovex products. (I have seen older US shooters bemoan this omission, so maybe you should petition Shooters World to adopt it!) I always liked the old 2015 as one of the best extruded powders in its burn rate bracket, and found it still very useful in its Lovex guise in 223 Rem with the 77gn SMK in range tests just a few weeks ago.
 
I'm running TAC in both the 358win and 35 Whelen. I've used Varget and R15 in the Whelen as well (225s)

I'm running 180s in the 358win.


TAC has been available about once a month or so the last year. I picked up an 8 pounder not that long ago from PV.



They don't seem too picky...probably because mine are all small light rigs and I just can't shoot them as well as a heavier gun.
 
I built my 35 Whelen in 1986. I shoot only 250 grain bullets and have settled on Varget for powder since 1991. My bullet of choice was the Hornady Spire point until they changed the bullets a few years ago. Now, they are too fragile so I switched to Speer. I shot a coyote with one of the new Hornady bullets and it nearly cut him in half. A whitetail deer had about the same result. The old bullets would punch through and leave a two inch exit. On elk, they would stop under the hide on the far side. I have not shot an elk with the new bullets and don't care to try. Whoever it was, in the Hornady organisation, that made the changes in those bullets, is an idiot. WH
 
I recently sold my .35 Whelen, but I did shoot and load for it for several years. Varget was most consistent, followed by 8208 XBR. I got more speed out of RL15, but groups were inconsistent.

Bullet of choice was 225 gr Accubond. Primer of choice was CCI 200 or Rem 9 1/2.
 
rickiesrevenge said:
All I've ever used in my 35 whelen imp is 250s. Mostly with IMR4064, though I have tried Varget, RL15 and probably a few others. 4064 does what I wanted. Shot lots of critters here in AK with it. From grouse up to moose.
Click to expand...
What bullet do you load?
 
Currently barreling 3 450 BM’s to 358 Win for these new regs, along with 3 358 WSM’s. 200gr AB’s will be the bullet of choice for starters, interested to see the velocity on the WSM case. 180gr TTSX would be one to try too but haven’t been able to find any in stock.
 
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