30-06 to 35 whelen?

[muskog]

Does anyone out there no anything about necking 30-06 brass up to use in a 35 Whelen? I may be out to lunch on this but I heard it can be done.
If so does it require any special dies or would a neck sizing die suffise?

Any info on the techniques involved would be appreciated.

[Cariboo]

Most .35 Whelen dies have a tapered expander ball which makes it easy to neck 30-06 brass up to .35 calibre. The initial forming should be done with a fair bit of lubricant inside the case neck.

I form 30-06 and 270 Winchester brass up to 338-06 - a slightly better cartridge than the 35 Whelen in my humble opinion LoL - without problems.

[35 Whelen]

Hey hey.......no slagging the Whelen.......LOL

Yes you can easily neck /06 up to the 35 Whelen. I do it all the time. I have used RCBS dies in the past. Make sure you dip the case necks in some dry lube so it coats the inside of the neck well. The RCBS dies do have a tapered expander..but it is too steep in my opinion. I just bought some Hornady dies and it has a beautiful eliptical expander ball which works much better in necking up /06 to 35 Whelen.

Brass casings are pretty easy to do...just go slow and don't try to do it in a quick pass. More so if you are using Nickle cases...they are not the same as brass; much harder material and they take a little more care and lube....the nickle cases are the main reason I bought the Hornady dies.....

[Cariboo]

Originally Posted by 35 Whelen

Hey hey.......no slagging the Whelen.......LOL

Just trying to get a rise out of one of you Whelen owners. In truth the 2 rounds are so close in performance to be indistinguable in the field. Both are excellent all-round cartridges suitable for nearly all hunting in Canada.

[35 Whelen]

You got that right.........anyone who ever said that the Whelen is a short range ( 200-250 ) cartridge has never handloaded for it. Best shot ever was a measured 400 Meters on a moose....dropped him like a bolt of lightning hit him.

Most spectacular shot was a short shot of about 30 yds. Hit him in the right ham as he quickly turned...the shot transected him full length and exitted the sternum of the chest....he just tipped over and did not get up. Didn't find the bullet either...complete pass through end to end, and yes you could eat right up to the bullet hole......just like Townsend Whelen said.

Love it.

[Cariboo]

The first fall after I had my 338-06 built I used it to fill a doe tag. A shot from ~200 yards with a 200 grain Ballistic Tip took the deer broadside through both lungs. The results were spectacular. She didn't even kick when hit but rather just started to wobble and tipped over onto her side stone dead by the time she hit the ground.

When we skinned her she had a Loonie sized entry and exit with no blood shot around either hole. Plenty of good things to say about a big heavy bullet at moderate velocity.

[muskog]

Thanks for all the good info guys.

I'm not a 35 whelen owner yet but I'm comtemplating it. I would like a medium bore rifle but I'm not interested in any magnums. Calibers like the 35 whelen or the 338-06 are much more appealing.

Range doesn't seem to be a problem. Any observations on accuracy or recoil?

Thanks again for your time.

[Dogbite]

Originally Posted by muskog

Does anyone out there no anything about necking 30-06 brass up to use in a 35 Whelen? I may be out to lunch on this but I heard it can be done.
If so does it require any special dies or would a neck sizing die suffise?

Any info on the techniques involved would be appreciated.

I don't know why you would want to resize -06 brass when there is plenty of 35 Whelen brass available. I could see it if you had a 338-06 or a 9,3X62 as brass for this cartridge can be scarce, but it too is available, you just have to have patience.

[35 Whelen]

My Whelen is very accurate. If you are contemplating a Whelen get one with a barrel rate of twist on 1 in 12...at the very least 1 in 14. DO NOT get one with a 1 in 16 twist....I think Ruger did this rate of twist....they WILL NOT stabilize the heavier bullets. In my opinion the Whelen was built for 250 grn bullets for moose and bear. I would check out the 225. But would not go lighter for the Whelen. As you can see from my previous post.....they penentrate.. As for recoil, very manageable...more of a push than a kick.

[Mauser98]

Buy!! What is this 'buy' you speak of???????????

I don't see why anyone would buy .35 Whelen brass-there's nothing to be gained. With free, good quality, once-fired .30-06 brass being as common as sand, why bother.

To resize make sure the case is very well lubed. Run it into a .35 Whelen full-length resizing die with a tapered expander. When it's withdrawn from the die, you're done.

[Dogbite]

I have a stigma about seeing the caliber stamped on the cartridge base. There's something about 9,3X62 or .338WM or whatever that gives me some satisfaction. My thinking is that if I'm so tight I can't afford to get the proper brass, then I should stay home and save powder, primers and bullets too. The only time that I consider necking up or down is if brass for the particular cartridge is not obtainable. That's the way I like it, but some might say it's being anal.

[muskog]

Thanks again for taking the time to post all the great info guys. This helps me out alot. Very much appreciated.

[Pat Brennan]

You guys talking about the whelen caused me to rethink ( a dangerous thing ) having sold a 35 whelen rifle I had some time back. Then the dam!!d thing shows up for sale, so naturally I jump on it! My excuse is that I was lacking a good big caliber in the cabinet, in case the better half corners me on the subject!
My experience echoes others here, very easy to resize 30-06 brass with a bit of lube inside the neck. Easy caliber to reload for and the one black bear I shot with it didn't go anywhere but down.