Traditions…

< This photo was taken in early May, 1989 when I was fifty-three years of age. That was my first 1895 Marlin in .45-70 and my first bear.

As people age there’s a tendency to look back to “better times”, especially if things are not going well or one is nearing the end of their journey here. I’ve never been a “history buff” or a traditionalist for its own sake. I’ve always had goals and looked forward to their fulfilment, with God’s help.

I believe the Bible and take its message seriously – otherwise, I’d be denying the One who has redeemed me – Jesus Christ. He said: “I am the resurrection and the life, the one who believes (trusts) in me will never die but have eternal life – do you believe this?”, he asked a friend, Martha, who had just buried her young brother.

I don’t fear death because I know The One who has given me eternal life (a gift of grace to those who believe in Him)! Between now and then, I’ll go on living here with goals – things to do that’s current for each day.

I never thought it would happen, but I’ve purchased another rifle called “Traditions”. Another single-shot! It’s similar to an H&R I purchased in 2010 but didn’t keep. It was chambered in .35 Whelen… so is this Traditions. I didn’t keep the H&R because it wouldn’t fire new handloads I’d put together using new Remington .35 Whelen brass. I believed the new cases were at fault as it would fire both factory ammo and handloads made from old brass that I’d used in my former Rem 7400 semi dating back to 1997. Whatever the problem – it was neither discovered by the gunsmith at the shop where both rifle and brass were purchased, nor my own gunsmith. I still have those 50 new .35 Whelen cases purchased for that H&R, plus dies and a few hundred bullets from 200gr to 300gr from 1/4 of a century ago . So far, the Traditions will fire these new cases with primers only. So it appears I’ll not have to fireform them to the chamber of the Traditions .35 Whelen. That will save a lot of extra time at the range, and expense in wasted powder and bullets.

Yes, I know its ballistic potential is similar to my 9.3 x 62, but I’ve been wanting a “brush gun” for some time ever since I let my Ruger 96/44 get away when it was an even trade for the H&R. The Traditions is 39″ in length with the muzzle brake and 37″ without it. It weighs 6.1 lbs without scope and ammo, which will increase weight to about 7.5 lbs when added. It’s planned to be a “walk-about” rifle.

As such, handloads of around .358 Winchester ballistics could be effective at woods ranges. Or… it would make a nice coyote/wolf rifle to 350 +yards firing 200gr TTSX’s around 3000 fps. Yep, that’s what the 200gr Hornady SPs did from that H&R single-shot when I used old, once-fired brass from my former 7400 in .35 Whelen.

So I’m not against everything “traditional” if it works!

In speaking of the .35 Whelen, you already know, if you’ve been a reader of these blogs, that it’s one of my favorites. Using “old” brass from the former Rem 7400 semi in .35 Whelen, the first load fired from that “former” H&R made 2565 fps from a 250gr Hornady SP – and that was a starting load. I’d also loaded three more in the “new” Rem brass with increased increments of 1 grain each, which all failed to fire! The 200gr Hornady SP was loaded in the “old” cases (a load I’d previously used in the 7400) that did 2998 fps/3991 ft-lbs average corrected to MV. The powder for the 250gr Hornady was RL-15 and H4895 was used for the 200gr. A 200gr at .35 Remington speed would be ~ 2200 fps. A friend killed a 300 lb class bear using a 200gr RN (Remington or Hornady) from his .35 Rem as the bear walked under his stand. MV was 2100 – 2200 fps. That bear was DRT. The .35 Rem is the typical “Mainer” bear gun. So I could easily “make” this new .35 Whelen into a “Mainer bear gun” if wanted. Then I still have eight rounds left over from when I had the 7400 back in 1997, with the 225 Nosler NBT over 65 grains of RL-15 in new .30-06 cases. My records show that five had been fired and recorded an average of 2760 fps corrected to MV. Their COL is standard at 3.34″. Sometime they’ll be fired at the range through the Traditions. The 7400 also had a 22″ barrel. I liked that rifle a lot but sold it, along with another rifle, for some ready cash.

The Traditions will not compete with my 9.3 x 62 as it’s intent is different – as a “walk-about” rifle it is light, short and handy for a quick “one shot”, mostly when I’m just “out and about” and scouting, or in wolf hunting.

A scope is yet to be mounted. Its official name is Traditions Outfitter G3, with a Premium Cerakote finish on a fluted LOTHER WALTHER hammer forged barrel and muzzle brake. Twist rate is 1 – 14″. It has an external rebounding hammer, a transfer bar safety, a thick recoil pad, drilled and tapped for a single scope base (Weaver type on order), swivel studs, and Elite XT trigger. Made in Spain, it is imported by Traditions Performance Firearms, in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, USA.

The break-action is stiff… but will improve with some work and gun oil. Trigger pull is crisp. It has an extractor, not an ejector (which I prefer, but have experience with both).

The .35 Whelen appears to be growing in popularity again. A dozen years ago when I went looking for another to replace the 7400, none could be found in this part of the world. So I came home with the 9.3 x 62. No regrets for that. But it’s a hot theme on the forums just now, especially since a couple of new powders (CFE223 and 2000MR) have come on the scene. These are supposed to boost MVs upwards of 100 -150 fps over “older” propellants at safe psi. Maybe. But my take is that reloading manuals, factory ammo and guys who loaded them were well below 52,000 CUP! Tested loads often came in around 47,000 – 48,000 CUP! That’s not 52,000 CUP! Whatever that is in psi (62,000 psi?), much setting of standards is arbitrary at best, even by SAAMI which appears very inconsistent sometimes: i.e., SAAMI pressure for the .270 Win compared to the .280 Remington, as an example: 65000 psi for the 270 and 60,000 psi for the 280!

There’s no logic for such confusion! I’ve been a handloader for over forty years and have never had a damaged rifle or had to drive out a fired case with hammer and dowel! A few loose primers and that’s been it… even then that was after several firings.

That the .35 Whelen is capable of 2600 fps firing a 250gr from a 22″ barrel is not news, and 2650 – 2700 fps for certain 250s from particular 24″ tubes isn’t exactly news either. All at safe pressures. I’m not sure I’ll bother with the “new” propellants as I think what I have – including RL-17 – will do just fine. RL-15, RL-17 and H4895 should do anything I want or expect. Then I have some 300gr Barnes, 250gr Partitions, nearly a full box of the 225 X, 225 Partitions and nearly a box of 200gr Hornady SPs. All that in addition to nearly a box of those 250gr Hornady SPs. Dies are RCBS.

.35 Whelens have long throats, and the Outfitter G3 easily handles this cartridge with the long 225gr Barnes X at 3.5″ COL. The bullet is seated only 1/4″ into the neck and is very tight there. This allows a good deal more of an appropriate powder. I expect that with the right propellant 2800 fps is possible for that bullet from the 22″ barrel. For a single shot there’s no need for a crimp. The 225-X bullet is seated over 67 grains of RL-17 (lightly compressed) for an expected ~ 2700 fps, primed by WLRM. I’ve used 70 grains of that powder under the 250gr AB in my 9.3 x 62 at +2700 fps for several years without issues. Accuracy in that rifle is typically less than 1/2 MOA for three.

Recoil will be fast from those 200s at ~ 3000 fps for wolf, in such a light rifle! I shot a bear using the 7400 firing the 200-X at 2835 fps. I still have a handful of the 200 Xs. Recoil wasn’t noticeable since that rifle was a semi and nearly 9 lbs with scope and ammo.

What is a .35 Whelen good for? It might be simpler to answer this question: What is it NOT good for? If solids were available (super-hard cast?), and it was legal, it could certainly take any game in the world. Yet with pistol bullets, it’s not a bad varmint rifle either.

“But it’s a single-shot”?, some might argue! Since I’ve written on that theme many times over, I’ll simply reply: “SO WHAT! Do you use a BP rifle for deer, hogs or elk?” This Traditions would be much slower to reload than my former semi, on which I never pulled the trigger twice on any game, but much faster than a BP rifle for a second shot if ever needed!

It can make +4000 ft-lbs at the muzzle from several loads, so it qualifies as a MEDIUM (.338 – .375 magnums). It’s at least the equal of a .338 Win Mag in effect with its larger bullets in cross-sectional area, and depending on how each is loaded it might be more effective on particular BG at certain ranges.

Whenever I do a search for a particular rifle for “Dangerous Game” on my favorite emporium, any .338 Win Mags are always listed, while none of the 9.3 x 62s are… same with the .35 Whelen! I’m wondering… “Who is doing the listing?” Certainly not someone who’s knowledgeable!

But really, my intention is to load it from 35 Remington to .358 Winchester ballistics for relatively close ranges. If I ever loaded it for a big bear on purpose, it would get the 250 Partition at about 2400 – 2500 fps.

Hmmm… let’s see… The recoil of such a load – the 250 Partition – from a 7.5 lb rifle ready to go “bang” would be around 30 ft-lbs, minus 15% – 20% for the muzzle brake? About 25 ft-lbs… or somewhere around that. That’s standard .35 Whelen fare, but much more than a .35 Rem and somewhat more than a .358 Win. But I said “If I were preparing specifically for a big bear”, otherwise for big game at any range, it would likely be loaded with a 225 Partition or 225 Barnes X at ~ 2700 fps. For brush “busting”, a 250 Hornady around 2250 (same as a .358 Winchester).

The scope is a 2 – 8 x 32mm Tasco World Class. It’s one I had on hand… very bright and sharp. The scope and rings, plus four cartridges, weigh 22 ounces, or 1.375 lbs. Add the base, plus cartridge holder on the butt stock, a sling and total carry weight ready to hunt will be slightly in excess of 7.5 lbs. At that weight and length of 39″, it qualifies as a walk-about “brush gun”. Scope will be kept on 2x, until more is needed.

And I’ll be wearing my WALKER’S ear muffs at all times in walking about to enhance hearing of game, but shutting down when the rifle goes “KAPOW”!

Not to worry… the 9.3 x 62 will maintain its place as a “true” medium in the echelon of rifles under my care.

Til the next…

Shalom

BOB MITCHELL