thoughts on the .35 whelen

lilsurfer

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Just would like people's input on the .35 whelen. Looking at a Remington 7600 in this calibre. I'll mainly be hunting whitetails, but an all-round cartridge would be nice. I'd appreciate any input on this combination or about the calibre specifically. Thanks.
 
way overkill for whitetails but I wouldn't let that stop me if I wanted a Whelen.
I've chambered at least 6 Whelens, a couple for myself, both sold now but it's a great cartridge. Recoils a bit more than an '06 but not bad. My 24" King barreled Whelen pushed a 225 to 2725 with Rel15. If you don't reload you are somwhat limited on factory ammo.

Check out this link.

http://35whelen.########.com/
 
I just bought a new Ruger Hawkeye in 35 Whelen I plan on using it for everything next year. I spent allot of time mulling over what I needed to compliment my 7/08 and for me the 35 Whelen seemed the right fit...
 
Here is that Whelen that Rembo is talking about.It is a great shooter it sure thumps the moose.I have owned it for a couple of years now its a keeper for sure.
whelen-1.jpg
 
I've had mine since '88 I think. It made a lot more sense in turn of the century times when it was basically a poormans .375 H&H. Magnum length actions were rare and expensive, and a Whelen could be put together on common surplus actions with practically free surplus '06 brass all over the place.
Well, the magnum action problem was solved 75 years ago with the model 70 Winchester, and it turns out the poorman's H&H comes up quite a bit short of the real one. Gun enthusiasts will keep it around forever, but when Remington finally legitimized it, nobody wanted it.
If you are hunting at moderate to average ranges it will hammer all the deer and moose you could ever want. For me, any rifle I take hunting is in competition with every rifle I have for that day or that hunt. It's a rare occasion that I don't feel I would be better served with something else.
 
way overkill for whitetails but I wouldn't let that stop me if I wanted a Whelen.
I've chambered at least 6 Whelens, a couple for myself, both sold now but it's a great cartridge. Recoils a bit more than an '06 but not bad. My 24" King barreled Whelen pushed a 225 to 2725 with Rel15. If you don't reload you are somwhat limited on factory ammo.

Check out this link.

http://35whelen.########.com/

Here is that Whelen that Rembo is talking about.It is a great shooter it sure thumps the moose.I have owned it for a couple of years now its a keeper for sure.
whelen-1.jpg

Here's another Rembo built 35 Whelen and like Lorne's....this one is a keeper.:D

IMAG0047.jpg
 
The .35 Whelen is a wonderful cartridge/calibre...the one I bought from Rembo was a tack driver - an R700 classic. I can't believe I sold it. :redface: I will have another. "Making do" with a beautiful steel framed Browning BLR in .358 Winchester for now.
 
I like both it and the slightly improved version known as the 9.3x62. I think these two are really great cartridges for North American hunting. At reasonable ranges you get .338 Win Mag thump while burning significantly less powder.
 
Here is that Whelen that Rembo is talking about.It is a great shooter it sure thumps the moose.I have owned it for a couple of years now its a keeper for sure.
whelen-1.jpg

Is that a 700 with a gentry safety? My 30-06 and 223 are both 700's with this modification..........someone with some class had that done!
As far as the 35 whelen goes, I'm a dyed in the wool 30-06 fan, but the whelen is one heck of a cartridge.........definitely on my short list. It's way too much for deer (let's be honest), but will pound the patunyas out of anything that you properly place a bullet into. The only place that you ever might want a little more (and not much more) would be Africa, and even then, I bet the biggest of that continent would probably be just as dead as if you hit them with something bigger. I've often wondered why John Barsness championed the 9.3X64 when there was an American cartridge that is just as capable..........probably just for something different.
Mike
 
Here is that Whelen that Rembo is talking about.It is a great shooter it sure thumps the moose.I have owned it for a couple of years now its a keeper for sure.
whelen-1.jpg

another good one I let get away:confused:...my first Whelen...a King barrel in an HS stock with an early 80's action in which I installed an early square knob safety lever, it's not a Gentry. I built one later that was quite a bit lighter than that one...it's somewhere in BC now....:rolleyes:
 
I find it to be a great cartridge for hunting under 200 yards. Recoil is definetely manageable and in my experience the performance is excellent.

My Mom with her bull from last fall. At 65 yards on a straight on shot with a 250 grain Core-Lokt the moose turned and fell.

IMG_0024-1.jpg


Did a heck of a job on my first deer. Hit him at 15 yards and he ran about 10. Again used the 250 grain Core-Lokt.

deer.jpg
 
I've owned 3 or 4 7600s in 35W over the yrs. The were all good shooters.

The best combunation was to cut the bbl back to 20" and use a Leupold 1.5x5 on very low mounts. I like the Weaver base and quality rings as this will be light in weight and offer some flexabilty in the scope position. Those rifles can use a good pad and a trigger job. I had Guntech do this for the last one I owned and was pleased with the results. FLR dies will work fine as long as you do FLR each case. Use 200gr spire point bullets (Hornady or Remington) for deer and 250gr Speer Hot-Cors for moose and you will should want for another rifle, but like the rest of us, you probably will. ;)


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This is what your looking for lilsurfer....7600 35 Whelen "Factory Carbine" w/ Leupold VX-3 1.5-5x20mm, Weaver 1pc Base & Low Burris Zee Matte Rings.
Tikka is some glad he sold it to me...:p:dancingbanana:
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This is what your looking for lilsurfer....7600 35 Whelen "Factory Carbine" w/ Leupold VX-3 1.5-5x20mm, Weaver 1pc Base & Low Burris Zee Matte Rings.
Tikka is some glad he sold it to me...:p:dancingbanana:
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That's a really nice one. Mine is not a carbine. I haven't used a carbine before (or any pump for that matter, this is only my third year hunting i'm 19). I bought it from the Gun Room in Waterloo. It's got the engravings to, I can't wait to use it. I'm undecided about the scope, thinking a 1.5x4 or a red dot. I heard remingtons come with crappy sights. I am mostly bush hunting whitetails so no long range shots.
 
I have used my Whelens to take about a dozen elk and a couple moose. I think a 250 grain .35 cal bullet makes a noticeable difference in decisive, one shot kills on big animals compared to the smaller "all 'round" chamberings like .308. 30-06, .270 etc. I like exit wounds on big critters when there is no snow to track. With good bullets I can shoot through elk with no problem. And tracking jobs have been very short. I don't like the Whelen for deer, it does not seem the right tool for the job. Two of my longer tracking jobs were whitetails shot with tough slow expanding bullets from a Whelen. They would have died quicker if shot with a .243! I admit I did not use appropriate bullets for deer hunting, but I see the Whelen as a very good BIG critter chambering, and buy bullets accordingly. I do not like or use the 200 grain bullets in it.
 
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