.35 cal Rifles?

Vin4570

Vin4570

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I've always been interested in big guns to shoot big things with. It has worked well over the years to use .338, .375 and hot .45/70 for moose and bear. I'm at the point where I'm starting to find the recoil of the big ones a little tiresome. What are your thoughts about the .35 rifles? I'm thinking of the .358 Win., .35 Whelen, or .350 Rem Mag.

Years ago I had a .358 Normal Mag which was a very nice rifle but as I recall, it kicked like the .375 H&H. Not up for that that any more.
 
I've used 350's for over 20 years , it's one of my favorite calibers . I currently own a Ruger m-77 mrk-2 in 350 rem mag but haven't taken any game with it yet .I took 6 moose and 8 deer (white - tails and muleys) all with 250 gr speers and hornadys at between 2300 to 2400 fps , most went down almost instantly and none went more than 50 yrds. Most of these were taken with a 98 mauser rebarrelled to 350 that I gave to a young friend of mine last year . He dropped a nice young bull moose and 2 white-tails last season with it , now its his favorite lol . They're reasonably light and compact , an easy to reload caliber thats deadly on any north american game with manageable recoil, what more could you want? ( ok I can think of alot more I want but you get my point)
 
The 35 Whelen is the one that's easy to find ammo for. I have the 358 Win, 350 Rem Mag, 358 Norma, 35 Whelen and just got my 35/300 RUM. 35 caliber is one of my favorites, they are all good cartridges.
 
Ive alway thought the 35 cal was interesting as well. I have recently become a fan of the bigger stuff. I have 2x 375s. Im still looking at a 35 whelen possibly. One thing I find really cool about them, is that I have read that you can use a reduced load with a pistol bullets. Anybody have any experience with these loads?
 
jk123 said:
Ive alway thought the 35 cal was interesting as well. I have recently become a fan of the bigger stuff. I have 2x 375s. Im still looking at a 35 whelen possibly. One thing I find really cool about them, is that I have read that you can use a reduced load with a pistol bullets. Anybody have any experience with these loads?
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I loaded some 158 grain Hornady XTP's in my 358. When you take a bullet designed to perform at about 1200FPS and push it to 2700FPS you end up with a serious varmit grenade.
 
Just recently, got my first 9.3x62. A Husqvarna M640, with the FN. 'Hi-Power' M98 commercial action. Made in the '50's.
A few comments:
At 8 lbs scoped, it weighs 3 lb's less than my .375H&H .... a joy to carry.
Recoil is managable, a long stout push, I shot it prone off bags without undue discomfort.
Accurate; initial work-up loads went mostly sub MOA.
Flexible; .375 dia. round balls thumb seat into unsized necks, should make a good small game load, .... am off to the range today to test that theory.
There is paper patched .357 pistol bullets to look into, as well.
Flexible; 250gr. Barnes tsx's can be driven to +2600'ish fps. Should make for a usefull trajectory to as far out as I'll ever need.
Slick; Put that rifle in a duffle bag with a handfull of cartridges, give her a shake, and she'll emerge fully loaded with the safety on!!!. A mild exageration perhaps, ;), but she is smoooth.
Economical; Trade ex has lots of reasonably priced components, 270gr Speers, and 286gr Privi's in particular.
Powerfull; Rocks the gong's like a .375.
 
I have a lot of experience with the .35 whelen. About a dozen elk and a couple moose and one mt. Caribou have been taken with my whelens so far, and also a few whitetails. Performance on the big stuff was consistent and very deadly.
In my standard weight Rem 700 classic the recoil was very manageable, 250's @2500 kicked noticeably less than my buddy's .338 Ruger shooting 225's. In my custom Sako AV recoil is even less.
Penetration on elk using stoutly constructed 250's is normally a complete pass through. I like that for aiding short tracking jobs in thick cover. You mentioned "for big things" so the only thing I'll say about using a Whelen for deer is not to use a slow opening 250 gr. bullet like the Speer grand slam. I did, and had a couple of long tracking jobs after good hits.
I have also killed elk and moose with .356 Win and my brother uses a .358, all work well.
As others have mentioned, the 9.3x62 is a very good option also, equivalent to the .35 Whelen with a tiny bit more speed and weight.
 
.35's

I got my first .35 last year, a .35 Whelen. Didn't expect to much as it was re-bored/chambered .30/-6 originally. First trip to the range with some handloads produced such good results that I took it to Alberta last September. Rifle is a re-stocked 1938 model 70 Super-Grade. One shot at 186 yards dropped this elk within 10 yards. Took a muley buck and cinnamon black bear the following days. Really like the caliber. I used Barnes 225 gr. TSX bullets. To me the recoil is no more than a .30/06 with 180's and much lighter than my .375 Browning.
elkandm70.jpg
 
The 9.3x62 is a lot more pleasant than my .338Win mag or the .375 H+H for that matter.More of a shove than a sharp boot................nothing against the .35's I just never owned one..............Harold
 
Thanks to everyone for their comments. It seems that everyone involved in this conversation has had positive experiences with the .35's or the metric equivalents. You have convinced me that I'm thinking in the right direction. I have a limited entry griz hunt this spring so I'd better get organized.
 
Reloading makes the 35cal world go round. Factory ammo is often scarce, expensive and underwhelming IMO. Hand loading is highly recommended.
 
Vin4570 said:
Thanks to everyone for their comments. It seems that everyone involved in this conversation has had positive experiences with the .35's or the metric equivalents. You have convinced me that I'm thinking in the right direction. I have a limited entry griz hunt this spring so I'd better get organized.
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I'd say so !!!.

Just now returned from the range, and that 9.3x62 Husqvarna is one very special rifle.

IMR4350 with the Hornady 286gr. SP prints 3/4MOA groups, 1 1/2" high at 100yds., full power load.
Same sight setting, the .375" round ball small game load(6gr. 700x) cut's ragged one holers at 25 yds., smack dead on POA.:D

If you can afford it, that M70 that blargon mentioned will no doubt get the job done.
 
Vin4570 said:
I'm at the point where I'm starting to find the recoil of the big ones a little tiresome. What are your thoughts about the .35 rifles? I'm thinking of the .358 Win., .35 Whelen, or .350 Rem Mag.
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If recoil is a problem, I'd go for the 358Win in a 7.5lb rifle.


.
 
Vin4570 said:
I've always been interested in big guns to shoot big things with. It has worked well over the years to use .338, .375 and hot .45/70 for moose and bear. I'm at the point where I'm starting to find the recoil of the big ones a little tiresome. What are your thoughts about the .35 rifles? I'm thinking of the .358 Win., .35 Whelen, or .350 Rem Mag.

Years ago I had a .358 Normal Mag which was a very nice rifle but as I recall, it kicked like the .375 H&H. Not up for that that any more.
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As I made mention of on another thread a short while ago, the 358NM is my #1 choice in the 35 cals. What rifle did you have it in? If it was pounding you a little too hard, I'd have been tempted just to load it down a bit to around 35 Whelen or 358 Win velocity levels. Presently I have a model 1651 Husqvarna but I'm still looking for a 358NM in a Schultz & Larsen.

Husqvarna1651358NM.jpg
 
Heya Vin
For a very good thump inside+-200m, the 358win is quite effective (and tangible) in its delivery. I have had more than a few in the past.
225-250grainers expose this quality best.
I mostly hunt ungulates in griz country. I am happy with this unit in my hands.
BTW, it kicks in the light wt. rifle 30-06 range.
Dwayner
 
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