I am considering buying a new rifle for the November deer hunt, and was wondering what kind of mess a 35 Whelen would do on them, because most of the people i hunt with use there 30-06 or 308 with 150-180 grain shells on them. 200 grain to much?
35 Whelen on deer
- Thread starter buckshot1987
- Start date
Max Owner
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
My own very limited opinion would be that a 200 grain slug would be on the too heavy side.
Remember reading an article back in the late 80s that a 35 Whelen was a really good choice for most applications.
Remember reading an article back in the late 80s that a 35 Whelen was a really good choice for most applications.
The Whelen is one of the best hunting rounds ever developed, it will handle anything in North America with resonable recoil and shoots flat enough to hunt out to 300 yards. I handload 250 grain Hornady spire points to 2400 fps it drops deer instantly and with less damage than most lighter calibers. Heavier tougher bullets at resonable velocities will always do less damage than lighter bullets going fast. You cant go wrong with the Whelen, if your going to shoot factory the remington 200 grain load will be exellent for deer but if the rifle shoots 250's better use them for everything. Handloading will open the door to even more options, better bullets or even heavy hard cast, I have even loaded some 158 grain pistol bullets at lower speeds for plinking with good results.
Hi Buckshot,
I would think a 35 whelen would generally make less mess than 270s or 30-06s. I don't think that that the bigger bullet means bigger area of damaged meat. I have a .30-06 and a 358 winchester. Now the 358 is a little slower than your whelen would be, so my experience might not be a perfect comparison. But I think the 35 whelen will put them down with more authority but less damage! I'm moving towards using my 358 more for exactly that reason.
RG
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I would think a 35 whelen would generally make less mess than 270s or 30-06s. I don't think that that the bigger bullet means bigger area of damaged meat. I have a .30-06 and a 358 winchester. Now the 358 is a little slower than your whelen would be, so my experience might not be a perfect comparison. But I think the 35 whelen will put them down with more authority but less damage! I'm moving towards using my 358 more for exactly that reason.
RG
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Dropping them in there tracks is what i want. I realize any well placed shot will do the same, but i want to make sure it drops in it there tracks, as i have seen a big buck take a shot from a 308 in the shoulder go about 20 yards before another shot to the neck brought it down. I personally thought it tripped and broke its neck ahhaha. I suck at tracking and dont want to have to track them.
I don't have any 300s here. Mine seems to like the 260gr Nosler ABs best.SuperCub, we all know your 375 CT with 300gr bullets is a better choice. What are you thinking??
I'm not sure a deer would be able to tell the diff between a 375 or a 35Whelen. I used to hunt deer with my BRNO 602 375H&H, but it really was too heavy for the task. The 375 CT I have now is alot lighter and should be out there this fall again.
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If you haven't already flogged it off in the EE you mean??!
As a favor, here's the text for your advertisement:
FS/FT: Nice Custom 375 C/T. Looking to trade for an even nicer Ruger Alaskan chambered in the King of 375s, the 375 Ruger. Or Cash.
How's that?
LOL!If you haven't already flogged it off in the EE you mean??!
As a favor, here's the text for your advertisement:
FS/FT: Nice Custom 375 C/T. Looking to trade for an even nicer Ruger Alaskan chambered in the King of 375s, the 375 Ruger. Or Cash.
How's that?
I might, but I'd have to eat waaaaay too much crow to do that, plus the fact I'd hear Gatehouse laughing all the way from BC. Besides, I like that 375 Chatfield. It'll do anything an H&H or Ruger will do except show up in factory form ammo in the gunshops.
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LOL!
I might, but I'd have to eat waaaaay too much crow to do that, plus the fact I'd hear Gatehouse laughing all the way from BC. Besides, I like that 375 Chatfield. It'll do anything an H&H or Ruger will do except show up in factory form ammo in the gunshops.
.
Haha. I like it too, just couldn't miss a chance to hack on ya......
I shot one deer with a 200 gr Remington PSP handload in my 35 Whelen AI, it worked great and the deer went about 20 feet before expiring. Didn't notice any excessive damage or bloodshot meat but I did shoot it thorugh the ribs/lungs.
Where I hunt in Alberta I sometimes have a white-tail, Mule deer, Elk, Moose, and bear tag in my pocket. I have carried my Rem. pump in .35 Whelen loaded with factory 250 gr. rounds in it occasionally. I have shot a white-tail buck, mule deer buck and a white-tail doe with it. All critters required more than one shot. Bullet placement was a bit of an issue in one case. I think those bullets are hust designed to penatrate a bigger tougher critter and went through the deer without imparting a bunch of energy in the animal. (the wound channels seem to point to this as well)
A better "deer bullet" would perform better I think.
This rifle was a Christmas present from my wife so it has a special place in my gun rack. And it got me a very large white-tail buck.
Robin in Rocky
A better "deer bullet" would perform better I think.
This rifle was a Christmas present from my wife so it has a special place in my gun rack. And it got me a very large white-tail buck.
Robin in Rocky
Slooshark1
CGN frequent flyer
I have shot a few deer with my .35 Whelen and have flattened them. This buck was shot at 250 yards and he dropped right in his tracks. I would recommend going with either a 225 Grain Sierra Game King or 225 Grain Barnes X Triple shock bullets. I'm getting over 2700 fps with this load and it's devastating to anything on 4 legs.
I have shot a couple of deer using my 350 Rem Mag (basically the same as a 35Whelen) with 200gr Hornady and 225gr Partitions. Both shots were under 50 yards and meat loss was minimal - in fact, I usually loose more meat when I use my 308win at 100 yards.
35cal - try it, you'll like it.
James
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I have shot a couple of deer using my 350 Rem Mag (basically the same as a 35Whelen) with 200gr Hornady and 225gr Partitions. Both shots were under 50 yards and meat lose was minimal - in fact, I usually loose more meat when I use my 308win at 100 yards.
35cal - try it, you'll like it.
James
This is exactly whats making me want the 35 whelen knocks them down with authority with minimal meat loss. I have seen some of the damage the 308 or 30-06 does with 180 grain core lokt ultra cartridges and where it hits u might as well cut it off and feed it to the dogs its hairy bloody mess kinda makes me thing of hamburger. I'm a meat hunter through and through and seeing that just disgusts me.
