.35 Whelen opinions

madtrapper143

madtrapper143

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Hey Guys: I just bought a Remington 700 Classic in .35 Whelen. Any points of view or opinion on this round? I have read a little and it sounds like a good but somewhat unpopular cartridge.
thanks Darryl
 
I have the same model and caliber, it's my "old reliable" for elk and moose. I'd have to check my journal but I think I've killed 8 elk one caribou and a moose with it so far. Several deer too. I mostly use 250 gr. bullets, they are best balanced for this caliber. Very reliable big critter killer, easy to shoot and load for, much more decisive on big animals than it's parent 30-06. It kills as well as a .338 in my opinion at typical ranges (to 250 yds), and doesn't beat you up with recoil like a 338. I think you made a very good choice!
 
If you handload you want Reloder 15 and Hornady 250 grain spitzers in my opinion. I'm loading the book maximum of 59.5 grains of R15 in my 700BDL and getting 2592 fps average with sub-moa accuracy. Personally I love this rifle and cartridge combination.

Chuck
 
Another big fan ... and yes x2 for Reloader 15 and Hornady 250's, but prefer the round nose. Moose in my part of the woods are rarely anything more than a 75 yard shot. H-4895 is also a good powder. I like the Speer 220 flat nose loaded down for deer ... to about 2300 f.p.s. with either H-335 or IMR
4895.

The Whelen IS a very popular cartridge, with knowledgeable gun nutz ... just not the manufacturers ! Thank you Remington.

Check out www.35cal.com ... a very helpful & thoughtful web-site by another .35-er. Lots of good info.
 
Actually I've also used the Hornady RN and I like it a lot. I even clobbered a black bear with it. The interesting thing was that the Hornady RN and Spizter bullets shoot to the exact same POI in my rifle, not similar, the exact same spot. In the end I decided to settle on the pointy version because a lot of my hunting time is spent on pipelines and I can get longer shots where even a modest improvment in trajectory can help.

Chuck
 
I have a gun cabinet that is over flowing and my hands down favorite rifle is my Belgium Browning rebarrelled to 35 Whelen. I can get 1/2" groups with hornady 250 grain R/N bullets @ about 2350 fps. That load worked just fine on a record book bear and a moose, before I tried federals 225 grain T/B factory load. Though I have to live with groups of up to 7/8" it is faster and flatter shooting and my hunting partner still talks about how it tipped over a moose, 2 years ago, at just over 400 yards. So don't let anyone tell you it's a 200 yard cartridge. This year I had a chat with a grizzly bear about how close I should be to her cubs. Things were a little tense for awhile before she took her cubs and left,but I never felt under gunned. The fact that my son had a 338 and was standing next to me didn't hurt. The bear was 59 yards away and up hill from us. My son was taking pictures as I was holding my 35 to my shoulder with the scope turned down to 2 power, talking to mama bear. I think the 35 Whelen is a great cartridge. Welcome to the club.
 
I guess I did all right.
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YEP

I think the 35 Whelen is a great cartridge.
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a big x2 to that

Hey Madtrapper143

Here's a pic of my 35 Whelen 700 classic which I realy like.
700classic_35whelen.jpg


Mine has enough mag length and long enough throat to permit a working COAL of 3.400". Very helpful with those long spitzers and when developing top velocity loads. If U want to see my experimental loads go here - http://35cal.com/loading.html#700classic But remember that some are OVER published max so first consult recognized manuals and always work up safely. I concur with most comments above and I love ReL15 with 250s and 225s. That 59.5 ReL15 uder a 250 mentioned by chuck above has worked very well in alot of my 35 Whelens. I would consider that one for yourself though your velocity may differ somewhat but still should be very good.

Also I just got back from hunting with my 35 Whelen for moose west of Nipigon. Got skunked. Maybe I was in your backyard as I see U live in NW Ontario. I got a speeding ticket on my way up in my exuberance to join the hunt. I picked up a little too much forward momentum on one of those loooong rolling hills along Superior. I see you're a police officer. Maybe you could get em to drop the charge since we are 700 classic/35 Whelen brothers now (a smiley goes here).
 
I bought the 7600 in 35 Whelen when first introduced...very accurate and very decisive .... I find that loading the 200 gr spitzers well out (at least as long as my mag will allow works best for my accuracy) the 7600 seems to have a long chamber...you might check your 700 chamber as well and load accordingly ...
 
Sorry I can't help you with the summons. I hope the officer reduced it to 15 K over. We usually do. Nipigon is about 4 hours east of me. Nice country though. My 700 is the spittin' image of yours. I shot a deer today with Remington factory 250's. It just fell over. Big difference compared to my .30-30. I am in love with this gun. Talk again.

cheers Darryl
 
I hope the officer reduced it to 15 K over.
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Actually reduced it it to 14K over - thanked him for the downward adjustment before he left. It was a righteous bust I guess. But it pained me to sign the option one (guilty) today as my insurance company probably will get the most $ over time outa my pocket.

Glad U got a good first kill with the 35 Whelen. If U do your part, U will find it won't let U down and U can expect effective results I think.

I coulda shot any one of three does last week in a clear cut. But I had to pass as I didn't have an antlerless tag. The Service Ontario office in Thunder Bay selling them doesn't keep Saturday hours - the day I travelled thru. Oh well - next year I'll be sure to have an antlerless in my pocket.

Also thanks BB for the monetary clarification and help re Tims purchases. As madtrapper143 has just now confirmed above - and I hesitate to say this - you are once again sooo right!
 
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