35 Whelen

man that Gun is soo mint Jay!!

I wish the Noslers weren't 50,000 $ here in Oz LOL im exaggerating!!! but I don't think id get much change from $5000?

now I wish I didn't have a Rugerrrrrrrrrrrr in Whelen.. I wonder how much lighter a Whelen in Rem700 is!

WL
 
SuperCub said:
What other rifles do you hunt with?

I see your locale is NS and know that WT deer would be the most hunted big game in your neck of the woods. The Whelen is a fine round and easy to load for, but I would not suggest it as a first rifle for a new shooter. A 243, 25/06 270 etc would be a better place to start.
Click to expand...

Right now I have a decent variety of rifles but my main hunting rifle right now is my 308. Have a new 300wm which I love to shoot but was bought for elk in Alberta. I have shot a lot of others as well and have no trouble so I'm definitely not a new shooter.
 
T-Mack ...

I have both the 25-06 (15 yrs.) and the 35 Whelen (25 yrs.) ... if I were sticking to deer only, I'd pick the 25-06. Add moose/black bear into the equation, the 35 Whelen.
Of course, deer moose and bear can be taken with many calibers from 243 on up, but these two are very easy load for (same trim length) and brass and components are
readily available.
 
WhelanLad said:
man that Gun is soo mint Jay!!

I wish the Noslers weren't 50,000 $ here in Oz LOL im exaggerating!!! but I don't think id get much change from $5000?

now I wish I didn't have a Rugerrrrrrrrrrrr in Whelen.. I wonder how much lighter a Whelen in Rem700 is!

WL
Click to expand...

Hey WhelenLad, I traded a canvas tent for it. A member needed a tent/stove setup for moose hunting & I didn't need the tent...

Good deal for both of us!

Cheers
Jay
 
Lol , but my shoulders have kissed the ground few too many times an now one ac joint sticks up and my sockets are as loose as a Savage bolt :D

But yeah, you're right.. im sounding like a girl LOL
 
WhelanLad said:
Lol , but my shoulders have kissed the ground few too many times an now one ac joint sticks up and my sockets are as loose as a Savage bolt :D

But yeah, you're right.. im sounding like a girl LOL
Click to expand...

Lol...... pickin' at ya lad....... I have a questionable knee from a military injury and only half a rotator cuff in my right shoulder......

Still manage to be a ruger fan though...... :) ........ hard to make a light rifle from an action that beefy.....
 
I've had mine since '88. It was one of those ideas that seemed good at the time, but eventually proved to not fit in with my style of hunting. Its at its best as a close range slugger and for that its fine. Hits hard. The trouble is, my close range hunting areas still have a lot of long shot opportunity, and I frequently found myself wishing I was carrying something else. When in situations where it would have been very appropriate, the poorman's H&H hasn't proven to be a match for the real H&H. For the times that I'm stand hunting and know the range years in advance it wouldn't make much difference what rifle I used.

None of that is to say its bad, just that I don't see where it would be the optimum choice for anything. I mostly keep it because my wife bought it for me as an engagement rifle. :)
 
TrevorMack said:
Right now I have a decent variety of rifles but my main hunting rifle right now is my 308. Have a new 300wm which I love to shoot but was bought for elk in Alberta. I have shot a lot of others as well and have no trouble so I'm definitely not a new shooter.
Click to expand...
Well with the smaller/faster covered, you might as well buy a 35 Whelen. Yu'll like it.
 
Dogleg said:
I've had mine since '88. It was one of those ideas that seemed good at the time, but eventually proved to not fit in with my style of hunting. Its at its best as a close range slugger and for that its fine. Hits hard. The trouble is, my close range hunting areas still have a lot of long shot opportunity, and I frequently found myself wishing I was carrying something else. When in situations where it would have been very appropriate, the poorman's H&H hasn't proven to be a match for the real H&H. For the times that I'm stand hunting and know the range years in advance it wouldn't make much difference what rifle I used.

None of that is to say its bad, just that I don't see where it would be the optimum choice for anything. I mostly keep it because my wife bought it for me as an engagement rifle. :)
Click to expand...

What sort ranges do you find yourself commonly hunting in, Just curious. I'm usually limited to 300y and under.

I'm also curious what weight bullet a typical 375H&H round would be (I've never shot/looked into the H&H much)

The quick lookup I did was listening the Nosler Factory AB loads 225gr Whelen / 260gr H&H. They were ballistic twins (velocity/drop) but the H&H kept a constant 500ft/lb's on the Whelen.
 
GMC403 said:
What sort ranges do you find yourself commonly hunting in, Just curious. I'm usually limited to 300y and under.

I'm also curious what weight bullet a typical 375H&H round would be (I've never shot/looked into the H&H much)

The quick lookup I did was listening the Nosler Factory AB loads 225gr Whelen / 260gr H&H. They were ballistic twins (velocity/drop) but the H&H kept a constant 500ft/lb's on the Whelen.
Click to expand...

The ranges that I commonly hunt in can be from powder-burn distance to the horizon. To make it worse, that can change by the minute. That sort of leaves me best served with one of the big 7S, a .300 of one flavor or another or a big cased .338.

I usually use the 270s or 300 grain bullets in the .375, but have also done a bit with 235 grain ESP Raptors at over 3000. Those functionally duplicate the trajectory of a .300 Win with 180s out to 500 yards, which is as far as I've shot them. Most of my hunting with a .375 has been in terrain where 300 would be a long poke, in countries where it just isn't commonly done anyway, on hunts which included animals that my .35 Whelen wouldn't even be legal for. In those situations the .375 is a little gun.
 
The 35 Whelen is so worth it. 30-06 brass is plentiful you will never run out of resource. Oh look, 1K of 158 gr .358" plated FP pistol projectiles! I'll practice that for standing field shots and cycle that bolt like a champion. The most flexible caliber and rifle I have ever owned especially if you hand load. From a light 110 gr CAST pills to my cool NOE 310 gr "Thumper" CAST and all the jacketed rounds you can find from pistol and rifle weights are all your choices. I say go for the 35 whelen :)
 
I've been hunting with my 35 whelen for a few years now. I was starting to think it was an unlucky rifle because every time I've carried it in the field I haven't had an opportunity to use it. When I grab another rifle I seem to always shoot something. I broke that this fall with a non trophy antelope. I'm shooting the 200gr ttsx out of mine at 2850fps. I hit the antelope in the heart and took out one rib going in and two going out at 100yards. I found 3 petals against the offside hide. I was surprised that big bullet would have shed it's petals on a light critter such as an antelope.


For most of my hunting the 35 whelen is perfect. If I run into an elk or bear or whitetail in the bush I'm confident it will do the job. When I'm down hunting the open Prarie for deer I grab my 257wby. For sheep and mtn goats I like my 270wsm.
 
Jay said:
I made a trade to get my Whelen & it's a KEEPER!

It's a Nosler M48 Outfitter and I shot a bear with it this spring. I topped it with an Elite 6500 1.25-8x32 in QD Leupold rings.

Taking it for moose soon, going to be using factory loaded Nosler Accubonds, but recently picked up some Nosler Partitions to reload for it.

Have a look at the Nosler, they are a weather proof rifle.

Cheers
Jay

Click to expand...

This is a beautiful gun. Talk about an all-rounder for North American big game.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom