35 whelen

brewski

brewski

New member
EE Expired
Rating - 100%
3   0   0
Location
Alberta
hey guys this is kind of a newbie question, but what is a 35 whelen comparable too? i don't know anyone who has one and i haven't heard much about it as a calibre, what would be a good use for this calibre? thanks for the info.
 
The .35 Whelen is a great cartridge, in between a .30-06 and a .338WM. It would be a great cartridge for bear, elk, moose and deer. It will not have quite the trajectory of a .30-06, 7mm etc, but will be adequate.

If you already own a .270 or .30-06, it would be about the perfect cartridge to compliment that, as your second rifle.

If you're gonna own 2 rifles, I've always figured the perfect combination to own is a .270 or .30-06 along with a .35Whelen or .338WM.

The only knock against it might be that you cannot buy ammo just anywhere, but as long as you got access to Wholesale Sports, Russell Sports, P&D Enterprises etc, then you should always be able to find it. Better yet is to take up reloading and "roll your own"...
 
i am looking for a new deer rifle i currently own a 243, 25-06 and .300 win mag, my long time gf ha taken up hunting though so i never get to use my 25-06 for deer anymore and i find my .300 win a little big at times, what kind of ballistics do you get out of a 35 whelen compared to a .270?
 
The 35 Whelen is based on the 30'06 cartridge. It is simply a 30'06 necked up to take a 35 calibre bullet. It will handle heavier bullets (commonly 200, 225, and 250 gr.), generally pushing them at somewhat reduced velocities than say 165 or 180 gr. pills out of an '06) The Whelen has an excellent reputation as a big game cartridge.
 
If you want to get a heavier caliber then what you have, but also maintain a relativley flat shooting trajectory, then the .338WM is the way to go.

The .35 Whelen is a great cartridge but it is not quite as flat shooting, that's all. But if you hunt elk, moose or deer around D.V., as I said, it would be fine.

My opinion.


Edit: I wasn't paying attention, if you mainly want to replace your .25-06 but find the .300WM too much, then a .30-06 is about the best bet going.
It is important to buy as many guns as you can afford though so what the hell, get a .30-06, a .35Whelen a .338WM, a .45-70 etc...
 
Last edited:
thanks for the info guys, not sure which way to go yet, to a bigger calibre like the 35 whelen or to a .270, in my experience though i would have to say bigger is usually better, and the 35 whelen may be of more use because i do hunt elk moose and bear as well.
 
brewski said:
thanks for the info guys, not sure which way to go yet, to a bigger calibre like the 35 whelen or to a .270, in my experience though i would have to say bigger is usually better, and the 35 whelen may be of more use because i do hunt elk moose and bear as well.
Click to expand...

If you've got the itch for a .35 Whelen, I'd say go for it, especially if you're hunting inside 300 yards. If your hunting tends to be at longer ranges (say across fields or stretching the distance down a cutline, then the .270 would be, hands down, a flatter shooter.

But, if you can live with the idea of a big bullet that hits an inch or so high at 200 yards and around 14-15" low at 300, the Whelen is a very cool cartridge to hunt with. (To answer your question about trajectory, in my experience, the Whelen with a 250 grain SP has a POI at ~250 yards that is about the same as a .270 Win 130gr at 300 (about 5" low). With that in mind, most folks will tell you to limit your range with the Whelen to this side of 250 yards.

Most of the deer, moose and bears that I've killed over the years around the Drayton Valley/Brazeau area have been well inside 200 yards (more like "inside 100 yards to "powder-burn" distance"), but we mostly hunt bush and clear cuts. If that's what your hunting is like, then the Whelen is going to be a great caliber (and noticeably less, in terms of recoil, than a .338 Win Mag).
 
I have two .35's at present, used to have one more. I find it the most useful, well balanced, big critter cartridge I have yet used. Somewhat more decisive on moose and elk than a .270/308/30-06 or similar, and as good killing power as the .338's I've seen - with noticeably less recoil - and therefore better "in the field" useful accuracy on game. Bullets shot at its moderate velocity nearly always perform well, you don't need the premium stuff for good clean kills on really big critters. Not a very efficient deer / black bear round, but really good for the big elk/moose/griz etc.
 
brewski said:
i am looking for a new deer rifle i currently own a 243, 25-06 and .300 win mag, my long time gf ha taken up hunting though so i never get to use my 25-06 for deer anymore and i find my .300 win a little big at times, what kind of ballistics do you get out of a 35 whelen compared to a .270?
Click to expand...

Why not sell the 243 and buy another 25/06 (or 270)?

The 300WM with 180 or 200 Nosler Partitions would be great for moose/elk and the 25/06 would be perfect for deer.

.
 
I'm going to throw out another option that is a tad bit better than the Whelen. Look into a 9.3x62. It has more rifles,old and new available for it. Also heavier bullets are out there in 366 caliber,and more pre-rolled choices too I'm finding here in Ontario.
 
here is the dilemma guys, i am asking about the 35 whelen because i have to buy a new gun for myself for this years hunting season, i have a .300 win mag, but i have introduced one of my good buddies to hunting and he shot my .300 mag at the range many times now and he loves it, so i said he could use it for his first year of hunting, my 25-06 will also never feel the touch of my hands again as my gf loves it, i need a calibre good for deer moose and elk, and black bear, i know many guys swear by the 30-06 but my personal experience with it wasn't a good one, i hunt mostly bush by drayton but i do venture out to the flatlands for mule deer so the extra length could be helpful, 35 whelen a good choice or not? i have somone who would like to sell me one, this is the reason i ask.
 
With rem 200grn factory ammo & 200 yrd zero you'r good to 400yrd -30.8 in & 1145 flbs of energy . It should prove very effective on anything you poke with it to that distance . What brand & modle is it ? From what you listed you already have plenty of flat shooting chamberings .
 
brewski there is a pretty nice .338-06 for sale in the E.E. and I think that would also do pretty well for what you want.

Check it out, you could do worse.

The .338-06 is just a .30-06 necked up to .338 cal, it's
another caliber that might be a bit harder to get ammo for unless you handload or know someone who does, but you could always stock up.
 
Go the 35 Whelen. I have owned one since 1982 and have never regretted buying it. Its knocked down mule deer, white tails, moose and elk, one shot kills. Pentatration is excellent I hit an cow elk in the neck and found the bullet lodged in her hip joint, it traveled the whole length of her.

At our local range with an old Bushnel scope chief with BBC on it I can ring the 500 meter gong with no problems.

If you hand load all the better. I am using IMR 4320 power with a Speer 250 gr hot core and they work awesome.

You can not go wrong getting one. There have been many write ups where its been said If they had to have only one rifle it would be a 35 whelen for North America Quote "O Conner"

If you hand load, brass is very easy to come by just neck up 30-06 and you have a 35 whelen :D

Cheers
 
the gun i was looking at is a remington model 700 in 35 whelen, blued barrel, gun is in good condition, i know the guy who owns it he always cleaned it after each use and took good care of it, rembo also has one, sounds like a beautiful gun, i bought a 22-250 from him, great guy, i am weighing my options, thanks for the help guys.
 
Last edited:
I have both the 25-06 & 35 Whelen ...

The Whelen was my first ... about 20 years ago, after owning a 264 Win Mag and a couple of 270's. It's accounted for a couple of "tons" of moose and a lot of deer in the interval. No regrets whatosoever. I hand load it with 250 gr, Hornady's for moose, and 220 gr. Speer flat-points at reduced velocity for deer (comparable to the 35 Remington).

The 25-06 I bought as a combination varmint rig & long(er)-range deer rifle for some farm fields we watch ... 300 + yard shots are the norm. Nosler's
115 gr. Ballistic Tips seem to do the trick, but am looking at trying their 110 Accubonds for this year.
 
35Whelen.jpg



Dammit, I have been watching this .35Whelen for some time and all this talk about it made me go and look at it again and I ended up buying it... :redface:

It has been on the E.E. for at least a month. Great price...

Now I have to intercept the damn thing before the wife sees it. :runaway:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom