35 Whelen?

I've had herds of .30-06s (I still have six of them) and one very nice custom .35 Whelen. For the life of me, I don't see what all the fuss is about, and I finally sold the Whelen. It was very accurate, and kind of 'different', but not a damn bit more effective.

If you want to shoot heavier bullets, try 220 gr. round nose in your .30-06, which will give you one of the highest sectional densities of any bullet out there. I will flat out guarantee you that a 220 gr. bullet out of a .30-06 (especially a 220 gr. Nosler Partition) will out penetrate anything you can squeeze out of a .35 whelen.

If you want even bigger, go to a .338 WM and be done with it.
 
Don't kid yourself, The 35 Whelen has a distinct advantage over the 30-06, like almost 4000 ft lbs of muzzle energy with the 250 grain Bullet! It makes a bigger entry and simply whacks harder than anything the good old '06 can muster, regardless of bullet weight. Don't get me wrong, I own and love the 30-06, but the Whelen is simply a horse of a different color, and gives up very little to the 338 Wim Mag in the field. Regards, Eagleye.
 
It will shoot a 225 grain bullet the same speed a 30-06 shoots 180's, and with 35% larger frontal area. You decide if that's an advantage or not for your hunting
 
whelen

RGV, good point. I saw the same point illustrated visually with a picture of the two bullets side by side.
I think it depends on what you are looking for in a rifle. If it was high country mule deer hunting that might be different than elk in the timber.
One thing I do know is that with your grizzly population I'd be happier packing the whelen when practical.(I have both:)
 
DumbDawg, what rifle club do you shoot at, Sorrry for the Hj..

Duane
 
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Don't kid yourself, The 35 Whelen has a distinct advantage over the 30-06, like almost 4000 ft lbs of muzzle energy with the 250 grain Bullet! It makes a bigger entry and simply whacks harder than anything the good old '06 can muster, regardless of bullet weight. Don't get me wrong, I own and love the 30-06, but the Whelen is simply a horse of a different color, and gives up very little to the 338 Wim Mag in the field. Regards, Eagleye.
Click to expand...

Works for me too!
250gr at 2600 fps into .75" with my 7600 is real hard to beat.
30-06 doesn,t even come close.

Good luck
John
 
nothing "wrong" with a 30-06, I have one. But, the Whelen is just cool(for lack of a better word)...mine tosses 225 Partitions at 2725 and puts three under an inch (lots of groups around 3/4") all day....what's not to like...and I like to be different...everyone has a 30-06...like someone else said, the Whelen gives up very little to the 338 Win Mag....when you load it properly.
 
30-06 vs 35 whelen

I have a 30-06 that I have shot lots of game with but since I built a 35 wh. I hav'nt used the 06 alot.
I think both are great rifles.The load I use in the 35 is a250 gr bullet @ 2500 fps.The big advantage in the whelen is it leaves a big whole with a good blood trail and if you run into a grizzly you have nothing to worry about.
( carry a few 275 gr at 2400 fps) Just my toughts.

Thanx Reb
 
Go for it, you'll never look back. When compareing any cartridge to the venerable 30-06, that's saying a lot. All of the above have their points and good ones. The 35 Whelan or it's ballistic twin the 338-06 ( i have both and find good 338 bullets easier to find on the gunshop shelves, only real difference) are just plain outstanding performers and with the right bullets will penetrate right through any game animal in north america end to end right out past 350 meters.bearhunter
 
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