thoughts on the .35 whelen

I've always like the performance of medium bores, and the .35 Whelen is no exception. When I was at the age where I could start buying guns for myself, I wanted a .35 Whelen badly, but in those years it was only available as a wildcat chambered in custom rifles. At that time in my life I had little patience for waiting for busy gunsmiths, which was of little consequence due to my Lee Enfield budget, so I bought a brand new 700 Remington in .350 magnum and topped it with a 2.75X Redfield scope, the one with the TV screen ocular. That rifle taught me a great deal about what it took to effectively shoot a powerful rifle, the problems associated with seating heavy for caliber bullets on short fat cases, why powerful factory rifles should be viewed with a skeptical eye, and why a custom rifle was better than a factory rifle. I'd have killed to get a .35 Whelen Mauser like Cory's.
 
Cory, I also like the versatility of the Whelen. I shoot a Remington 700 35 Whelen. I'm curious about your rifle. I like the looks of it, what is it?

My story is a bit like Boomer's in that I wanted a Whelen at a young age. I got the itch to own a Whelen from reading articles by Craig Boddington and Bob Milek when the Whelen was fairly new as a commerical round. Unfortunately, at 14 or 15 years old I certainly wasn't going to be getting one. However, ten years later I bought one and I have never regretted it for a minute.
 
I am sure the Whelen is the right rifle for someone who feels the need [want?]. I bought one 5 years ago, a 700 CDL. Great shooter, not uncommon for three shots to touch at 100 yards. I shot two moose and a 4x4 muley with it. Didn't do anything that my 700 Classic in 8x57 didn't do just as well, so I sold it. Regards, Eagleye
 
You may have seen these photos before, but I put this Whelen together the way I wanted..she's my go to gun with 250's for everything. However I think I'll have to try some 225 Accubonds and see how those fly.
whelen004.jpg
 
SuperCub said:
For use on deer, why not?


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I don't use the .35 with 200 grain bullets for deer because I have 4 or 5 other rifles just a little bit better for that purpose. When hunting elk or moose and deer season is also open, If carrying my Whelen I now use the 250 grain round nose bullets. They start to expand quickly on deer and carry enough mass to ensure deep penetration on the bigger stuff. Nothing wrong with other people using a .35 with 200 grain bullets for deer, it's just not the best combo for me.
 
Longwalker said:
I don't use the .35 with 200 grain bullets for deer because I have 4 or 5 other rifles just a little bit better for that purpose. When hunting elk or moose and deer season is also open, If carrying my Whelen I now use the 250 grain round nose bullets. They start to expand quickly on deer and carry enough mass to ensure deep penetration on the bigger stuff. Nothing wrong with other people using a .35 with 200 grain bullets for deer, it's just not the best combo for me.
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Sounds about right.

I always thought that a 35Whelen or 358Winchester offers a lot of flexability to a hunter using the lighter 200s for deer and 250s for heavier game, in fact a hunter using a lightweight 358 would want for nothing hunting most deer, moose and bear.

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Chuck said:
Cory, I also like the versatility of the Whelen. I shoot a Remington 700 35 Whelen. I'm curious about your rifle. I like the looks of it, what is it?

My story is a bit like Boomer's in that I wanted a Whelen at a young age. I got the itch to own a Whelen from reading articles by Craig Boddington and Bob Milek when the Whelen was fairly new as a commerical round. Unfortunately, at 14 or 15 years old I certainly wasn't going to be getting one. However, ten years later I bought one and I have never regretted it for a minute.
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My Great Grandpa used to be friends with Ellwood Epps and he personally made the gun for him when the store was back in Clinton, ON instead of Orillia where it is now. I've got a few pictures of my Great Grandpa and Ellwood with moose together. It's a great rifle, topped with the K4 on side mounts (irons are Williams FP) anything under 200 yards is in trouble.

Cory
 
^ Based on what?

C'mon now, the .35 Howe is a wicked cartridge, superb terminal performance, will kill anything that walks in N.A., but it not really the ideal long range, open country type now is it?

FWIW, I have a .35 Howe and ZERO of those new-fangled wonder mags...
 
Demonical said:
^ Based on what?

C'mon now, the .35 Howe is a wicked cartridge, superb terminal performance, will kill anything that walks in N.A., but it not really the ideal long range, open country type now is it?

FWIW, I have a .35 Howe and ZERO of those new-fangled wonder mags...
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What's the difference between a 35 Howe and a 35 G&H?

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CoryTheCowboy said:
My Great Grandpa used to be friends with Ellwood Epps and he personally made the gun for him when the store was back in Clinton, ON instead of Orillia where it is now. I've got a few pictures of my Great Grandpa and Ellwood with moose together. It's a great rifle, topped with the K4 on side mounts (irons are Williams FP) anything under 200 yards is in trouble.

Cory
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Sounds like you've got a nice piece of history and a great family heirloom there...:cheers:
 
Well, since this is turning into a Rembo built .35 Whelen thread, here's mine:D.
It's my moose rifle with 225gr TSX at 2700fps with RL15 or Varget.

DSCN0261.jpg
 
thepitchedlink said:
You may have seen these photos before, but I put this Whelen together the way I wanted..she's my go to gun with 250's for everything. However I think I'll have to try some 225 Accubonds and see how those fly.
whelen004.jpg
Click to expand...

I like R15(max load in Nosler) with the 225 Accubond @ 2700 fps. Maybe if I get lucky this weekend I'll tell you about its performance on game (elk).
 
The "enhanced" engraved receivers are very nice IMO - very nice acquisition.

M7600 35 Whelens often pop open when fired with top loads. I haven't totally figured out why yet. George at Epps - where I bought one of my last two 7600/35Whelen carbines - said that this was normal. I've found if I put a little back pressure on the forend (pulling gun back into my shoulder) when firing the action stays closed. It's counter intuitive but works. I've owned three different pump 7600s in 35Whelen and the two I've fired (one is new unfired in box) have done this. Others also have reported the same.

Like Supercub, Wonsky and others here I recommend a low mounted Leup VariX III 1.5x5x20 or a Leup VariX II 1x4x20. The difference in "actual" magnification between them is slight. Here's one of my carbines - actually it's a sibling to Wonsky's (purchased from same Remington order, at Epps). I've posted it here before - it's wearing a Leup 1x4x20 in Weaver mounts/rings.
my7600carbine_35whelen.jpg
 
I have a Ruger 77 Hawkeye Stainless and a Remington CDL. I prefer the Rem as it is lighter and has a 24" barrel, but it's blued and Rems like to rust so the Rem for fair weather and the Ruger for when it goes crappy. 200gr for deer, 250 for everything else.
 
Mine is a 7600 with the 22" barrel. It's topped with a 1.75-5X32 Bushnell Trophy in medium Weaver rings.

I've been wrapping it in camo duck tape every season for the last several years. Gave it a paint job this year. We'll see how it holds up... I'll post pics after the long weekend, when I finish. I have been toying with chopping it down to 18.5 to make it a little handier in the thicker stuff.

You can see it in last year's tape job by following the link...

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r81/35Wailin/201211178-Copy.jpg
 
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