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What do you think of the 35 Whelen ???

47K views 306 replies 66 participants last post by  woodrat 
#1 ·
I'm thinking about getting a 35 Whelen. Remington just came out with their new model 700 CDL. I really like the model 700. Remington is also making a "limited run" of 35 Whelen's in their model 7600 Pump action. It comes with a 22 inch barrel. I would probably have the barrel shortend to 18 inches. I had a model 7600 carbine in 30-06 once and liked it. I think a model 7600 "carbine" in 35 Whelen would be an outstanding "brush gun" for black bear and wild bore!!! What do you think?
 
#2 ·
The .35 Whelen is a fine cartiridge for large game and can be loaded down for deer. Ther are many good 35 caliber bullets available and the 30-06 parent case makes it very versatile regarding powder volumne and availibility of cases....of course the actual .35 Whelen cases are inexpensive enough to buy. It is a great caliber. I have one and love it....<><.... :D
 
#3 ·
I have one of the Remington 700 CDL rifles in 35 Whelen on order. It is scheduled to be delivered in August or September. I have used this cartridge in the past, and feel it is a great game round. No glitz, glamour, belts, or hype, just all business. You won't go wrong with the 35 Whelen as your game round.
 
#4 ·
I have three rifles in .35 Whelen. Nuff said? :D
Paul B.
 
#6 ·
PS: Here's a quote from Elmer Keith from his book "Big Game Rifles and Cartridges"...

"The .35 Whelen I consider the finest of all our all-around rifles for all game from the big mule deer, sheep, goat and even whitetail up through the heavier species. If I were forced to use just one rifle and cartridge for the balance of my life, I should choose the .35 Whelen. It is just as accurate as the 30-06, with the same relative barrel weight, and a great deal better killer."

What more could be said???
 
#8 ·
Re: 35 whelen

audeala said:
SALUT !

I HAVE A 35 WHELEN IN 700 CLASSIC 1986.

VERY VERY GREAT CALIBER AND VERY ACCURATE WHEN YOU RELOAD

I LOVE IT
I got the same rifle but I had it reworked with a mannlicher stock of blemish free Mesquite wood, a Shilen barrel, and a Dakoata steel floor plate, scalloped point skeleton grip cap and a trigger job, the smith I used also does a terrifice highly posished blueing job. Its a shooter and a looker. As a Bonus I took the classic stock off the Whelen and swaped out a shitty 700 ADL plastic stocked wally world .30-06.
 
#9 ·
Arizona said:
PS: Here's a quote from Elmer Keith from his book "Big Game Rifles and Cartridges"...

"The .35 Whelen I consider the finest of all our all-around rifles for all game from the big mule deer, sheep, goat and even whitetail up through the heavier species. If I were forced to use just one rifle and cartridge for the balance of my life, I should choose the .35 Whelen. It is just as accurate as the 30-06, with the same relative barrel weight, and a great deal better killer."

What more could be said???
That was a quote from his 1936 book. Later, he changed his mind when he worked on the .333OKH, which in turn finally became the .338-06. Frankly, ballistic coefficients and other gee whiz numbers notwthstanding, I can't really see two cents worth of difference between the two. Put a good 250 gr. bullet in the right place and break out the skinning knife. :D
Paul B.
Edited because, although I can spell, my dumb finger can't.
 
#10 ·
the 35 whelen is a thumper. i love it. got a 7600 pump and an RMEF ultra-handi in it. i love reloading for it as much as i do shooting it. i can load it down to 35Rem levels, or use hardcast bullets for really enjoyable plinking. the 35W can be loaded using pistol bullets, but i've only ever gotten keyholes when using 158's or lighter. (anyone got a good accurate load using a 158JHP or JSP?)

as for chopping the 22" barrel down, i personally wouldn't recommend it. it won't make the 7600 any more "carryable" for brush hunting, and at brush ranges, the lighter recoiling - but still heavy thumping - Marlin 336 in .35 Rem would be better. just my two cents...
 
G
#11 ·
Had one 6 or 7 years ago in the Remington Classic ,had dies and everything to load for it ,and never did :? Shot the 200gr factory load init ,to get brass. Killed three deer with it that year and it flattend them :D Way way more then you need for VA whitetails :shock: Actually it would be better suited for NE PA during the bear season :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
#12 ·
Paul B,

You're right, he did later love that .333 or .338" bore size...

I'd love to have a .35 Whelen some day myself, but as I get older my rifle battery has been shrunk down and I try to keep it as simple as possible and have gone almost exclusively to Ruger M77's except for my two Marlin lever guns.
 
#13 ·
The 350 Remington Magnum is a balistic twin to the 35 Whelen. I loved mine and used it as a guide gun to stop wild bore in Louisiana. Mine was a Ruger 77 and very well balanced. However, after customising a Marlin 444 I found it even better. Both guns drop deer and bore, Elmer Keith dead.
 
#14 ·
New Yorker..........The .35 Whelen is a classic by most standards! One of the biggest problems for the caliber back when it was introduced, was lack of good constructed bullets and few bullet weights to choose from in days of old.

The other factor was the factory people just didn't seem to want to chamber the .35 Whelen for their lines. However, it still is one heck of a poor man's big magnum when it comes to taking bear, moose or elk in the woods. Not to mention it is one heck of a whitetail deer caliber.

If you are a reloader, as I have been for 40 years, finding 30-06 brass for you .35 Whelen is no problem whatsoever at the gun ranges etc. It's effective range on whitetail deer is around the 250 yard range, on moose, elk it would be around the 200 yard arange. Yes, it will kill beyound that range but trajectory drops off fast.
 
#17 ·
I love my .35 whelen!! I shot a whitetail doe this past season at about 100 yards. I hand loaded 250 HotCore Speers with H335 at about 2400 fps. The bullet hit bone but did not explode. It just went through with a thumb hole entrance and a 2x thumb sized hole exit. The deer just fell where she was feeding. It was a little tempermental to accept the hand loads that I had but after shooting about 50-75 rounds it really settled down and now my 100 yard spread is about 1 ". I also bought an A&B barrel from Midway to swap out on my savage in .35 whelen. The caliber is addictive for sure.
 
#18 ·
I just stumbled onto this thread.

The 35 Whelen rocks! My Rem. 700 Classic is a keeper: 200 gr. bullets for deer, 250 gr. bullets for elk.

I have taken WY antelope, mule deer, mountain lion, and elk, and MO whitetails. The Whelen will do it all out to 200 or 250 yards depending on the shooter.
 
#19 ·
The .35 Whelen is a "neckup" from .30-06. It is a game getter extreme. I have not loaded for one, but have shot it. It will set you back when it goes off.

Like all .35 caliber rounds, it is a great anchor shot on game. It hits hard and your quarry doesnt often go anywhere.

It is versatile, too, with a capital "V". It can be handloded to low levels and used on deer or for practice, It can be maxed out and will take anything in NA with authority, with the exception of Kodiak or Griz...they might take TWO shots.

My suggestion: learn to handload for it.
 
#20 ·
Well, with my handloads, I would not be afraid to tackle anything in either North or South America and most of what crawls, runs hops or swims in Africa as well.
Some points about current rifles chambered to the .35 Whelen. Remington went with the 1 in 16" twist when they brought the round out in the Classic series. Ruger followed suit using that same twist rate. Those guys must have had their heads up their rectal orifaces. Perhaps, they followed what P.O. Ackley said in his books, I don't know, but the nitty gritty of the thing is the proper twist for the .35 Whelen, and .358 Winchester for that matter is 1 in 12, PERIOD! :x Both cartidges have gotten a bit of a bad rap from the "egg-spurts" that write (?) for the gun rags. First, neither cartridge is a "short range brush gun." Anyone that thinks that had best not be standing at 250 yards when I have my .358 in hand or 300 plus when I have one of my Whelens in hand. You might get an unpleasant surprise. My point being, I would not exactly call 250 to 300 yards short range. Second, you darn well do not need a super expensive premium bullet with either round. Any cup and core bullet will work just fine at 2800 FPS or less. A decent handload for the Whelen will do 2550 FPS and some guns may allow 2600 FPS and possibly a bit more with either the 250 gr. Hornady ot Speer Hot core. My Remington 700 will do 2560 FPS, the Ruger 77 2550 FPS and a custom mauser I bought from an estate sale will do 2590 FPS using H-335 powder. FWIW, the Mauser has a 1 in 14" twist, the Remington and Ruger a 1 in 16" twist.
The Whelen was designed with the 1 in 12" twist to use bullets from 250 gr. to 300 gr. against heavy game. The fact that it also shot 200 gr. bullets well was just good luck or serendipity, you decide. 8)
James Howe designed the Whelen and named it after the Colonel. It was designes so people who wanted a more potent rifle than the 30-06, but could not afford a .375 H&H could have their 30-06 rifle either rebored or rebarreled and have their big game rifle. It probably took a few years to catch on, and about the time it was getting serious notice, Winchester brought out the Model 70 and one of the chamberings was the .375 H&H. That pretty much kicked ther slats out from under the Whelen, and it never became a factory round until Remington legitimized it in 1986, or was it 1988? I forget.
It's kind of funny (peculiar, not ha ha) but for some reason the American shooter has never taken to the .35 caliber in rifles, other than the somewhat anemic .35 Remington. What's even funnier is that those who do try either the .358 Win. or the .35 Whelen literally fall in love witht he rounds.
FWIW, I belive that Remington does not load the .35 Whelen to it's full potential, probably because of the old Springfield 1903s and 1895 Winchesters that have been converted to the Whelen. Kind of like what they do witht he 7MM Mauser, .257 Robt, and 30-06. factory 250 gr. Remington ammo only puts out 2340 FPS in one rifle and 2320 FPS in the other two. My handload surpass those speeds with no pressure signs at all. I stick to factory levels on the Mauser as it is a Pre-World War One Oberndorf Mauser. Probably is OK to use the stiff loads, but why gamble with an expensive custom rifle made before I was born, and I'm 68 years young? I keep thinking I'll have one of my 30-06 Mausers rebarreled to the Whelen with a proper 1 in 12" twist and see how that one does.
.35 Whelens rule. :D 8) :wink:
Paul B.
 
#21 ·
Deer to Moose Fine Caliber

With factory 200 corelokts I shot three buck drop em in their tracks heart/lungs only and not much burising either. I love it! Reloader 15 seems to be THE powder for 225 and 250 grain bullets. Nosler loads ammo in both 225 and 250 partitions if ya need some for elk or moose. A Great 250-300 yard gun
 
#22 ·
I often wonder just how important it is to shoot farther than 300 yards. Seems like your getting into specialized territory and getting a rifle designed for that instead of an "all around" rifle would be smart. I recently killed a coyote with my whelen at almost exactly 300 yards using the 250 grain Speer on top of a top load using a military surplus version of H380.After all 12 inches of drop at 300 yards isn't that hard to figure. At any rate my Whelen has a 1 in 14 inch twist and shoots bullets from 180 grains thru the 250's very well. I just don't need a bullet heavier than 250 grains. Recoil is not that bad even from the bench if your technoque is good. My deer load is going to be the 200 grain RNCL pushed to 2600 fps which nicely hits 1 inch higher at 100 yards than the 250 grain Speer bullet. 3 and 2 inches respectivly. The 250 gives right at MOA and the 200 shoots into 1 1/2 inches, plenty good to me. I may order some of the 200 grain PSPCL's but as of now I am well bulleted.
 
#23 ·
I'm selling mine right now. She's a nice M-98 sporter, I think built in AK a few years back. Nice gun, but more than I need here in NC. It would make a nice black bear rifle, but so will my -06, or my .45-70. Work's been slow, time to cull the herd a bit. :(

Never got a chance to shoot any critters with it. It shot OK with a 6x Leupold on board, with factory fodder. Never got around to loading for it. If work picks up, maybe I can replace it with a pump 7600 in a year or two. I've carried a carbine length 7600, and you can have the 22" bbl for your hunting, but for mine, I'll take the stubby.

Mommicked
 
#24 ·
I have always been a big fan of the 45/70 and the 338 win mag. This fall i picked up a 35Whelen and that is all i used this fall. I wish i had bought a 35 whelen years ago. It is a true poor mans magnum and a real nice shooting round with 225 grain loads through the 24 inch / 1-14 inch twist bbl.
 
#25 ·
I've had 2 of them and loved them both. The current one is built on a M700 action with a Douglas premium XX barrel. It shoots well under an inch with RL15 and a 225 grain bullet (Sierra, or Nosler) and is real close with the Hornady 250 gr bullets to 3/4".
Both rifles shot well and I took a couple elk and some deer and antelope with them. It is a great cartrige in my estimation. Probably my favorite for elk unless you need to get farther than 300 yards, which don't happen a lot where I hunt.
Can't say enough about it.
 
#26 ·
I own a Remington CDL in the 35 Whelen and just love it. Using R-15 I can drive Barnes 225 grain Triple Shocks to around 2750 fps@MOA for three shots. That will kill anything I can hit out to 300 yds plus. If I need more gun I use either my 45-70 Guide Gun with 405/420 grains @ 1850 fps for up close, or my 340 Weatherby with 225 grain Barnes w/Tipped Triple shocks@ over 3000 fps for really long range shots. Haven't ever needed the Weatherby. I call my 35 Whelen the working man's rifle. It will work for nearly any man hunting nearly anything on this continent at nearly any sane range.
 
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