What are your thougts on the 35 Whelen. Very few if any 35's have ever been any barn burners.
I see H&R is bringing out a 35 Whelen in a Handi rifle with a 22" barrel.

How many of you use the 35 Whelen?

I have a 35 Whelen, it's a great cartridge, more versatile than a 9.3x62, and it's easy to use 30-06 brass.

Zermel,

I shoot the 35 Whelen. Mine is a custom built on an Argentine (DWM) Mauser action. I use it as a hunting, not target rifle and have always been pleased with it. I shoot 200 grain bullets in mine and personally consider it a "heavy" 30-06. Makes short work of deer.

I agree that the 35 calibers have never been popular but then, I don't base my firearms selection on what is popular. I use a 35 cal and I like it.

-Vlad

quote:

Originally posted by ZERMEL:
What are your thougts on the 35 Whelen. Very few if any 35's have ever been any barn burners.
I see H&R is bringing out a 35 Whelen in a Handi rifle with a 22" barrel.

How many of you use the 35 Whelen?

It's a good cartridge Zermel, especially if you hunt heavier game. It hits with authority and recoil is reasonable. It can be used effectively up to 300 yards although personally, I think it shines within 200 yards or so. In comparison with the 338-06 and 9.3x62, there isn't enough difference to worry about so if you like the Whelen for whatever reason, buy it.

There are a lot of configurations you can use but I find I get the most out of a 225 gr bullet at about 2600-2650 fps. With this kind of cartridge don't get caught up too much about speed. Load to get an accurate load. Mine is in a Remington 7600 BTW.

I used a 35 Whelen on Nov. 9th '05 to take this bull elk. Distance was 350 yards according to my range finder, wind was 5-10 mph from rt to lt bull was walking into the wind. I used 225 sierra gamekings. Held right on the top of his shoulder and had the vertical crosshair even with his front legs. Hit him right behind the shoulder about a 1/4 way down his body, basically, right in the lungs. hit him twice. I heard the first hit but with a bull I'll keep hitting him till he's down.

Rifle was a re-barreled H&R Model 300 (mauser action) with a 24" bbl in 35 Whelen.

I have a feature story on the .35 Whelen coming out in the January '06 Sports Afield.

I have a Remington 700 CDL 35 Whelen. Awesome gun, altough I've not had it too long. Haven't hunted with it yet, but you can take any North American game and most all game period with it.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ZERMEL:
What are your thougts on the 35 Whelen. Very few if any 35's have ever been any barn burners.
QUOTE]

In all seriousness the .35 Whelen IMO is a handloading cartridge.

Yes there's a few good factory rounds but the .35 Whelen is at it's best handloaded with the right stuff.

This is also true of the old .30-06 IMO

The .35 Whelen is as good as anyone needs for truly big game. It's a lot too much for deer but works fine there too.

For elk and moose it's a very excellent choice. I personally believe it's a 250 yard gun but with some practice can be used another 100 yards.

Huh.........

35 wheelchair !

I want one! ruger45lc did you have to order that remington? And what kind of groups are you getting with what load? I really like the looks of the cdl and a 35 whelen has always held my interest. Me thinks good elk medicine!

Hey Elkslayer, Congratulations on a SUPER fine Elk.

Did you recover either of the Sierras, or did they Exit? They do look like small ICBMs.

My Whelen is the Ackley improved version on a Springfield.

Haven't had a chance to compare the two in the field, but on the range I can hardly see a difference between a mates 35Whelen and my 358Win. Sure, the larger cartridge pushes its projectiles faster, but out to 250m, the differences still seem inconsequential.
Cheers...
Con

quote:

Sure, the larger cartridge pushes its projectiles faster, but out to 250m, the differences still seem inconsequential.

The same can be said for a helluva lot of cartridges.....

I believe ya easily.

vapodog,
And when you consider that alot of hunting takes place inside of 200m, it seems odd that we set ourselves up for what happens relatively rarely, that is a long shot. My 358Win with its 2.5x Leupold is a dream to shoot. I tried some 250gr Woodleighs on the weekend expecting a noticeable increase in recoil and it just didnt happen! Even with the original red rubber pad, recoil was quite mild. I'm bored with my Vanguard 30/06 (its under 6 months old!) and considered putting a 35Whelen tube on it, but this little 358Win is really impressing!
Mate is talking about selling his Whelen to buy a Miroku .358, and my idea to build a 303-35 on a No4 action is also a bit on the back-burner. A Mannlicher styled .358 on an older Brno action would be very sweet.
Cheers...
Con

This is about as fine a 358 Winchester as I have seen or worked on.

Here's a link to Dressel's site.

Dressel's photos of the 358 Win

Excellent craftsmen and honest as the day is long. Good people.

quote:

Did you recover either of the Sierras, or did they Exit? They do look like small ICBMs.

They both exited. I could head them hit but they sounded "different" from other hits I have had on elk using other cartridges. Usually a hit makes a "whoop" sound, these were really light sounding more like a "smack". After cleaning & skinning I could see why, both shots missed ribs on the way in and only one hit a rib on the way out, the other missed ribs in and out.

I have a 1917 Remington Enfield setup in 35 whelen AI. I tis a great cartridge, very efficient, and with a 26" barrel performs good (I have never taken game with it). that said, it was a gift and I love the rifle, otherwise I don't know, I have a 375 and a 30 cal Magnum, not much need for it in that spot. But there is nothing at all wrong with it.

22" barrel in my opinion is too short, but that is up to you. I like the improved version, I was working up a good load with 250's when I had trigger/sear problems, that was only a year ago (I don't believe in procrastination) once I work that out I am going to try it again this time working around the northfork bullets. If I can get a 2600fps load with those I might never load fro the 225's again.

Red

I built a whelen for my dad this year. I have alwyas really liked the whelen. 225-250gr bullets at modest velosities. Not really exciting, but just plain works. The federal factory load works really well. This is a rebarreled Win 70.

Scrollcutter,
Much too fancy for my taste (and budget), but lovely eye candy nevertheless.
Cheers...
Con

quote:

Originally posted by raybass:
I want one! ruger45lc did you have to order that remington? And what kind of groups are you getting with what load? I really like the looks of the cdl and a 35 whelen has always held my interest. Me thinks good elk medicine!

raybass, I ordered it through a gun shop (http://www.budsgunshop.com) and drove to pick it up. They can also deliver one to an FFL near you. It ran me right at $600. You could get the stock number off the Remington website and I bet Walmart could order it for you.

Yes the CDL is a beautiful piece, simple yet elegant. I've got it topped with a Burris Fullfield II. Not having ever shot a 35 Whelen, I shot an 1.25" group at 100 yards, and that's with a not so steady rest. I've heard a others with them claim under an inch and I believe it.

I should post a pic of it, nice rifle!

Here in my parts of the woods my Ruger in 35 Whelen is a lonesome dove, not many of them around...
But I always wanted a Whelen and are wery satisfied with it. As Elkslayer, I have used the 225 Sierra ( wery good accuracy) and the 250 gr Woodleigh.
Light and handy rifle with plenty whallop for moose and red deer.

Here are a few shots of my recently completed .35 Whelen. It's on a VZ24 action, with a Shilen bbl. Unfortunately, an ATV incident left me with an injured shoulder, and I have not had a chance to do any load workup. In limited testing, it shoots as good as I can hold with Remington 200gr factory fodder. The grip trap, set in a horn bezel, contains the rear sight. A unit that fits the Weaver rail. The scope in these pics was a temporary, installed for testing.

I built a 35 Whelen out of a VZ-24 Mauser with a Adams and Bennett barrel chopped to 21 inches for portability. My dad used a Barnes 225 X fired from it to drop a cow Elk at 250 yards. I love the Whelen!!! Even with already owning one, I am considering buying another......a Remington CDL!!!

Pedestal,spend a couple bucks and have that stock checkered in a manner fitting the work that is already done...it's a beautiful bit of work...

What do I think of the .35 Whelen? HMMM! Tough question. I have three rifles chambered to the Whelen right now and am comtemplating building number four. Nuff said?
My current custom Mauser has a 1 in 14" twist rate in the barrel, Both the Ruger 77 and Remington 700 have 1 in 16" twist barrels.
I would imagine that is you never plan to use bullets heavier that 250 gr., the 1 in 16" is adequate. Jim Howe and Col. Whelen felt that the cartidge was designed for mostly heay game and bullets from 250 to 300 gr., therefore went with a 1 in 12" twist. Frankly, I think a 250 gr. bullet is more than sufficient for anything in North America and most game on the planet, barring some of the big five.
Factory loads are not loaded to the full potential of the cartridge, so I agree with the comment that it is a cartidge more suited to the handloader. There are too many old Springfields and a few 1895 Winchesters floating around that were either rebored or rebarreled to the Whelen.
It's a good round in factory form and a better one when properly handloaded.
Paul B.

Paul B,
Agree with the comment that the 35Whelen was designed for heavy game, a 375H&H alternative when rifles in the H&H chambering were rare and expensive. Its odd though that the ammunition / projectile / rifle manufacturers don't seem to see it that way. Hence we have 1:16" factory barrels and no 275gr (SD=.300) projectiles. In a 1:12" barrel and with a 275gr readily available the arguements between the 9.3x62 and 35Whelen advocates might finally end. Heaven forbid
Cheers...
Con

Pedastel,
that rifle is beautiful.

Vapodog:
I do plan to have it checkered next summer. I wanted to use it this fall...

PC:
Thanks, I do like it.

.35 Whelan delivers more energy than an '06, but not quite so far. Will open a larger wound channel than an '06. I figured it would be great for black bears. Likely longer barrel life. Great for reloading, with a fair range of bullet weights. Listed powders that give best performance has dropped a little of late. Not so much in commercial loads.

One reloading problem: RCBS's neck expansion ball doesn't seem to be .35 caliber (?!?!); found that Lee does that part right.

While I was waiting for the barrel job, I picked up a .458 Win in a #1 at the right price. That gun rings my bell... just a ton of fun, also with remarkable flexibility in reloading.

I like mine: Ruger #1 with a Hart barrel on it. Very accurate.

Dan

I bought a remington cdl in 35 whelen this summer. I've now taken 3 animals with it and LOVE it.

quote:

Originally posted by ZERMEL:
I see H&R is bringing out a 35 Whelen in a Handi rifle with a 22" barrel.

Get something other than an H&R and you will love it.

Paul B and Arild Iverson how do you like your Rugers, i used to have a 35 whelen in a REM700 classic. It was brand new in the box but i never shot it, traded it for a left handed rifle for my twin brother. That turned out to be a good great trade but i have been thinking of having one built on a Ruger M77 or WIN M70CRF action. Have either of you had any feed problems with yours and could you tell me a little bit more about your rifles. Thanks Karry

quote:

Originally posted by interboat:
I have a feature story on the .35 Whelen coming out in the January '06 Sports Afield.

Is that the January issue, which I guess is out now, or will it be on the news stands in January

Scrollcutter; That is a BEAUTIFUL rifle! regardless of caliber. Well, I sort of like the Wheeln when I was going through the "one rifle/caliber for every animal" craze. I had one of the limited edition Rugers, althogh i replaced the HIDEOSU boat paddle stock and replaced it with a MAC. Took a real nice book black bear with it and 225gr Swifts. Great rifle, but on refelction I really didn't need when I have a 338 that can do the job just as well if not better, I don't have to sweat the scarcity of the ammo> I sold it, but for a different reason, I used the proceeds from the sale to pay for half of my Cape Buff trophy fee. I'm to the point now that I am seriously "culling" my rifle battery and using the money to hunt! jorge

I too am a big fan of the whelen !
Mine is on a WWII Mauser with the adams and bennet barrel and a cheap cammo stock from midway. It shoots 250 grain speers just great !
I took it my 45/70 and my .338 win mag elk hunting this year and the .338 hardley got used.
I am thinking of building another whelen, and doing this one with wood ! Mine shoos great but a wood stocked one would be much beyyer !!! tj3006

Scuse me that last word shold be Better...tj3006

Mark, I believe the January issue will be on newsstands in December.

Fred..

I had one built on an FN '98 a few years back as I didn't have anything else in that niche ( no .338, .338-06, .358, etc ). I've been very pleased with it's performance with 250 & 270gr. bullets ( it has a 1-14" Shilen on it) which is the reason I went with a Whelen.

Recoil is moderate in a well-designed stock and the results are impressive. Two nice size hogs are in the freezer because of it. I handload only ( 250gr Hornady and 270gr. Northfork ) as the 225 gr. factory offerings are of little interest to me.