I would like to have a medium bore carbine built in a classic American cartridge for hunting some of the bigger game in North America, including elk and possibly moose, at moderate ranges (up to 300 yards). From the title of this post you may have guessed that I am narrowing down toward the .35 Whelen. I know that with a standard length barrel the .35 Whelen is capable of my goals in terms of range and game hunted. My questions are if this caliber is efficient in a carbine length barrel and if using a shorter barrel (I'm thinking of 20-21", 22" max) will decrease velocity enough to significantly decrease the range that elk and moose could be ethically hunted at (both in terms of energy and trajectory). Also, how long is the barrel on your .35 Whelen and what kind of velocity are you getting with handloads? This may give me some insight as well.

Thanks in advance,
Bob

I'm curious on this subject also. I have a 7600 in 35 whelen and am thinking about chopping it down to 20" (right now 22"). I'll probably end up doing it anyways since I'm sure the velocity loss will be minimal with dropping 2 inches.

22" barrel shooting 225gr Gamekings @2560fps. Using max load of varget with no signs of pressure, but don't see the point of pushing things with this caliber to try squeezing a slight trajectory improvement. These loads did a nice one shot job through the chest and shoulder of a Wyoming moose last fall, and will shoot 1" 5 shot groups every time I take it to the range.

24 inch Midway barrel on M-98 action

2630 fps , RL 15 , 250 gr. Hornaday or Speer

2780 fps , RL 15 or Varget , 225 gr. Sierra or Nos. partition

i have a ks with a 24" bbl & a classic with a 22" bbl both shoot within a few feet of each other.. i think large cal guns are less effected by barrel length than small high velosity loads

I have a 22 inch shilen on my 700 and shoot 2710 with 60.0gr of R15. Shoots under an inch at 100 all day long. Great caliber!