Tell me a little bit about this cartridge guys. Im looking for a heavier moose and Black bear cartridge. Im thinking about using it as a black bear calling rifle and am wondering if it will be able to muster enough power for grizzly bear. I think this rifle will be one of those new Ruger Hawkeyes

Properly handloaded the .35 Whelen will take down anything on the planet.......

It's almost the twin of the 9.3 X 62 and that thing has accounted for everything.....and to my understanding legally!

I'd suggest some freebore in the throat if you're having one built....say 3/8" or more as it helps keep pressures down a bit......and can be used to improve velocity if you choose.

FWIW, I think the 35 Whelen with a 250 grain RN bullet has a certain look to it; maybe it just looks like the right combination for the brass it sits in. I've never used one, but I imagine in the right hands it's probably hell on wheels for about anything out to any sensible yardage.

It would be ideal for black bear or moose inside 200 yds IMO. Good but ot optimal for grizzly though. I'd opt for a 375 in that situation if you have one. BUT the 35w would be good enough for those animals if you only had one rifle with the right bullet

Well I might later on pick up a 45-70 or heavier caliber. The reason I didn't want a 375 is most are built to be heavier than need be. So for my purpose of hunting a lighter rifle is better.

Lived in Alaska for some years and during that time the 35Whelen was known as the "poor man's magnum..." since about any ol' '06 could be converted easily w/ barrel job and did not have a ton of money tied up in a true magnum action. The rifle in the bush/villages was merely a tool and if it worked they used it as such and used it a lot for then you could obtain a subsitance lic. and permited you to hunt a lot and take a lot of game for food purposes, not sport. Good bullet, good shooting makes an excellent all around hunting round for big game. Friend of mine shoots his w/ cast lead GC/285gr @ 2000fps and it will touch holes at 100 yards.

No heat here. Get the whelen. I have no experience with griz but have done a few black with her. Plenty of power there.

The 35 Whelen will take anything you are likely to hunt except maybe Browns or Grizzlies. 225 or 250 Nosler Partitions are my choices.

You've made a great choice ... nicer in my opinion, particularly if you reload is a Ruger MkII S/S in 350RemMag. Same ballistics, more compact rifle. I think anyone suggesting the 35Whelen is best kept inside of 200yards needs to shoot one a bit more often. I consider my 358Win a 200yard rifle ... my 350RemMag will stretch another 50 yards easily.
Cheers...
Con

Shoot it and your targets will fall. It's that simple!

I have had a few whelens,350 rem etc...
the whelen is an excellent moose/bear round.It is plenty for grizz with a 250 nosler@2550 or a 225X @ 2650, it will also reach out to 300yds or slightly more and hammer a big bul moose.
One of my favorite rounds

In PO Ackley's book it says the 35 Whelen is adequate for most game. Not recommended for charging Rhino.

I compare the 9.3x62 to a .375 H&H, as I can shoot a 320 gr. Woodlieh at 2450 FPS in my 26 inch barrel..I never could get that in the 35 Whelans I used to shoot, but I could shoot a 250 gr. at 2500 FPS and a 275 gr. bullet at almost 2375 FPS. Today if I was going to build a 35 Whelan, I would use 9.3 brass and shoot the 300 gr. Woodlighs, that would be a good wildcat..

I just returned Monday from Namibia where I used my 35 Whelen to thump gemsbok, kudu, and mountian zebra. My load is the 250gr Northfork (now out of production) in front of 57 grains of RL15 for a modest 2450fps.

With the exception of the zebra where I hit him too far back and low, requiring a second shot, all others where one shot, drop dead kills, including two gemsbok which are notoriously hard to drop with one shot.

I've used the 375 H&H, 338 Win Mag, 338-06, 300 Wea Mag and now the 35 Whelen in Africa. The 35 Whelen kills just as well as any of them. Enjoy it!!!

I have used one (or a few actually) for some time. I will be taking my old Ruger tang M77 Whelen to northern BC in three weeks for moose, elk, mountain caribou and bear. I have the 225 gr TSX going 2700 fps and grouping inside 1 1/2". Great round no doubt.

The .35 Whelen
from RifleShooter Magazine
http://www.rifleshootermag.com/ammunition/RS_35whelen_200804/index.html


The .35 Whelen in Zimbabwe
by Al Borchardt
from African Hunter Magazine
http://www.cybertorpedo.com/africanhunter/firearms/35_whelen_zimbabwe_01.htm

Cheers!
-Bob F.

Is the 1 16 twist issue no longer relevant?

quote:

Originally posted by Mikelravy:
Is the 1 16 twist issue no longer relevant?

While I think it should be, it seems the misbegotten 1 in 16" twist does work, at least with bullets up to 250 gr.
I'm considering building another Whelen and it will have the 1 in 12" twist barrel. Right now, mine have 1 in 14" and 1 in 16" twists and frankly, the 1 in 14" rifle outshoots the 1 in 16" gun, especially out past 200 yards.
Paul B.

I can't say anything about bear (yet) but the 35 Whelen will break an elk down very quickly from my limited experience.

I can say with confidence that It can and does work well on Grizzly. I took a nice Grizz on the Stoney River in Alaska with my .35 whelen. I used a 250 grain Barnes-X back in 1998. I'm getting near or at 2600 fps with Reloader-15. I've had great performance on African game from Eland, Kudu, Zebra, Gemsbok and some smaller stuff on 2 trips. I returned from Zimbabwe 2 weeks ago and took a nice Leopard with it, but sure a lesser cartridge would have worked. Oh yes, forgot to mention it's a great Elk buster. Like any cartridge, it does have it's limits, but I've never felt limited using it. The majority of my hunting, I've used the Hornady 250 grain Spire Point, works great and again, used RL-15. Try it.

I don't think the 35 Whelen would be lacking at all. I went with the Ackley improved version myself.

Nothing wrong with the Whelen. 225gr. sierra works on deer and blackies here in PA. Heavier bullets on bigger game should work.

I have had a lot of fun shooting 357 cal pistol bullets in mine. I even killed a deer with a Remington 180 gr 357.

TWL,
It is suitable in spades for all North American game including the Alaskan brown bear IMO..As to its use in Africa I would not call it ideal for Cape Buffalo, Hippo, or elephant, particularly the later two.

Love the 35 Whelen, but, if could do, would go .358 norma Mag.

Agreed. As to Africa, the 35 Whelen is great for PG at moderate ranges, but that's where I'd draw the line.

buckwild

I won't go as far as vapodog in recommending the cartridge - but I will go beyond twl. (The 35 Whelen is overwhelmingly more than adequate for leopard) The 35 Whelen is one of those cartridges that doesn't "kick" but "pushes". If the 30-06 will drop big bears -think of the 35 Whelen as having another 10% punch. I owned one and it is deadly accurate at 100 yards

G.P.
You are correct, Sir. A 35 Whelen with a good 250 soft at moderate velocity would knock the !!! out a leopard!
Best.....TWL

I wouldn't feel undergunned, as has been said, proper bullet construction in the Whelen is more than enough for all North American Game. My 7600 loves the 225 gr Sierras for deer. For anything bigger though My bullet of choice would be a Partition.

I have taken over a dozen big game animals ranging from steenbok to moose and eland with the .35 Whelen. All were one shot kills and most never moved more than 15 - 20 yards after the shot. I have settled on 225 gr bullets for my hunting with the .35 Whelen. For those that say only a short range cartridge, my moose in Alberta was taken at a lasered 410 shots and fell in his tracks.

The 35 whelen is far from being a short range cartridge. With the 225s it will shoot flatter than a 30-06 with 180s. With a 250 grain Nosler it will land 10" low at 300 instead of 8" for the 06. Raise your 100 yard zero to be 3" high at 100 & it is virtually a dead heat as far as trajectory goes with 180s out of an 06. But the Whelen will hit with much more authority.

The latest Nosler manual show the Whelen shooting 225s to the same velocity the 338 win mag will! That is almost 4000fpe.

I Love my (2) 35 whelens. The lates one, a custom mauser, may make the trip out west with me in a few weeks. I'd have no problems sitting in this high alpine basin with it in hand! And what a great view as well.



And I would not feel the least bit undergunned. I have killed elk from this spot with an 06 & a 300 mag. I know the 35 whelen would kill them just as dead

A Ruger Model 77, Tang Safety, with a new 26 inch barrel instead of that 22 inch hunk of junk, is one of my two favorite rifles.

I have taken elk, white tail, mule deer, caribou, feral hog, and pronghorn with it using the 225 grain Barnes "X" Flat Base.

My other favorite is a 375 H&H. I really can not tell that much difference between the two when it comes to killing normal stuff.

Proper bullet placement with the proper bullet, and the Whelen will get the job done. JMO.

I had my .35 whelan made with a 1 in 12 twist and it shot as good as any rifle i owned. I would recommend the 1 in 12 twist as many whelans don't stabilize a 250 or heavier spitzer with a 1 in 14 or especually a 1 in 16 twist.I have used the .338 w/ 250 gr., the .35 whelan W/ 250 gr. and the .375 h&h W/ 270 gr. on quite a few large soft skinned game, from kudu and zebra to elk, moose and bison, and i can't tell the difference in killing power. Hit well they go down in short order.

The Whelen is a good one. Great timber rifle for heavy big game in North America, with some of the newer fancier bullets with high ballistic coefficients, it can carry it's effectiveness even further. But it really shines with 250gr partitions in the deep woods, hard hitting and complete penetration.

I have shot a number of elk, the load used was 56/4064/225 Nosler Ballistic Tip/2675FPS, all dropped right now, real thumper!

In January on a buffalo hunt in Goodland Kansas, my pal used his Whelen with a 250 Nosler Partition and RL15, @ 2600fps. At the shot you heard a twap, and right after the "twap", a zing as the bullet went thru and kept on going across the Kansas prairie. Buff dropped in its tracks. What a great cartridge the Whelen is.

Regards

Jerry

Gerald Peter,
Actually a 243 will knock the crap out of a Leopard. A Leopard is no larger than a Deer in weight! but if I had to follow up a wounded Leopars I sure don't want a Whelan, I want my 404 Jefferys.

I agree with ironbuck on how effective the whelen is at further ranges. The elk in the picture was killed from the ridge over my left shoulder. A little over 300 yds.


The load was a 225 gr TSX @ 2730 fps.

Raybass:

Real nice picture, thanks for posting. As far as the Leopards are concerned,big bears as well, I'll take my trusty Whelen, place the shot where I want, and not look back!!

Regards

Jerry

The 35 Whelen is a thumper for sure. I have a M700 Classic that has accounted for many WT deer and a nice black bear. Always an exit with the partitions.
I don't think you would be under gunned for a grizzly bear.

JD338

I have one in a Rem 700 CDL with the 16 twist. I have not taken any game with it yet but hope to do so this year. It has been suprisingly accurate with 250 grain Speer Hotcore's on top of RL-15 225 Accubonds also shoot well over varget. The throat and Mag are long allowing bullet seating far beyond listed max oal.

Here are some 200 yard 3 shot groups shot with the 250 Speer and RL-15.