I hate the whelen. I hate it so much I just picked up another one tonight

As for using it for the bigger bears, I wouldnt even think twice about it. Hopefully it shoots good cuz I'll probably use it for a griz hunt next month.

I'm with you Joel. I down to 2 Whelens.

Buckwild:

For as long as I can remember, I have been a great fan of the .35 Whelen and still am. It is a great cartridge and with a 250 grain bullet, it will take any game in North America, including the big bears. However, several years ago I "discovered" the 9.3X62 Mauser. I now have two, a CZ and a Blaser and frankly, I think it is the better cartridge mostly because the bullet selection for the 9.3 is better. I am presently shooting 250 grain Barnes TSX/Banded Solids in my Blaser and 270, 286, and 300 grain bullets in the CZ. The 9.3 is suitable for anything in North America and under the right circumstances, most anything in Africa. It is just a bit more versatile than the great old .35 Whelen in my opinion and you can pick up a CZ in that caliber for a song.

Dave

I love my 35 Whelen. 1/2" groups at 100yds. I am pushing a 250 gr. Nolser Partion at 2550 all day long. 2 1/2" - 2 3/4" high at 100yds. almost dead nuts at 200yds. and about 6" low at 300yds. I personally would shoot anything in N. America with this and for africa plains game only. I think for Africa I would take a 300 win. and a 375 H&H or something bigger.

Guys, one other thing that occured to me that I wanted to add. I still have most of a box of the old style Barnes 250 grain .35 caliber solids that I bought to shoot in my Whelen. Barnes doesn't make .35 caliber solids anymore. If anyone is heading off to Africa with their Whelen and would like to have some solids to take along "just in case", let me know. I'll make you a deal.

Dave

quote:

Originally posted by HunterOfGun:
I love my 35 Whelen. 1/2" groups at 100yds. I am pushing a 250 gr. Nolser Partion at 2550 all day long. 2 1/2" - 2 3/4" high at 100yds. almost dead nuts at 200yds. and about 6" low at 300yds. I personally would shoot anything in N. America with this and for africa plains game only. I think for Africa I would take a 300 win. and a 375 H&H or something bigger.

Hunter:

You might want to give the 225 grain Barnes TSX bullets a try. It's really easy to push them up to around to around 2650-2700 fps and they will out-penetrate your Noslers. Just a thought.

Dave

The 35 Whelen is absolutely perfect for moose, black bear, deer, caribou and even grizzly. Just match the bullet to the game and there will be no problem. You really dont even need premiums in it, the 250gr Speer hot core,250gr Hornady s.p. (which will not expand as quick as the round nose) and 250gr Rem core-lokt s.p. all work great in it.

You cant read a 35 Whelen thread where the 9.3X62 will not be brought up and will often be espoused as a better cartridge. I beg to differ, a 310gr Woodleigh in the Whelen will be no different than a 320gr Woodleigh in the 9.3 . In actuality the lower velocity and smaller diameter of the .358" bullet will allow it to penetrate better than the 9.3

Better bullets for the 9.3????? There are literally hundreds of different .358" pistol bullets that can be used in the Whelen, can the 9.3 advocates do the same? There are also plenty of heavy weights in .358" - the 270gr North Fork, 275gr Hawk, 280gr Swift A-Frame, 300gr Hawk and 310gr Woodleigh. 6 of one, half a dozen of another, no animal in the world could tell the difference between the two cartridges and to say so is splitting hairs to the millionth degree. Also i really dont care if one is legal for DG or not as i wouldnt choose either for DG. With that said a famous gun writer when on a cull shoot in Africa with his 26" barreled 30-06 and dropped em no problem, once again splitting hairs....

I also believe that a twist rate of 1 in 14" is fine for all the heavy weights but if possible i would always go for the 1 in 12" rate. I have a Browning BLR in .358 win that has the 1 in 12" and a Whelen that has a 1 in 14" and i see no difference in accuracy with heavy bullets. I think differences in barrel quality would matter more than those two rates. People with 1 in 16" report excellent accuracy with 250gr bullets.

The Whelen is an accurate, easy to load, hard hitting cartridge that will not disappoint, heck, my 358win kicks harder than my Whelen, but the two rifles are totally different. If i ever get to Africa the Whelen will get the nod and im not afraid of losing ammo, worse could happen.......

fgulla, I agree with a lot of what you said except that most factory .35 Whelens have a 1/16 twist and will not shoot bullets heavier than 250 grains very well. I think if you want to shoot bullets from 250 grains on up, the 9.3 is the better choice. However, if you want to shoot 200-250 grain bullets, the Whelen may be the better choice. I agree completely that because of the modest velocity of the Whelen, premium bullets are not really necessary. I have flattened two elk with plain old 250 grain Speer Hot Core bullets but my favorite load is a 225 TSX loaded to 2650-2700 fps. Shoots plenty flat and will provide superb penetration.

Do you need any 250 grain .35 caliber solids?

Dave

Dave

Yeah i agree that the 1 in 16" rate is not optimum for the Whelen, but most Whelen's seem to be custom's. That is what the original poster is asking about a custom rifle based on a Ruger Hawkeye. If he goes with the 1 in 12" rate he can shoot the 310gr Woodleigh without any problems. I am thinking that the Whelen can push the 310gr bullet to 2,300 fps out of a 24" tube.

Thanks for the offer but i have no need for solids. I have a box of 280gr hard cast lead w/ gas checks which would act very similar to a solid. A-Square also makes a 275gr soft and solid for 358" caliber.

fgula:

No, Buckwild was asking about a Ruger Hawkeye in .35 Whelen, not a custom gun. It does have a 1/16 twist.

I am not sure I agree that most Whelens are customs. In fact, I have never seen a custom Whelen. All the Whelens I have seen have been off the rack Remington Classics or Rugers, all with a 1/16 twist. Mine is a Remington. Mine shoots the 250 grain Speers very well but does not do so well with the heavier bullets.

You could probably pick up a CZ 550 in 9.3X62 for less than $800 and it has a 1:9.5 twist so it will definitely shoot even the 320 grain Woodleighs. That is a way cheaper alternative than building up a custom .35 Whelen.

The way I look at it is that a .35 Whelen compares with .338, especially with the really excellent 225 grain Barnes TSX bullets. The 9.3 is more comparable to a .375. Anyway, that's my take. I guess it just depends on what a guy is looking for and like I said, I like em both! You should really give the old 9.3 a try. I think you would really like it.

Dave

Dave,
I've just picked up my first 35Whelen on an M17 with the smoothest rebored military barrel I've ever seen. Bought it just to test out the heavy 310gr Woodleigh's for stability as a mates Rem700 with 1:16" showed yawing, but then only at 200m. I've also had Woodleigh's 9.3 286gr RN sized to 0.358" to try out in the 1:16" twist.
I'm a 35cal man through and through ... 358Win, 350RemMag, 35Whelen ... 303/35 coming plus another 35cal wildcat early next year, then a 358Norma. But, I tried a frinds' T3 in 9.3 and it would have to be one of the nicest rifles going if you can accept PF and a detachable magazine.
Cheers...
Con

Be like alot of folks, get one of each. To me its kinda reduntant but what the heck.

9.3


35whelen

Joel/AK,
I think you need a 35Whelen AI just to fill the gap.
Cheers...
Con

Dear Con:

Yup, 35 Whelen Ackley is what I am doing.

Sincerely,

Chris Bemis

Con, I have thought about the ackley's, maybe later. Right now my $$ is going into a lightweight 358win thats being built.

Ya just gotta have a traditional blackbear gun, and now mines being built.

I'm doing the same thing, Joel. A special thanks goes out to Vapodog for help on this one.

Some nice 35s there!

Just ran across the quote about the 35 whelen........interesting

quote:

Perhaps the best testimony of the effectiveness of the .35 Whelen on big game was written years ago, by a hunter who used it to take an Alaska brown bear. He wrote: “At the impact of my 275-grain bullet the bear spun partly away from me. Immediately I fed him another bullet right between the shoulders, and he turned back toward me. Then, as he lurched forward, I shot him through both shoulders. The grizzly fell dead at my feet.â€

From none other than Elmer Keith

quote:

Originally posted by Iron Buck:
Some nice 35s there!

Just ran across the quote about the 35 whelen........interesting

quote:

Perhaps the best testimony of the effectiveness of the .35 Whelen on big game was written years ago, by a hunter who used it to take an Alaska brown bear. He wrote: “At the impact of my 275-grain bullet the bear spun partly away from me. Immediately I fed him another bullet right between the shoulders, and he turned back toward me. Then, as he lurched forward, I shot him through both shoulders. The grizzly fell dead at my feet.â€

From none other than Elmer Keith

What more needs to be said?
Paul B.

You can't go wrong with the Whelen I have used mine to take every thing from pigs and white tails to kudu in Africa and everything in between..
It just works..

Craven

Dave Bush

You see that, i just learned something, Them sneaky guys at Ruger just added the Whelen to their Hawkeye lineup. Whats really strange is that the .358win Hawkeye has the one in 12" twist rate, makes no sense, as more people would shoot heavier bullets in the Whelen, but hey what do i know???

I dont know Dave, im seeing a lot of pics here of custom Whelens........

Con

I hear ya, i have a .358 win and a 35 Whelen, and had been comtemplating a 35 rem in a remington 7600 pump carbine. Would make a great little stalking gun that could some day be changed to a .358win.

I also like 6.5mm cartridges, the two bastards of American bullet sizes but both work like a charm.

quote:

Originally posted by fgulla:
Whats really strange is that the .358win Hawkeye has the one in 12" twist rate, makes no sense, as more people would shoot heavier bullets in the Whelen, but hey what do i know???

fgulla,
I bet you its a SAAMI spec thing regarding the barrel twists. CIP specs the cartridge/chamber combination including bore/lands etc... I just get this feeling that US manufacturers default to the twists used when first SAAMI spec'd. So 35Whelen gets a 1:16" as per Remington's rifles, 358Win gets a 1:12" as per Winchester's rifles. It then takes some convincing to go otherwise.
Has anyone checked what twist the actual rifles have? Ruger's latest 350RemMags were said to have 1:16" but run a 1:12". Ruger's first lot of 358Win, 350RemMag and 35Whelen's (mid to late 80's??) had 1:16" tubes ... so it'd be really odd that just the 35Whelen keeps the 1:16" now.
Cheers...
Con

con

I have also read the same thing, that Ruger used one in 12" twist on older runs of 35 Whelen and 350rem mag but i dont know that for a fact. The new Whelen is listed as one in 16" but my BLR is listed as a one in 12" so like i said it kind of odd.Your explanation makes a lot of sense but twist seems like an easy thing for a company to change.

The Whelen was originally designed to use 275gr bullets and i believe the faster rates were used but im not sure. I guess its all splitting hairs but i know i would never request a 1 in 16" rate for ANY 35 cal.

quote:

Originally posted by fgulla:
con

I have also read the same thing, that Ruger used one in 12" twist on older runs of 35 Whelen and 350rem mag but i dont know that for a fact. The new Whelen is listed as one in 16" but my BLR is listed as a one in 12" so like i said it kind of odd.Your explanation makes a lot of sense but twist seems like an easy thing for a company to change.

The Whelen was originally designed to use 275gr bullets and i believe the faster rates were used but im not sure. I guess its all splitting hairs but i know i would never request a 1 in 16" rate for ANY 35 cal.

I have two of the first run Ruger 77's in .358 Win. and one of the .35 Whelens. All three rifles have a 1 in 16" twist.
A 1 in 12" twist was what was considered standard by Whelen and Howe, if memory serves. However, in a 1956 issue of the American Rifles, there is an article by Col. Whelen where he decided to have another .35 Whelen and this time he went with a 1 in 14" twist. In a 1970's issue of the AR, I believe it was C. E. "Ed" Harris who said that the 1 in 12" was standard for bullets of 250 to 300 gr. in weight as originally designed.
I'm thinking Remington and Ruger went with 1 in 16" twists because the felt that most people would want to stick with the faster and not so hard kicking 200 gr. bullets. I know I can find the 200 gr. load in most of the gun shops around town but the the 250 gr. load or Federal's premium load with the Bear Claw bullet are about as hard to find as an honest politician these days.
I only shoot the 250's in my guns and my handloads are a bit more stout than factory.
Paul B.

quote:

Originally posted by fgulla:
In actuality the lower velocity and smaller diameter of the .358" bullet will allow it to penetrate better than the 9.3

Half right. Smaller diameter may penetrate better but lower velocity means less energy.

Theres no real difference between the 9,3x62 and the 35Whelen, both are exellent carteridges. I did choose the Whelen cause I wanted something unusual (here in Norway) and the wider choice of bullets.
I feed mine with 250grs Hornady RNs at 750m/s and use it for deer, no complaints recived. in some months it goes with me to Africa, guess I will feed it 225grains Nosler Partitions and I am sure it will do the job.