Remington has a new semi auto called the 750 woodsmaster and it comes in 35 whelen and i have decided to buy the rifle but i am not sure on the caliber . It will be used in the north east on deer black bear and moose.i was thinking on the whelen because i have never owned one but do you guys think i should go with the 30/06. These are the only two cartridges i am tring to choose between. From what i have heard the 35 whelen might be better for moose, now i know the 30/06 with 180 or 220's would do the job but how much better do you think the whelen might be and what about the whelen on deer. Also the bears aroun hear are going between 400-600 pounds. So what do you guys think which would you go with. Thanks Tanoose

I've got a Remington CDL in 35whelen and LOVE it!

ditto that Mark. I had been trying to decide whether to build a custom 358 winchester, 338-06 or a 35 whelen. When I saw my first rem cdl and found out that it was chambered in 35 whelen I ordered one on the spot. Classic lines, light weight, moa accuracy tolerable recoil, and reasonable price. Whats not to like? I shoot the sierra 225 gr spitzer game kings. Deer shot through the shoulders or hogs shot behind the ear drop. Another positive is heavier bullets at lower velocity does less meat damage.
gwb

I have 2 35 Whelens. The cartridge is so good as to be boring. I have shot hogs large and small white tail deer and mule deer with it. Mostly bang flop.It has been very effective on every thing I have shot with it. I have only used the speer 250 spitzer. I has phenominal penitration. I have only recovered one bullet. That was shot into a 250 lb. hog straight on. the bullet went in just at the middle edge of the eye. We found the bullet under the hide on the ham!
I think I like it

I have a Remington 7600 from the 80's when they first made a few. I use the Barnes 180grain X for deer and black bear. I whoops' em! This cartidge kills much better than it should on paper. You can not go wrong with the cartridge or from what I've seen the new 750.

I've been thinking about scratching the "35 itch".....350 Rigby rimless ! I know, I', a sick man.

Best,

John

What els said -- so good it's boring! It's a great round -- mild recoil, flat shooting, and it kills well. Can't go wrong with the Whelen IMHO!

If the intended use is strictly for northeast hunting, the .35 is a better choice. Otherwise get the '06.

Thanks for all the replys i love my 30/06's but i think its time to try something new i am going to go with the Whelen. I think i would like to stick with one bullet weight so i'll start off with the 250grain Hornady. Do you guys think the hornady will be good for moose or should i go with nosler partition or maybe the swift a- frame .Moose hunting will be new to me but all my deer and bear hunting has been under 100yds (under 50 mostly) I would think this wood be the same for moose hunting in the north east .I will top the 750 with a 2x7 leupold so i am good if i need to take a 200-300 yard shot.

I have two 06'es and a Whelen. Cant go wrong with either of them, but I have to take issue with the boring remark, it (the Whelen) is less boring than the 06.

2900 fs with a 200 gn interlock makes a whup-ass deer load, and it just gets better with the bigger critters.

I love the .35's for eastern deer hunting and can only hope that a Ruger rumor of a #1 in the Whelen comes to pass. That is one rifle I would not be able to pass up! Lord hope it is a 24" 1A.

I have three rifles chambered to the .35 Whelen. Nuff said? FWIW, I also have five rifles chambered to the .358 Win. amd a few 06s as well.
Frankly, and this is just my carefully considered opinion, as the late Col. Townsend Whelen obce sad, "The 30-06 is never a mistake." With that said, my choice is still the .35 Whelen for the bigger critters. What a lot of people sem or either forget or ignore is that the Whelen was the "poor man's .375 H&H". The cost of getting a .375 was quite high at the time and Jim Howe developed the cartridge and named it after Whelen. Winchester bringing out the Model 70 in .375 H&H making a rifle in that cartridge affordable is what put the skids to the Whelen. It's too bad.
I have several Canadian pen pals that use the Whelen exclusively for moose. Their choice of bullet is the 250 gr. Speer. I imagine that the 250 gr. Hornady should work just as well. It is slightly more accurate in my rifles.
In a semi-auto, you won't be able to load past the somewhat mild factory loads Remington puts out. You can heat the round up a bit better in a bolt action, but it works just fine at factory levels as is.
Paul B.

Whelen with 225gr NP's or TSX's for the bears and moose. 225gr regular cup and jacket for deer.

Used one up in Northern Maine for years,on Deer
and Black Bear."just the Ticket"But...Dont let
that out,or everyone will want one.

Don't get me wrong, I love my rem 7600 in .35 whelen. My wife gave it to me for Christmas and I shot a B&C white-tail with it.

All I have shot through it has been rem factory 250 grain. The deer I have shot with it have not died quickly and spectacularly. I think these bullets are ment for bigger critters than deer and are passing through without expanding and passing energy into the animal.

Bullet selection can have a big effect on a cartridges effectivness on game.

Robin

The 30-06 is more versatile, but the 35 Whelen has been hauling freight for decades. I think we should all buy a 35 Whelen factory rifle just to keep them in production. I'd love to see a stainless Ruger M-77 with sights, and for whoever ends up with Winchester to do the same with the M-70.


Okie John

I like the 225 gr. Partition for all around use, but if moose are mainly on the ticket, a 250 grain slug is OK as well. I am another one who can't say enough good things about the .25 Whelen.

Heavier bullets at lower pressures sounds like a good thing in the remington semi-auto.

I have a 74 in 30-06 and wish it was a 35whelen

Not enough to sell it and buy a New 750, but
if I stumble across a used 7400 in 35Whelen....

AllanD

I contacted Nosler about using there 35 Whelen loaded ammunition in the 750 and they claim there will be no problem using there ammo in semi-auto rifles. I will try one of there 250 grain loads and chrony it as i will the remington . Remington advertises there 250 gr. load at 2400 fps and nosler advertises 2550 I want to see actual velocitys and how they feed before i start reloading . Conley also advertises a little above 2550fps. I beleive all these are in 24" barrels so i shouldn't see much of a loss with the 22"

Yep, go with the Whelen. I've been using a Rem 7600 in 35 Whelen on big deer for a few years now, with most satisfactory results. Mostly bang, flop. Even one occasion, in poor light, where I thought that the deer was looking at me front on, when she was actually looking at me over her shoulder (it was about then that I decided to put a scope on my 7600), it still took her down with the one shot. The 225gr Nosler partition gets used on everything, and seems to perform quite well.
Now to find a bolt gun in 35 Whelen, without the wife finding out!

Tanoose:

I grew up with the 30-06 as a sporting cartridge and as a military cartridge. (I'll be 76 next month) I discovered the 35 Whelen late in life. Think of it as about a 10% edge on the 30-06 at some ranges. In factory loadings it doesn't have the wide variety that the 30-06 has - but any big animal in North America intended to be shot at ranges under 200 yards, the 35 Whelen should do the job. (BTW, I understand that Pennsylvania does not allow autoloaders for deer or bear hunting. I'm retired some years from hunting but you may want to check that out if you want to use the Rem. in PA)

yes gerry you are correct about the semi-auto law in PA. I plan to use it in NY and was thinking on Moose in a couple of years up in Maine , Vermont and New Hampshire I to started with the 30/06 and i will be 50 in June and wanted to try a new caliber and i wanted to try semi-auto again so when i saw the new 750 and the 35 whelen well i just have to try it. Later Tanoose

Tanoose:

I forgot to say that you will enjoy the 35 Whelen right from the start. Even at bench rest in sighting in I noticed that the rifle recoiled with a kind of a "shove" and not that mule's kick that some cartridges deliver. (Properly tucked in, you won't even notice the difference from an '06's 180 gr.) Colonel Whelen was a devotee of using heavy loads on big game in North America. I confess that it always has puzzled me why he came to develop the 35 Whelen (or allow his name to be put on it when it was a wildcat) True, it has perhaps a 10% edge on the 30-06 at closer ranges but I keep thinking of the '06's superb accuracy and that 180 gr. really does deliver. (Oddly enough I never shot at deer or bear with a 220 or 225 gr) Oh, well, I do understand why you want to try something different ( I did too). ( Kind of side question - Why go for moose in New England where the chances of drawing a ticket are like me winning the NY Lottery? OK, I'm exaggerating, but you know what I mean. Look into Canada hunts. Moose hunting is going to be damn expensive, anywheres you go -but if spending a little more money might greatly improve your odds of even seeing a moose to shoot at, why not look into it? {I support "Buy American" but we are talking about hunting here!} Anyway, best of luck.

Either the 35 whelen or the the 358 win. will give you great satisfaction. I built two in .358 Win.,one on a Ruger all-weather,( my son attached himself to that one), and a classic featherweight Win. They both are boring they are so accurate. Recoil is not worth talking about. They are a pleasure to shoot. I was surprised to see that the heavy bullets in the .358 and the Whelen run within 100 fps of each other.

I have a Ruger Model 77 35 Whelen that I had the 22 inch factory barrel removed from and replaced with a 26 inch medium sporter weight barrel, and have taken a lot of game with it.
I use 225 grain Barnes "X" and have had no problem with anything I have hit with it. It is my second favorite hunting rifle out of the ones I own. My favorite is my 375 H&H.

I've always wanted one, but, with the 06 and .300Win, haven't really needed in CO for elk.
Have been reading and considering a lot about building a .35 RUAM, or what ever Towsley named his. Claims to get an easy 3000fps with 250gr.
All it is, is the .300 Rem ultra mag necked out, no other changes. Sure would like to have this last 1917 Enfield built into that one. Doubt I'd ever use it other than play with, and punch paper. But, I'd have something equal to Dad's .375, and on an action I much prefer to anything else ever made.

George