35 Whelen

GOMX

Well-Known Member
Hi i have a friend in Montana who hunts with a Ruger No1 in 35 Whelen cal , cracking rifle ,
is there anyone here that uses this calibie ?
 
I bought one when Remington did a special run of 700's for a dealer in Pennsylvania. That was 2000 or so, became all the rage after that. I remember cartridge collectors asking me for caseswhen I first got it.

Great round, mine is very accurate. On par with a 9.3x62. Craig Boddington in his Safari Rifles book recounts that a friends wife did not like the recoil of a 375 H&H. Boddington recommended she try a 35 Whelen as, although not a calibre of choice, he reckoned it would be good for Buffalo.
I have used mine on Muntjac :doh:. It kills them..... and pretty much anything else I have shot with it. I can't see any animal apart from the dangerous African ones, that this calibre would be underpowered to tackle.
 
I've owned two over the years, one built on a M-17 Enfield action and another built on a a Winchester M-70. I currently own a Ruger M-77 in 350 Rem Mag which is ballistically identical to the 35 Whelen. Both rounds are really good big game cartridges. Between my brother , who also uses one , and myself we've taken well over fifty animals with these cartridges. About twenty of these were Moose and Elk and all went down to one shot, which is an impressive record.

We've used Hornady 250 gr Spire Points almost exclusively with excellent performance. The load we use is at just over 2400 fps so I've never bothered using Nosler Partitions or any other premium bullet. The standard cup and core bullets hold together just fine at these velocities. I see this as an advantage as its a lot cheaper to load for.

A good friend and hunting partner of mine uses a Remington Model 7600 ( jerkomatic ) pump action in 35 Whelen. He uses his for Moose and Elk and loves it, nothing goes far after being hit with a 250 gr bullet and I've found there is less tissue damage than you get with the high velocity rounds.It is definitly a strong contender for a good all round cartridge in this part of the world.

AB
 
Thank you for the info guys , Good news I was granted my variation for the 35 Whelen , Nice new project build for me next year. can't wait to get started ..
 
I had a 700 Classic I got new . Killed a few deer with it and traded it off . Maybe 8 years later I got it back and killed a couple more then traded it once again .

To be honest I'd rather have a 338-06 or possibly a 8mm-06 . Nothing wrong with the 35 I just like the other two cartridges more .
 
Know what you mean, but now with the Barnes TTSX or Nosler Accubond (nearly 0.5 BC) 250gr, there's not much that either will do that a 9.3x62 won't...
 
To be honest I'd rather have a 338-06 or possibly a 8mm-06 . Nothing wrong with the 35 I just like the other two cartridges more .

Agree, better bullet selection and BCs in the 338. The only advantage over the 9.3x62 is forming brass out of 30-06, but 9.3 ammo easier to find on the road in Europe and Africa.
 
Thank you for your reply's very interesting feedbacks, The 35 Whelen I shot in Montana I was impressed , I have a slot for one on my FAC , but I'm going to do some more research first..
 
Maverick61 on here has one. You can PM him, but I'll warn you he hasn't had it long and is still working up loads etc.
 
Agree, better bullet selection and BCs in the 338. The only advantage over the 9.3x62 is forming brass out of 30-06, but 9.3 ammo easier to find on the road in Europe and Africa.

I'd say bullet selection is vastly better with 35cal. You can still get quality hunting bullets, but also handgun bullets for practice etc.

- 35cal 90gr - 310gr, from cheap to dear
- 338 160gr - 300gr, all options quite dear
- 9.3 193gr - 325gr, all options quite dear

In Europe I'd choose the 9.3x62 (have one myself) or tinker with home loads in 35cal (I fancy Whelen's "little brother", 358 Win).
 
I'd say bullet selection is vastly better with 35cal. You can still get quality hunting bullets, but also handgun bullets for practice etc.

- 35cal 90gr - 310gr, from cheap to dear
- 338 160gr - 300gr, all options quite dear
- 9.3 193gr - 325gr, all options quite dear

In Europe I'd choose the 9.3x62 (have one myself) or tinker with home loads in 35cal (I fancy Whelen's "little brother", 358 Win).

Exactly. And for the 35 Whelen: Cheap pistol bullets for off hand "gallery" practice or even deer. Brass is easy to form from 30-06. And yes, the .338 bullets can have better BC's but the really good BC's come with a bullet too long for a 30-06 magazine and, honestly, who cares? If you want distance from a case of that capacity you go with a smaller bore.

I have built several 35 Whelens. All were exceptionally good shooters.~Muir

(And I'm building a 358 Win for myself... for all the above reasons!)
 
Exactly. And for the 35 Whelen: Cheap pistol bullets for off hand "gallery" practice or even deer. Brass is easy to form from 30-06. And yes, the .338 bullets can have better BC's but the really good BC's come with a bullet too long for a 30-06 magazine and, honestly, who cares? If you want distance from a case of that capacity you go with a smaller bore.

I have built several 35 Whelens. All were exceptionally good shooters.~Muir

(And I'm building a 358 Win for myself... for all the above reasons!)

I just missed a Savage 99 in 358 win a few weeks ago. I've been looking for one for a few years now and I'm a bit choked that I wasn't on the ball , it was on Canadian Gun Nutz and was gone in minutes. I've got an unhealthy thing for Savage 99's and any model in 358 is very hard to come by around here.I think I'll follow your lead and build one on 98 action or a short action of some type. The 358 Win is a really efficient and useful cartridge, and to be honest isn't that far behind a 350 RM and it does it with less powder. I think a 225 gr Nosler Partition in a 358 would be an excellent all round combo............I can see me parting with some cash in the new year lol

AB
 
I just missed a Savage 99 in 358 win a few weeks ago. I've been looking for one for a few years now and I'm a bit choked that I wasn't on the ball , it was on Canadian Gun Nutz and was gone in minutes. I've got an unhealthy thing for Savage 99's and any model in 358 is very hard to come by around here.I think I'll follow your lead and build one on 98 action or a short action of some type. The 358 Win is a really efficient and useful cartridge, and to be honest isn't that far behind a 350 RM and it does it with less powder. I think a 225 gr Nosler Partition in a 358 would be an excellent all round combo............I can see me parting with some cash in the new year lol

AB
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I have wanted one for years. A couple of decades back I bought a Douglas XX blank in 35 cal for the project but never got to it. I have a 1910 Small Ring Model 98 that will be perfect for it, along with an English Walnut stock roughed out already. PMI picked up a reamer and just got his new lathe up and running. Can't wait to get it all together. IT'a fine and efficient round.

Sorry you missed your 358 M-99. I'll keep my eyes peeled....~Muir
 
Exactly. And for the 35 Whelen: Cheap pistol bullets for off hand "gallery" practice or even deer. Brass is easy to form from 30-06. And yes, the .338 bullets can have better BC's but the really good BC's come with a bullet too long for a 30-06 magazine and, honestly, who cares? If you want distance from a case of that capacity you go with a smaller bore.

I have built several 35 Whelens. All were exceptionally good shooters.~Muir

(And I'm building a 358 Win for myself... for all the above reasons!)

As I said earlier nothing wrong with a Whelen I just prefer a 338-06 same can be said for the 358 WIn vs the 338 Federal .

The pistol bullet issue holds no water with me , as I don't do what you suggest using the pistol bullets for .

Since I just did a 6.5-06 I'm actually thinking I could use a 8mm-06 !

But I don't have a donor rifle at the moment . Although a 700BDL in 25-06 , 270 , 280 or 06 shouldn't be that hard to come across . Although I would prefer one thats pre 1970 .
 
As I said earlier nothing wrong with a Whelen I just prefer a 338-06 same can be said for the 358 WIn vs the 338 Federal .

The pistol bullet issue holds no water with me , as I don't do what you suggest using the pistol bullets for .

Since I just did a 6.5-06 I'm actually thinking I could use a 8mm-06 !

But I don't have a donor rifle at the moment . Although a 700BDL in 25-06 , 270 , 280 or 06 shouldn't be that hard to come across . Although I would prefer one thats pre 1970 .

Your loss.
The 8mm-06 is a fine one. ~Mir
 
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