.35 Whelen. Any users on here?
- Thread starter njc110381
- Start date
Interesting cartridge!
Having looked it up in 'Cartridges of the World' (and not for any other reason, such as my having any experience or knowledge of either variant) I am inclined to ask whether you're going standard or Ackley Improved?
CoW suggests the AI version overcomes headspacing problems inherent in the standard version with its tapered body and little shoulder.
As I say - how bad these problems are, and how well AI overcomes them I have no idea at all.
Having looked it up in 'Cartridges of the World' (and not for any other reason, such as my having any experience or knowledge of either variant) I am inclined to ask whether you're going standard or Ackley Improved?
CoW suggests the AI version overcomes headspacing problems inherent in the standard version with its tapered body and little shoulder.
As I say - how bad these problems are, and how well AI overcomes them I have no idea at all.
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turner.jc1
Well-Known Member
I can’t help you on that I’m afraid, perhaps our trans-Atlantic cousins can? But it will do anything a 9.3x62 does I’m sure, and an interesting choice. And there’s a surprising amount of bullets available from the US manufacturers and others. Had a quick look 180-310 gr available!
There are a good range of loadings for it. With gentle loadings it can be like a .30-06, average seems to be a bit like a .300 Win mag. The 7STW I had before was a great calibre, but it was no 50m woodland round. This looks like although it has the energy, it can be loaded quite slowly with heavy bullets.
alberta boy
Well-Known Member
I've had a few 35 Whelens , a really useful cartridge . It's still a very popular round out here , although the 9.3x62 is catching up to it . I've heard about headspace issues with the 35 , but never had any problems myself . I can't recall anyone else having any problems either , and that's over 40 years and a lot of rifles . The 375 and 400 Whelen did have some issues however , I knew one old fella that had a 375 and it was a bit problematic in that regard . I don't currently have a 35 Whelen , but do have a 350RM , ballistics wise identical , that is an absolutely reliable big game cartridge , as is my 358 Winchester . Like the 9.3x62 , the Whelen is a moderate velocity round that can be used on smaller deer , as well as truly heavy game , without a lot of tissue destruction , unlike my 7mmRM and 300WM . It really is a very versatile and useful cartridge , I've been using 358 cal rifles for many years now , no complaints .
AB
AB
Sounds encouraging! A single book doesn't necessarily tell the whole story, I guess.
alberta boy
Well-Known Member
That's why I like the round . I used one load that turned it into a 35 Rem , a 200 gr round nose at about 2100 fps , perfect for smaller deer in heavy cover . I also had a load that safely pushed a 225 gr Nosler Partition at 2700 fps , a great Moose and Elk combo out to about 300 yards . I even loaded 158 gr hollow points for some varmint shooting , a bit excessive for ground squirrels , but a lot of fun . If you reload , and I assume you do , there isn't much you can't do with a Whelen .
AB
That's just the kind of answer I wanted. Having looked it it in detail, you've confirmed all the assumptions I've made about it. All I need now is to know who has one in the UK so I cn direct my knowledge at my firearms department when they ask me what exactly this thing they've never heard of is!
6pt-sika
Well-Known Member
I had a Remington 700 Classic in 35 Whelen . Got it new killed four deer with it one season using factory 200 grain loads then traded it off a year later . After about two years I got the same rifle back and killed a couple more deer with handloads . Initially I’d gotten the gun in anticipation of using it for a bull elk , but things happened and that hunt never happened . The big down fall of the 35 is such a small group of useful bullets although it might be a couple more than the 9.3x62 . But as long as Nosler , Hornady and Barnes make bullets I’m good enough .
Limpet
Well-Known Member
Sir, I wonder if you have an itch to scratch - in which case - fair enough.
However, you mention downloading to 30.06 performance and not wanting to start an argument with the 30.06 owners, given a 30.06 and .308 can both fire 220grain bullets, the 308 has a specific advantage that you also mention and that is short range woodland deer shooting where a .308 is good with a shorter barrel which could be a real advantage for your specific use. Just a thought, Enjoy the itch if you have one or buy Anthisan
BTW, The other day I was looking at a bit of history that you might enjoy - an anti tank rifle that had a calibre approaching .50 cal. It was found in a scrap yard and it seems - as the story was told to me - that in the war, the lads were all keen to fire this particular gun as one shot and your shoulder was dislocated so you got sent home for a bit. Really not sure of the validity of the story but it is a bit of fun.
Fantastic cartridge, brutish power, and if you used it like I had to on multiple targets one after the other, you’ll know all about it. I’ve only used the Whelan on one trip, in NW Queensland, on pigs, donkeys, camels and scrub bulls, and one buffalo. It hurt quite a lot after a while, I was shooting sitting on a quad mostly, often with my waist twisting, man I was battered after that trip, and my entire right shoulder, collarbone and lower neck was a weird green colour for a good fortnight.
Loved it, and if they existed over here, which they don’t, I would snap one up in a heartbeat. The rifle was the Ruger M77 Hawkeye.
Loved it, and if they existed over here, which they don’t, I would snap one up in a heartbeat. The rifle was the Ruger M77 Hawkeye.
Lovely, lovely rifle.
Sounds like a "Boys" Anti tank rifle.Sir, I wonder if you have an itch to scratch - in which case - fair enough.
However, you mention downloading to 30.06 performance and not wanting to start an argument with the 30.06 owners, given a 30.06 and .308 can both fire 220grain bullets, the 308 has a specific advantage that you also mention and that is short range woodland deer shooting where a .308 is good with a shorter barrel which could be a real advantage for your specific use. Just a thought, Enjoy the itch if you have one or buy Anthisan
BTW, The other day I was looking at a bit of history that you might enjoy - an anti tank rifle that had a calibre approaching .50 cal. It was found in a scrap yard and it seems - as the story was told to me - that in the war, the lads were all keen to fire this particular gun as one shot and your shoulder was dislocated so you got sent home for a bit. Really not sure of the validity of the story but it is a bit of fun.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...i-tank_rifle&usg=AOvVaw3rfWKRw3xaRL0K0858TdTa
Too much gun.
K
K
Agreed, sounds like a .55 Boys anti tank rifle to me. Developed by Enfield I believe? I do have a quirky interest in firearms generally. I remember my mum buying me a copy of "Jane's guns" as a lad, at my request. That thing was like my bible. I reckon I could operate the most obscure of firearms from the instructions given in that book without reading it again, even 30 years down the line. I must have gone over it a thousand times!
Back to the Whelen. I do have an itch to scratch. It's a fairly harmless itch where I see all the calibres used by shooters over on the other side of the pond and want to try them myself. You don't learn much about firearms and calibres by reading, but when you own one you can get real first hand experience and a better understanding of it. I never want anything too obscure. I have little interest in automatic firearms, handguns and the like or even big guns that we can have here like the .50BMG. My niche is bolt action hunting rifles, anything from .17 to .45 or so. I've had and taken game with an awful lot for a UK shooter.
The way I see it if it's safe, justifiable and suitable for the task, why not? We're a bit stuck in our ways here. Basically if it's not .243 to .308 calibre, 99% of stalkers don't even give a gun a second look. The .45-70 is a fantastic woodland gun - better than any .243 at under 100m, but they're rare as hen's teeth. Luckily it's in the UK firearms guidance so we have a .45 to lean back on and say "hey, if it's no more powerful than a .300 Win Mag and no bigger than a .45-70, this should be ok for deer right?" Who's it hurting? Not the shooter, not the public, and it's humane. That's a good enough excuse for me!
One thing I've just been introduced to is chamber adaptors. I have a local range which I frequent, only ten minutes up the road from my house. It's carbine calibres up to .44 only. So I can use my .22lr there or my .357 lever gun, but that leaves a big hole in the area I like to be in - bolt action stalking guns. I spotted in the club notes a while ago that chamber adaptors are acceptable on the range, so looked into it. I can get an adaptor for the Whelen to fire .38/.357, which I already have and load for. How fun that would be?! I'd get to wriggle my way around the range certificate and shoot a proper long action and scoped bolt gun! I'll buy one for that alone, but if I have it then I may as well hunt deer with it right? Why not? When my BLR sells I won't have anything I want to put a good number of rounds down between 6.5x55 and .45-70. I have my 8mm drilling but I can't rebarrel that, so it only shoots now and again on special occasions. As we have boar in abundance here, I do actually "need" something between those two!
Back to the Whelen. I do have an itch to scratch. It's a fairly harmless itch where I see all the calibres used by shooters over on the other side of the pond and want to try them myself. You don't learn much about firearms and calibres by reading, but when you own one you can get real first hand experience and a better understanding of it. I never want anything too obscure. I have little interest in automatic firearms, handguns and the like or even big guns that we can have here like the .50BMG. My niche is bolt action hunting rifles, anything from .17 to .45 or so. I've had and taken game with an awful lot for a UK shooter.
The way I see it if it's safe, justifiable and suitable for the task, why not? We're a bit stuck in our ways here. Basically if it's not .243 to .308 calibre, 99% of stalkers don't even give a gun a second look. The .45-70 is a fantastic woodland gun - better than any .243 at under 100m, but they're rare as hen's teeth. Luckily it's in the UK firearms guidance so we have a .45 to lean back on and say "hey, if it's no more powerful than a .300 Win Mag and no bigger than a .45-70, this should be ok for deer right?" Who's it hurting? Not the shooter, not the public, and it's humane. That's a good enough excuse for me!
One thing I've just been introduced to is chamber adaptors. I have a local range which I frequent, only ten minutes up the road from my house. It's carbine calibres up to .44 only. So I can use my .22lr there or my .357 lever gun, but that leaves a big hole in the area I like to be in - bolt action stalking guns. I spotted in the club notes a while ago that chamber adaptors are acceptable on the range, so looked into it. I can get an adaptor for the Whelen to fire .38/.357, which I already have and load for. How fun that would be?! I'd get to wriggle my way around the range certificate and shoot a proper long action and scoped bolt gun! I'll buy one for that alone, but if I have it then I may as well hunt deer with it right? Why not? When my BLR sells I won't have anything I want to put a good number of rounds down between 6.5x55 and .45-70. I have my 8mm drilling but I can't rebarrel that, so it only shoots now and again on special occasions. As we have boar in abundance here, I do actually "need" something between those two!
Limpet
Well-Known Member
An interesting link there but not the gun I was looking at which looked far more like a hunting rifle with a wooden stock and bolt action.
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