I've never had trouble closing in to easy range for the 35.
And this is the difference between hunting and shooting.
Its been a number of years since I ran the numbers of the 9.2/35/338-06 and maybe one more before I built the 338-06.
But IIRC the 35 whelen certainly wasn't any worse to speak of in drops and such than my 308 Win with 185 bergers.
Lets just say I"m not afraid to run the 308 out to around 750 to 800 yards any day, and only not furhter because I've never gotten around to getting firm fired drop data on it past that distance.... even though I have my JBM charts changed up to match current trajectory, I don't shoot past what I've actually fired distance wise.
So I would not worry about a whelen limiting my distances.
Heck, have run the 223 to around 600 on deer and to 1000 on paper
Range finders and dials/reticles/drop charts have really mooted range issues for just about any reasonable cartridge at previously unreasonable ranges.
My Whelen AI was written up in the American Rifleman in the '70s and I used it quite a bit for years and have shot deer, moose, caribou, and black bears with it. My issue with it relates to folks showing up without their ammo. I have seen it quite a few times.
Even had a poster from here show up without the bolts for his rifles... He split them up from the rifles when checking them so no one would steal them!
Mark Begich, Joaquin Jackson, and Heller resistance... Three huge reasons to worry about the NRA.
