Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Doctor told me I can not shoot my 35 Whelen

Went over some pre-op tests two days ago with my surgeon. He plans on fusing 3 or 4 neck vertebrae and I asked him if I will be healed up in time for my spring Canadian black bear hunt. Apparently he has done some big game hunting and he asked what caliber I hunt bear with. I replied 35 Whelen and he said he would not recommend shooting a magnum because it could jeoporadize the cadaver bone graft and titanium plate adhesion. I replied that a 35 Whelen is not a magnum and he seemed surprised.

A lively debate ensued and I listed some of the calibers I own and he said he would get back to me with a recommendation. The surgeons assistant called today and it looks like my "old reliable" will be pressed into service... 7X57. I asked the assistant how did the surgeon determine the 7X57 to be OK? She said I will have to ask him the day of my operation.

Surgeons are really smart people...

Great to have a doc that is also a hunter; first thing my doc asks me when I visit is how the hunting has been. He shoots a 7STW, little unusual for a one rifle hunter. Hope you get along well with your vertebrae fusing operation.

Best of luck to ya roundoak. Lucky to have a Doc that hunts.

Good reason to go out and get a new rifle 7-08. Mine has very little recoil.

The 7x57 has been used to take just about every big game animal on earth, if not all such animals. Bears are not a problem if you use a well-placed bullet.

Seems to me its foolish to risk further injury on a black bear. Personally I think you should sit this one out till you are all healed up.

The .35 Whelen isn't a magnum, but the 7x57 is more than enough for blackie. Any good deer rifle is sufficent.

Dats a BIG 10-4.....

Ingwe

That doctor is a smart man!

My buddy John Galindo had similar surgery in August. He had a couple of vertebra fused together or something. He had to go to therapy to regain his mobility etc. His doctor advised him to give up hunting for a year or so, but being the stubborn old man that he is he borrowed my daughters Model Seven in 7mm-08. Well, Deer season came along and he got himself a big hog, a small buck, and coyote. The only problem now is that i'm gonna have a hard time prying that Model Seven out of his hands. Anyway, it may not look very nice, but there many kinds of muzzle brakes that would help with the recoil.

My 35 Whelen hits harder than my 338WM at my end and apparently the elk's end, also. It's not worth riskng having to redo the operation. I've had 2 hernia repairs due to elk hunting.

Good luck on your bear hunt. That 7x57 will do the job.

My very lightweight "non-magnum" .35 Whelen generated 36 ft lbs of recoil and worse than that was the 16 fps recoil velocity with my top loads. It would give me a headache after a 12 rounds. However you can load down the cartridge to .35 rem levels and be very effective still on game. Certainly you are not handicaped if you use a 7x57mm either. Good luck with the surgery.

Thanks for all the comments. I am going to follow the doctor's orders..if he says 7x57 is OK then thats what it will be. I would not miss out on bear hunting even if I would have to throw rocks.

My 35 Whelen load for Moose and Black bear has been Hornady 250gr SP PT over 55grs H4320 for about 2475fps. A guide I hunted with a few years ago called the gun and load a "Moose Tipper". The guide put me within 75 paces of two bull Moose that were half-azz sparing with each other at the edge of a lake. We were positioned inland from the lake in some scrub trees and when I shot the 60" bull it tipped over sideways down a gravely bank, got up and regained its footing, took a half-dozen steps and keeled over.

I have a 7X57 175gr Hornady SP load I worked up a few years ago. My notes indicate 49grs H4350 gave good accuracy at 2580fps. Another load that was worked up more recently is probably my favorite for elk is 160gr Nosler Partition on top of 48grs H4350SC 2660fps. A new batch of Hodgon H4350SC chronos 2700fps. So will load up some R-P cases and confirm my loads.

Definately do not feel under-gunned with the 7X57 and I know it can be used on all North American big game except for the big bears. But that is no fun just to have one gun for everthing. I need a gun for this, a gun for that and etc.

With the 7x57 you will not be undergunned.I am suprised that he thought the 35 whelen was a magnum.

While not named a Magnum, or usually thought of as one, the 35 Whelen's I've shot all kicked like or more than the rifles I have that say Magnum on the barrel.

Love the 35 cals, but they do bite.

My doc told me to stop churching up my win mag loads, and to consider easing off the magnum shotgun shells to boot.

When it comes down to me or my insurance paying the sawbones x-thousands of dollars to heal me up, I usually try to comply with the advice. After all, I expect him to listen to me when I tell him where his property line is at...

He was a sport skeet shooter. Joked about writing me a prescription for a bunch of slip on limbsavers....

The good news is that after the cadaver bone fuses your vertabrae should be as strong or stronger than the original. Not my prediction but the surgeon's. Had L5/S1 fusion years ago (last lumbar vertabra to first sacral). Believe me I've tested it. My only downside was a negative reaction to the titanium hardware. My body wanted to engulf it in scar tissue. Two years after the original surgery I had to have the hardware removed and the scar tissue trimmed. After that I can say the procedure has been a great success. Good luck to you and follow Dr's orders .

Shootem...it appears you have been there and done that.

Any truth to the rumor that the titanium hardware can pick up radio stations? It would be my luck if it was a rap music station....

Nahhh, you'll get Heavy Metal

roundoak, my brother had the same problem. He ruined the operation, now in pain.

What ever you do, protect your health.

It is probably against your religion, but a muzzle break will tame a 7 Mag down to the level of a 243. my 7 STW pushing the 140's at 3600+ kicks like a 270. I wear Peltor tac 6 ear muffs, and it has been a blessing because I can hear much more than the average human ever could.

Don't gamble with your health, the results of ruining the operation are worse than you could ever imagine...constant pain, bad attitude, hard to live with, and so on and so forth.

Good luck and best wishes

Keith