Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Let's Talk 35 Whelen, Who Loves Them?

Or 358 Norma....

Wow. Damn good looking rifle. What are the build specs so I can shamelessly copy it?

Over the years I've owned several different rifles in various calibers, 6.5x55 to 375. I bought a cdl in 35 whelen when they first came out and it quickly became my favorite. It's been used on several hunting trips with shots from 30 yards to a measured 272 yards. For the hunting I've done, about the only situation my whelen would not be my first choice would be antelope out west.

Hill Country builds an excellent Whelen.

LOL. Nothing too fancy - .308 screwed out to .35.
Brown Pounder stock / cerakote.

It's a puddytat as long as I keep bullet weight to 225gr and under.

I've owned several Whelens.



But this one is one my kids will have to decide whether to part with.


Don't always use it, but when I do............




the results are usually consistent.





JAPPFT

GWB

No. There are not!

NICE! Wheelen, sir!

Son got a Whitworth Express in 30/06 and sent it to JES and had it rebored to .35 Whelen. Sharp looking rifle. Wish I had a photo. Sure knocks the snot outta hogs! Hopefully we'll get to go after elk in October. Bet it will do the same to them!

My experience is the opposite. For the deer hunting I do, the Whelen has done as well or better than anything else. Some calibers have worked as well as the Whelen for me, but not better. I use the 225gr Partition.

Another thing to love about the Whelen - shooting plinking loads with pistol bullets. Just try that with a 9,3x62 or .338-06

Agreed! I'm not a fan of playing find the Easter Egg after the shot and with the whelen I generally don't have to.

I'd sooner have a 223 than a Whelen for deer.

When it comes to hunting deer, what is the advantage of a 223 over a Whelen?
It seems like the smaller 223 round would be affected more by wind drift, and downrange energy would be diminished quicker when compared to a 35 caliber bullet.

With no disrespect intended - that sounds a little obtuse. You may have had a bad experience with the Whelen, but it would be really hard to make a logical argument for the 223 being a "better" deer round, unless recoil and cost are at the top of your list.

There are definitely Whelen bullets I would not use for deer, the 225gr Sierra GK being at the top of that list, but with the right bullet, the Whelen is as good as anything else out there. Not to mention, if it's important to you, with the right bullet choice the big slow bullets can do less meat damage than the lightweight zippy calibers.

Just my 2 cents.

I might agree with this if I was hunting back east, but out west there is no way I'd take a 223 over a Whelen.

Me too, but I like'em both about equal. Currently owning a 358Win.

It's not obtuse, it's for the sake of argument.

I have hunted with 270's for about 40 years, and 35 Whelens since Remington made the legitimate, coming onto 30 years. I go back and forth between between them, as I have never been disappointed by either. Both calibers have proven to be harder to find a bad load than good, they just don't seem to be picky.
My grandsons seem to be finding the same thing.
The 270 with a 130 gr Partition or Etip, and the Whelen with just about any 250 gr bullet are just deadly on game, all of them. Both calibers have produce a bunch of DRT kills for us.
When in doubt, overkill is just right.

BTW, great string guys. Enjoyed reading all of it. Congratulations on the lack of juvenile commentary.