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

......and why?
Always been intrigued by this cartridge.
Who has one? What are your experiences?
I know it's a bit much, but seems like it would be an awesome whitetail hammer.

Just ordered one of the limited edition Ruger Hawkeyes from Grice Gun Shop and wondering what to expect.

Probably will be this fall's whitetail rifle.

Far better deer cartridges abound. I've shot plenty with it but none have been near as impressed as they have been with little bullets going really fast.

Great for bigger stuff, mine is one of the more accurate rifles I own.

I have been shooting it for years in various rifles. Moose, elk, black bear, nilgai, deer and hogs. I have used the 250 gr Speer, 250 gr Partiton and the 225 gr TSX (that I have now landed on) with complete satisfaction. Same can be said for my 338-06 and 9.3x62 but I do hold a special liking to the Whelen.

That said, I did hit a deer that was looking straight at me in the center of his chest at 125 yards. He went completely ass over teakettle.

Found the 225gr Partition against the hide in his ham.

I like it just because it doesn't blow the meat all to hell. Mine easily shoots sub- MOA. Plenty good on big game too. There are other cartridges I like better but there is plenty to like about the Whelen.

Enjoy!

As did this elk via 225 gr TSX at the same range. No bullet found, no bullet exited.

My Mauser Ackley version flat shoots bug eyes with 225 SGKs and either Re-12 or 15. I'm a fan.

I had a Browning 1895 rebored for the 35 Whelen. I live on the East coast and initially had it for guided bear hunts in Maine. I never saw a bear when I had it and I actually let deer walk by me because I just felt like I was hunting with field artillery.

I got rid of the 35 Whelen and replaced it with a BLR in 358 Winchester. I just like it better for my kind of hunting.

But I do respect the 35 Whelen and if I hunted heavier game out West I wouldn't hesitate to get another one.

Dan

The 260 Rem and 35 Whelen are my two favourite rounds. Mine has taken several moose, a bunch of black bears, a stone sheep and a blacktailed deer. Have used mostly 225 gr bullets but in recent years the 200 gr Accubond. Everything had died quickly so far. For deer and black bears it would be very hard to beat the 200 gr Accubond, it is built a bit lighter than the 225 gr version (have sectioned both) but is still plenty tough to handle heavy bone. The 225 gr Partition and Accubond are great choices too along with the 200 gr TTSX.

Shoot 250gr bullets--it should be required in a Whelen.

They were until I sorted that the 225 TSX would lay like a 180 gr 30-06.

Yes, I really like the chambering. I read a lot about it when I was a kid and bought a custom on a 98K action from a fellow who had gotten too old to hunt.I liked it well enough that I put some money in it after I shot it. Very accurate, especially with 225 grain bullets. I didn't get the velocity I expected out of the 200 grain bullets and i see no need for the 250 grain bullets for deer or elk.

I like it because of the accuracy, the ability to use cast bullets in it and so forth. The shot cartridges made with Speer capsules don't work well though.

I also like it for the amount of power I get in return for the recoil. It gets 2580-2640 or so depending on the 225 grain bullet. That is within 100-150 fps for the same weight out of my 23" barreled .338.

I haven't killed much with it, some pests and a deer at 240 yards or so. I found the 225 TBBC didn't expand as well as I hoped. The 225 gr Sierra seems the best deer bullet. All in all I agree with Steelhead, there are better whitetail rounds,

I've used the Whelen to kill many deer, a couple brown bears, moose and caribou. I'm with Steelhead in that there are better deer cartridges. No doubt that it will kill them, but I've had faster results with smaller, faster bullets. For the bigger stuff I can't find anything to complain about. I've used various 250 grain bullets (notably the A-Frame and Speer Hot-Cor) on game animals and won't do that again. Any of the 225s are better performers in my experience. I prefer the 200 TTSX to the 250s, but for bears and moose I'll take the 225 TSX or Partition for most situations. My Whelen has a 24 inch barrel and weighs within an ounce or two of 8 pounds scoped and loaded. I like that it provides great terminal performance on large game with a fairly light rifle and very manageable recoil. It's not a better killer than a host of other cartridges, but as an all-around package the Whelen makes a very efficient rifle for our biggest NA animals.

I love the cartridge. It is very efficient in short barrels, throws a heavy bullet at moderate speeds with very reasonable recoil, can take any game in North America, has great barrel life, etc., etc. My current one has proven to be extremely accurate for a medium bore hunting rifle consistently putting five shots under 0.7 moa with 250 grain Partitions.

It is a great round and here is a rather rare factory Ruger No 1 in 35 Whelen with no quarter rib and iron sights

I love mine. It is a tang safety 77UL that was a 30/06. I tossed the factory barrel and rebarreled with one of the Montana Rifleman tubes they were blowing out for $40 back 5 or 7 years ago. It wears a Leupold 2.5UL in factory Ruger rings as well as an island rear sight, banded swivel, and ramp front. Barrel is 20" SS with a 16 twist. I put a steel guard and floor plate on it and a red Decelerator on the factory stock that is full length bedded.

I shoot 250s pretty much exclusively now. I've shot critters with 180, 200, and 250 grain bullets and like the 250s best for my style of hunting and shooting distances. I agree with others that it doesn't tend to produce the lightning like kills that higher speed cartridges do but I've never not had a blood trail and a short one at that.


Single 250gr Barnes at 200 yards let the steam out of this guy a couple years back, he never took a step. It's the only pic I have with my rifle in it.

I got mine after nudging from several threads like this one. The clincher was when they were footballing out the 700 CDL's for < $500.

I got mine before I had fully come to grips with how vulnerable I am to most things nostalgic. Like most of the others here, I have been very impressed with the accuracy of my rifle, and maybe even the cartridge: I briefly owned a 2nd Whelen, and it was also a sub-MOA shooter.

I diverge from the pack when it comes to recoil. I found 250 Interlocks to shoot the best for me, so I've stayed with them, but they do push me around a good bit. That cartridge is at the upper limit of what I personally want to press the trigger on. That also explains the "briefly" part of the 2nd Whelen.

But the CDL isn't going anywhere. It's a tad under 8#, carries well, points like lightning, and has taken down hogs to a moose with great reliability. If there's ever a bear or another moose in my future, that's the rifle that'll be in my hands.

FC

I have a M700 Classic in .35 Whelen and I have taken 3 bears with 225 gr Accubonds. It's accurate, and puts the bears down quickly.

I forgot to answer part of the question earlier as a young guy I read a lot of Craig Boddington and at the time he recommended using heavy 220 gr bullets in my 30-06 for moose and bears. I remember the day going into a sporting goods store and seeing the advertisement showing the then new 35 Whelen with some heavy RN 250 gr bullets at the same speed as the 30-06 220 gr. I was hooked at that very moment and ordered a 7600 in the Whelen. It has worked very well for me since although the 7600 is long gone......

I like the Whelen, admitting upfront that it's not the best fit for an all around deer rifle, it will certainly kill them. Not much it won't kill. It seems 35's are just easy to please accuracy wise even with factory ammo. Plain jane bullets perform well. The buck below took a 200 grain cup/core to the neck from straight ahead and I found it in the opposite side rear hock. Posted these too many times....