|
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 728
Campfire Regular
|
OP
Campfire Regular
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 728 |
I won't drink the swirled Kool-Aid .....well, maybe, if it looks like wood
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 1,126
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 1,126 |
I'd probably love the Whelen, if I hadn't discovered the .358 first. Don't leave me hanging! Tell us why? I was just at Sportsman's Warehouse and they had two box of Hornady brass in 358 Winchester for $30 each. I couldn't in good conscious just leave them on the shelf. So now I am eyeballing a rifle in 358 Winchester too. It really is a sickness these damn .35's. If you own a Whelen, I think it's required by law to own a .358 too. Wow. Damn good looking rifle. What are the build specs so I can shamelessly copy it?
"Never miss the opportunity to shut the f$%K up." Colonel Hopewell.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 1,317
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 1,317 |
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.
Using Barnes bullets before they were cool.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 563
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 563 |
Then in a just a couple days I talked with Matt Bettersworth at Hill Country Rifles about a build and he suggested the 35 Whelen. Hill Country builds an excellent Whelen.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 24,638
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 24,638 |
Wow. Damn good looking rifle. What are the build specs so I can shamelessly copy it?
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.
WWP53D
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 14,119
Campfire Outfitter
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 14,119 |
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
A Kill Artist. When I draw, I draw blood.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 5,840
Campfire Tracker
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 5,840 |
there are better choices for deer than the 35 Whelen. No. There are not!
Chronographs, bore scopes and pattern boards have broke a lot of hearts.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 42,614
Campfire 'Bwana
|
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 42,614 |
A good principle to guide me through life: “This is all I have come to expect, standard lackluster performance. Trust nothing, believe no one and realize it will only get worse…”
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 31,602
Campfire 'Bwana
|
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 31,602 |
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!
Founder Ancient Order of the 1895 Winchester
"Come, shall we go and kill us venison? And yet it irks me the poor dappled fools, Being native burghers of this desert city, Should in their own confines with forked heads Have their round haunches gored."
WS
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 4,755
Campfire Tracker
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 4,755 |
As was said in the beginning, there are better choices for deer than the 35 Whelen. 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.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 8,151
Campfire Outfitter
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 8,151 |
Another thing to love about the Whelen - shooting plinking loads with pistol bullets. Just try that with a 9,3x62 or .338-06
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 1,317
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 1,317 |
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.
Using Barnes bullets before they were cool.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 96,121
Campfire Oracle
|
Campfire Oracle
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 96,121 |
I'd sooner have a 223 than a Whelen for deer.
"Dear Lord, save me from Your followers"
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 728
Campfire Regular
|
OP
Campfire Regular
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 728 |
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.
I won't drink the swirled Kool-Aid .....well, maybe, if it looks like wood
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 4,755
Campfire Tracker
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 4,755 |
I'd sooner have a 223 than a Whelen for deer. 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.
Last edited by Yondering; 05/15/15.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 1,126
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 1,126 |
I'd sooner have a 223 than a Whelen for deer. 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.
"Never miss the opportunity to shut the f$%K up." Colonel Hopewell.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 11,951
Campfire Outfitter
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 11,951 |
I'd probably love the Whelen, if I hadn't discovered the .358 first. Me too, but I like'em both about equal. Currently owning a 358Win.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 11,951
Campfire Outfitter
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 11,951 |
I'd sooner have a 223 than a Whelen for deer. With no disrespect intended - that sounds a little obtuse. It's not obtuse, it's for the sake of argument.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 2,342
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 2,342 |
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.
Imagine your grave on a windy winter night. You've been dead for 70 years. It's been 50 since a visitor last paused at your tombstone..... Now explain why you're in a pissy mood today.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 2,342
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 2,342 |
BTW, great string guys. Enjoyed reading all of it. Congratulations on the lack of juvenile commentary.
Imagine your grave on a windy winter night. You've been dead for 70 years. It's been 50 since a visitor last paused at your tombstone..... Now explain why you're in a pissy mood today.
|
|
|
|
557 members (02bfishn, 160user, 10gaugeman, 16gage, 1234, 007FJ, 56 invisible),
2,481
guests, and
1,267
robots. |
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
Forums81
Topics1,191,430
Posts18,470,780
Members73,931
|
Most Online11,491 Jul 7th, 2023
|
|
|
|