Don't know about the 35 Whelen but I do have the V2 Scout in 444 Marlin. As indicated by some of the comments, the trigger is indeed great. My Scout does have the muzzle break, which does a good job of taming recoil. In fact, I liked the V2 Scout so much, I had Murphy Precision custom make a SS picatinny rail, which I then JB-welded to the barrel. All of my other rifles except one have picatinny rails, so putting one on my Scout helps flexibility of moving scopes around if needed. It is very accurate with Hornady Superformance Ammo, though I will start to reload for it. In short, this has become my main deer-hog hunting rifle, given the heavily wooded terrain in which I hunt. Good luck in whatever you choose.
