Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game 444 Marlin or 35 Whelen for Black bear?

Is there a better round for hunting Black bear in the timber over bait than either of these two?

Great choices! Either or.

I am going to use my 35 Whelen on black bear one of these years. MB

Better ? I doubt it.

Even tho I like the 444 (Magnum <grin>) Marlin but

I’d pick the Whelen for versatility.

Jerry

Love my whelen...

Me too, but first I'd like to take one with the 375 ruger. Maybe I'll get lucky in Maine this year.

450 Bushmaster in a bolt gun or Encore because you can run em harder than AR platform . My 26” MGM Encore barrel is pushing a 250 Bonded Shockwaves at 2580 FPS with 41 gr. Lil gun Into one ragged hole at 100.

That’s good bullet weight with a big frontal area. Hopefully let the air out of a Maine black bear this spring and Maine Moose this fall. As well as a few Michigan White tail.

But I’ve been thinking about building a Whelen

The 350 RemMag fits right in too.

Are any factory rifles made in .35 Whelen?

It appears to me that every Yankee in the US is legally required to own a .35 Whelen, preferably made by reboring a .30-06. Is that because no factory .35s are made?

45-70 is a better mousetrap than the 444 due to bullets. Our crew hunting Canada for a bunch of years and most of us shot Marlin 1895 with 'modern' loads - 400 gr Speer over some version of 4895. Bears hated that combo. A couple guys drifted to 35 wh with 250 grain slugs and it worked equally well. A Marlin 1895 loaded with Brian Pierce loads is a handful - make sure you have enough eye relief........

Way back, when bear baiting was legal in Colorado-----I used my 30/06 with 220 grain round nose factory ammunition. Killed both bears I shot. I got a 444 Marlin with 265 grain Hornady light mags-----then they made baiting illegal & it has sat in my gun cabinet every since.

I did a baited grizzly hunt in AK. I used a 375 Ruger with 270 grain Hornady factory loads. Killed the bear with 1 shot.

If you have both guns. I would opt for the 35 Whelen. If you are going to buy a rifle----I would 1st see if you have a 30/06.

If you still want a 444---PM me & I'll dig it out for you.

Over bait I'd go with the .444

Yes, sort of off and on. Guess they're not "regular sellers". Remington CDLs were made until recently and they've been running a batch of 7600 pumps. Ruger ran some for a while as well as some others. So if you want one you can usually find one somewhere new or used.

45-70 has been my huckleberry for Black Bear. I use the 444 in Ohio as my choice for a legal white tail round.

Dead is dead. Flip a coin.

For close shooting I doubt you could make a superior case for either one over the other.

I own rifles for both cartridges, the Whelen is a bit more weather proof so I am leaning in it's direction. The Marlin is both heavier and longer but it shoots just fine. It is a toss up to me.

Both very good choices ,my dear old friend gave me his 30-06 Pre 64 Winchester so myself i plan on using this rifle this year.

I think the wheeler due to bullet selection.

45/70.........trumps em both IMO.

Where do the rest of you plan to bear hunt? I am hunting private property in Arkansas.

Baited hunt in Maine in Sept, and here in PA in the fall. Some big ones in both places.