Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 358 win or 35 whelen?

At one time I owned a 358 Win, 35 Whelen and a 35 Whelen AI all at the same time. I now own 2 358 Win rifles. One is a 700 I had custom built, 21 inch barrel and the other is a Savage 99. I also own a 9.3x62.

Judge how much speed you need with the bullet you like and pick your chambering. As others say, you can load down a Whelen but can’t load up a .358win. Have to weigh that against cost of the two projects though.

I sold a WHELEN but keep several kinds of 358 Winchesters. I like the 99 as the most elegant but Rem 7600, and Browning BLR, as well as a Lone Eagle 15" pistol. Thinking about some more rebores by JES. I already own the 7600 and a 9.3X62 all rebores. Go with whatever you wish. All mine are pleasing for their own style of guns. Be Well, Rustyzipper.

I like the idea of the .35 Whelen. You can always load it down but you're limited with case capacity with the .358 win.

At one time I was going to build a Whelen but ended up building a 9.3X62 instead. I love it but it don't love me! Talk about a bruiser! Kicks da Chit outta me! LOL! But it puts everything down I point it at DRT!!! Bang Flop Dead on the spot!

That's a lot of guns to carry on a hunt. Do you have a caddy?

"Sir, I ranged that deer at 325 yards. Would you like your 300 Winchester or your 35 Whelen for this shot?"

Exactly 😂. Can never have to many firearms. Just makes it harder to decide which gun to bring when hunting 😆

IF you’re talking TC Encore only, and 400yards orless, with no big bears on the menu, then I don’t know that it matters for performance much, either way. I enjoyed my 358 encore setup in a 20”, and never lacked for performance, but that was my hunting. Mike Bellm did a rim cutout when he chambered that one, and it’d run 356 Winchester just as well. Both have a little better shoulder than the whelen, if that matters for headspace? Bellm seemed to think the 356/358 was better in Encores because of that...vs whelen and the 35 Remington. Regardless, it was super easy to load for, and not obnoxious on recoil or blast. If I had a deal on an 18” 358, it’d be no contest for my thinking, and I’d never look back.

LOL, I do that too, take two favorites, then a spare remains for myself or someone else in camp that may have a weapons/scope failure, HAVE to be able to complete the hunt.

Split the difference... 338-06?
35 Whelen has reputation for recoil. I never fired one. However, I did own a 358 Winchester and currently own a 338 Federal. Each based on the 308 Winchester case.
I can't say they I notice a recoil difference.
Reloading adds another dimension to the issue. You can easily load the 35 Whelen to 358 Win levels, but you can't turn the 358 Win into a 35 Whelen.
But the 38 Win does come in a short action.
My father had a similar issue with a 300 Weatherby that was used for several elk hunts in Colorado. Elk hunts found it loaded with Weatherby factory ammo as no reloads can match Weatherby ammo. Velocity, accuracy, or recoil. But for our PA whitetails, it was loaded down to 30-06 level.

I don't know where the .35 Whelen got its reputation for recoil, that's the first time I've heard that. Certainly recoil with 250gr. and heavier bullets can be brisk, but for whitetails I've always found 225gr. bullets to be adequate. As a matter of fact the last few years I have hunted with and taken whitetails with 200gr. bullets. They provide plenty of penetration and killing power, recoil is moderate and not a concern. I have also owned .358's but find the Whelen offers more flexibility. my Whelen is a rebored pre'64 M/70. I have often thought of reboring a .308 Featherweight to .358, if I were younger I would do it in a heartbeat.

"Split the difference... 338-06?
35 Whelen has reputation for recoil. I never fired one."

I would think that the .338-06 and .35 Whelen shooting a max load with 250 gr. bullets, or any other bullet would just about have the same level of recoil. I think stock fit it more important. I have three rifles chambered to the .35 Whelen. A Ruger M77 tang safety in a Ramline stock, Remington 700 Classic and a custom Mauser I found at a gun show. Of the three, the Remington shows the most recoil and the custom Mauser the least.
Personally my preference in bullets for the Whelen run to the 25 gr. Barnes TSX. The shoot sub-Moa in the Mauser at 2710 FPS. The other two rifles don't like that load and I haven't done much with the since I acquired the Mauser. Guess I should do something about that.
Paul B.

I prefer .358 Winchester or .356 Winchester because those can be had in more handy rifles. Don't worry, the 9.2x62 guys will be along shortly to tell you how wonderful and recoil-free this caliber is.

PJ was that the 225? Be Well, Rustyzipper.

If you reload and are using it to hunt in seasons which require a 35 caliber minimum I think you’d like it.
I use a H&R/NEF single shot which started as a 308 Winchester rebored to 358 Winchester to deer hunt in Mississippi.
Recoil is noticeably less than 35 Whelen but I do load a 200 gr. bullet so not as heavy a projectile either.

I know five guys that hunt every year with a .35 Whelen and hand loaded 225 grain Nosler Accubonds and they usually make several one shot gut piles every year. The one guy with the big fancy Burris scope and built in range finder dumped a big caribou at over 400 yards last year, his longest caribou shot is about 800 yards. He also has a short video on his phone of him hitting the 800 yard steel ram on the nose at the local range. Yes he was shooting at the nose.

His rifle is a tricked out Remington 700 action with a Lilja barrel and a scary to me light trigger.