Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles What will a .338 win mag give me over my 35 Whelen?

Yep, just like a .25-06 is the same as a .30-06.

Certainly a lot more recoil from the .338 WM!

IMHO, unless one is after griz or big African critters that might be prone to fighting back, a 300 WM or WSM definitely is lots of gun for everything else. Certainly tons of gun for elk or moose.

That said, the .325 WSM produces all the jam a .338 WM does, but with a tad less recoil, and potentially in a lighter to pack rifle.

FWIW.

...a friend of mine had one of these... Said it one of the best bolt guns he ever had. Sold it to his brother after be bought a Blaser .375 Professional... I saw one of these once and passed it...nice guns..

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=159711667

If you are going to a long action anyway you mine as well go all the way...

Bob

It is like this in terminal performance:

a 6mm - 06 (.243") is the same as a

.25-06 (.257") witch is the same as

6.5 -06 (.264) witch in turn is the same as

.270 Win (aka .277 - 06) witch in turn is the same as a

7x64 Brenneke (aka .284 - 06) wich in turn is the same as a

.30-06 witch in turn is the same as a

8x64 Brenneke (.323-06) witch in turn is the same as a

.338-06 witch in turn is the same as a

.35 Whelen (aka .358-06) witch in turn is the same as a

9,3x62 Mauser (aka .366-06) witch in turn is the same as a

.375 H&H Magnum.

Bewitched, is it not.

Have one, have all, up and down the ladder, anyway you want.

Simple.

The Whelen shoots slightly lower BC/SD bullet as the 30 06 at slighter lower velocity. Bigger hole, incrementally falling behind in velocity , likely less penetration, more recoil.
I understand the cool factor. Just most of the reasoning for it being equal enough to a 338 WM making the 30 06 a better choice and just as equal.

Thanks for the opinions guys...problem now is the new 180 gr Fusions in 35 Whelen. 2700 FPS and I LOVE Fusions...wipes out justification for two or three rifles I wanted...Really excited about the new Fusions now that I know about them, just can't find any.

The new issue of Rifle magazine has an article about someone who created a new wildcat called the 300 Whelen. Apparently you take the 35 Whelen and neck it down to .308.

Uhhhhh, the 35 Whelen is merely the 30 06 necked up to .358. What am I missing??

The article was "tongue-in-cheek."

This is just my opinion but, Dude, if you wanna shoot 180 grain bullets, shoot an '06. The Whelen shines with heavier bullets, like 250 grains and up. Shooting 180 grain bullets in a 35 Whelen is akin to an oxymoron.

You are missing the point... By naming the cartridge "Whelen", and the fact that it's a new cartridge, the cartridge has 27.7 per cent more AURA. People will take this cartridge and shoot 80 pound whitetails in the neck vertebrae and experince DRT kills. Others will have blueprinted 700 Remington actions fitted with $700 custom barrels placed into $500 stocks and shoot groups with match bullets, and find it to be accurate above all other cartridges. Somewhere, an emaciated black bear will be executed, making the cartridge suitable for even that largest North American game, "In the hands of am experienced hunter". One eastern gun writer will spend thousands of dollars having it made into a custom rifle that will be forever his "goto" rifle, for no other rifle has the attributes of this cartridge. Reloading manuals will have Clay Harvey write a page about this amazing round that kicks less, kills way better, costs less to shoot, is more accurate than any round with similar case capacity. Rifle manufacturers will bring out special models to celebrate this new round that kills as well but kicks less and weighs less than any long action magnum, but feeds better and is barely heavier than any of the short magnum rounds. Your neighbor will buy three of the new rifles, because he found that he can replace his 308, his 300 WSM and his 30/06 AI with the 300 Whelen.
You see, it's all about perception!



Fred

I think the biggest virtue of the 30-06 was that it was a military cartridge and ammo was cheap. You could buy the surplus Springfield cheap as well.
At the leg matches they would give away 30-06 ammo.
General Patton thought the M1 Garand was the perfect battle weapon.
I think of the 30-06 as a military cartridge.
For killing animals I like the 250 gr .358 bullet at 2400 fps.
It lets in more daylight and daylight is what kills animals.
whelennut

I didn't think Rifle magazine was in the habit of having their article space used for tongue in cheek pieces but what do I know?

A 35Whelen kills better!

I have both 35 Whelen and 338 Win Mag. In my two rifles, recoil is close, I don't notice much difference. I like the Whelen a bit better. I like the cheap 30-06 brass and cheap 357 bullets for plinking. I also love 1903 Springfields, and the Whelen seems to be a perfect fit. my whelen is on a VZ-24 Mauser, but I plan to rebarrel one of my 1903's.

Pro's for the 338, better ballistics at 300+ yards, lots of bullets, and it likes some very common powders, that I use for 30-06.

The 375 would be fun, but I don't have any actions long enough, and there are no cheap 375 bullets, and I like to shoot a new rifle a bunch.

IMO

A bigger ammo selection, bigger bullet selection (if you reload) flatter shooting�

They both do the job for which they were made� use what you like.

I like the 338wm for all the reasons above .

Had a Ruger M77 and Tikka T3 both in .338 WM and they both seemed to me to have a much greater felt recoil then my T3 lite 35 Whelen.

Actually the two authors, Ron Spomer and John Haviland, quite regularly write 'tongue-in-cheek' columns for Rifle. Spomer, especially, seems to do it often.

Given the same/similar bullet weights, the 338 has better SD, better BC, 200+ FPS, a bit more recoil, a belted case, much broader selection of bullets, bigger choice of guns chambered for it............

I'd say that's enough.

MM

Quote: What will a .338 mag give me over a 35 Whelen in regards to NA game?

Answer: A headache!

Some posters (such as Montana Man)have pretty well covered it already. The .338 shoots flatter with any bullet weight, and penetrates deeper, though that isn't as obvious with premium bullets. This is the reason Elmer Keith dropped the .35 Whelen way back in the 1930's in favor of the .33's, and why the .338 is a standard cartridge among the world's rifle makers and the .35 Whelen a specialty chambering. Even when Remington introduced it, they sold fewer rifles than they had projected they would. Part of this was no doubt due to the factory loads, but it just isn't as versatile as the .338.

Yes, the .338 kicks a little more, and the .35 Whelen shoots flat enough for moderate ranges. But for an all-around big game cartridge, especially in North America, the .338 works better, because it covers basically the same ground as both the .300 magnums AND the .35 Whelen.