Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Debating 35 Whelen or 338 Win Mag

Most of ya know I am a 35 whelen fan, but I have been thinking about the 338 win mag especially in a Ruger tang safety rig or a Winchester XTR. Thinking of selling/trading my CDL Whelen for one of these. The rifle I have is only used for elk and its really accurate. Will I lose anything? How accurate are those Ruger tang safety rifles? Winchester? I can handle the extra recoil, anything or reason to not move on? What are your opinions?

BTW for those that know and those that helped by buying rifles from me, my wife is doing better. She has done chemo with good results, alot of the cancer is gone. Shes a fighter I can say that and way tougher than I.

Thanks Again Gerry

You'd gain some range, if your new .338 was a shooter anyways. It's a bona-fide 600+ yard cartridge with the 225 NAB.

With that said, giving up a known-good Whelen for a pig-in-poke .338 hits me funny. Can you at least hang onto the Whelen until you're sure you've got a good .338?

'Cause if the accuracy isn't there for long range, I don't see what you've gained in the swap!

Good luck to you and your wife.

I have had rifles chambered in both .338 Winchester Magnum and .35 Whelen both are pre '64 Winchester M/70's. Of the two the .338 was the more accurate though I have not worked with the .35 Whelen as extensively. With a 275gr. Speer RN bullet the .338 would put three shots in nice tight cloverleaf groups. The.338 was my elk rifle and once I developed that load I did no further load development with that rifle. I like the .35 Whelen more because of the broad flexibility in loading available to the handloader. I shoot everything from .357 pistol bullets and cast bullets to jacketed bullets. Since I no longer hunt elk, the biggest game hunted with the Whelen is whitetail deer. In developing a deer load for the Whelen I tried bullets ranging from 180gr. to 225gr. and found the 225gr. Speer SPBT to be the most accurate. I think that a tang safety Ruger 77 will be a .338 that you will be pleased with, I have owned one chambered in .308 and really liked the tang safety in a hunting rifle too bad Ruger discontinued it.

Yep I may do that Jeff, I have a good track record with Rugers but they have all been Mark II's. Wasn't there some barrel discrepencies (?) with the older Rugers? Some were Douglas some were who knows what. I'm in no hurry anyways and this has already weighed on my mind for about a year. Everytime I see an old tang safety the thought goes through my mind. But when I sit down at a bench or in the woods with that whelen I know under 300 yds something is toast if I take a shot. Of course 300 is my max because of limited ranges that I get to practice at.

I've never been a 35 Whelen fan myself, just a personal tastes thing.

On the other hand, I always wanted a 338 Win Mag for some reason.

Years ago, I built a 338-06, and have been quite happy ever since.

A few thoughts on your situation...

The 338 WM will pick up "some" performance over the 35 Whelen. Enough to be meaningful, or worth swapping rifles? Maybe not, though I would (that personal tastes thing again ).

As for the tang safety Rugers, I like them a lot. Better than the Mark II side safety.

You know what you have in the 35 Whelen, how well it shoots, and have confidence in it. That counts for a lot.

I don't think you'd be too far wrong for most situations with either one, just a matter of whether you want to give up a known quantity for the fun of starting over with something new!

That sounds Awesome.



And that is awesome for certain.

I shot a Ruger tang safety 77 in 338 Win Mag...one time.
I had a 35 Whelen and loved it.
End of sermon..LOL

Confidence and familiarity in a rifle go a long way IMHO. You seem to have both in your 35 Whelen. Now don't get me wrong as I am looney as the next when it comes to buying/selling and trading rifles but I have a 338-06 in the safe that I may not use much but have the same feelings you do on the 35 Whelen, so it stays there.

I don't know if I helped but personally would keep the 35 Whelen.

PS-good news on your wife and hope and pray all goes well

I own both, killed elk with both and have shot both a lot. If I were to try to quantify them, I would say the .338 Win. mag. is 15% more in every performance category. Although I hunt more with my Whelen, I believe that the .338 Win. mag. is one of the very best big game cartridges ever developed. CP.

Is the 338-06 even in this equation for consideration?

Glad all is well with your wife.

If I had an accurate Whelen, I would not be looking at a 338 sporter.

Both are just fine to 300 yards. If I was going to look for a 300 to 600 yard rifle, the 338 in a Sendero type format would be great.

BMT

Have both and love both.
My 35 Whelen is a Ruger M77RS Tang safety that I bought new in in 1988/89 it wears a fixed 4X. It's a joy to carry and it has been very good to me all these years, best Moose, best black bear.
My 338 Win. Mag. was built by Walt Sherman back in 1988, Sako AV action, 24" Shilen bbl. laminated SAKO stock and it now has a 2-7X leupold. Walt builds accurate rifles but it has gotten heavier over time..lol. The 338 has been to Alaska several times, Montana, Idaho, Namibia, Tanzania, South Africa, BC and it gave me a great shot on a Colorado raghorn 387yards with a 225gr Nosler Partition, high shoulder shot went down in the scope.
As much as I love that custom Sako 338, I find myself taking the Whelen much more now.
Buying a chrony was revealing, the 35 Whelen wasn't as bad as I thought and the 338 Win. Mag. wasn't as fast as the books said. On the range the 338 shot a little flatter but nothing to worry about, you can hold for it.
That all being said, if I was to win the lotto and pack off on safari for a few months the Custom Sako 338 would get packed.
Having both is not a bad thing.
Best wishes to your wife.
Thanks

Go with the 358 Norma and have the best of both worlds!

Thanks fellas, sounds like it may be best if I pick up a 338 win mag and keep the whelen till I decide. Elk hunting isn't going to happen this year, so I have time to round one up and get some shooting in before the next trip. The 8mm Remington mag crossed my mind too, but nah I think 338 is as small as I want to go diameter wise. The 338/06, well it and the whelen are two peas in a pod. I'm getting 2700 fps with a 225 gr TSX in the whelen , what are you fellas getting with that bullet weight in the 338 win mag? I'm pretty sure I'm cutting hairs here just curious.

RickF that one will happen if I ever build a rifle, with a 1 in 12 twist too.

I would choose .338 WM over 8mm mag, myself.

Now, an 8mm short mag is kind of fun <grin>.

The 225-Accubond is a neat bullet in the .338. I have a rifle that likes them very much, so I've been able to observe the accuracy over many boxes of them. Very consistant. It flat performs, and is a bit of a game-changer for .338 IMHO.

From a flight ballistics standpoint it hangs right with a flat-shooter like a 300 Win Mag shooting a 200-gn Accubond. At 500 yards, the .338 is only hitting 2" lower (50" vs. 48"). The .338 will keep the Accubond above 1800 fps, Nosler's minimum, out to almost 700 yards. If foot/pounds interest you, it's still making 1500 of those bad boys at that 700-yd mark.

From a terminal ballistics standpoint it will open a big can of whoopass on critters, near or far. Unlike most of the high-BC bullets, a close shot isn't something to
fret over, or a shoulder of an elk.

Anyway I mention all this because there really is a "reach" advantage with the .338- if you want it.

I've owned and hunted with both the .338 Mag. as well as the .35 Whelen. Both are at their best throwing big, heavy bullets at large game. At ranges of 250-300 yards there is little difference in the effectiveness of the two rounds. The .338 will have a bit more energy because of the higher velosity, but you will never notice the difference on game.

Where the .338 comes into it's own is at longer range. As Jeff said....it has a bit more reach. Because of the increased velosity it will shoot flatter and hit harder at ranges of 400 yards or more.

Like you, I seldom take a shot at more than 300 yards (I would never take such a shot if it was up to me). Partly it's because of where I hunt and partly because I don't deliberately put myself in a position where long range shooting is required. To be honest, most hunters who regularly shoot at over 300 yards do so deliberately.....not because they have to.

Don't get me wrong, I love my .338 because no matter how well you plan things.....sometimes the animal doesn't cooperate. In some areas you may be faced (rarely) with an unexpected 350-400 yard shot and that's where the .338 shines over the Whelen.

Mostly where I hunt a 300 yard shot is not only unlikely, but virtually impossible due to thick timber. I have actually sold my Whelen and gone to the .358 Win......not because the Whelen wasn't near perfect, but because I LOVE the Savage 99 the .358 is chambered in.

For the hunting conditions you have (300 yard maximum) you'd gain very little, if anything, by going to a .338, but that's not saying you shouldn't buy one. A "gun nut" doesn't need a GOOD reason to buy a new rifle....just a reason.....and you MIGHT someday hunt where a 400 yard shot is possible. If it were me, I'd keep the Whelen and add the .338 to the herd.

Totally agree ... rechamber the CDL and make some use of that long action.
Cheers...
Con

I have both. While I am amazed that the .35 Whelen [98 Mauser] is so close in performance my .338 [Model 70 SS Classic, 23" barrel, McMillan stock] gets used more as it is the same length, weighs less and is stainless.

The .338 I have shoots a 225 grain bullet about 100-150 fps faster than my Whelen with loads that match factory velocities on my Chrony.

I think you will find the magnum chambered Rugers are quite a bit heavier than the '06 class of rifles if that is a factor.

A final point on the tang safety Rugers is I never found a way to take the safety off quietly.

I'd pick the 338 Win Mag if you wanna be practical, or, if you really like 35 cal though you could rebarrel a 338 Win Mag and have reamed to a 358 Taylor(338 Win. Mag necked to 35 cal) or if you're really power hungry a 358 UMT(338 RUM necked to 35cal), of course the 338 Win Mag is the most logical, just thought I'd throw a couple more options your way.

The Norma is great, but no question when you can buy a factory 338 it's easier to go that way.

My Norma is a 12 twist, but I don't need it as I when I shoot it in anger I use the 225TSX. The 12 twist is fashionable so we can shoot the true heavy weights but I don't have much use for 300 grain bullets! I think a 14 would be plenty, and may well be more accurate with lightweight lead and jacketed pistol bullets.