Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters .35 Whelen..........

Back in '05, we were all talking about using ST. Hubert's Day instead of Christmas as a hunter's way of giving and getting neat gifts like deer rifles and such BEFORE season starts. KYHillChick found out about it and conspired with VAnimrod and others on here to get me a Rem 7600 in 35 Whelen.

It's been a wonderful rifle. Since '05, I've taken more deer with it than anything else. It's been my choice for the rain and for filling the freezer with that last tag. If you go to my weblog (see my signature) you'll find a bunch of stories about it. There's even a 35 Whelen Category.

35 Whelen

I use 200 grain Rem SPCL over H4895. I tried the pointy ones the first year and did not have spectacular results. That was more a matter of expectation than reality. Both do fine, but I have stayed with the round-nosed ones since.

That's the key to hunting whitetail with a 35 Whelen. The Whelenizer and I get along just fine. It's just. . . Well, I think my old buddy John put it the best. He was local scion of the Mensa community, and spent 50 years in business never spending too long with any one company. The trouble? John said that "The hardest part of being gifted is the expectations of others." That's the problem with me and the Whelenizer, my expectations. I expected the performance of that rifle to be phenomenally better than a 30-06. On deer, it's not. Whitetail deer aren't big enough to really let the 'Whelen do its job. It's in and out the other side. It may be better at longer distances or some other specialized situation, but as far as bang-floppiness I call it even with the '06 on whitetails at normal whitetail distances. I can pulp the lungs and heart with both equally and deer run off or fall over with equal frequency. Oh, I don't mean miles. In the past 10 years I don't think a deer has run on me longer than 100 yards. It's all a sure thing.

One thing that is certain about the Whelenizer is its reputation. Folks know I shoot it, and know its distinctive report. I've had more than one neighbor comment to me, "I heard your gun go off today-- knew it was you. How big was he?" I'm roughly the same dimensions as John Wayne after he went to seed, so it's sort of a big guy/big gun kind of thing. When the shaman lights one up, everyone on the ridge knows it. It's really wrong to mention John Wayne and then use a Frenchy term like Cach� in the same paragraph so I won't. Whatever it is, the Whelenizer has it.

Most anyone that has actually hunted with a Whelen is a fan. This is a caliber that just does not fail to accomplish what is fairly asked of it. While we enjoy an abundance of great calibers/bullets today, many of us would choose the Whelen if we were limited to just one.
For many years, I hunted PA whitetails generally using 200gr Hornady Spitzer, with great success. My current favorite Whelen, a 700CDL, loves the 250 gr Partition over Varget. This is a recent development as I have been using the 250 gr Hornady, happily and with great success, in recent years. Not truly convinced the Whelen really needs premium bullets, but I'm mot smart enough to leave "well enough" alone.
Craig Boddington has an article in the current G&A mag covering the various 35's. His comments about his experience with the Whelen are nothing but positive.
I often find Steelheads comments of interest, but as regards the Whelen, just wrong.

It's probably my favorite cartridge, I have used almost exclusivly 225 gr bullets other than one black bear with an older 250 gr RN factory load. Nosler Partrition, Accubond, Ballistic Tip, Trophy Bonded and TSX have all done the job for me in the past on deer, black bear, moose, stone sheep and even a coyote last year. I just had a new one put together on a Rem 700 action, I'm working on 200 gr bullets this year, the 200 gr Hornady for practice, 200 gr Accubond for all around use and the 200 gr TTSX for my close range moose load. So far Varget is looking pretty good with the Accubond and I have a decent load with the TTSX and IMR 8208. Looking forward to hunting mountain goat with the 200 gr Accubond, in October, it should be a pefect blend of fast expansion to kill quickly while still tough enough to take out heavy bone, should be one heck of a good bullet for deer sized game.

Fishdog52 what was your load with Varget and the 250 gr NP? In my old Whelen 60 gr of it with the 225 gr AB was my go to load.

How can his comments be "wrong" when he is commenting on his own observations having used both?

You may have different experiences with the Whelen, but that doesn't make yours "right" or "wrong".

Steelhead has killed a hell of a lot more deer than I have (I'm getting out of NH to hunt now, so I'm working on it) so I take what he has to say seriously, as I do with many more her.

I'm not giving up my .35s and I'm unlikely to hit the NH woods with a .223 anytime soon, but I'm going to give the .260 a chance that I wouldn't have in years past.

George

Nope, not wrong. I still contest, based on seeing lots of [bleep] die, that a small/fast slug impresses deer more.


Here is one Whelen'ized (whatever the [bleep] that is) deer.




He went a good 150 yards. I caught up and could see the bullet hole where it should be on the offside, but the deer weren't impressed. Took a good couple of minutes for it to die. Of course part of the problem was that the 225gr Ballistic tip didn't expand.

I've got a few more less than impressed deer pics with the Whelen. I also recall one that went ass over teakettle with a shot straight on.

They seem to impress bear a bit more than deer and moose even more so.

It don't take a rocket scientist to figure out that one certainly don't need 200+ grains to kill a deer and burn 60grs of powder to do it.

I'll be ML hunting again this fall, the 54 that I bought came with 100 or so 540gr Maxiballs. I laughed when I started doing the math, the total combined weight of bullets used to kill the last 6 critters is 562grs.


If folks want to believe that the Whelen is some sort of magic wand, I'm happy for them, but don't tell me it tastes like French vanilla ice cream and expect me to eat it with a spoon.

As much as I hate to admit it ( cause I truly and dearly love the classic cartridges) I have no doubt Steelie is right.

I've killed exactly one animal with my Whelen - a cow elk at 150 yds. I shot it twice with a 250gr Hornady. It turns out the second shot wasn't necessary, but I was following the rule of "keep shooting 'til they're down."

The elk went nowhere, and as much as I hate the cliche, you could eat right up to the hole. I was very satisfied.

As for the original question: Is it too much for deer? Of course it is, but if you shoot the gun well, and like hunting with it, go for it. After you kill a few deer with it, you start to get an idea of whether you want to keep hunting them with it. Good luck!

And my Whelen ain't going anywhere, one of my favorites, just not for deer.

Tuesday I got a black bear with a 350 Rem Mag, which is nearly indistinguishable from a Whelen. I used a 200 gr. Hornady spire point and IMR4320 at what I guess was about 2600 fps from a 700 with a 24" barrel. The bullet worked great on a double lung shot, in and out on ribs. The bear left a good blood trail out of both holes, and didn't go more than 20 yards.

The point is you don't need a Whelen, but it will work fine. Have fun with it.

killed many many black bears and moose along with a few deer with my Whelen, get more one shot knock downs than with any other .

The state of LA decided this year to allow the T/C offerings during Primitive Weapons season, and they also moved the caliber restriction from .38+ down to .35+. As a result, the Whelen, .358win, and .35Rem have my attention. My .444 does the job, but is a bit more than what I really need for whitetails. To be honest, an Encore in .35 Whelen is nowhere near "primitive" and the entire ordeal is just an effort to sell more licenses.

Yes sir. I'm not sure how it could have gotten any "deader" - and on the spot too.

If Phil Shoemaker says the 30.06 with good bullets works on big bears, I get the giggles when someone refutes it or says you've got to have bigger than XX head stamp. Hinky.

I found my way to the Fire in '06 while looking for information on the Whelen. I never got around to it, and that thread solidified in my mind that I needed a Whelen.

I got a good deal from a pard that was never going to use his 7600. It's going to find its way to Nathan at HBC for a slight barrel chop and synthetic furniture. It will make it to AK some day.....

George

If you shoot whitetails with it you may be disappointed by the tougher heavier bullets performance.

I used TBBC's on one and it went 40 yards before it went down. The shot was at 225 yards and it took off like a sprinter.

Bullet went through the heart and all. Blood spray on the wheat on both sides.

I am amazed that neither the 35 Whelen or the 338-06 has gotten better traction - they are excellent calibers.

Well, based on my vast experience with the Whelen, one cow elk and lots of paper all I can say is based on that one cow elk, I was very much impressed. FWIW, my load was 60.4 gr. of RL15, Remington case and standard Winchester primer and the Barnes TSX 225 gr. bullet. Elk went down instantly on a raking shot at 150 yards. The bullet entered on the left side just behind the short ribs and exited between the neck and right shoulder. At impact the elk just dropped on the spot. Mighty impressive I would have to say. I'll find out if history will repeat itslf on my upcoming co elk hunt in December.
There's a lot of love for the Whelen over on Nosler's forum.

http://www.noslerreloading.com/phpBB2/index.php

There are even comments on it's effectiveness out as far as 400 yards which surprised me. I have mine figured out to 250 and possibly 300 yards but I never thought 400 could be a serious consideration. Might have to see what I can do about that.
Seems like the most popular bullets over there at the Partition and Accubond for the Whelen. I would like to use a 200 gr. bullet for my upcoming der hunt but the stat of Arizona is requesting hunters doing their hunts in the Kaibab and Arizona Strip to "voluntarily use monometal bullets like the TSX. Guess if I went with the 200 gr. Hornady that I wanted to use, then that would make me a bad guy or some such. I already did use a TSX up there about 6 years ago when I got a tag for the area. Cost me the only decent size deer I saw on the whole trip. I had the Whelen with me and if I'd shot that der, the bullets would have passed through and taken out at least two or three of the does standing behind him. Game & Fish frowns on such happenings.
Paul B.

I always find it odd when folks talk about how quickly or slowly a deer dies or how far it ran and don't factor placement in. Regardless of the round (considering the vast range of "adequate" rounds), placement always seems to make the biggest different in how far an animal travels after a shot. A couple of Whelen victims I got pics of:

Straight on shot, forehead, moved ~18 inches straight down...shivered a little...




Straight on shot, dropped at the shot, found bullet in the hip:




Heart/lower lung shot, ran ~40 yards, spray painted blood trail on both sides:

I am a closet .35 caliber fan. I've owned .35 Remingtons, .358 WCF's and the Whelen. The only one of those three that I have shot a deer with was the .35 Remington.

I am of the opinion that the Whelen ought to be a dandy Black bear, hog and elk cartridge, and truth told, I'd see it at it's best with elk. (I base that on my own propensity for loading whelen cases with 250 grain bullets.)

Most everything works for whitetails though, as long as the cat behind the trigger can shoot. I am beginning to lean toward the cartridges that beat up on me less and kill deer just as well.

As of late, I have been happy killing deer with the .30 WCF, the .243 and the .257 Roberts.

I've shot maybe 15 deer with my 35 Whelen 7600 using 225 gr. Sierra Game Kings. Results are about the same as deer I've shot with a 243,280 , or 308. Put the bullet through their lungs and they lay down right quick.

Hey CT

I was going to respond to this thread but it appears you have already said what I was going to say. I've been working my way back down in caliber too. My 270 is getting used a little more lately and I even shot a buck with my 50 year old .243 last year in Nebraska.

WN