Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles .35 Whelen, 350 Remington, 9.3x, etc

Well I've taken three elk with my .35 Whelen which statistically doesn't mean all that much. However two were one shot kills and number three required a finishing shot. The two were don on the spot DRT but number three was hit just a bit too far back. My fault as I didn't lead the elk quite enough. Bullet used on all three was the Barnes 225 gr. TSX loaded to 2710 FPS in a custom Mauer with 24" barrel. Brass was Remington, WLR primer and Re15 the powder. So far it's the only bullet I've used for game in that rifle. Shots were at 150, 350 and 180 yards. That rifle will be going with me on my next elk hunt.
Paul B.

A few years ago, I bought a 700 Classic in .35 Whelen to hunt bears over bait in Canada. In 4 years, it's taken 3 bears. Two were "decent" size boars, one was a small sow. None of them went very far, and all were heart/lung hits. Used a 225 Accubond at chrono'd 2690 fps. Did a lot of damage to each bear.

In my experience, the Whelen throws a 225 gr bullet faster than the .30-06 can throw a 200 gr. bullet.

9.3X62 seem to almost always be good shooters for some reason. I sure love my CZ 9.3.

Those Ruger 77 RS are nice rifles, esp in 35Whelen. I say buy it if the price it right and try it out.

I've had several Whelens over the years and 358Wins. I know the 30/06 will do same with heavy bullets, but it's just not the same. Everyone and their Uncle Bill has a 30/06 here for deer hunting. I like stuff that's a bit different.

Just down to one 358Win these days.

A mild load with Horny 200 SP's sure is a do-all recipe for any 35. Cheap, light recoil and accuracy. Very fun and wins over a lowly 06' every time....

W

Well stated, redfox...

Women folk get away with having "nothing to wear", standing in a closet full of clothes...

Us guys gotta try to keep up. We need to make sure the animal we hunt exactly matches the firearm we select... An extensive collection (i.e. a closet full of clothes) is necessary for that perfect match...

It's really pretty simple...

DF

I've come to the conclusion that to make it worthwhile, a step up from my 300 saum (basically a short action 30-06 +p) needs to be a really big step to make it worthwhile.

I can push a 200 grain accubond at the same speed or faster than a 350 rem mag, with a much better BC.

I have looked at getting a bigger rifle since I "need" one for all the grizzlies I don't hunt but am at a loss for what would make sense. Fast 30 with a 26" barrel, 340 wby/338 rum is the best I can come up with without getting into dangerous game/Africa caliber like the 375

Killed one 200ish lb boar with the 350 RM using a 200 grain Hornady. It dropped like a stone on a shoulder shot. Penetrated both plates & came to rest under the offside skin weighing 157 grains. I like the recoil on that combo much better than the full-leaded 250 grain Partition load!

This hog dropped much quicker than most similar shots with 7 Mag., .308., 7-08, 25-284, etc.

My thought is a given caliber can only do so much damage, and once you choose a bullet weight heavy enough to get consistent exits, adding more bullet weight won't add more terminal performance. My thought is with modern bullets a 30-06 is at it's best with 165-180 gr bullets. You don't gain any performance by going with 200 gr or heavier bullets.

That's not to say that the 30-06 lacks terminal performance, but if you have a need for more terminal performance, jumping to the 35 whelen will offer that. A 225 gr will match the trajectory of the 180 gr in the -06.

realizing I'm late to the party, I'm currently contemplating a 35 Whelen or 9.3x62 Mauser, .358 vs .366 bullets from 180 to 250 grn in the 35W or 232 to 310 grns in the 9.3 for Alaskan Bear, Moose and Caribou; that said I know somebody who has taken all 3 with a 300 short mag, both of the bigger rounds do it with less pressure and less recoil (debatable), as a reloader, ammo cost is a mute point.

Flip a coin.

If you shoot cast bullets the 35 caliber is the big winner as you can go from 115-280 gr and throttle it anywhere between small game and plinking to large game.

For big game with jacketed or mono metal bullets performance should be for all intents and purposes identical between the two. Though I'd venture to say you're more likely to find 35 caliber component bullets at your local gun shop than 9.3mm.