Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting New England 35 Whelen for Black Bear?

I was wondering if anyone has seen the new handi rifle from New England in 35 Whelen? Been thinking of buying one and trying it out on bear and deer here in WV. Kind of worried about accuracy in the NE and was wondering what everyone thought. I also bet the little single kicks like a mule for a single shot in 35 whelen!!!!

I dont think they chamber it in 35 Whelen. Anyway you dont want one for hunting in any case. I got one in 223 to pop chucks and such and was disappointed. Absolutely terrible trigger and nothing you can do to make it better.

wvhunter,

I bought one about a month ago. So far I have been shooting Rem 200 grain factory loads. This week I'm going to start hand loading it. My best groups so far are around 1.5". I returned the gun to Marlin/NEF to have them tune the trigger. It now breaks cleanly at 3 lbs and has no creep. Recoil is not too bad with the 200 grain bullet. Some folks replace the recoil pad with a Sims(small size, grind to fit). It really depends how the gun fits each person. So YMMV.

There are a few things NEF owners do to fine tune their accuracy. Their is a FAQ on the Greybeard ourdoor forum for NEF centerfire rifles. Among these is using a rubber o-ring in the foreend and smoothing the bore with JB compound or the like. I'll PM you the URL of the site. You'll find that people either revile or love the handi rifle. Most of those that revile it don't even own one. John Barsness recently had an article in one of the Wolf pubs about single shots and had good things to say about the handi rifle. I would second his conclusions. It's a heck of a lot of gun for about $220. I plan on adding some barrels through the barrel accessory program in the future.

I have 2 of them myself, not in 35 whelen though. My 45/70 is very accurate, and my 50 cal Huntsman muzzleloader gives good accuracy with rifle sights. Both have excellent triggers in my opinion........

Thanks for info, I'am getting ready to buy a 35 Remington, I like the 35 caliber's and have sense I started hunting. I've been influenced to much bye the Magnum, short Magnum, craze here in this state. You don't need a 300 WSM to take Deer and Black Bear in WV.

nef is chambering now for the whelen.
i like the nefs. if i were going to buy another, it'd be for a rimmed cartridge. they shoot the rimmed ones best.
can't go wrong with the the .45-70.

I like 35's. I like the 35 Reminton and the 350 Rem Mag.
I believe if you wanted a 35 for deer and black bear I couldn't think of anything more fun than a Marlin Lever in 35 Rem.

wvhunter, If you like the 35 cal, find you a whelen. I have 5 of them. Alot of people like the 1-14 twist, but I like the remington in the 1-16 twist. For deer in NH there is nothing better then the speer 180gr FN. I found with my reloads that a 1-16 likes 180 200 225 really shoots all 3 bullet weights the same. As cariboujack said, you want a good deer and bear gun, the 35 rem in a marlin 336 is a super choice. Read alot of articles in the past that the 35 rem was the #1 bear brush gun. Don't know how much you want to spend, but HALVEY has one (35 rem) for sale that used to be mine. Really clean super old marlin. I wish I had funds to buy it back. You better learn to reload if you don't already for that whelen. Not much out there for factory ammo. It will shoot better with your own recipes. Ken

I wholeheartedly agree with Cariboujack as well. The Marlin 336 in 35 Rem topped with a small, light scope is one heck of a hunting rifle for deer, hogs and black bear. My 1960 336RC will shoot the new Hornady Leverevolution ammo into less than 1" every time. It is a legitimate 200 yd rifle in a light, fast handling carbine.

If you can find a Remington 760/7600 in 35Rem or 35Whelen you will not be disappointed.

The 35rem in the 760 can be loaded hotter than the lever loads, and the single shot for that matter.

I dont know about the handi rifle, but I have a mod 70 in 35 whelen built spicificly for bear I love it!