Tell me about .35 Whelen cartridge

1

1tfl

New member
I came accross a very nice Remington 700 BDL in .35 Whelen caliber at the local pawn shop. The rifle is in great condition and has a Nikon Monarch 2.5-10X42 scope on it. The price is very reasonable ($625 OTD) and I'm very tempted to buy it BUT the .35 Whelen caliber is holding me back.

I have no experience with this caliber and I'm not sure what the cartridge was designed for. What exactly is the .35 Whelen's nich in the cartridge world?
 
Most folks see it as the logical standard-action, non-belted cartridge between the 30-06 and the .375. It is not as powerful as the .338 win mag, but is substantially better than the '06. It is certainly powerful enough for elk out to 250yds or so.
It can be loaded down more easily than the bigger belted magnums, for deer and such.
Many folks like the .338-06 better, because of slightly better sectional densities on comparable bullet weights, but I imagine the differences are more theoretical than practical.
 
I am assuming that since you have never heard of the 35 Wheelen, you are probably not a re-loader. If this is the case, then you may want to reconsider as ammo is hard to come by.
 
I am assuming that since you have never heard of the 35 Wheelen, you are probably not a re-loader. If this is the case, then you may want to reconsider as ammo is hard to come by.
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Or better, yet, take up handloading.

Better Ammo.

More of it for the same money.

You learn a lot along the way (including learning to shoot better!).

Try it.
 
What exactly is the .35 Whelen's nich in the cartridge world?
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It is the "fat/heavy bullet" version of the 30-06...... kinda like the .270 WIN is the "svelte/light bullet version and the .25-06 is the Ethiopian version. :D

Factory ammo was rated advertised as a 200 gr bullet @ 2675 f/sec and a 250 gr @2400 .....

There are reduced loads listed in my Speer manual for 158 gr jacketed pistol bullets @ 2100 f/sec for plinking......
 
Actually I do reload and have been doing it for past 25 years.

I load most standard, and some not so standard, handgun calibers and in rifle calibers I reload .223/5.56x45, .308, and recently started loading 45-70. I have also loaded 12 gauge shells. Basically I reload all my "high volume use" calibers.

The .35 Whelen cartridge is outside of my normal interest as I don't reload hunting rifle cartridges except the 45-70. My other hunting calibers like the 243, 30-30, etc. don't get shot very much (less than 100 rounds a year) so I don't bother reload them.
 
With newer modern bullets in a 30-06 it will do anything the 35 Whelen will do. I've owned both the 35 Whelen and 338-06. Both are good rounds and if you like them, and the rifles they are chambered in, then that is as good a reason as any to own one. Just don't expect any real advantage over other rounds.
 
Most of my reloading manuals have a little write-up on each cartridge ..... very intersting stuff, some of it .....
 
The 35 Whelen is one of those cartridges that has performance much better than 'paper ballistics' show. like the 6.5x55 for example. It was often a conversion for shot out 30-06 barrels. it was kept in the shadows during the "magnum " years but finally made an official cartridge. There are lots of 35 caliber bullets available so it's a good handloaders cartridge.
It parallels the 9.3x62 made for Africa ,a fine cartridge ,faded out but now seeing a comeback !
 
I have to disagree with jmr40 about the power difference between the 30-06 and the 35 Whelen.

Checking Hodgdon's Reloading Data Center, both cartridges in a 24" barrel, we see top velocities of:

30-06 Spfd. --- 200 gr bullet --- 2586 fps --- 49,300 CUP
35 Whelen ---- 200 gr bullet --- 2807 fps --- 49,000 CUP
35 Whelen ---- 250 gr bullet --- 2503 fps --- 48,900 CUP

Cut those barrels back to 22" and the Whelen would fare even better, as it has a better expansion ratio than the smaller caliber. But, I'd say 220 fps or nearly the same velocity with a larger and 50 gr heavier bullet is considerably more powerful.
 
In "very nice" condition and wearing a Nikon Monarch scope, I'd say a Remington Model 700 BDL rifle, selling for $625 OTD, is better than "very reasonable". The .35 Whelen cartridge is the last thing that would "hold me back" from buying it. On the contrary, said chambering would be the best cause to get it, for all the reasons offered by several posters in this thread.
 
The .35 Whelen is a great cartridge, I've got two (rifles).

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Since you are a reloader go ahead and buy it and enjoy your journey with the cartridge. The Whelen is made for heavy bullets so 200 grains are a little on the light side. I don't doubt that Hogdon list 2800 fps for a 200 grain bullet but most reloading manuals have it down around 2600 fps same as the 225 grain bullets and the 250 grain will do 2500 fps.

You can't get hurt buying that rifle if you ever wanted to sell it just do it on the forums because there is always a rifle loony that will want it.
 
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What exactly is the .35 Whelen's nich in the cartridge world?
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It's the US-'06-based version of the 9X57, an old world favorite for slaying big heavy stuff without getting beat up. Not for elephants, but then I haven't seen many pachyderms roaming the veldt in these parts.
The .35 Whelen is a great cartridge, I've got two.
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You can't get hurt buying that rifle if you ever wanted to sell it just do it on the forums because there is always a rifle loony that will want it.
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;) OK, gotcha.
 
mete, while a lot of people compare the 9.3X62 to the .35 Whelen Scorch knows what he is talking about. There is an old cartridge called the 9X57 which used 9mm rifle bullets. It used the same weight of bullets that seem to be popular in the Whelen, where as the 9.3X62 usually runs a 268 grain bullet.

A lot of people who make 9X57 custom rifles use .358 diameter barrels to take advantage of the wider selection of bullets. I had a small ring 98 Mauser sporter for awhile and the barrel was badly pitted, I had thought of re-boring it to .358 and running it as a 9X57. I wound up trading it off, but it would have been a neat cartridge to play with.
 
I have to disagree with jmr40 about the power difference between the 30-06 and the 35 Whelen.

Checking Hodgdon's Reloading Data Center, both cartridges in a 24" barrel, we see top velocities of:

30-06 Spfd. --- 200 gr bullet --- 2586 fps --- 49,300 CUP
35 Whelen ---- 200 gr bullet --- 2807 fps --- 49,000 CUP
35 Whelen ---- 250 gr bullet --- 2503 fps --- 48,900 CUP

Cut those barrels back to 22" and the Whelen would fare even better, as it has a better expansion ratio than the smaller caliber. But, I'd say 220 fps or nearly the same velocity with a larger and 50 gr heavier bullet is considerably more powerful.
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#1 you are looking at some pretty anemic loads. I show several 30-06, 200 gr loads @ just a hair under 2700 fps. but even at the velocities you list the performance is irrelevent.

Velocity, ft. lbs, bullet diameter and bullet weight don't kill stuff. While it is easy to point to paper ballistics in the end the only things that matter are bullet placement, bullet construction, bullet penetration, and bullet expansion. Paper ballistics don't predict that nearly as well. With the newer hi-tech bullets, or even the older Nosler Partitions in a 180-200 gr. a 30-06 you will get BETTER Penetration than a 250 gr 35 Whelen or 338-06. Stuff falls just as dead.

A lot of guys claim to like the 35 Whelen because they are anti-magnum. Magnum is just a word that was never hung on the 35 Whelen, but you are getting magnum recoil out of both the 35 Whelen and the 338-06, without the magnum performance. I've owned both, and run the numbers on recoil calculator programs. Loaded with 225 gr. bullets or heavier they recoil worse than my 300 mag. If I'm getting the same recoil, I'd rather have a quality 200 gr. .30 bullet, with better SD, moving at 2900 fps. If you load the lighter 200 gr bullets into the 338-06 or 35 Whelen you only have a very, very slight ft. lb. advantage over a 30-06 at the muzzle, but the 180 gr 30-06 is beating it at less than 100 yards if you want to use that as a measure.

Don't get me wrong, I like both the 35 Whelen and the 338-06. I sold the 35 Whelen and kept the 338-06 simply because I liked the rifle it was in better. I enjoy hunting with it, but don't kid myself about its ability to do anything any better that the 30-06. Buying and using a rifle simply because you like it is reason enough. Some guys want to split hairs trying to justify their decision with facts that are irrelevent.
 
Elmer Keith liked it and Craig Boddington does as well. I have read lots of articles over the years where they sang it's praise. I'm sure an internet search would let you view some of them. I have wanted one since Remington made it the Classic caliber, I believe in 1988. I bought a Remington CDL several years ago, before it was a cataloged item. A gun shop up north had Remington make a special run of 500 rifles. I bought one at a gun show and started loading for it. Accurate and easy to load. I have yet to shoot anything with it because I always seem to have another caliber in my hands. Not the Whelen's fault, I hunt with 5 or 6 different calibers per year. It justifies all of them. In 13 years, retirement, I will take it to Alaska and shoot a moose. Kinda what I bought it for. Buy it and never look back. If nothing else, it's different.
 
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