chasu
Member
What are your opinions on using 35 Whelen out to 300 yards. I'm capable of shooting that range with the Thompson Encore, but is the cartridge inherently accurate? I'm shooting 200gr Fusion.
Opinions and Advice on 35 Whelen 200gr Fusion
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JJHACK
Member
I've had the pleasure of seeing this cartridge used by a number of my hunters. I have no idea why it and the 338/06 are not far more popular.
Both have lethal performance far beyond the little 30/06 case capacity!
As far as inherently accurate? That's not going to be easy to quantify. A well made barrel and rifle will easily launch that bullet 300-400 yards with stunning accuracy.
The bigger question is your specific rifle, load, barrel, and skill. All the components create the success, not the name if the cartridge.
Sure, .308s and 222's are famous for great accuracy, the 35 Whelen is not like those, however it should manage 1MOA easily
Both have lethal performance far beyond the little 30/06 case capacity!
As far as inherently accurate? That's not going to be easy to quantify. A well made barrel and rifle will easily launch that bullet 300-400 yards with stunning accuracy.
The bigger question is your specific rifle, load, barrel, and skill. All the components create the success, not the name if the cartridge.
Sure, .308s and 222's are famous for great accuracy, the 35 Whelen is not like those, however it should manage 1MOA easily
35 Whelen
Member
I've used the Whelen some having three bull elk a whitetail with one. My Dad, on our elk hunts also killed a couple of bulls with a Whelen. I can't comment on the Federal ammunition as we've always used handloads.
Accuracy- My Whelen is a custom job I built on a Mauser VZ24 action. I bought a Douglas barrel with a 1-in-12 twist had a buddy chamber and barrel it. Knowing what elk hunting rifles need to endure, I had it black Parkerized, bedded it in to a kind of cheap synthetic stock then topped it with a good Burris 4X scope.
I loaded the Barnes 225 gr. TSX and accuracy was/is astounding. I'd say 75% of the groups, even during load development were under 1" with a few down around 3/4" @ 100 yds. and occasionally something like this:
The bull before last that I shot was killed at a 355 yds. which is just about as far as I have business shooting at game. The other two bulls were closer.
Dad's Whelen is a Remington 700 Classic, rock-stock wearing a 4X Leupold. I never killed anything with it, but worked up loads for him to use using a 250 gr. Speer. It too shoots quite well:
He shot a bull with the load in Group #3 at about 45 yds. I don't think I've ever seen a bullet create such wholesale damage. It was incredible.
As with most cartridges/rifles, the shooter is typically the weak link, but if you think you're capable of connecting on a 300 yd. shot, I say go for it!
Bottom line: If your rifle will group well at 100 yds., the rest is up to you.
35W
Accuracy- My Whelen is a custom job I built on a Mauser VZ24 action. I bought a Douglas barrel with a 1-in-12 twist had a buddy chamber and barrel it. Knowing what elk hunting rifles need to endure, I had it black Parkerized, bedded it in to a kind of cheap synthetic stock then topped it with a good Burris 4X scope.
I loaded the Barnes 225 gr. TSX and accuracy was/is astounding. I'd say 75% of the groups, even during load development were under 1" with a few down around 3/4" @ 100 yds. and occasionally something like this:
The bull before last that I shot was killed at a 355 yds. which is just about as far as I have business shooting at game. The other two bulls were closer.
Dad's Whelen is a Remington 700 Classic, rock-stock wearing a 4X Leupold. I never killed anything with it, but worked up loads for him to use using a 250 gr. Speer. It too shoots quite well:
He shot a bull with the load in Group #3 at about 45 yds. I don't think I've ever seen a bullet create such wholesale damage. It was incredible.
As with most cartridges/rifles, the shooter is typically the weak link, but if you think you're capable of connecting on a 300 yd. shot, I say go for it!
Bottom line: If your rifle will group well at 100 yds., the rest is up to you.
35W
A 35 Whelen loaded properly is at least a 300 yard gun. It will have a bit more arched trajectory than other rounds, but with a range finder and some skill it could probably be used to 400 or even farther.
I've owned both in the past and will share why I no longer own either. A 30-06 can be loaded with lighter 150 gr bullets and offer far flatter trajectory and more versatility if hunting deer sized game and when loaded with 200-220 gr bullets will do anything a 338-06 or 35 Whelen will do with 200-250 gr bullets on larger game, except kick a lot harder. If you move up to bullets heavier than 250 gr the 35 Whelen and 338-06 start to offer marginal advantages at close ranges, but with magnum recoil levels.
A lot of folks think, I know I did, they are gaining a bit of an advantage over 30-06, but without the magnum recoil with these 2 rounds. I found the opposite to be true. Recoil was right at 300 mag levels, but with virtually no improvement over 30-06. I decided that if I was going to get kicked like a 300 magnum, I'd just as soon shoot a 300 magnum.
Not to say there is a thing wrong with either round. They both are suitable for anything in NA, have manageable recoil and trajectory flat enough for most reasonable hunting. They both are just enough out of the mainstream to appeal to the guy who just wants to use something different, but ammo is easily loaded for both and factory 35 Whelen ammo is fairly easy to find. While I never did so, one advantage of 35 Whelen is the ability to use very light small game loads using 357 revolver bullets.
I've owned both in the past and will share why I no longer own either. A 30-06 can be loaded with lighter 150 gr bullets and offer far flatter trajectory and more versatility if hunting deer sized game and when loaded with 200-220 gr bullets will do anything a 338-06 or 35 Whelen will do with 200-250 gr bullets on larger game, except kick a lot harder. If you move up to bullets heavier than 250 gr the 35 Whelen and 338-06 start to offer marginal advantages at close ranges, but with magnum recoil levels.
A lot of folks think, I know I did, they are gaining a bit of an advantage over 30-06, but without the magnum recoil with these 2 rounds. I found the opposite to be true. Recoil was right at 300 mag levels, but with virtually no improvement over 30-06. I decided that if I was going to get kicked like a 300 magnum, I'd just as soon shoot a 300 magnum.
Not to say there is a thing wrong with either round. They both are suitable for anything in NA, have manageable recoil and trajectory flat enough for most reasonable hunting. They both are just enough out of the mainstream to appeal to the guy who just wants to use something different, but ammo is easily loaded for both and factory 35 Whelen ammo is fairly easy to find. While I never did so, one advantage of 35 Whelen is the ability to use very light small game loads using 357 revolver bullets.
35 Whelen
Member
If a fella owns a good rangefinder and knows the trajectory of his bullet, the difference in the trajectories of the 30-06 and either the 338-06 or the Whelen is negligible with similarly shaped bullets; i.e.- .308" 180 gr. vs. .358" 225 gr., etc. Besides, if you know the distance of the target and the trajectory of the bullet, what difference does it make if one shoots 3" or 6" flatter than the other? Is it more difficult to compensate for 6" of drop than 3"? Or 12" instead of 6"? Not at all. More margin for error with the flatter trajectory you say? Remember it's just as easy to shoot OVER a target as it is UNDER.
Will a 300 Winchester Magnum do anything a 338 Winchester Magnum or a 358 Norma will do? Of course not, nor will a 30-06 do anything a 338 WM or 358 Norma will. Now if by some miracle you can run a 225 gr. bullet 2700 fps out of a 30-06, you might get close, but then there's the whole bullet diameter thing, and now we're back to the 388-06 and 35 Whelen.
If you hunt nothing larger than deer, the 338-06 or 35 Whelen are pretty much pointless unless you just like the cartridges, which is fine. But for game larger than deer, I'll leave my 30-06's (I own 5 of them) at home and take the Whelen.
35W
Cocked & Locked
Member
I like the the .35 Whelen cartridge and always thought it could have been nicely named (with some fluff and flare) something similar to .358 Whelen Express.
I've never shot factory ammo in mine...only handloads. I've loaded/shot 225 grain Nosler and Barnes bullets but really like the 200 grain Hornady Interlock bullets.
Never shot a critter at 300 yards with it...don't see why it wouldn't be great at 300 though.
I've never shot factory ammo in mine...only handloads. I've loaded/shot 225 grain Nosler and Barnes bullets but really like the 200 grain Hornady Interlock bullets.
Never shot a critter at 300 yards with it...don't see why it wouldn't be great at 300 though.
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