It's not a 35 Whelen but I have a .358 WSM 1.8", one of the more potent cartridges created to deal with the pre-2016 Indiana laws for deer season. Velocity-wise it modestly out-performs the Whelen with the 225 AB.
I consider it a 500 yard deer round. Beyond that velocity drops outside the performance window of the bullet and wind drifts in all but ideal conditions get outside my comfort zone.
I've shot several deer in the 300s so far and it's been an absolute hammer.
With the change in laws I will likely carry my 243AI this year, but that .358 wildcat will serve as an elk mountain backpack rifle in the future.
Choices are individual, but I make this decision based on experience. Winds in the mountains of elk country are a given on most days and variable, and governed by terrain. Multiple wind shifts across the bullet trajectory can be expected. This past weekend I was shooting my 243AI at 843 yards, and with the 105gr AMAX it basically duplicates the ballistics of my 300WM 200AB load (with lower energy). Last year on this same setup with high wind in one direction I accurately predicted drift and put rounds on target within the kill zone of an elk. This time, I tried three calculations and couldn't hit a 4X4 foot target in 15-20mph wind. The next morning in 10mph wind I was within 6 inches of bullseye on the first shot. Adjusting, I shot a .5 MOA 5 shot group off a questionable shooting position. All I can figure is the wind was wrapping around a woods mid-range in an unexpected way and altering the left-right trajectory. My dad was safely down-range near the target under cover and could hear the rounds impacting either left or right of the target.
Moral of the story is, accept what level of confidence you have in the performance envelope of the bullet and your ability to judge the left-right placement. With LRFs distance is easy.