Best Path to an Accurate .35 Whelen

[manitouhunter]

I will start by saying the Whelen has become my favorite rifle. I picked up a Remington 700 classic in 1988. It shoots factory loads in the 3/4" to 1" range and my favorite mono load at under a half inch. About 10 years ago I picked up an almost Winchester model 70 sporter in 25-06 that a guy and his friends had burned up in a weekend on prairie dogs, he said they went through over 1200 rounds in two days of shooting and destroyed the barrel in the first outing. I then sent it off and had it rebored to .35 Whelen with a one in ten twist and it is a real shooter with everything and cheap too.

 

[TRexF16]

Does anyone have any data for the .35 Whelen with Hodgdon Leverution(sic) or 2000MR?

Here's plenty. 2000-MR is amazing in the 35 Whelen.
Rex

 

[TRexF16]

Here's plenty. 2000-MR is amazing in the 35 Whelen.
Rex

Attachments got dropped. Trying again.

 

[HunterMann]

Of course all of us are over looking the smaller 35's, because we all know bigger is better. The .35 Remington and .358 Winchester are plenty for most deer at most ranges. I was at a local gun show last winter and saw a quite a few Browning BLR's and a very interesting Ruger 77 in .358 Winchester. And there were boxes of 358 ammo everywhere... Just pointing out there quite a few .35 + cartridge options both larger and smaller than the 35 Whelen. But if this guy is going with the 35 Whelen and not going to reload, I would suggest that he start stockpiling the ammo when he sees it. At least in reasonable quantities.

 

[beretzs]

Not exactly cheap, but a quick search on AmmoSeek showed a few different loads for the Whelen. Any of them will kill deer well.

 

[hrhunter]

I am in the same situation as the OP. I live in Iowa and currently have 2 350 legends. I find myself looking at a 35 Whelen as being a better solution. I have a Savage 110 in 270 that I am thinking about rebarreling to 35 whelen. I have also been looking at a CVA Scout in 35 whelen. My local gun shop has currently 1 box of 35 whelen for $60.00. They haven't had much selection in that caliber for about a year now. I think it would be a handloading situation if I decide to go that route.

 

[HunterMann]

There is a nice posting of a good Iowa deer taken with the 350 Legend somewhere.
I saw it around the holidays.

 

[beretzs]

I am in the same situation as the OP. I live in Iowa and currently have 2 350 legends. I find myself looking at a 35 Whelen as being a better solution. I have a Savage 110 in 270 that I am thinking about rebarreling to 35 whelen. I have also been looking at a CVA Scout in 35 whelen. My local gun shop has currently 1 box of 35 whelen for $60.00. They haven't had much selection in that caliber for about a year now. I think it would be a handloading situation if I decide to go that route.

I can't say how easy the Whelen is to load. Plain old 06 brass expanded to 35 caliber is a piece of cake. ANY powder from 4064, Varget, 8208, RL15, H322, ETC are all excellent performers. Any decent pointed bullet from 180 on up will likely be accurate for hunting out to 300 or more yards. You almost can't pick a bad bullet.

And the nice part is you can run 200's from mild at 2400-2500 all the way up to 2900+. Same for the 250's, 2200-2400 on the low end or up to 2700 with some of the more select powders. You just have a pile of versatility with it.

 

[MoreSalsa]

Of course all of us are over looking the smaller 35's, because we all know bigger is better. The .35 Remington and .358 Winchester are plenty for most deer at most ranges. I was at a local gun show last winter and saw a quite a few Browning BLR's and a very interesting Ruger 77 in .358 Winchester. And there were boxes of 358 ammo everywhere... Just pointing out there quite a few .35 + cartridge options both larger and smaller than the 35 Whelen. But if this guy is going with the 35 Whelen and not going to reload, I would suggest that he start stockpiling the ammo when he sees it. At least in reasonable quantities.

That is interesting since I'd probably rather go with 358 Win over the Whelen but from looking online, it looks like 358 factory ammo is a lot rarer.

 

[HunterMann]

There is a nice posting of a good Iowa deer taken with the 350 Legend somewhere.
I saw it around the holidays.

I found the posting. Nice buck pictures. Interesting read on the 350 Legend.

Biggest buck I’ve ever seen

Public land in Iowa, 125 yard shot, 350 legend with hornady ftx bullets First let me show you the cams Looked huge but couldn’t count points from the low quality pic. First 45 minutes of deer season and I got a great shot on him. Shot once and saw him stumble hard, but kept running. Shot again...

www.longrangehunting.com

 

[Wl652]

I would prefer the 35 Whelen myself, but just a suggestion you may check around for availability of ammo for a 9.3x62, it may be easier to find than ammo for a Whelen I would think ammo for either would be hard to find. Ballistics are very similar between the 2. A few years back you could buy a cz 550 chambered in 9.3x62, may still be able to. and Tikka lists one in their catalog but I don't know if any actually make it to the states. Anything shot with either I'm sure wouldn't know the difference.
With the Whelen you'll have better availability of components and bullet selection if you decide to reload with ammo at 60$ a box it wouldn't take long to pay for a good single stage press, scale, powder measure and the other necessities.
Good luck on your search.

 

[Calvin45]

My answer would be…358 Norma mag haha, but only because i just bought one on auction, haven't even picked it up yet but have dies and bullets ready now. A guy was
Selling off stuff and among other things gave me a great deal on a box of 280 grain A-frames. That ought to flatten anything on this continent

 

[HunterMann]

Nothing wrong with the 35 Whelen, 9.3x62, 358 Norma (very nice) but if you are not reloading you still need to be able to buy the ammo. Supplies of ammo are still very spotty in my area, so if you can find it, buy some. It might be a bit much, but 50 BMG seems to be readily available... Ha!

 

[Alibiiv]

Of course all of us are over looking the smaller 35's, because we all know bigger is better. The .35 Remington and .358 Winchester are plenty for most deer at most ranges. I was at a local gun show last winter and saw a quite a few Browning BLR's and a very interesting Ruger 77 in .358 Winchester. And there were boxes of 358 ammo everywhere... Just pointing out there quite a few .35 + cartridge options both larger and smaller than the 35 Whelen. But if this guy is going with the 35 Whelen and not going to reload, I would suggest that he start stockpiling the ammo when he sees it. At least in reasonable quantities.

I have both a Ruger 77 tang safety in 35 Whelen, and another tang safety in .358 WInchester I use the Whelen as the primary black bear rifle, and will take the safe queen .358 as a second rifle. And yes you are right about the .358 being a very adequate, and I'm my opinion overlooked cartridge. I will however say that the .358 ammunition is getting difficult to find, and opt out for the Whelen