COTW - .35 Whelen

[AJ]

According to some publications, there seems to be some controversy about who designed the .35 Whelen. Some gun magazines have stated that James V. Howe that necked the .400 Whelen down to .35 caliber. Some think Colonel Townsend Whelen designed the cartridge. In Whelen’s notes it seems he designed the cartridge and Howe, who was the machinest, chambered and built the rifle for Col. Whelen. This took place back in 1922 when both individuals worked for Frankfort Arsenal. Whelen and and Howe worked on the .400 Whelen, a wildcat formed by necking the .30-06 up to .40 caliber.

The cartridge came to be at the perfect time. In the late 30’s, hunting Alaska and Brittish Columbia were becoming very popular. There were big, big game animals to hunt. Hunters that wanted to attempt hunting for the big critters were limited to using a 30-06, which many thought too small for the size of the animals, the 405 Winchester that had a rainbow trajectory, or splurge for a magnum Mauser. The country just escaped the great depression and buying a new magnum Mauser was out of reach. Shooters found out they could have their 1903 Springfields and 1898 Mausers rebarreled or bored and rifled to .35 caliber and the standard 30-06 chamber’s neck opened up slightly to accommodate the bullets for the .35 Remington. This combination offered heavy bullets with larger diameters to anchor the big animals. Shooters could opt for the new .375 H&H Magnum, but the big actions that were needed to handle this long magnum cartridge were prohibitively expensive for all but the wealthiest shooters.

The cartridge survived as a wildcat until Remington made the .35 Whelen into a commercial cartridge in 1987. By 1988, Remington offered the .35 Whelen in the Model 700 and the 7600. The next year it was added to the 7400 rifle. Ruger chambered their Model 77 bolt action for the cartridge, and H & R chambered their single shot rifle in .35 Whelen for a short time. The .35 Whelen never really caught on with shooters. It seems U.S. shooters have a lack of interest in medium bore cartridges. By 1996 the cartridge was no longer available in over the counter factory made rifles.

Remington and Federal offer factory loads in 200, 225, and 250 grain configurations. Any of these choices are good for big game hunting. Factory loaded ammo in the .35 Whelen has been fairly docile. The handloader can bump the performance a bit if desired. Most manuals list data that surpasses the performance of factory rounds that exist today. In fact, reload data exists that bring the .35 Whelen even with the factory loaded .350 Remington Magnum cartridge.

With the 225 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip loaded to 2550 fps and zeroed to shoot 1.5” high at 100 yards, the bullet is about 2” low at 200 yards, 6” low at 250 yards and almost 13” low at 300 yards. While this load is not one of the flattest shooting it is one of the hardest hitting as it is still carrying over 1900 ft lbs of energy at 300 yards. This is about equal to the 140 grain 7mm Remington Magnum but with a larger diameter bullet.

With the proper bullet selection, there is not much the .35 Whelen will not handle. The gun shoots flat enough and packs enough energy for the majority of shots taken by big game hunters in North America. Why has the .35 caliber placed so poorly in the popularity of the American shooter? It does have a small loyal following, but it has never gained the respect it deserves.

[iron buck]

Great article for an outstanding cartridge! I read about the 35 Whelen in Elmer Keiths books. I knew I had to get one! I bought a new Remington 7600 chambered for this round back in the early 90s. My 7600 is fairly accurate shooting 250 grain factory rounds into 1.25-1.5" 3 shot groups. The nice thing with this rifle is that it has NEVER changed it's point of impact since I've owned it. I take it to the range ever year to sight in and it is always dead center, 1.5" high at 100 yards. I have taken (2) black bears and several deer with the 250 grain Remington factory loads. It has floored everything I've hit with it. All the deer have gone down in their tracks. The bears went about 10-25 yards before dropping. This is important in PA because if anything goes far you run the risk of someone else tagging it! I am a fan of the Whelen. I can't figure out why it is not more popular, I guess most shooters do not know what it is all about. It will take all game on the North American continent with little fuss. I have been thinking of getting a bolt action put together for the 35 Whelen this year, it is my favorite cartridge. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[size="1"][ 04-12-2003, 02:05 PM: Message edited by: iron buck ][/size]

[iron buck]

Whelen Bolt Update:

I ordered & have received my LH Charles Daly mauser & Douglas .358 barrel that will be cut at 23". My buddy is putting it together now He is seeing if he can get a Boyds lami stock that will work with it........if not it will be McMillen. Should be a GREAT ONE!!!

[iron buck]

The action is barreled & ready to go Here is a picture of it in the white. I am deciding on what type of blueing to add & if it will have sights or just be scoped. I also need to pic out a McMilen stock. The project should be finished & ready to fire around February

[AJ]

Excellent! Why is that action inside out? The picture must be reversed as the bolt handle is on the wrong side. Hehehe

[iron buck]

My Whelen project is still a work in progress. I made some additions along the way that have added to the duration. I had it sent to David Gentry in Montana to have one of his 3 position safeties installed. They also engraved "35 Whelen" on the barrel & tuned the trigger for me. It turned out Great!





The stock issue has been resolved. I am waiting for a LH Boyds Brown Laminate to arrive. It is due this week. My buddy who is a gunsmith will do any final inletting & bedding. We will then have it sent out for blueing. It will be a satin blue finish, with the bolt remaing polished steel but the extractor & ring will be blued.

The end is in sight & I should be able to shoot it soon!! It will definitely be ready to go out this fall.

I am going to take my Leupold VAri-X III 2.5-8x off my slug gun and use it on the Whelen. Hopefullly I have some "final" pictures to post soon

[AJ]

Sounds good! It's great when it all comes together. Which stock did you go with? I have a few of their JRS Classics on my guns.

[iron buck]

That is the same that I am getting. My buddy got them to make one up in a LH mauser.



How do you like the stock Boyds recoil pad? I was considering getting it changed to a Decelerator if I do not like t when it comes in. But I have never looked at one close enough to tell if they are keepers or not.

[AJ]

They are minimal at best. They are not very thick. A Decelerator would be a step up. Your buddy should be able to grind one to fit for you. Is he going to checker the grip and forend for you?

[iron buck]

I will change the pad then. This is as close as I may ever come to having my own rifle built so I want to make it as nice as I can.

I am undecided on having it checkered or not. My buddy can do it but he says it is a pain to do laminates & that it would take some time. I definitely want to use this rifle come fall so time will be my deciding factor here.

[AJ]

I hear ya. Laminate is a pain to checker. Often it comes out fuzzy or the points break off, or something else that is not right. You can have it done anytime though. You can hunt with it this year and after hunting season have him do the job over the winter.

[iron buck]

treetop

Welcome to RT. I like your caliber choice And good luck on those elk!

[AJ]

Treetop,
Another welcome to the forums. Hope to see some pics of your elk.

Iron Buck, is that thiing done yet? Do you have an ETA?

[iron buck]

AJ

Boyds sent the stock BUT they put the bolt handle slot on the wrong side. This after going over with them exactly what I needed & them saying they could do it. I am in the process of getting this worked out. It will get done sooner rather than later. I waited this long. A few more weeks will not hurt. .........at least that is what I keep telling myself LOL