Always wanted one…

What do you use yours for?

Trying to discern if it’s a case of the “I want”s or if there’s actually any good use for it.

I've always been interested in that cartridge. I think Whelan developed it for Moose. I've shot a 338 win mag and the recoil isn't that bad, very doable. If a 30-06 doesn't bothetr you neither will the 338 win and it probably is a better pick just because the ammo, etc. is usually easier to find. On any of these, don't go with this "light rifle" trend. Get a heavy rifle and a 26" barrel. IMHO.

More of a 9.3x62 fan myself.

I have a 9.3x62, but I've always wanted a .35 Whelen.

I've got a NIB Sako Aiii action I'm going to build into one. Just trying to figure out if I want to go a Mannlicher style stock or not. I'm torn.

There's definitely a good use for it if you hunt larger game. I really don't NEED one, but I want one.

That is a kissing cousin to the 35 Whelen. I love them both. Here in the US they are not supported much and certainly are not sexy cartridges that the cool kids use. Yet when it comes to very big game they are comparatively easy to shoot and knock the big stuff down very well.

I have it's shorter ballistic twin, the 350 Remington Magnum and it has worked well on elk, mule deer, whitetails, hogs and coyote. 225gr Nosler Partition started at 2700fps is nothing to sneeze at

What's weird is, I have not loaded hardly any 35 Whelen, and then recently I've been getting more calls to load for it. Brass is hard to find. But it acts like a magnum round with the big bullets it shoots. Pretty cool round, honestly.

I'm a huge fan of anything .35cal (especially the .358 Win) and the 9.3x62/9.3x74R. We just finished perfecting a Lehigh Defense 200gr Controlled Chaos .358 bullet for .358 Win and .35 Whelen. It's one DEADLY bullet!!!

.358 Win 2400fps MV, 100yd impact, retained base weight 99.5gr

I don't have one. That may change.

I have owned 2 over the years. One was a Remington 7600 and the other a 700 CDL special edition that one of the wholesalers did when the CDL first hit the market.

Its an incredible pig round. Its the only round I have ever used to kill 4 pigs with one shot. In all fairness it didnt really kill the 4th one because I had to finish it with the pistol but it still knocked 4 down anyway.

Are we talking football size or adults?

That’s incredible.

Might’ve just sold me right there

One was a good size Sow and the other 3 were smaller. They were bigger than footballs but not full grown. LOL

i killed 3 and one I blood trailed for about 400 yards with the 350 Remington Magnum. First was about 150lb sow through the shoulders a 40lb through the ribs and a 60lb one through the head before hitting the other one behind the 3. Shot was with a 225gr Partition reload started at 2700 fps pigs were about 135 yards away.

Onwing one is just a barrel swap away. Loading for one is easy; just neck up a 30.06 case. Any long action with a standard bolt face action is a perfect host. As a teenager when I wasn't hunting deer with a handgun in the PA Woods the 35 Whelen in a re-barreled Springfield action was my gun of choice. My only complaint with the cartridge is that nobody makes a high ballistic coefficient bullet for it

What about reloading? The 35 Whelan is a 30-06 necked up. There isn't the base ring like on a lot of magnum rounds. Is reloading easier?

That was my hope, Dave.

The belted magnums are a pain.

Plus you can kill 4 hogs at one time.

Super easy to load for and in my opinion the reason this cartridge is not more popular is because the major manufacturers haven't made a really good modern bullet for it. I pestered the Hornady rep at the Dallas Safari Club show a year or two ago and he said they have no plans for a slick bullet in this caliber which is a crying shame. A 35 Cal eld bullet at about 250 grains would be ideal.

With the market the way it is and the lack of the popularity of the 35 caliber rifle bullets, I don't see any mfg's adding new lines of 35 cal bullets. Also, the majority of the 35 cal rifle rounds would be 35 Rem, 356 Win, 358 Win, 350 Rem Mag, 35 Whelen and 358 Norma Mag. The 35 Whelen and 358 Norma Mag are the only cartridges that could handle bullets like an ELD-X. The ELD-X line of bullets are generally heavier bullets that are long and skinny with a higher BC. This increases the COAL of the round, and wouldn't fit anuy of the other cartridges. This style of bullet wouldn't work in any of the other rounds, except the 35 Whelen and 358 Norma Mag. And those rounds are not very popular or high demand.

^^^ I know that you are 100% right but that doesn't mean I have to like it or that I'm going to give up hope.

I load 200 grain Hornady in my 35 Whelen and get 2850 with no pressure issues. I also have a 358 Norma mag and am looking for 250 grain bullets for it to do some load testing. 35 Whelen is a really efficient round in my experience.

I weighed the pros and cons of the 35 Whelen and chose the 338-06 instead. Zero regrets. Very impressive on game performance with 225g bullets and more down range energy than the Whelen, although I don’t think I’ve personally taken game with it past 75 yards.

When is the 9mm PRC coming out?

How is the recoil of the 35 Whelan as compared to the 338 Win Mag?
On the 35 Whelan, can you simply take a used 30-06 and have it re-barreled to 35 Whelan and you are good to go? If so, I was thinking a heavy 26" barrel.

I will put it this way.......I have shot rifles up to and including the 416Rem Mag and 458 Win Mag. The 338 Win Mag is the only caliber I dont care to ever own again. To me the recoil was far to violent for the performance level you get. My every day user rifle use to be a 300 RUM and the 338 was even a step up from that in terms of felt recoil. I just couldnt tolerate the 338 Win Mag. On the other hand the 35 Whelen has never struck me as a heavy recoiler. Its more than the 30-06 but not even close to the 338's I have shot.

IMO, recoil of the .35 Whelen is considerably less than .300 Win Mag but not a whole lot more than .30-06. I have not fired a large number of rifles chambered for any of the three, but rather just a handful of each. I'd also add that the way a rifle fits (or does NOT fit) you can be a major factor. One of the cruelest rifles I ever owned was a 700 Mountain Rifle in .280, but I've owned three or four other rifles in .280 that were pussycats and a pleasure to shoot. I danced a little jig the day that Mountain Rifle went down the road.