My Latest Purchase 35 Whelen

Rob404

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I've been thinking about this cartridge for quite a few Months,,I don't Know what draws me to these not so common Calibers Maybe I just want something someone else doesn't have or perhaps there are some kind of caliber or a Ballistic gap but the caliber intrigues me,it's a step up from my other wildcat 338-06 and less than my 375HH so It will fill a niche,also the parent cartridge is an 06 that needs to be open up to accept the 35 cal. Anyway after quite a few searches with no results except buying new I decided maybe the typical Savage Barrel swap was the only way to go until I spotted a Ruger in 35 Whelen at a Cabelas in Colorado, but I was a day late and the Ruger was Sold, however the guy in the Gun library said the customer swapped in an old Remington also in 35 Whelen so after looking at a few Pics of the Remington I managed to work out a deal and Bought the Remington. It needs the stock re-finished but thats a project I can do over the cold Minnesota winter, heres a Picture of the old guy which serial# shows built in 1982 I believe
6019492_1.jpg
 
Congrats Rob on the find! Hope you will give us a range report!
 
Well, I doubt you'll be disappointed in the whelen. The fact you are questioning why you were drawn to it is similar to the question I often ask myself, why doesn't everyone own one? Congrats on the new rifle, I hope you have years of one shot stops with it.
 
Rob, welcome to the ranks of the Whelen lovers. The 35 Whelen is my go to caliber I use it for everything I hunt. My father, brother and I all used the 35 Whelen on our South African Safari last month. Between us we took 22 animals from Eland to warthog and the whelen preformed flawlessly. One day our PH's wanted to have a shooting contest, they where using a 243 and a 270, I used my 35 Whelen with 250 grain partitions. The targets were 8" gongs at 100, 200 and 300 yards, my whelen never missed and put those so called flat shooting cartridges to shame. Don't spend to much time refinishing that stock the whelen is meant to hunt, every scratch, dent and ding is a badge of honor.
 
Very nice, congrats!
 
I have used a 35 Whelen for the last 18 years Remington 700 classic this gun was my favorite and still would be if my son would still not asked for it for a graduation present now I have a 375 Ruger.
The only complaint I ever had was that the extra long magizen allowed shells get a running start in it and recoil made a mess of lead tips 3 shots would flatten last 2 in mag to the point that it affected accuracy to solve this I used acubonds only and I could see if they were in when the gun was shot.
The good news is it loved acubonds to the point that if I did my part a 1hole group was easy at 100 yards.
And I could seat them shallow into the case way over col.
Great find and I hope it serves you well.
Shawn
 
Is your rifle rebarelled? Remington introduced the Whelen as a factory cartridge in 1988.

It is an intriguing cartridge. It is on my list of possibilities.
 
I have used a 35 Whelen for the last 18 years Remington 700 classic this gun was my favorite and still would be if my son would still not asked for it for a graduation present now I have a 375 Ruger.
The only complaint I ever had was that the extra long magizen allowed shells get a running start in it and recoil made a mess of lead tips 3 shots would flatten last 2 in mag to the point that it affected accuracy to solve this I used acubonds only and I could see if they were in when the gun was shot.
The good news is it loved acubonds to the point that if I did my part a 1hole group was easy at 100 yards.
And I could seat them shallow into the case way over col.
Great find and I hope it serves you well.
Shawn
Extra long magazine? Why? Was it aftermarket? Never heard of Rem or any of the big boys using extra long boxes for .30-06 length rounds.
 
Is your rifle rebarelled? Remington introduced the Whelen as a factory cartridge in 1988.

It is an intriguing cartridge. It is on my list of possibilities.
Is your rifle rebarelled? Remington introduced the Whelen as a factory cartridge in 1988.

It is an intriguing cartridge. It is on my list of possibilities.
If you blow up this pic it shows the barrel marked 35 Whelen, my research indicates that Remington may have offered this as a one off,
6019492_4.jpg
 
It is a 1987-88 classic that I got in 97 still in the box at a small guns shop it has a long mag well the follower is 3.650 long the box is 3.690 long it could easily hold a 375hh.
 
How about some favorite Load Data for a 250g pill
 
I used that load for black bear whitetail ground hog to 300+ no problem. Never recovered a bullet to say how they looked never had anything go more than 25-30 yards when hit. All but 1 died within 3 yards.
 
If you blow up this pic it shows the barreled marked 35 Whelen, my research indicates that Remington may have offered this as a one off, View attachment 159597
That or someone dropped the barreled action into a bdl custom deluxe stock, that's what it looks like anyway. Regardless, it's a great caliber in a great action.
 
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Congrats on the purchase!
 
Pretty sure the BDL was chambered in .35 Whelen in small numbers, but also in the Classic and the CDL later on.
 
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