The 35 Whelen:

It isn’t very fast. It’s not flat shooting. It doesn’t use bullets with sexy, high ballistic coefficients.

In today’s world of long-range shooting, it could be viewed as a frumpy old cartridge from days gone by.

Well, in fairness, it was developed in the early 1920’s.

Stick with me because I am going to make you want one.Because this frumpy old cartridge from the 1920’s will absolutely flatten medium to large game in a very impressive way.

I had my first 35 Whelen built about 20 years ago.

At that time, I was really into spot and stalk hunting and still hunting.I didn’t care if it was hogs, deer, or coyotes on a friend’s ranch, or big Nilgai bulls along the South Texas coast.I loved shooting off sticks and “improvised field positions”, which is a fancy term for using things like tree limbs, stumps, and big rocks for a rest.

I can’t recall if they even made range finders then and if they were selling hunting scopes with ballistic turrets at the time, I never saw one.Given that the 35 Whelen drops like a manhole cover past 300 yards, I did not require such equipment.

I wanted the rifle to have the following characteristics:

1. Light Weight:Mine weighed 7.75 pounds with scope.
2. Handy in tight quarters:Mine had a 20” barrel and an overall rifle length of 41”. Nice!
3. Because the 35 Whelen is based on the 30-06 but necked up to 358 caliber, it burns all the gunpowder in a short barrel.
4. Instant Dirt Nap:Put animals down instantly, right where they stand.

Now, if your idea of an amazing hunting trip is to look at a tiny spec off in the distance, then get out your spotting scope so you can see what the spec is, then range the target, check wind speed and direction, then consult your ballistics data, make necessary scope adjustments, and, utilizing the latest technology, send your bullet off into the wild blue yonder, actually hitting your target and walking hundreds of yards to start looking for what you shot at, the 35 Whelen is not for you.

And that is OKAY!

If, on the other hand, you prefer sneaking through brush or timber with your lightweight, handy 35 Whelen to within, say 150 yards of your quarry,sending your shot off with a satisfying amount of recoil, hearing a loud, gratifying ‘THWACK” as your 35 caliber bullet smacks into a big shoulder, and walking straight to your harvest in about 150 steps, then you need a 35 Whelen!

There is a ton of great factory ammo for the 35 Whelen.

• Federal Premium 225 grain Trophy Bond Bear Claw (I crushed a big Kudu in SA at 180 yards with this!)
• Federal Fusion 200 grain
• Barnes Vortex 180 TTSX
• Barnes Vortex 200 TTSX
• Nosler Trophy Grade 225 Accubond
• Hornady 200 SP Interlock Super Performance
• Remington 200 Core Lock
• Remington 250 Core Lock

Now, I am a push over and would already be placing my order, but some people need numbers like bullet weights, muzzle velocities, foot pounds of energy and so forth.

If this is you, read on.If you are like me, just call 830-609-3139, ask for Matt, Josh, or Justus and we will get your new 35 Whelen started.

Here is some impressive data for three great factory loads.Remember this is mass generated energy with a large diameter bullet.While the 35 Whelen drops like a manhole cover past 300 yards, it also hits like a manhole cover inside 300 yards!

Federal Fusion 200 grain ammunition at 2800 fps: Great Hog, Deer, Elk, and big plains game load.

Range Point of Impact Foot Pounds Energy

100 +.7” 2910

150 0 2653

200 -2” 2416

250 -6” 2195

300 -11” 1991

Federal Premium 225 Trophy Bond Bear Claw:Awesome for Brown Bear, Elk, Moose, big plains game.

Range Point of Impact Foot Pounds Energy

100 +.75” 2736

150 0 2560

200 -2.5” 2325

250 -7” 2110

300 -13.5” 1907

Barnes Vortex 200 TTSX:Great for Elk, Moose, Deer, Hogs, and big plains game.

Range Point of Impact Foot Pounds Energy

100 +.75” 2736

150 0 2510

200 -2.25” 2300

250 -6.25 2100

300 -12” 1916

If you have a 270 Win., 25-06, or 30-06 laying around, you have just the right action for building a 35 Whelen with our Deluxe Accurizing service.

Or, we can build a full custom rifle for you from scratch!

My Kudu from 2008 with my 35 Whelen thanks to Blaauwkrants Safaris:

My Impala from 2008 South Africa trip with Blaauwkrants with my 35 Whelen: