Why the Whelen

35 Whelen Model 700 Classic
I'm a fan of modern tack-driving rifles, especially the various composite stocks firmed up with bedded actions, pillars, and free floated barrels which deliver shot after shot of accuracy in all manner of conditions. That's why I've surprised myself to have a new favorite rifle which is anything but "modern".

A while back I purchased a Remington 700 Classic in 35 Whelen. The rifle was likely first sold in 1988, the year the classic delivered 35 Whelens to the shooting public. Classics were sold for a number of years chambered in only one caliber for that year. 1988 was the year of the Whelen.

I've read that the 1988 Classic was one of the best sellers; but who knows if that's true. Nevertheless, it was notable in that it was one the few attempts by any major manufacturer to popularize the 35 Whelen. The attempt by Remington had very modest success. It seems that the magnum craze was just getting up to steam, and most hunters who wanted the horsepower of the Whelen opted for brutes like the 338 Win. Mag.


I first heard of the 35 Whelen over a decade ago when a hunting client of mine brought a customized Remington 700 in 35 Whelen to my hunting camp. I found the concept of the cartridge fascinating, and never quite forgot about it. You can find some history on the cartridge here, and here.

At the time I was the owner of a 7mm Remington Magnum, and over the years since I've hunted with a few 7mm Rem. Mags, a 30-06, a 338 Win. Magnum, and 300 Winchester Magnum. I've harvested a good number of big game animals, at a variety of ranges from point blank range to 400 yards, and have found that "any of the above" are adequate for just about any North American big game animal. The trick is recognizing the limits of your rifle; spending money on good bullets, and above all, knowing your own limits.  

A few years ago I remembered that 35 Whelen, and I began to read about the cartridge. The more I read, the more interested I got. That interest culminated in the purchase of the rifle mentioned above. It took a bit of metal polish and a new hinge plate to get the Remington shine back. I topped the rifle with a 2.5 X 10 X 40 Nikon Prostaff 5.

Shooting the Whelen, and hunting with it, started a love affair. The 700 Classic has a 22 inch barrel with 1:16 twist. This combo limits the rifle to bullets 250 grains or less for accuracy reasons, but I'm not heading to Africa anytime soon, so it's all I really need. My first surprise was that the Whelen is accurate, even with the old style stock. Out of a cold barrel groups with just about any ammunition are sub-minute of angle. Typical of any rifle stock in the Classic line, any barrel heating begins to alter shots, so the accuracy of my particular rifle is limited to 3 shot groups; cold. I began with Nosler factory ammo, 225 grain accubonds to be precise. The Nosler rounds gave me a point blank range of 250 yards (2" high @ 100; 2.5" low @ 250) I decided that I'd limit any hunting shots to 350 yards, where a top of the shoulders hold over would put me right in the boiler room, and the 225 Accubonds would still be delivering plenty of punch. I should mention that I consider 350 yard shots on big game long; and that if taking such a shot I'd have to have good conditions as far as rest, wind, animal position, etc.

To my great surprise, despite the light weight of the Remington, the recoil was very mild when compared to my muzzle-breaked Sako 338 Winchester Magnum or my Weatherby 300 Winchester Magnum. (both significantly more expensive rifles) Most interestingly, the Whelen was spitting out 225 Grain Noslers just slightly slower than my Sako was shooting 225 Grain bullets of the same manufacturer. The 22 inch barrel and small light stock made it an incredibly pointable and comfortable rifle to carry.

So, how does the Whelen do in the field? My particular rifle has a nice light feel to it, especially when compared to my 338 Sako or 300 Win. wby in wood Sporter stock. The scope combo makes it particularly handy in the woods, where acquiring a target is instantaneous and the 4 inches of eye clearance keeps the scope miles from my brow. The Whelen has taken an elk and 3 moose; and believe me, no tracking was needed. Because of the manageable recoil all four critters were framed in the scope when they took the impact. I watched all four go down on impact; through the scope.

I'll never forget last year's moose. He was coming to the call and we both spotted each other at the same time. Through the scope I could clearly see his flared nostrils and wide eyes ... it was an "oh crap!" moment on his part. I saw the muzzle flash and impact all at once and saw the swamp donkey drop as if all four legs had suddenly been removed from under him.

So, here I am, an admirer of modern tack drivers, but in love with an old non-floated, non-bedded, walnut stocked wildcat. The moose cutlets we fried up this weekend were pretty good too.

3 comments:

  1. Paul,
    i picked up one of those exact 1988 Rem 700 classics in 35 Whelen myself. neat fun caliber. the previous owner let the barrel get pitted. not sure how. so i replaced the barrel with a Pac-Nor @ 26" and a 1-12. so the rifle is a bit heavier than original. i also found a Rem 7400 in 35 Whelen. 22" with the 1-16 twist yours has. both of these group so-so (about 2 MOA). good enough but not super. I haven't had a lot of time to work up the best load for either though. Recently i noticed that Ruger released a line of #1 medium sporters in 35 Whelen. i got one with gorgeous wood. 24" tube at 1-12 twist. it happens to be my most accurate 35 Whelen. running 180 gr. Barnes ttsx over Alliant pro power varmint i'm getting 2893 fps avg and a 3/4" 3 shot group at 207 yards. first shot out of the clean oily barrel was at the top of the x ring and the other two were mid x ring height, just a little to the left, overlapping holes. this with a 4x scope. i think for pure aesthetics, the Ruger #1 medium sporter with the gorgeous wood is pure eye candy. i can see why Bill Ruger Sr. wanted initially to call the #1 "the victorian". very classy looking rifle. and a great shooter. unfortunately no critters to it yet as hunting has not been very good to me lately. but i'm not too worried about the 35 Whelen's capability. if you don't like to reload, barnes factory loads that 180gr. ttsx at essentially the same velocity (2900). copper, being less dense than lead, means the bullet is just as long as the 225gr. cup/core hunting bullets. and no doubt will penetrate as well too, as it will not lose weight. within it's effective range, which i claim is where the bullet gets down to velocities where expansion is compromised, i have no doubts about the 35 Whelen's effectiveness. it won't be as long a range as, say, a 340 Wby Mag, but that's ok. i can live with that. one thing i have down with the handloading is to make a few "varmint" loads. 125gr. Hornady xtp over Re7. vaporizes watermelons, now you see it now you don't, and all i found from what i thought was a small coyote, but turned out to be a fox, was the head and tail. it's not a "hide" load. but it will eliminate varmints. also does quite well with cast bullets. 35 Whelen brass is easy to make from other's discarded 30-06 cases. on a standard magazine bolt gun you get 4/5 in the magazine, rather than the 3 from the Magnums. if that matters. but as you noted, the recoil is not bad at all, in fact on the last hunt, one of the hunters i camped near in the evenings asked to try a shot with the Ruger #1. he said it kicked less than his 270 WSM. of course the 270 WSM has a bit of a flatter trajectory, and i think the impression that the 35 Whelen doesn't shoot particularly flat is maybe one of the reasons for it's limited popularity. though those 180gr. barnex vortex loads (or my equivalent reload) still shoot similarly flat as a 308 win with 150gr. bullets which most folks agree is more than just a "woods" range round. from what i gather talking to folks like you who are better hunters than i, there is nothing lacking in terms of terminal performance from the 35 Whelen. maybe next year i can bring a big game animal to bag with the 35 Whelen. Give that 180gr. TTSX Barnes Vortex load a try, or since you handload too, pick up a box of those bullets and give them a try. Alliant Pro-Power Varmint was a surprise as far as velocity with that bullet. i'm sure Re15, 4895, 4064, and other powders with similar burn rates will do well too. so many possible combinations these days. enjoy your postings. God's blessings.
    -tdbru

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  2. Greetings! I stumbled across your nice site on the 35 Whelen, and I wanted to add some additional history both to the cartridge and the Model 700.

    Of course, the genesis of the cartridge came about when James Howe worked at the Frankford Arsenal, which was under the command of U.S, Army Col. Townsend Whelen, the man who came to be known as Mr. Rifleman. James Howe would go on to be a co-founder of famous gunmaker Griffin & Howe.

    In 1922, Howe developed a necked-up 30-06 case to accept a .358 caliber bullet. While several "chicken-or-egg" genesis stories exist, one that seems to hold some weight is that Howe did the development work on the new round, and consulted and collaborated with Whelen on it. One version has it that Howe named it the "35 Whelen" in honor of the Colonel. I personally like that story, and I'd summarize it this way: Howe delivered the baby, and Townsend Whelen smacked its bottom.

    As for the Remington 700 in .35 Whelen ...

    The cartridge remained a wildcat from 1922 onward. It was in 1988 that Remington did the formal SAMMI work-ups and got the .35 Whelen approved as a commercial loading. [A similar evolution happened in 1962 when Remington commercialized another wildcat that became known as the now-legendary 7mm Remington Magnum ... I digress.]

    With the commercialization of the cartridge in 1988, Remington rolled out the .35 Whelen in their Model 700 rifle. "Classic" is the designation for their standard solid-walnut stocked rifle. I don't have specific introduction dates, but Remington also chambered their pump-action and semi-auto rifles in .35 Whelen as well.

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  3. I have 3 35 Whelens. One, an 03/A3 Springfield sporterized by my Father and rebored at Oregunsmithing in a Reinhardt Fajen stock, a Ruger #1, and a Hill Country Rifle on a Defiance Rebel CRF/3 position safety action. I don't care for shooting the #1, for some reason. I haven't shot the HCR yet. The Springfield is a dream. I have some Federal 250gr Trophy Bonded Bear Claw at an advertised 2400 fps, very comfortable to shoot, not to me noticeably different than an 180 gr 30-06. The Federal load is probably optimum for borwn, grizzly, moose, elk within 150 yards, choosing impact point carefully considering distance. I think this cartridge offers a great combination of power with acceptable recoil. Nathan Foster at Terminal Ballistics is a fan, noting that in his experience the .358 caliber transfers energy on animal targets significantly better than .338 or .308 bullets. Hornady loads a 200 gr at 2900 fps in a bullet with a half decent ballistic coefficient. For someone who keeps his game shots under 350 yds, this is entirely adequate and offers excellent killing performance. I like shooting the cartridge.

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