.35 Whelen
Back in 1922, government employees Townsend
Whelen and James V. Howe of Springfield Armory developed the .400 Whelen,
a wildcat formed by
.30-06
configuration. During that same year, while Whelen was away on a hunting
trip, Howe decided to neck the .400 on down to .35 caliber and thus created
what he decided to call the .35 Whelen.
Of the many wildcat cartridges designed before World War II, the .35 Whelen
along with other classics such as the
.25-06,
.257 Roberts,
and the
.22-250 number
among the very few that have managed to weather the ravages of time and become
factory cartridges. And since Remington had already domesticated the other
three, it was only fitting that the same company add the .35 Whelen to its
list in 1988. Introduced as a factory cartridge with the 200 and 250 grain
loadings in Remington limited edition Model 700 Classic and Model 7600 rifles,
this fine old cartridge is sure to gain new fans among shooters who didn't
even know it existed in wildcat form.
With 3500 foot/pounds of energy, the .35 Whelen is more powerful than the
.30-06, and
quite capable of taking all North American big game. For deer size game,
bullets weighing 200 to 250 grains are the best choices. With the possible
exception the Nosler 225 grain Partition,
heavier bullets are better choices for larger game. For elk, moose, and bear,
the Speer and Barnes 250 grain
spitzers at 2500 fps deliver a ton of energy at 300 yards. When zeroed three
inches high at 100 yards, both have a point blank range of about325 yards
on a bull elk's vital area.
The all time classic powder for this cartridge is
IMR-4064, due
mainly to the fact that it works so well with all bullet weights. Two other
excellent .35 Whelen propellants are
H380 and
IMR-4320.
Source: Hodgdon Data Manual, 26th Edition
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