[270 win]

I've been looking at the 35 whelen for some time now and am wondering if anyone has any experience with this rifle. Also, would this rifle be suitable for bear,elk, and moose out to 200 or 300 yards? And what is the recoil like with this thing?

[stalkingbear]

The recoil of the 35 Whelen is not much more than of a 30-06. It hits hard out to about 250 yards with minimal bloodshot meat. It's my all time favorite non-magnum caliber for elk within reasonable range-and a dang good deer gun too. You will experience ammo slightly hard to find however, but that won't be a problem if you reload.

[Alvah]

I will gladly ditto the Kentucky gentlemans comments. I would love to have one myself. Great all around cartridge.

Alvah

[jpattersonnh]

I would disagree w/ the recoil statement. It does depend on the platforms design. The .35 Whelan is a great cartridge. 250yards, yep it is dead in North America. If you want a .35+ cartridge look at the 9.3x62. The 9.3(.366) is a great overall round. I use a 9.3x57 for the same purpose as a .35 Whelan at 150 yards.
If you are going to hunt your list w/ the .35, you are over gunned.

[Buglemfar]

Just my opinion based on limited experience with the Whelen.

I own one in Remington 7600 pump and shot one whitetail in the timber with it at about 100 yards and it was extremely effective.

I think it kicks like a mule with 225 grain "bear claws" though 200 grain core-lokt's seem a bit milder - similar to the 30.06 as Stalkingbear indicates. I'm told a rubber recoil pad would greatly assist. If you can shoot it well I'm sure it will flatten elk/bear/moose with authority out to 300 yards.

In my case, I don't feel like I shoot it well beyond certain distances so I stick with the milder .270 which I'm more confident with.

[Rosko Packer]

I just got a Rem 700 in Whelen and I screwed up. It is a beautiful rifle but I failed to do enough research. I would like to have the option of shooting very heavy bullets (275,300 grains). The Rem has a 1:16 twist (way slow). Why this twist was chosen I don't know. I haven't tryed these heavier weights, but when I contacted Remington, they said the max would probably be 225, and heavier (longer) would not stabilize and even key-hole at 100 yards. If I would have seen this twist rate sooner, I would have made a different choice.I can load up 200 grainers hot in my 8mm Mauser so I really didn't gain what I wanted. FFT

[Catfish]

No experance yet, but I do have a barreled action and a stock waiting to be put together. According to the Sierra manual you should get 230 yrds. max. point blank range with their 225 gr. bullet, and the point blank range is figured on plus or minus 2 1/2 in. If you would figure plus or minus 5 in., as most big game rifles are set for, it would be a pretty flat shooter, even at 2,500 fps.