The other 9mms...the .35s.

[UNM1136]

I have been fascinated with .35 rifle rounds for a long, long, time. 35 Remington, .35 Rem Mag, 35 Whelen..

I have long believed that anything walking on this continent can be taken with a 30-06 or .270. Magnums are not needed for elk or moose. @GJM took me to task a few years ago on the .300 WinMag for elk and made excellent points. None of which applied to me or my style of hunting.

I guess what I love about the idea of the .35s is the heavier, larger diameter bullets. 35 Whelen pretty much duplicates 30-06 external ballistics but with bigger, heavier bullets. I tend to hunt close range wooded areas with the regular opportunities for long range stuff. I need a brush buster with legs.

I am told that modern powders and bullets make the .35 Whelen very viable. Let's face it, ANY .35 proposition is likely to be a specialist, hand loaded round. The Ackley Improved version reportedly added only about 2% velocity increase, making it one of the worst candidates for the Ackley treatment.. OK. If modern powders and bullets improve the Whelen, how much will the increased case capacity of the .35 Whelen AI be improved with modern powders and bullets? And fire forming. And able to use standard rounds in a pinch. And fire forming.

And this is America. I don't need to show a need for a particular gun...

A want is enough.

pat

[Flamingo]

If you ever get the itch for 350 Rem Mag, let me know. I have a pile of factory brass (new and once fired) and reloading dies for it. I bought them for a project that never got past that stage. I did get the 6.5 Rem Mag project done.

[sharps54]

The .358 caliber rounds are great, I wish I still had all the ones I used to own. I had Remington pumps in both 35 Remington and Whelan and still have a Marlin 336 in 35 Remington. A buddy has a Mauser that was rebarreled to 35 Whelan and he loves it. About twenty years ago I knew a guy that had a Remington 700 in 358 STA and a FAL that was rebarreled to 358 Winchester. That 358 STA was big medicine!

I look forward to the responses. I don’t hunt much anymore and am slimming down my rifles. I know with ammo availability I should trade my 35 Remington in for a 30-30 since I don’t reload anymore but it is one I might end up keeping just because…

[GJM]

Bill Wilson has killed many, many game animals in Africa with the .35 Whelen. I have shot many caribou and a handful of moose with .338-06. Those calibers are very effective on medium size animals. My preference for the .300 WM is purely about a flatter trajectory and better ability to place the bullet, especially in adverse conditions like snow and fog where your range finder might not work. I chased two wounded elk around some hours because of this.

[UNM1136]

One of the big sells for the Whelen is a standard, non Magnum long action rifle.

Bore out (a shot out 30-06 barrel, maybe?) a .30 long action and go...

pat

[UNM1136]

Bill Wilson has killed many, many game animals in Africa with the .35 Whelen. I have shot many caribou and a handful of moose with .338-06. Those calibers are very effective on medium size animals. My preference for the .300 WM is purely about a flatter trajectory and better ability to place the bullet, especially in adverse conditions like snow and fog where your range finder might not work. I chased two wounded elk around some hours because of this.

It wasn't a shot. I respect your opinion, and the way you framed your preference for the Wn Mag made sense. But I have an 80÷ year old '06 that I will shoot out at some point, and then the door will open....

I have had one shot at an elk in the last decade, and at 36 yards with a bow I missed. Deer hunting has been better for me, with shots from 14 yards to over 300.

pat

[GJM]

It wasn't a shot. I respect your opinion, and the way you framed your preference for the Wn Mag made sense. But I have an 80÷ year old '06 that I will shoot out at some point, and then the door will open....

I have had one shot at an elk in the last decade, and at 36 yards with a bow I missed. Deer hunting has been better for me, with shots from 14 yards to over 300.

pat

I didn't take it any way but conversational. Jeff Cooper said a .30-06 is a one rifle solution for all of North America. Add in a pre 64 .375 H&H, and you have a whole world solution.

[Rick R]

9.3x62mm for all your -06 action needs.
And if your ammo case goes into airline luggage limbo you can find factory rounds (at least in RSA) as a friend discovered a few years ago.

[oregon45]

http://www.35caliber.com


I haven't used this service, but I've heard good things for several years about his re-bores and it would be a quick way into a 35 caliber rifle if you have a spare '06 hanging around. I like both 35 Whelen and 9.3x62, and have had several rifles in each chambering, but I tended to use them only with bullets 250gr and above. Below that weight I'd rather run an '06 for the better bullet variety and load flexibility.

[NETim]

I didn't take it any way but conversational. Jeff Cooper said a .30-06 is a one rifle solution for all of North America. Add in a pre 64 .375 H&H, and you have a whole world solution.

Sounds much like what good ol' Jack O'Connor advised once upon a time. Limited to one rifle to hunt world wide, the .375 H&H. Two rifles? Add an '06. Of course, back when he offered this, maybe there weren't so many choices available.

But I find it interesting that both of these cartridges are still in use and still very, very viable.

I think he was onto something myself.

PS I have shot the fierce western Nebraska prairie dog with the .375. It stopped them cold.