Congrats on a beautiful rifle!
I own many 35 Whelen rifles, 15 currently. Great cartridge!
I use 225gr. TBBC, 250gr. NP, & 280 gr. SAF. I have taken Elk & Moose in Colorado with them, and Leopard, Sable, Sitatunga, Hartebeest, Lechwe, Bushbuck, Warthog & Oribi in Africa with it. It can take a wide variety/weight of animals.
I have used it on the larger animals in NA, and as a light rifle in Africa. My light rifle in America is a 25-06 (115 gr.) or 280 Rem. (140 gr/160 gr.), and my heavy rifle in Africa is a 404 Jeffery (430 gr. NF). I have used a number of calibers for my light rifles in Africa, and the Whelen has performed as well as the rest of them (25-06, 30-06, 338WM, 9.3x62, 9.3x66, 375 H&H).
Last year I took a 46” Buffalo in Zambia with my 9.3x66 with one heart shot (286 gr. NP). I feel I could have taken it just as well with a 35 Whelen using the 280 gr. SAF. I have quit taking the Whelen to Africa simply because it is not legal there for DG, only PG. Thank God for that, because I was going to shoot the Buffalo with my 404J, but the bull was 140 yds. away in the Bangweulu Swamp, a little long for my 404J, so I handed off the 404 to the tracker and went with my scoped 9.3, crawling on hands & knees until my PH and I were 140 yds. away with no more cover. As it was a 9.3, and Zambian law allows it for use on DG, I was legal for the game scout attached to us. A Whelen would not have been legal, but a lot of times the scout doesn’t care, but if you get one that does care, or is looking for a bribe to use it…
I love my 35 Whelens! I’d hunt anything in NA with it, including the big bears, and any PG in Africa. The largest PG in Africa is Eland (2,000-2,500 lbs.) and I would not hesitate to use it on them. I’d probably choose the 280 gr. SAF on that big animal, but hey, the Buffalo went down with one 286 gr. NP!
Thank you Mr. Whelen & Mr. Howe for a wonderful cartridge!
