35 Whelen: overlooked, misunderstood, vastly underrated
In Search of The Colonel
Posted by Robert Boatman
I am not alone in declaring the .35 Whelen the best all-around rifle cartridge ever invented in America.
The actual fact is, the .35 Whelen has been used quite successfully on Cape buffalo and elephant as well.
Whelen and Howe envisioned the .35 Whelen as a rifle capable of dropping very large or very dangerous game, calling for a barrel with a 1-in-12” rifling twist to stabilize heavy bullets up to 300 grains. Such a rifle would naturally be built on an appropriate dangerous-game action –- that is, first and foremost, a
Mauser ’98 type with controlled-round-feed including a self-locking spring steel extractor.
Recent report from an American hunter in Zimbabwe:
“After the shot the big male leopard moved about 15 yards up a small embankment into heavy bush and high grass. We found him dead. The bullet went through his left shoulder, destroying everything in between and exiting on the far side. ... It was very exciting to see a pride of lions approaching our bait.
The
250-grain Nosler hit in the left shoulder and exited after penetrating diagonally through the animal. ... On this safari, five animals were taken with seven shots fired. ... My experience with this cartridge indicated to me that the .35 Whelen with appropriate bullets is a very fine choice for hunting in Zimbabwe.”
http://35whelen.blogspot.de/