[45-70 nut]

Which do you guys perfer. I am looking for a new rifle and narrowed it to these two. A remington .35 whelen or a cooper 338-06. This will be an all around rifle from deer to moose. I dont want a .338 win mag. because of the dramatic increase in recoil.

 

[tkbigbore]

I think a 35 whelen would be more fun plus I bet there are some.mean hardcast bullets for.it . Its a magnum without the words magnum printed on the box makes same ME as the 300 win mag . Remington did make a cdl in 35 whelen

 

[gunchamp]

I've got a 35 whelen in a 7600. Great cartridge, with alot of power. Puts whitetails down like the hammer of thor. Thats what I would go with!

 

[Tnhunter]

I've owned both, but still only have the Whelen. The .338/06 moved away when I realized there's nothing it can do better, IMHO than the .35 Whelen. Especially if you do not handload the Whelen is most certainly the better bet. For the handloader, they remain close, but the Whelen still has the ability to use heavier bullets with more frontal area.

 

[Hummer]

I wouldn't even consider a 338 when you can go to 358 diam bullet and even find factory ammo for it. You can also get a bullet mold for like 285 gr bullets, load them down to 1050 fps and have a very low noise signature thumper about the same noise level as a Nylon 66 w/ hispeed ammo. A 358 Winchester would be good as well as a 9X56 Mannlicher Schoenaur.

 

[duane]

i own both a remington 700 cdl in 35 whelen and a savage 110 in 338-06. i do not see any difference between 2 as they both shoot great, easy to reload, and both do the same job. i will probably keep both. if i had to chose one it would take some deep thought for a couple years

 

[Gil Martin]

It depends what you prefer

I am having a pair of .338-06 rifles being built on sporterized 1903 Springfield actions. My brother has a .35 Whelen and loves it. My preference was for the .338-06 and now I will have them. All the best...
Gil

 

[shane256]

The only thing I can think of is that there seems to be a wider variety of bullets available for .338" than the .358" for hunting, not that anyone needs so many options... you just need one that serves your purposes and you can get to shoot accurately. .35 Whelens are all the rage down South (Mississippi, in particular, due to the PW new-ish regulations for private land) right now and it seems ammo is getting easier to come by.

 

[BarkBuster20]

.338-06 would be my choice. Larger selection of bullets, better sectional densitys, and better BC's, you can by factory ammunition for it as well. theres a lot of bullets available above 250 grains as well. could go as low as 160 grain bullets too. on paper the .338-06 wins in my opinion. When my granpa hit about 70 he switched to the .338-06 from the .338 WM, he seems to like it.

 

[Tnhunter]

Well, I'm gonna stand by my claims of factory ammo being much easier to find and easier on the wallet as well. Midway USA shows us a good number of loads (10) for the .338-06. They run from 180gr to 250gr. None are over 250gr. Prices on these loads run from $73. to $92. for 20. The .35 Whelen shows 14 different loads, from 180gr to 310gr. Prices range from $31 to $63. Six of those loads are under $45./box

Bullet performance is such:
180gr/.35 @ 3000FPS and .338/06 180gr @ 2950
200gr/.35 @ 2910FPS and .338/06 [email protected] 2800
225gr NP/.35 @ 2725 FPS and .338/06 225gr NP @ 2600
250gr NP/.35 @ 2550 FPS and .338/06 250gr NP @ 2475
310gr WW/.35 @ 2300 FPS and .338/06 larger than 250gr, not available

****Most of these loads are even produced by the same companies.

Both are fine cartridges and I thought I needed both. But upon further examination, the .35 does more, IMHO. For the handloader, not much difference, after buying the cases. Not here to disparage the .338/06, simply calling it as I see it, which is what the original poster wanted.

 

[BarkBuster20]

Well, I'm gonna stand by my claims of factory ammo being much easier to find and easier on the wallet as well. Midway USA shows us a good number of loads (10) for the .338-06. They run from 180gr to 250gr. None are over 250gr. Prices on these loads run from $73. to $92. for 20. The .35 Whelen shows 14 different loads, from 180gr to 310gr. Prices range from $31 to $63. Six of those loads are under $45./box

Bullet performance is such:
180gr/.35 @ 3000FPS and .338/06 180gr @ 2950
200gr/.35 @ 2910FPS and .338/06 [email protected] 2800
225gr NP/.35 @ 2725 FPS and .338/06 225gr NP @ 2600
250gr NP/.35 @ 2550 FPS and .338/06 250gr NP @ 2475
310gr WW/.35 @ 2300 FPS and .338/06 larger than 250gr, not available

****Most of these loads are even produced by the same companies.

Both are fine cartridges and I thought I needed both. But upon further examination, the .35 does more, IMHO. For the handloader, not much difference, after buying the cases. Not here to disparage the .338/06, simply calling it as I see it, which is what the original poster wanted.

Of course the .35 will shoot faster with the same weight bullet, as it is shorter, with the same case behind the bullet. The .338 bullet will shoot flatter and be more resistant to wind, and should penetrate deeper as well, two sides to this coin. and the handloader can go anywhere from 160 grains to 300 grains, with far more available options for bullets.

Not sure what the .35 will do the .338 wont. i know past 3-4 hundred yards the .338 will do more though.

The fact the guy was thinkin of a .338-06 tells me he is probably a handloader...lot of moot points if thats the case. I am actually surprised there were ten different loads for the .338-06 or a-sqaure.

 

[Tnhunter]

Of course the .35 will shoot faster with the same weight bullet, as it is shorter, with the same case behind the bullet. The .338 bullet will shoot flatter and be more resistant to wind, and should penetrate deeper as well, two sides to this coin. and the handloader can go anywhere from 160 grains to 300 grains, with far more available options for bullets.

Not sure what the .35 will do the .338 wont. i know past 3-4 hundred yards the .338 will do more though.

The fact the guy was thinkin of a .338-06 tells me he is probably a handloader...lot of moot points if thats the case. I am actually surprised there were ten different loads for the .338-06 or a-sqaure.

I'm not about to argue about this, simply told my side of what I know. I doubt, very much, this poster is worried about 300-400 yard shots with either a .338/06 or .35 Whelen. If he was, my very firm response would be to simply man up to the long range capable .338WM or .340 WBY mag.

For those of us that like both these rounds for what they are intended for, moderate range hunting of larger game, I'll simply add this. The .338/06 is a fine round. The .35 Whelen hits harder, with more frontal area at higher velocity at close range for those of us more interested in 25-250 yard shots. These are the ranges most large game is killed at, period.

The frontal area of a .35 Whelen is considerably larger than the .338's. For the record, it happens to be closer to the .375 H&H, than to the .338. Ponder on that for a few miliseconds.

 

[BarkBuster20]

the frontal area is about the best argument i could think of for the .35, the .338-06 is behind it less than 100 fps in most cases, and should have better penetration due to the sectional density, i was thinking it might be more appropriete for his uses (whitetail to moose). Anyway, he was also concerned about recoil, the .338-06 should have less recoil as well. Doubt you could tell much difference between the two, the bullet selection just seems a lot better for the .338.

 

[gunchamp]

Totally agree tn.

 

[gunpa]

I don't own either one but don't need one--- cause I own a 338 win mag which beats both for longer shots, but in the woods of Maine you don't have the wide open shots we often encounter in eastern Idaho. I think a moose would be just as dead with whelen or 338-06.

 

[magnumitis]

I don't own either........either. I always saw the .33's and .35's as an un-necessary stop between the .30's and .37's

That being said, were I to go into the marketplace for an unbelted medium, I'd pick the Whelen, no contest. Heavier bullets, more frontal area and you can walk into a lot of WalMarts and pick up a box of factory loads (even though I reload about everything I shoot). As for the debate over velocity, trajectory, B.C. and S.D.......... I don't feel any of them matter much over the practical ranges of either round.

 

[Charley]

I've built one of each, on Czech Mauser actions. For my purposes, there isn't a dimes worth of difference between them, The .338 shoots a bit flatter, the .35 has a larger selection of bullets if you are a handloader.
Buy the one that fits you best, including budget.

 

[BarkBuster20]

I've built one of each, on Czech Mauser actions. For my purposes, there isn't a dimes worth of difference between them, The .338 shoots a bit flatter, the .35 has a larger selection of bullets if you are a handloader.
Buy the one that fits you best, including budget.

i thought the .338 diameter had a larger selection of bullets.. Now you guys got me thinkn bout converting a savage 110 into a 35 whelan.

 

[Barstool]

Bald men fighting over a comb.

Barstool(er)

 

[dmsbandit]

I don't own either one but don't need one--- cause I own a 338 win mag which beats both for longer shots, but in the woods of Maine you don't have the wide open shots we often encounter in eastern Idaho. I think a moose would be just as dead with whelen or 338-06.

Out to 300yds, a good handloaded 35 Whelen is the equal of a Factory loaded 338 win Magnum. Start a 35 caliber 250gr bullet at 2500-2600fps and it will kill ANYTHING walking North America and most animals walking Africa.

It made it's reputation as the "poorman's .375 H&H when the good Colonel came up with it over 80yrs ago.