The Legend behaves about like a 35 Remington, which is a hammer of a whitetail and black bear round out to about 200 yds.
The Whelen is in a whole different league. The Whelen is an effective cartridge on elk sized game to about 400 yds. You asked about recoil in the Whelen. It depends on...
Is this an original or custom barrel? How many rounds through it? It sounds to me like you have a barrel that shoots 1/2 moa with an occasional better group. That’s all the better some will shoot. Nothing wrong with that.
I have a couple of 35 Rems. I killed my buck last year with the 336. Hot loaded 180 gr Speer dropped him where he stood with a high shoulder shot. I also have a Model 81 in 35 Rem. It is great fun at the range. I will hunt with it again sometime. I also have a couple of Whelens. The elk and...