338-06 or 35 Whel

[wvbuckbuster]

Lets say you have a rifle with a 22 in barrel. Which would you have it rebored to? Would that length hurt the velocity from either caliber very much? If 338-06 what twist would you go with? I would only be using it on WV whitetails. Shot distance up to 350-400 yds could be possible. Dan.

 

[SJB358]

Dan, pick the one you want. I’d go 1-10 in either one of them. Out to 400 yards there is no difference at all buddy. I like the Whelen a lot but the 338-06 and 9.3x62 are both excellent as well. I can’t ever see where one can do it and the other can’t.

No the 22” barrel won’t hurt any of them a single bit either. Matter of fact, that’s about perfect. The 338 has a bit of BC advantage but at the ranges you’re wanting to use it there ain’t enough to make a bit of difference.

 

[Thebear_78]

I have all of the medium bores now. 338 fed, 338/06, 358win, 35 whelen, and 9.3x62. I don’t think there is an animal out there that could tell the difference.

Between the 338/06 and 35 whelen it comes to if you want to shoot cheaper pistol bullets for mild plinking or not. Both have a similar projectile range 150-250gr. The whelen has the edge for bullets designed for the performance range.

35 whelen has the history and possibly a slight edge in shorter barrels. Out of a 22” barrel either will work just fine.

As to twist I’d go 1-12 for the whelen and 338/06 1-10. You don’t want to go to slow if your ever planning on using mono metal bullets, they are longer and require faster twist.


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[JD338]

I will add that I have had a 700 Classic 35 Whelen since 1988. This rifle has a 22" barrel 1:16" twist and shoots the 250 gr PT at 2685 fps with sub MOA accuracy.
It hits my 10" gong with authority at 250 yards.
This year I took her out of retirement, blew off the dust and hunted WT deer with it. Last week it took it's 18th buck, a nice 8 pt at 50 yards, DRT.
Either the 338/06 or the 35 Whelen would be a good choice but the 35 Whelen would make for a dandy woods rifle with a 22" barrel.

JD338

 

[gerry]

I would do the Whelen every time myself and have done just that. In September I shot a bull moose at 312 yards and it did the job well, I practiced to 400 just in case before the trip. The only thing the 338-06 offers is more bullet selection but there are plenty of good 35 cal bullets out there. It's pretty easy to find factory loads for the Whelen compared to the 338-06. 338 bullets will have a higher b.c. but the Whelen shoots the same weights faster so it ends up being a wash out at 300-400 yards. Pistol bullets and bullets designed for the 35 Rem such as the typical 200 gr RN mean you can load them very mild if you wish or you can use the bullets designed for the bigger 35's for some serious power. A 200 gr AccuBond or TTSX at around 2850-2900 fps will handle any deer you want out to 400 yards and for that matter even up to elk and moose if you ever have the chance.

 

[DrMike]

You won't go wrong with either of those fine cartridges. I suppose I lean toward the Whelen simply because it has history on its side. There are no flies on the 338-06, however. As Scott has observed, there will be no observable difference when either cartridge is used on game. You can't go wrong with any of these.

 

[gerry]

Nice buck JD, hope you bag another 18 bucks with that beautiful 700 Classic of yours. While your 250 gr load is great of course maybe you might consider the 200 gr AB at 2900 fps for those crop damage deer you hunt each summer

 

[Blkram]

I too have the 338 Federal, 338-06, 338 Win Mag, 358 Win and 9.3x62.
I have used the 35 Whelen on elk (friend's Rem 7600 rifle) and like the cartridge.

My 338 Federals and 338-06 have 22" barrels (custom and factory, except for my rebarreled Win Model 88 which I had a 20" barrel put on for thick brush work). The 338 WM and 9.3 have 24" barrels (Sako rifles), and the 358 Win has a 20" barrel (BLR).

Both the 338-06 and 35 Whelen perform well in 22" barrels. My 338-06 is 1:10 twist and works well with 210-215 gr bullets that I use in it. All 3 338 Federals use 1:10 twist. Sorry, no sure best twist for 35 WHelen, but I know there are barrel twist charts available with recommended twwists, dependent upon which bullet weight you are preferring to use in your new rifle.

Both will work out 400 yards, but with the lighter, higher BC bullets in the 338 cal, it should shoot flatter for the longer distances. Was why I opted for the338-06 over the 35 Whelen when I built that rifle. Also was why I went with the 338 Federal for my latest build over the 358 Win (which I am very fond of and have lots of experience with in my BLR). Guess I just have a greater affinity for the 338 than I do for the 358 caliber...but just my personal preference.

If you handload, there aren't any wrong choices. If you only shoot factory ammo, then the 35 Whelen should be the choice, as Weatherby no longer makes ammo for the 338=06 and the Nosler can be hard to come by.

Would I be less pleased with owning a 35 Whelen over a 338-06? No. It would still harvest all the game that I hunt, where I hunt, and do it well.

Only you can decide which will suit your needs and desires better.
Best of luck on your new choice!

 

[SJB358]

I routinely shoot my Whelen and 9.3x62 out to 500 yards. They aren’t exactly my preferred cartridge if I know my areas will be on the longer side, but make no mistake, a 338, 35 Whelen or 9.3 will not drop out of the air past 300. If you can hit it with a 308 you can hit it harder with any of the other three. Run the numbers and you’ll see it’s less than a palms width of separation in trajectory at 400 and even 500 when all of them are loaded with similar bullets to similar speeds.

With today’s optics and even a decent bit of math on a Leupold with dots, Burris BP Or similar simple optic you can make them line up pretty well so you’d be keeping shots well within a buck. If you can dial, so much the better.

 

[truck driver]

Well as usual I'm a little different and would op for a 35 Whelen Ackley Improved.
But I also own a 338 Win and have yet to kill anything with it but on the other hand I have killed Wt deer with it and it is very impressive with 225gr PT. Another plus is if you run out of ammo or forget to take some with you you can still shoot factory 35 Whelen out of it and my fire form loads shot almost as good as my final load.
On one deer I took a Texas heart shot and practically split the deer in to. No blood shot meat and the old say eat up to the hole is true when it comes to the big 35.
It also thinks it's a sniper rifle and will stack them on top of each other at 100yds. Sighted in 3" high a 100yds here on the east coast and was banging the gong at the outfitters range in the Montana Rockies with no hold over or dialing with a ballistic plex reticle in a 3-10 Meopta scope.
I had a Rem 700 Classic in 35 Whelen but wanted something different and that is the reason for the AI version and to say the least I'm very happy with it.

 

[gbflyer]

No shade for the 338-06 on paper. That said, I always hear about bullet selection being superior to 35 Whelen. That’s true, however so many of those .338 bullets are made for magnum velocity. There are only a couple made for .338 Federal which ain’t far behind its ‘06 based brother. On the other hand, there are very few .35 magnums. The bullets there work at Whelen and 358 Win speeds.

For me, it’s a Whelen. I am getting ready to embark on a .338 Federal project with the 3-4 bullets in mind that are made for it. I have no illusions that it will be a .338 magnum. I already have one and it beats the snot out of me. Haha.

 

[6mm Remington]

338-06 but like I get the feelings from all the other folks helping you decide, mainly it comes down to personal preference. You will like either one!

 

[358 WCF]

I have, & like, both. One a 700 Classic, the other a Stainless Stalker for bad weather. Factory ammo for the Whelen, not for 338-06 anymore. There is a bigger bullet selection for the 338, but I'm unsure if it really matters. Get both. Or if you really only can have just one, flip a coin?

 

[wvbuckbuster]

Thanks for all the input. Lots of good points for each. I do reload and have for several years so was thinking of brass availability. No problem in forming brass for either if need be but know 35 Whelen is more common. The option of factory loads for the 35 is a plus for sure. I have a 35 Rem and like it for a woods gun but thinking of a bigger caliber that could be used at longer range where I do hunt also. For some reason always liked the sound of 338-06 put like the history of and somewhat bigger bullets of the 35. Not going to make a rash decision. Leaning toward the Whelen but will see. Dan.

 

[Thebear_78]

There isn’t a bad choice between them


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[Dr. Vette]

I have rifles in 35 Remington, and rifles in 338-06.

The 220 grain round bullets work well in the 35, the 210 pointy ones in the 338. 30-06 brass is easy to obtain and resize to 338-06. So, that's how I use the 338 and the 35.

Well, and there's my 340 Weatherby, but...