This is in response to JonB's comment on his test results with the 35 Whelen. I have shot a 35 Whelen for about 12 years, since Remington came out with rifles and ammo in 1988. During this time I shot 6 elk and several deer with the 35 Whelen. Those in the U.S. know that no factory production guns are currently made and that the 35 W. is going the way of the Dodo bird. This is unfortunate, but not surprising to me. The main reason for the quick demise of the 35 Whelen is that when the production rifles and ammo first came out, there was a lack of good bullets, published loads and factory ammo for medium sized game like elk, moose and large bears.
My experience is similar to others I have corresponded with. For deer, just about any bullet and load is adequate. Why someone would pack around a 35 Whelen for deer remains a mystery to me. The deer I shot were strictly to "see what happens." My first elk was killed with a 225 Nosler Partition and a full throttle load of IMR 4320. I got a shot at a mature 5x6 bull at about sixty yards - running - and drilled him in the last rib. The bullet didn't exit, and I ended up shooting him 2 more times. The first two shots would have killed him. This elk piled up in black timber and it took me over half an hour to find him because there was no blood trail. I killed another elk with this bullet and it too did not completely penetrate. I switched to 250 grain Speer Grand Slam bullets and shot a couple more bull elk. These bullets hardly expanded - one looked like I could reload it again. The .358 Grand Slam is too tough a bullet for the 35 Whelen. I used both Reloader 12 and 15 for these loads. One bull elk hit in lungs went perhaps a mile before I shot it through the spine.
I have switched to a 250 grain Nosler Partition and feel this bullet is ideal for medium game. I'm currently using 51.5 grains of RL-12, which is considered max in Nosler's manual - but in reality is not near so in my rifle. The problem is if I add more powder, my groups suffer immediately. This bullet penetrates elk sized animals - they go down fast and the bullets appear to expand perfectly.
A summary of other 35 Whelen correspondences have provided me with the following: All agree the 225 grain Nosler Partition does not penetrate well enough on medium game. One Alaskan had shot and wounded a grizzly with this bullet - and could not follow it because there was no blood trail. It is probably the best bullet for black bear. The Federal Premium 225 Trophy Bonded load is anemic - several users on deer, including one hunter using it on black-tailed deer in Alaska, noted that the bullets remained within deer. Many Canadians and Alaskans use the 225 and 250 grain Barnes-X bullets in the 35 Whelen and liked them. I could not find anyone who had shot more that one moose, however. Remington's 250 gr. Pointed softpoint bullet and load works well, but I and others found that the factory load is not accurate in our guns. The Hornady 250 gr round nose and pointed softpoints are both supposed to be excellent - but nobody that contacted me had actually used them. Nobody used or recommended either the Nosler 225 gr Ballistic Tip or the Sierra Boattail. No idea how these perform.
I agree with most authors that the 250 grain bullets define the 35 Whelen as a medium game cartridge. I recommend the 250 gr. Nosler Partition. My next choice would be a 250 Barnes-X, followed by a Hornady 250 pointed softpoint or Speer's 250 gr. Pointed softpoint (not the Grand Slam).
As for recoil, by far the heaviest recoil in my Remington 700 was with the 225 Noz. Partition and a full dose of IMR 4320. The gun do talk back! With the 250 gr. loads, apparent recoil is less - and much less than a .300, 338 or 340 mags. AlanM's recommendation of the Past Recoil Pad (sissy pad) is a good one - the one you put over your shoulder - makes a kitty out of any tiger I've shot. I use mine for shooting any caliber above .22 and find I rarely flinch using even the .300's and .338's. Also, my .35 Whelen is perhaps the most accurate rifle I own. It will shoot well with many different bullets and powders. In fact, I've been able to get every bullet I've tried to shoot extremely well. The .35 Whelen is a winner. In my opinion, it suffered greatly from the lack of good bullets and loads available back in the late 1980's.