I just thought I'd bring this up, since I hadn't heard of anyone using this caliber in this forum.
Last summer I took a trip to Namibia and did some hunting and fishing. I brought a single shot 12 gauge for ginny fowl and bird shooting, and a custom built bolt action 35 Whelen.
I can tell you that the 35 is a great caliber for any plains game, and can take most medium to large game in the the world. Every animal I shot went down with one bullet. That included everything from Kudu down to Springbok. The 35 Whelen is a large slow round by today's standards, but it really packs a wallup. The slower velocity of the 200-225-250 grain bullet reduced the amount of body damage to the animals, even though it penetrated completely through. One shot traversed almost the entire body cavity of a Blesbok as it was walking away at a slight quartering angle from 135 yards.
The only drawback to this round is that it is not good for long range shots because of bullet trajectory. It still carries a fair amount of energy, but shooting beyond 200-250 yards and it's like firing artillery. So if you are shooting game at ranges less than that, as you often can in Africa, then it is perfectly suitable.
Since I've heard of taking down the Big 5 with smaller calibers, I suspect you can do the same thing with a proper hit from the 35 Whelen, but it wouldn't be my first choice. Besides, most places require something bigger if you are specifically hunting them. As far as self-defense with a 35 Whelen on dangerous game, I know it's been used on leopards and would feel safe using it on any cat, if I was confronted.
Does anyone else have experience with this caliber?
