Originally Posted By: Yukon21I guess I can't imagine hunting a whitetail in Wisconsin with a 35 Colonel? You must have some thing like deer the size of Elan's. I must be old fashioned or something, maybe so, but deer? To own the caliber/gun is one thing but Wisconsin? It isn't even a fun gun to shoot on the bench rest either, only a brake will tame it somewhat.
I only hope you can get the dream of dreams that you want.
I've fired over a thousand rounds through mine in load development and practice. I never found the recoil objectionable. I find brakes extremely objectionable and won't shoot next to anyone who has one when I'm at the range.
Why is it necessary to use the Whelen only on elan/moose size critters? The three caribou cows I've taken with mine are all about the size of a large WI whitetail buck. The wound channels were significant but there was little to no blood shot meat surrounding the entrance or exit wounds. I would expect similar performance on whitetails.
Before the advent of all the modern high intensity magnums, short magnums and hyper velocity small bores, the 35 Whelen was considered one of the best all around North American wildcats. The grand old Whelen is pleasant to shoot, inherently very accurate and easy on meat. Sounds like a winning combo to me.
