In 1987 Remington made an honest cartridge out of the .35 Whelen. The company has chambered several rifles in the cartridge including models in bolt-action, pump-action and semi-automatic. Ruger briefly chambered the M77 rifle in .35 Whelen. Also H&R 1871, Inc., offered single-shot rifles in .35 Whelen from 1994 to 1996. They have almost all abandoned the cartridge. The only rifles I can find in production are from Nosler, Remington and CVA.

The ammunition situation is a little better than the rifles. Remington continues to offer factory ammo, and its 200-grain factory load has a muzzle velocity of 2675 f.p.s., while the 250-grain load’s muzzle velocity is 2400 f.p.s. Federal loads the 225-grain Trophy Bonded Bear Claw bullet with a muzzle velocity of 2600 f.p.s. Fusion Ammo has a 200-grain with a muzzle velocity of 2800 f.p.s. Hornady has a Superformance load with a 200-grain SP at 2910 f.p.s. Barnes has a Vor-TX load with a 180-grain TSX bullet and a muzzle velocity of 2900 f.p.s. Nosler has three loads in its Custom line. They include both the AccuBond and the Partition 225-grain bullets with a muzzle velocity of 2800 f.p.s. and a 250-grain Partition load with a muzzle velocity of 2550 f.p.s.

If you match the bullet to the game, this is one of the all-time great hunting cartridges. I have used the .35 Whelen on critters from bobcats to moose. Included in that have been a whole bunch of deer, hogs and a bear or two. It has never failed me. I believe it never will.
I own several rifles in this cartridge and all my .35 Whelen rifles are accurate. With the best loads, my Remington Model 700 is one-hole accurate. With a 200-grain bullet the .35 Whelen actually shoots a bit flatter than the .30-’06 Sprg. with a similar 180-grain bullet. The .35 Whelen is accurate, hits hard, penetrates deep, shoots flat and recoils mildly. Why the public abandoned it so quickly is a mystery to me.

.358 Norma Magnum
The .358 Norma Mag. was designed for the American market, but sadly no American riflemaker ever chambered the cartridge in a cataloged gun. It’s often thought that if they had it would have gained popularity over the .338 Win. Mag.They have almost identical case capacity, but the .358 Norma Mag. can drive the same weight bullet a bit faster. One can almost hear the echoes of Norma Mag. crying, “My kingdom for a rifle.”

The .358 Norma Mag. factory load is a 250-grain Oryx bullet listed with a muzzle velocity of 2723 f.p.s. That load actually produced 2825 f.p.s. from my E.R. Shaw rifle’s 24-inch barrel. Norma offers factory ammunition, E.R. Shaw will make a rifle, as will any other custom, or semi-custom, riflemaker.

If we compare the .300 Win. Mag. loaded with a 180-grain Oryx bullet to the .358 Norma Mag. with a 250-grain Oryx bullet—both with a 200-yd. zero—we see that contrary to popular belief, a 35-caliber can be a long-range cartridge. At 300 yds., the .358 Norma impacts only 0.96" lower than the .300 Win. At 400 yds., the .358 Norma impacts 3.1 inches lower than the .300 Win. Mag. The .358 has 24 percent more energy at the muzzle than the .300 Win. Mag. At 300 yards, it has 19 percent more energy than the .300 Win. Mag.—all with a bigger, heavier bullet that will punch a bigger hole and penetrate deeper. I have used this cartridge on moose with excellent results. I would also expect it to handle anything in North America from deer to the big bears.

While the American mainstream won’t accept the .35, they are not unloved. Gun guys recognize the potential in the .358. Perhaps that’s how it should be, the masses rarely embrace true greatness. No matter if it’s books, art or hunting cartridges, it’s only those with a deep understanding of the subject who can fully understand the greatness often buried in obscurity.