Living in Alaska, I have two .35 Whelens, A 98 Mauser with a 1-14 twist, and an H&R single shot with a 1-16 twist. I also have a Ruger .358 Win. with a 1-12 twist. The 1-12 twist is what I would build around if I were to start another .35 custom rifle.

Within a good stones throw, there are four of us who hunt with the .35 Whelen. It is effective, things stop happening more quickly than with lesser rounds, and good bullets are available in heavy weights.

I have a copy of Colonel Townsend Whelens book, Why Not Load Your Own, 1957, it lists loads for bullets to 300 grains, and he states, "The twist of rifling should be one turn in 14 inches."

I have had some stability issues with 300 gr. bullets with the 1-14 twist, and would prefer 1-12 for that, but I don't shoot them often. I do shoot 285 grain bullets, as that is what I normally carry hunting. They shoot 1 1/2" at 100 yards regularly off the bench with a Caldwell Lead Sled. You might be able to hold tighter with higher magnification, but I'm using 4X and bifocals. For me that is just fine.

As far as the 1-16 twist, I get my best groups with 225 & 250s with 270s coming pretty close. 280s and 285s start looking like shotgun patterns and the 285 gr spitzers are not stable at 200 yards, as they cut an oblong hole. The 280 gr round nose shoot Ok, but the 250 gr bullet is what that rifle shoots best.

If a tally of hunters in Alaska using the .35 Whelen were taken, I think it would be A very high percentage. Each year, I see hunters on the Kenai Peninsula hunting moose in brown bear territory with .35 Whelens. The same holds true for the interior, hunting caribou. The other animal you see hunters carrying the Whelen is for sitka blacktails. On places like Kodiak, shooting your deer is like Pavlov's bells to the brown bears. There you see some pretty big bore guns.

I guess to sum up my thoughts, the .35 Whelen has caught on, it is geographically popular for caribou, elk, moose, and other game where a bigger bore makes a difference.