own a 35 Whelen in AI version on a custom 700 platform... i havn't approached the HOT load area with it yet... far as i have gone is 225 grains leaving the barrel at just a tick under 2700 FPS... gee that's only 3600+ ft-lb of mojo... heck my hunting loads are only at the top fo the std Whelen reloading charts (2600fps / 3400 ft-lb)... Personally with bullets in the .358 range, especially "premium" bullets, i think i need to push it a bit harder than i am to get them to perform better on target... for North America i think i have it covered with this puppy... I might not have it loaded "Hot" but it doesn't hit me nearly as hard as my 700 MR in 280 Rem, which isn't loaded "hot" either....

This is all well and good.. but then i do have a hankering for something half an inch + to play with... something that'll just cut a deer clean in two... i am sick of having to look within 10 yds of where i hit the critter to find it... J/K.... only want one... because i can... and big holes are cool