Originally Posted by
popeye2
Yes my velocity is generally a little fast than a Whelen but 300-500fps fast, no way. That would mean that the Whelen is only doing 2500 - 2300fps. It might be a little heavy for deer but with the right bullets you get impressive results.
That's exactly what I looked up for it. I don't recall the bullet weight as it's been awhile, maybe that is the difference.
Either way, you may use a Whelen for deer but it's still overkill. Like the 338, the Whelen is a great elk round but overkill for an animal on which a 243 does an excellent job without wasting huge amounts of meat. I've shot deer with 200gr ABs in that velocity range and it was just way too much gun than is necessary.