The 35 Whelen is a great round. Classic medium bore American round. Designed by Col. Townsend Whelen long before the belted magnums hit the market in the 50's, it filled a niche. Based off the -06, as many wildcats were in the 20's, and using the 358 rifle bullets readily available then, the 35 Whelen found a large following in Alaska among those who rolled their own ammo, for good reason.
The 200 Nosler Partition and the 35 Whelen go together like peas and carrots, imho. At 2800 FPS and a minimum reliable expansion velocity of 1600 FPS, the effective range of this round is easily 300 yards. It carries 1500# out to 500 yards. You'll be dropping like a stone out there, of course, but if you zero in at 200 yards with this bullet your max height is 2.0" over LOS at 110 yards and 2.1" below LOS at 280 yards. Basically point and shoot out to 300 for all big game. You can get real horsepower out of it like
@zwickeyman did as well with 225's and 250's, which sounds like a nice build.
There are a lot of copper monolithic bullets available, but keep in mind the 35 typically isn't known for being a speed demon and their minimum velocities are at a higher velocity than a traditional lead core bullet. Not to say they can't also be used, but in my opinion the mono's are a little out of character for this classic round. However, if you're in the mono mood, check out the 180gr TTSX... an interesting combo.
Going the other direction in "monolithic bullets", there are several enthusiasts in the cast bullet world (check out
www.castboolits.com) that hold the 35 Whelen in high regard for cast lead/paper patching. A very interesting rabbit hole to go down...
A very appealing aspect of the 35 Whelen used to be that you can load cheap 357 pistol bullets for practice/plinking. This was far more appealing back in the days of $.01 primers and $10/# powder, of course. 30-06 brass is nearly free at any public range... before the massive price increases for components, you could legitimately load 100 rounds with 158 grain 357 FMJ for $.15/round. Even given today's prices, you could still load up that same 100 rounds for $.50 each on 30-06 range brass.
I think of your Mauser and a 35 Whelen build, shooting 200 Partitions or paper patched cast bullets you poured yourself, and imagine a near-perfect combination. No worries about running into mr grizz up here with that in your hands. Basically a 400 yard rifle if you "hold on hair," (or dial it in, but turreted scopes look silly on old mausers, imo) it could have just as easily been lifted off the pages of a 1950 Outdoor life article about hunting moose in AK or on safari in Africa.
If you can't tell, I'm a fan of your 35 Whelen on a mauser idea.
As an aside, I've shot only one 375 H&H, a Sako AV, and found it to be more pleasant to shoot than my buddies Ruger in 338WM. Some rifles are just mules due to weight and/or stock design, however. A 35 Whelen shooting 200-225's at 2700-2800 will be manageable in a heavier mauser build, imo.
There's a few other members I know of that might be able to offer some personal experience -
@Angry Perch,
@wadu1 Good luck!
