.338-06 or .35 Whelen

[rimrockhunter]

Take the .35 Whelen. Down the road if u want to spice it up have it rechambered to Ackley Imp. My father, uncle, and myself have hunted for 20 yrs with the .35 Whelen Ackley Improved. Killed many, many Elk and deer. Using IMR 4320 behind 225 gr Nosler Partition for 2920 FPS. This is with a 27" tube. Every rifle is a bit different, so u need to work up your own load. At 500 yards the Nosler will pick up a big Mule deer. Dead before god knew it.

 

[Spitpatch]

"At 500 yards the Nosler will pick up a big Mule deer." Perhaps in the figurative sense, (and sometimes it looks that way), but in reality, no bullet will "knock down" (let alone pick up) big game. There simply is not enough energy. Now, I will say your family agrees with my bullet choice. The 225 Partition is all I load in my .350. An old, silver-nosed Montana muley quarteriing toward me took one of these bullets in the point of the shoulder, and it skewered him, coming out the far hip. Incredible.

The Ackley improvement certainly would put to rest any misgivings some have had about the "lack of shoulder" on the Whelen case for headspacing. Should I consider the Whelen again, I'd probably go your route: do the P.O. thing to it.