It's finally underway!

[gerry]

After nearly driving myself totally nuts and thinking it through everywhich way - 87 times, the 35 Whelen project is finally officially underway with the purchase of a left hand Remington 700 SPS 270 Win this afternoon from a store DrMike mentioned when we visited him, Barton's in Grande Prairie AB. After trying out a bunch of different guns I still like how the Remington fits and feels. The SPS stock is decent, I may go with a McMillan Edge later or maybe not we will see. Talked it over with my wife and she was quite supportive in my going ahead with this and getting something I really want. This will be one of my main rifles along with the 264 WM. I'm going to get one piece at a time as funds come available but hopefully by this fall it will be up and shooting.

Need to get the barrel next unless someone has a different suggestion it's down to a choice between a Canadian barrel made by Ron Smith or a Benchmark 1 in 12 twist. It's going to be a stainless barrel cut at 24", I was wondering is the factory CDL Whelen a magnum contour, should I go lighter or even heavier any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

 

[DrMike]

That is awesome, Gerry. It is great to have your lady on board with this project. I do like the 12 twist; it has worked out well for me with the Hart barrel. I opted not to go with a magnum contour, choosing a #3 sporter contour. It has worked out very well for me.

 

[jmad_81]

NICE!

my STW has a benchmark and it shoots really well!

 

[JD338]

Gerrry,

Congratulations on kicking off the new project.
I would go with a standard contour just to keep it light. A 24" fluted barrel would be nice in a #3 contour. :wink:

JD338

 

[BK]

Double bonus! You get a Whelen, and there's one less .270 out there!

 

[Songdog]

Double bonus! You get a Whelen, and there's one less .270 out there!

Amen....

Congrats on the Whelen... it'll be fun (unless you have fur... then, not so fun). Never owned a Whelen... though I've had a fling or two with the .358 Win. and have a great respect for what a .35 cal bullet will do to critter clockwork, even at the modest velocities of the .358.

 

[gerry]

Thanks guys, The 35 Whelen is still my favorite cartridge it just simply works well on just about any animal. DrMike's gun with the #3 Hart really looked nice will have to see the specs on that one on their website, maybe Scotty will see this and let me know what his CDL has for barrel measurements. It will definitely be a sporter of some sort, not super heavy. Jmad-81 your 7mm STW is a great shooter Benchmark does seem to have a great reputation for making accurate barrels.

 

[nvbroncrider]

Double bonus! You get a Whelen, and there's one less .270 out there!

Dang we think a lot alike! On top of that when you have a 280 there is no desire to shoot a 270 so then you don't have to deal with the cardnial sin of shooting the donor!

 

[SJB358]

Thanks guys, The 35 Whelen is still my favorite cartridge it just simply works well on just about any animal. DrMike's gun with the #3 Hart really looked nice will have to see the specs on that one on their website, maybe Scotty will see this and let me know what his CDL has for barrel measurements. It will definitely be a sporter of some sort, not super heavy. Jmad-81 your 7mm STW is a great shooter Benchmark does seem to have a great reputation for making accurate barrels.

Let me know if you need em Gerry, but I think if you use what came with it, you'll be in great shape too..

 

[BK]

IIRC, all Remington non-magnums use the same contour... Remington Standard Sporter on ADL, BDL, CDL, Classic, SPS. The magnums use, amazingly enough, a Remington Magnum Sporter contour, as do the fluted guns (such as the CDL-SF). Mountain rifles have their own profile; Police, Varmint and Senderos share a profile. I think. 44 year old memory here, so take it with a grain of sand.

 

[nvbroncrider]

Thanks guys, The 35 Whelen is still my favorite cartridge it just simply works well on just about any animal. DrMike's gun with the #3 Hart really looked nice will have to see the specs on that one on their website, maybe Scotty will see this and let me know what his CDL has for barrel measurements. It will definitely be a sporter of some sort, not super heavy. Jmad-81 your 7mm STW is a great shooter Benchmark does seem to have a great reputation for making accurate barrels.

I would personally go with Pac-Nor they produce a great product as seen with all the M48's on here. When I took my actions up and ordered the 2nd the 338-06AI #2 Chrome Moly on a Pre-64 I took a tour of the plant and that was way cool. They showed me step by step what they do to build a barrel. The rifling process is awesome they use a button system and place the barrel on a hydralic lathe and then press the button through the bore. to remove the 5-7 thousandths for the rifling. They lap everything by hand and borescope each one. The CNC machine was awesome. It will thread a barrel in 45 seconds and contour one in 3 minutes or so if I remember right. Plus they are a great group of people and take pride in their work.

 

[DrMike]

Gerry,

Are you projecting a timeline? Have you settled on a barrel yet?

 

[gerry]

I have a Pac Nor on my 264 WM and it shoots great, they do make a really nice barrel. I'm leaning towards the Benchmark right now but won't make a final decision until my donor gun is in my hands and can figure out what contour to use. Talked with the guy who imports the Benchmark he is a really nice guy who is trying to build a business slow and steady, guys like this usually are fair in how they price things. I like to support someone like that and he only lives a few hours east of me. Will keep this thread updated.

 

[bullet]

Hey, man that is awesome, can't wait for it to be finished. :grin:

 

[gerry]

Placed an order tonight for my 35 Whelen, a Benchmark stainless 1 in 12 twist barrel, it will be 24" when finished. I feel good about it, all the research I've done says that these barrels are of the highest quality and the guy who is bringing them in to Canada has been very good to deal with. Hopefully it shoots as well as jmad-81's 7mm STW. All that needs to be finalized is the contour when my donor gun gets here want to see how well it fits into my 264 WM's McMillan Edge stock with the factory barrel and decide from there. The barrel should be here in around 10 weeks time.

 

[DrMike]

Gerry,

Who is handling the Benchmark barrels here in Canada?

 

[gerry]

Gerry,

Who is handling the Benchmark barrels here in Canada?

Gary Eakin in Houston, his phone # is 250 845 2201. Email address is thereamerguy@yahoo.com He brings in aftermarket part for actions and a bunch of other stuff as well, no website for him yet, hopefully soon.

 

[DrMike]

They do look interesting. I like the 24 inch barrel you have planned.

 

[PJGunner]

Double bonus! You get a Whelen, and there's one less .270 out there!

I like the way you think. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Paul B.

 

[gerry]

The donor gun was waiting for me today, Canada Post left it sitting outside my front door! Yikes. The SPS stock is surprisingly light, certainly not pretty but functional, the action isn't as smooth as the gun I had built of of a model 700 CDL but with time it should get better. With just working the action it is improved all ready, I have a 270 dummy shell that is pretty scratched up but is feeding reliably. The standard 270 Win barrel is a pretty light contour will go a bit heavier, need to compare it with a friends model 700 338 WM then decide from there. It's a good thing it's not a 30-06 otherwise I would have been tempted to just leave it as is and just go hunting with it Over all it's not as refined as the higher grade models but with time it should turn into a great rifle. Now if you'll excuse me I need to play with the gun a bit more :lol: