Let's talk about the Whelen....

[Anonymous]

I woke up this morning with the odd notion that I "need" a .35 Whelen.

How this will be realized is something of a mystery. I could just simply order one- several makers make good ones. I could send any generic '06 based rifle off to JES for a re-bore or I could have one screwed together from scratch. Remington makes the CDL-SF in Whelen, Montana Rifles makes several and Nosler will chamber it.

I've got a little gun money saved up from some judicious culling of the herd. I could send my .270 X-bolt down to JES, but it frankly shoots too good to molest and a stainless X-bolt isn't what I was thinking....I was thinking more M70 or 700 based. Maybe impractical walnut and blue- maybe not though.

What are some thoughts from the current crop of Whelen aficionados that dwell here? Barrel length? Twist rate? Anything else worth considering?

 

[DrMike]

I think if a man wants a Whelen, he should have a Whelen. Any of the directions you move will provide you with a firearm that will serve you well in your AO. I bought a Remington Classic, which I foolishly sold. Then, I bought a Ruger Hawkeye which shot acceptably. I improved it to my liking by screwing on a Hart 12-twist barrel. I love it. Yup! It is blued steel on walnut, which is a favourite for me despite any misgivings concerning wet weather.

 

[IdahoCTD]

Or you could do a 358 Norma, 35-26 Nosler, 35wsm, 35x68, etc.

Sorry I was just adding fuel to the fire. For some reason I've never taken to standard bolt face LA calibers. It gives you one more round in the magazine but I've always been a hot rod guy I guess.

 

[Europe]

My son has a 35 Whelen which was made by Dakota and I believe it is a 12 twist with a 23 inch barrel. He loves that rifle and claims there is nothing short of elephant and cape buffalo that he can not hunt with it.

I think if I was looking in the 35 whelen caliber range, I would opt for a 340 weatherby. The ballistics of a 340 weatherby has always been impressive to me, but at least twenty or thirty people on this forum would disagree with me and get the Whelen, and Scotty would be leading that group (-:

 

[HomerOz]

G'Day Fella's,

Sounds like a great idea Hodgeman!
The .35 Whelen is a real power house of a cartridge but without the brutal recoil of some others.

Whilst I don't own a .35 Whelen, I do own a couple of .350 Rem Mag (which is a Blood Brother to the Whelen), and whilst it has it's limitations, they are still plenty powerful for a lot of Big Game.

Here is the Ruger M77 MkII.


Avagreatweekendeh!
Homer

 

[truck driver]

Well I guess you know what I think about the 35 Whelen and there is only one that is better and that's the Ackely Improved version. I had J.E.S. bore out a 24" 30-06 on a M70 action and a 1-12" twist. You've seen the pictures I've posted of my load work and performance on deer size game.
As a matter of fact I also have the M700 Classic I got from Lee Pappas and that thing will shoot little groups also. I might be persuaded to let go of the M700 for the right price if you really want one. :mrgreen:
The saying about you can eat right up to the hole is very true with the 35 Whelen.
Barrel length is a personal preference but 1-12" twist or 1-14" will work all day long for light weight bullets or 300gr heavies. And I've had no problems stabilizing a 250gr bullet from the Remington factory 1-16" twist and the M700 shoots it well also.
And 2900fps with a 200gr AB and 2700fps with a 225gr PT.
What's not to like?

 

[SJB358]

I have a problem with .358's... I don't have enough of them :lol:

My first is a M700 CDL and the other is a 7600. I've got a 358 Win, 350 Rem Mag and a 35 Newton.

If I were building my "perfect" Whelen it would be a 10 or 12 twist 23-24" in length with a 3 Krieger sorta contour. It would of course all be nestled together on a M70 Classic or P64 action.

Bottom line, I love the Whelen. To me it shoots plenty flat for 400 yard BG killing and really hits hard. 200-250 grain bullets hit hard and penetrate really well. I had the 338 Win first but if I had a Whelen I'm not sure I would have ever gotten the 338 Win.

Hope you put a nice one together. Kevin had/has a beauty for sale in our classifieds I have doted over for awhile. It would make a killer hunting rifle.

 

[DrMike]

Scotty is correct--the 35 caliber cartridges are just great. I don't know that I have a favourite since they are each great. As I said in another post, you can't get into this select club without a Whelen. :mrgreen: Scotty is correct in directing eyes to Kevin's Whelen. I've looked at that on multiple occasions, questioning how I could arrange to get it across the border. Alas, it just doesn't work out for me.

 

[SJB358]

Man--- two props to me this morning!! :lol:

Mike, I've looked over Kevin's a few times... It tempts me to put a 3rd Whelen in the safe. Just in case my boy ever wants to "borrow" my M700...

 

[DrMike]

Oh, yeah, I invested some time dreaming about getting his gear north of the border. The brokerage fees by a qualified broker boosts the cost enough to make it a deal killer. Our exchange is brutal at the moment (about 37%), making it even more difficult.

 

[Paul Barnard]

I read an interesting thread on another forum about a JES Whelen rebore. Probably worth a read.

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve ... 8041046622

Everyone should have a Whelen once in their lives. Mine was a Remington 7600 when I was stationed in Kodiak. It was one of 3 guns I took afield in search of Ursus.

 

[SJB358]

Wow, I've got a 35 Newton from him. No issues with it though. It actually acts a touch faster than it should but that article is a great caution.

 

[preacher]

In Jes's particular 3 groove, are the grooves wider than the lands or lands wider than the grooves are they equal? I've only had one 3 groove barrel, a Lilja in .224 that I had made up into a 224 TTH. It was a screamer!

 

[truck driver]

My 35 Whelen Ackely improved came from him also but I had him cut it with 5 grooves since I read it would cause less bullet stress. I also had it long throated to releave pressure I do have some firing pin primer flow but the rest of the primer looks normal so I contribute that to a large firing pin hole in the bolt.
If I had to do it over again I would probably have a new barrel made instead of the rebore. There has been some frustrating moments with load development which I contribute to the barrel.
200 plus rounds down the tube before it settled in.

 

[preacher]

That Remington 700 CDL SF is a super nice rifle, and you could put a synthetic on it when it is really raining. I have two stocks for my Mod 700 ( originally a Whelen, rebarreled/converted to 358 Norma now) and I swapped them out. With both pillar bedded and using a torque wrench, my zero never changed either. I like a synthetic early season here ( rain/snow mixed) and a wood stock late season ( cold makes that synthetic a "witches breast" to touch to me...granted, I never "touched a witches breast", I'm just going by what well diggers in Montana/WY say!) :twisted:

 

[gerry]

That Remington 700 CDL SF is a super nice rifle, and you could put a synthetic on it when it is really raining. I have two stocks for my Mod 700 ( originally a Whelen, rebarreled/converted to 358 Norma now) and I swapped them out. With both pillar bedded and using a torque wrench, my zero never changed either. I like a synthetic early season here ( rain/snow mixed) and a wood stock late season ( cold makes that synthetic a "witches breast" to touch to me...granted, I never "touched a witches breast", I'm just going by what well diggers in Montana/WY say!) :twisted:

What new bolt did you go with a magnum 700, PTG bolt or modify the existing existing one?

I agree that new stainless CDL 35 Whelen would be an excellent gun to own...........

 

[SJB358]

Not that I'm running to buy a new Remington but I'm glad they continue chanbering the Whelen.

 

[JD338]

I have a M700 Classic 35 Whelen topped off with a Leupold VX III 2.5-8x36mm.
The 22" barrel 1:16 twist shoots 200gr, 225 gr and 250 gr bullets sub MOA.
Quick pointing, Accurate, Abundant power, the 35 Whelen is more than enough for anything in North America.

JD338

 

[preacher]

That Remington 700 CDL SF is a super nice rifle, and you could put a synthetic on it when it is really raining. I have two stocks for my Mod 700 ( originally a Whelen, rebarreled/converted to 358 Norma now) and I swapped them out. With both pillar bedded and using a torque wrench, my zero never changed either. I like a synthetic early season here ( rain/snow mixed) and a wood stock late season ( cold makes that synthetic a "witches breast" to touch to me...granted, I never "touched a witches breast", I'm just going by what well diggers in Montana/WY say!) :twisted:

What new bolt did you go with a magnum 700, PTG bolt or modify the existing existing one?

Modified existing by opening bolt face, installing a Mini-16 Extractor and moving the ejector button over a tad. I like to a lot.

 

[truck driver]

I have a M700 Classic 35 Whelen topped off with a Leupold VX III 2.5-8x36mm.
The 22" barrel 1:16 twist shoots 200gr, 225 gr and 250 gr bullets sub MOA.
Quick pointing, Accurate, Abundant power, the 35 Whelen is more than enough for anything in North America.

JD338

Looks just like mine but with a different scope and recoil pad. Mine also shoots sub MOA groups with the same size bullets.