Best Path to an Accurate .35 Whelen

[Frank in the Laurels]

..for hunting with that big ole' slug and limited velocity and what that means...if you can find one a Remington 760 pump in .35 Wh is more than enough in the woods of any state..I've used both the carbine and normal barrel whitetail & black bear hunting in the thickest jungle and Mt Laurel imaginable with zero issues...with the 760 you got fire power, speed and great handling...impossible to beat in the woods, there worth every cent..

 

[Jeeper48]

I'm interested in where you're hunting that has laws that make the .35 Whelen one of the best calibers for deer hunting? Nothing wrong with it, and I'm very interested in one myself, but factory ammo is going to be very limited and if you aren't willing to go with a custom, a rifle meeting your specs may be difficult to find too. The whelen also slows considerably and begins to drop very fast at the distances you're talking about--it's very effective at closer ranges but not really designed for 400 yard shots.

I've seen some very nice Nosler rifles chambered in 35 Whelen but I don't know if they'll come in at your price point.

Iowa, Law was essentially written by our government to allow the 350 Legend, and in doing so opened up everything 35 caliber and above. I hunted this year with a 35 whelen also

 

[WV338]

I built my 35 Whelen on a Savage action that I picked up for $300 and put a McGowen barrel on it. I shoot 200gr Barnes TTSX bullets and they are great for elk. I find the recoil mild because it is more of a big push than a sharp punch. I used a Savage because I can do the work myself and I don't have a machine shop.

 

[Jon Dempsey]

Great thread, thanks for asking the question

 

[Charles Keethler]

There is a Remington 700 used on Gunbroker at Sportsman Supply today in 35 Weland , Looks good .

 

[RCMSTER]

I'm interested in where you're hunting that has laws that make the .35 Whelen one of the best calibers for deer hunting? Nothing wrong with it, and I'm very interested in one myself, but factory ammo is going to be very limited and if you aren't willing to go with a custom, a rifle meeting your specs may be difficult to find too. The whelen also slows considerably and begins to drop very fast at the distances you're talking about--it's very effective at closer ranges but not really designed for 400 yard shots.

I've seen some very nice Nosler rifles chambered in 35 Whelen but I don't know if they'll come in at your price point.

I'm guessing he's hunting Iowa. That's where I'm from, and they changed the laws last year to 35 caliber and larger, straight wall or bottle-neck. I'm using my 375 ruger with 225 grain Hornady's slowed down with 5744 powder. Also have a remington 7600 in 35 whelen using 203 grain hammers. Both are lethal as heck, as you might imagine.

 

[Janno05]

I would look at a CVA scout v2, I have one in .300 blackout and it is an amazingly accurate rifle, plus the takedown version will fit in a backpack. One of my favorite suppressor hosts I own.

 

[RCMSTER]

I would look at a CVA scout v2, I have one in .300 blackout and it is an amazingly accurate rifle, plus the takedown version will fit in a backpack. One of my favorite suppressor hosts I own.

A friend of mine has a CVA in 35 Whelen. Holy crap, that thing will shoot. It'll shoot moa all day.

 

[Alibiiv]

I assume there is no reason he wouldn't re-bore a Howa? My Howa is the right weight, has a smooth action, and is a nice looking gun (about like a 700 BDL) that feels great against my shoulder. So if I can get it to shoot .35 Whelen rounds like that, that would be all that I'd need. Then later if I want an '06 to go with my ammo, I could pick one up with future $ for probably a lot cheaper than trying to find or build a Whelen. That might be the ticket.

Dumb question I know and I'll research it but is it easy enough to get a barrel off for all bolt guns? Is it just a matter of getting a kit from Midway?

I took interest in your thread when I read 35 Whelen in the heading in the highlighted email that I received. From what I read in your OP it seems like you are asking for a lot out of the 35 Whelen. First I'm thinking (and experienced) that the 35 Whelen is a great cartridge, however it is not and would not be my first choice in cartridges for 300-400 yard shots and for getting 1 MOA at 300 yards with. I consider the Whelen to be an excellent cartridge "all around" for deer. But....with a 225gr bullet, sighted in for a 200 yard zero, the bullet is going to be about 2 inches high at 100 yards, 8 inches low at 300 yards and 23 inches low at 400 yards. I have three Ruger 77s that started out their life as 30-06's that I sent to JES to be rebored to 35 Whelen. I told Jessie what I wanted to do with the rifles, shoot 225 bullets for black bear hunting, and he did the rest. I believe the barrels were rebored with a 1:14 twist (?) however not totally certain????? The rifles "will definitely shoot 1-1 1/4 inch MOA @ 100 yards, cloverleafs consistently @ 50 yards, and we shoot 6 inch steel plates @ 300 yards all day long. If I were looking to shoot 1 inch MOA at 300 yards it would not be this cartridge; however.....if I were it would be a rebarrel with a quality barrel at 22-24 inches. The price that your gunsmith gave you, to me, is a reasonable price to install a quality barrel and to convert your rifle over. As for assuming that there is no reason not to rebore your Howa from 30-06 to 35 Whelen, the only concern would be that the muzzle "has to be" at least 9/16ths of an inch or larger. If the barrel diameter is less than 9/16ths Jessie will not rebore the barrel due to not having enough steel around the muzzle. I think JES gets $225 or $250 for a rebore with a fairly quick turnaround. In my opinion the 35 Whelen is a great all around cartridge that deserves a lot more respect/acknowledgement than it gets, however I consider it to be a 200 yard, maybe 300 yard deer file. Good luck with your build and with the path that you choose to build a Whelen. I believe that you have started the process correctly by posting a thread on this forum.

 

[RUFFIAN R - NY]

Spend the $$$$$ and do it right. Have my Whelen over some 40 years now . Using the NOSLER's Partatitions and AccuBOND 220-225 gr is all one needs. 24 in Lilja bbl and shoots sub MOA at 150 yards all day long and yes I do HANDLOAD for all my toys. Mine is a Ackley Improved but do not hammer- push my loads - like them slow and steady for the brush and it does its JOB very well.
Spend the extra $$ and be a happy hunter - spend it once only. I keep my shot's at under 350 yards with this one. If I remember minie is a 1-12 ???

 

[Creedmoorcarl]

I want a .35 Whelen for deer hunting in an area where the laws make this caliber one of the best options. I would not choose this caliber for deer hunting if not for the legal requirements. I'd like it to be deer hunting accurate, which I'll define as within 1 MOA at 300 yards. I'll be using it out to ~300, maybe 400 if I can improve my shooting. I don't currently handload, so I'd like to be able to do this with factory ammo.

I'm seeing no factory rifles available in that caliber. So, what do you think is the best (as in cost vs. value) route to get what I want? For budget, I'd just say that I'm trying to find the most cost effective route and then decide if I want to shell out the cash. If I can't get what I want for a price that I'm willing to pay then I'd just rather save the money. It's not a matter of I absolutely need one and so I want the best I can get for X budget. But I'd say I'm certainly hoping to get there for under $1500.

One reason I'm struggling is that there are two parts to it .... one is getting a .35 Whelen rifle ... the other is ending up with a rifle that is accurate. It seems like there are a lot of different possible routes to go after both of those two things. It sort of seems like I can either spend more on the rifle I buy or spend less on the rifle and more on the back-end (gunsmithing). One thing I have in mind is that since I'm shooting factory ammo and there aren't many factory ammo options for .35 Whelen, I probably need a rifle set up to shoot most ammo accurately.

I could buy a used rifle chambered in .35 Whelen but from what I'm seeing on GunBroker, good rifles tend to go for over ... or well over ... $1K, and any accurizing work that is needed on the back-end would just add to the price tag. I see there are some custom rifle places that seem fairly affordable. I could get a used 30-06 or .270 and take it into a smith, but I'd really like some advice here. I have a smith near me and he thought the best route would be getting a Krieger barrel in .35 Whelen and putting it on a 30-06, which would probably cost me around $800 between the barrel and labor. I originally thought the best route with a smith would be re-boring a 30-06's or 270's existing barrel (not sure if he thought that was a worse route or that it is just something he doesn't do). Whatever the case, I thought that if I'm already taking it into the smith for barrel/chambering work, it might be more cost-effective just to bundle that with accurizing work, and that would be most likely to produce an accurate rifle in the end.

I do have an old but nice Howa 1500 in 30-06, but the smith said he probably wouldn't be able to work with it because it's probably metric. So that means I'd have to send it out to another smith, which adds shipping. Also, not sure I want to lose my 30-06 (I have a lot of ammo). This makes me wonder whether it would be better just to get a newer Remington or Savage and go from there. Then again, if using the Howa is going to save me a lot of money, I could always just do that and then pick up another 30-06 later.

Last thing I'll throw out there in case it matters is that I don't want this to be an ultralight or even light rifle. I expect a lot of recoil from the Whelen, so I'd like something that is probably 7.5 lbs or heavier (8-9.5 lbs would be better).

I went with a Thompson Center encore
In 35 whelen for MS wildlife management areas , Shoots MOA but kicks like a mule,
You may want to get the heaviest scope with the longest eye relief you can afford,

 

[archeratlrg]

I want a .35 Whelen for deer hunting in an area where the laws make this caliber one of the best options. I would not choose this caliber for deer hunting if not for the legal requirements. I'd like it to be deer hunting accurate, which I'll define as within 1 MOA at 300 yards. I'll be using it out to ~300, maybe 400 if I can improve my shooting. I don't currently handload, so I'd like to be able to do this with factory ammo.

I'm seeing no factory rifles available in that caliber. So, what do you think is the best (as in cost vs. value) route to get what I want? For budget, I'd just say that I'm trying to find the most cost effective route and then decide if I want to shell out the cash. If I can't get what I want for a price that I'm willing to pay then I'd just rather save the money. It's not a matter of I absolutely need one and so I want the best I can get for X budget. But I'd say I'm certainly hoping to get there for under $1500.

One reason I'm struggling is that there are two parts to it .... one is getting a .35 Whelen rifle ... the other is ending up with a rifle that is accurate. It seems like there are a lot of different possible routes to go after both of those two things. It sort of seems like I can either spend more on the rifle I buy or spend less on the rifle and more on the back-end (gunsmithing). One thing I have in mind is that since I'm shooting factory ammo and there aren't many factory ammo options for .35 Whelen, I probably need a rifle set up to shoot most ammo accurately.

I could buy a used rifle chambered in .35 Whelen but from what I'm seeing on GunBroker, good rifles tend to go for over ... or well over ... $1K, and any accurizing work that is needed on the back-end would just add to the price tag. I see there are some custom rifle places that seem fairly affordable. I could get a used 30-06 or .270 and take it into a smith, but I'd really like some advice here. I have a smith near me and he thought the best route would be getting a Krieger barrel in .35 Whelen and putting it on a 30-06, which would probably cost me around $800 between the barrel and labor. I originally thought the best route with a smith would be re-boring a 30-06's or 270's existing barrel (not sure if he thought that was a worse route or that it is just something he doesn't do). Whatever the case, I thought that if I'm already taking it into the smith for barrel/chambering work, it might be more cost-effective just to bundle that with accurizing work, and that would be most likely to produce an accurate rifle in the end.

I do have an old but nice Howa 1500 in 30-06, but the smith said he probably wouldn't be able to work with it because it's probably metric. So that means I'd have to send it out to another smith, which adds shipping. Also, not sure I want to lose my 30-06 (I have a lot of ammo). This makes me wonder whether it would be better just to get a newer Remington or Savage and go from there. Then again, if using the Howa is going to save me a lot of money, I could always just do that and then pick up another 30-06 later.

Last thing I'll throw out there in case it matters is that I don't want this to be an ultralight or even light rifle. I expect a lot of recoil from the Whelen, so I'd like something that is probably 7.5 lbs or heavier (8-9.5 lbs would be better).

Actually, the recoil of the Whelen isn't bad, more of a push. As to accuracy I've never seen/shot a 35 cal rifle whether Whelen or some other cartridge that hasn't been dead nuts accurate. If I were you I might look for a commercial 98 Mauser receiver and pick up a short chambered barrel already threaded for the Mauser. A very inexpensive build and you'll probably have a good shooter.

 

[Jim06]

Try Shaw custom MK. X start at $1400.00 and is offered in 35 W. 3 to 4 months del. time.

 

[beretzs]

I would take any 30-06, 270, 280, etc and send it off to JES and ask for the 3 groove 1-10 twist 35 Whelen. They shoot excellent after a few break in sessions. I have done a few with him to include 35 Newton, 35 Whelen, 9.3x62, 375 Improved. Nothing has lacked for MOA accuracy. Matter of fact I have another one ready to go to him that'll become a 338-06 as well.

Don't fear JES, my only concern would be if you were setting your chamber up for handloading and wanted to maximize your magazine length with a certain bullet. If I was wanting to do that, I'd send him a dummy to chamber accordingly.

And I wouldn't sweat a Whelen a bit out to 400 yards. With the right optic on top, a 400 yard shot with a good rest should be easy!

If you have a 700 you might be able to get these guys to make you up a 35 Whelen prefit.

Criterion Barrels Remage prefit |Northland Shooters Supply

Northland Shooters Supply offers prefit Remage barrels by Criterion barrels that are hand lapped match grade barrels, finished and fully chambered.

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