Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska .35 Whelen Rifle Question

Judman: While I respect everyone’s opinion, including yours, it is your vitriol to which I object. I may have been wrong, naïve or misguided in some of my statements, but I have posted no mean-spirited comments, nor controversial opinions, yet from the comfort of your own home, you feel comfortable calling me a ‘princess,’ and you have called others, whose advice, experience and knowledge I respect and appreciate, vulgar names as well. I don’t know your motivations for being on this forum, but I can tell you that such an attitude is diametrically opposed to winning friends and influencing people. There’s a way to present your opinions without being ill mannered.


Mike: Duly noted.


True, and good advice, but I need to figure that out what that is first! While I realize there is no such thing as the perfect rifle, I’d like to get as close to that, within my budget constraints, as I can.



rost: Currently, I do not have the skill to comfortably and reliably take game at such great distances. A select few riflemen do, however, and I respect their abilities. I am comfortable taking game up to about 350-400 yards, less if possible, so I limit myself to such distances. More practice might increase this, but I find satisfaction in closing the distance as much as possible before taking the shot. I’m not worried about distance limitations with the Whelen, or the 9.3x62 for that matter.

GaryVA: Thanks for the excellent post. I agree with all your points and I like the idea of going the semi-custom route with the M70 in .30-06. I have plenty of time to decide on a caliber (.35W or 9.3x62). A new barrel w/ the twist I want is likely the direction I would take with such a ‘semi-custom’ build. I also realize that building up a Mauser action can be both time consuming and expensive, which is why if I wanted to go the custom Mauser route, I’d find a used one that has already been completed. In my view, the problem with the older Mauser actions is the relatively low-grade carbon steel that was used in their manufacture, and while it’s not a huge concern, the steel used in modern actions is obviously much stronger. For me, the primary appeal of a Mauser action (other than CRF) is the beautiful machining and superb function. Modern actions with such attention to detail are exceedingly expensive i.e. Granite Mountain Arms.

I’ve also read about the myriad of small parts found in the CZ trigger, which could potentially be a bad recipe for a rifle that would also be used for defense. Apparently the CZ550 Kevlar carbine in 9.3x62 I’m looking at has a 1:10 twist rate, which I don’t think is optimal for this caliber (please correct me if I’m wrong). I do like the fact that the CZ is Mauser-based and I like the dovetailed receiver as well. So I think you are correct, the M70 (or possibly a worked over Ruger M77 MKII action) is likely the best route for me to take to get the rifle I’m looking for.

Sitka Deer: Your comment regarding range finders and dials/reticles/drop charts is certainly true. I’ve even seen scopes that integrate all these features into their design and perform all the calculations for you! But it’s like I tell younger geology students, if your GPS and mapping software crash, your battery dies, or your GPS/tablet is dropped and breaks, or it rains, etc. you still need to know how to run a Brunton and read a topographic map.

Anything can happen and obviously, forgotten ammo isn’t limited to the .35W. A person can show up for a hunt without his .338WM cartridges and you may only have .30-06 ammo, or a fella with a .300WSM might show up without ammo and you only have .338WM rounds – or .35W rounds, the possibilities are endless. As far as that fellow showing up without bolts, well, I can only say if someone takes such a step to prevent theft, they’re probably a lot more likely to get a lesson in Murphy’s Law!

stlooiearch: Your suggestion is still an option. As I’ve stated many times, I haven’t made a decision yet. I’ve also considered that by purchasing a used custom Mauser, I may indeed be purchasing someone else’s trouble. .375 H&H is a good option, but I find the recoil above my tolerance levels.