Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Need help with new build idea

I have always wanted a Mannlicher stocked rifle. So today I was daydreaming trying to figure out what it would be.
First choice to make would be caliber. I have a 308 and a 270 wsm. So I figure I need a thumper of some sort. 350 Rem Mag or a 35 Whelen. I'm leaning towards the 350 since it can be housed in a short action.
It it possible to get 2600-2700 fps in a 225 grain bullet in either caliber. How about a 250 grain bullet?
I'd like to use a 20 inch barrel. I think a 22inch barrel would be a little long on a mannlicher stock. I have never seen a 22 inch mannlicher so I don't know. Any suggestions or comments on caliber and barrel length would be appreciated.

Buy one of CZ's 550's in 9.3X62 with the Manlicher stock. I've handled one many times at one of the gun imporeums, and have always regretted putting it back in the rack.

Mliang,

Why is it that the first words out of everyone's mouth when considering a new rifle is velocity? Do you think a .350 Mag will bounce off of a big game animal if the muzzle velocity is less than 2600?


A .35 cal, 225 gr. bullet will cleanly kill any big game animal in the US, (with the possible exception of Grizzly) at any sane range even if you start it at even 2300 f.p.s. I am not intending to start a flame war here, but I do believe that most folks over state the importance of velocity. I mean, after all, for many years folks killed antelope and elk with lead bullets and black powder at velocities at <1200 f.p.s. And you know what? They still do!

Many, many deer fall each year to the lowly .35 Rem. a 200 gr. bullet at around 2200 f.p.s. I have a 20" .350 Rem Mag. The only big game animal I ever took with it was a 150 lb 8-pt Whitetail (dressed) with one shot. Bang=Flop! What more could one ask for? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> ...the9.3Guy

I also remember back in the early '60's when I worshipped at the feet of the SpeedGod. I thought the loading manual was written by sissies so I started at the top load and worked my way up from there. I also drove fast.

Now, I find myself reminding my customers that no deer has ever 'jumped primer' and they are deer, not T-Rexes.
I love the .358 Winchester and even though I no longer hunt (too soft-hearted now) I still own 3 lowly 30-30's....I think.

Mickey,

You're my kind of guy... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

It's not a speed thing. I just think a 225 grain bullet going 2600 sounds like a good balance. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't feel a 35 cal 225 grain bullet going 2600 fps is a speedster of a round. If you are daydreaming it's nice to have some parameters to work with, speed being one of them.
I have read a lot on these calibers and seen a wide range of speed and bullet weights. Just wondering if it is possible out of a 20 inch barrel?

Sounds like you are looking to wring the most out of your cartridge that you possibly can. I think you should go with the 22" barrel, especially if you build a tree-fiddy.

The short answer is -- maybe. Get 2600 fps with a 225 gr bullet out of a 20" barrel in a .35 Whelen. I'm fairly sure 2500 would be very do-able. I loaded some 225's to 2770 out of a 22" barrel, but I suspect those loads are a little overwarmish <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />.

If you do a little search of the Campfire you can check the pics of Steelhead's full-stocked 35 Whelen on a Remington 700. Stock was built by the guy down the street from me, and he did a right nice job of it.

9.3 Guy -- there isn't a grizz in the country that couldn't be handled by any decent 225 gr. .358 bullet at 2500 fps. I prefer 250's, and if thumping bears hard off the muzzle were the only chore, I would go with 275 gr Barnes Originals at 2350 fps. But a 225 gr Swift A-Frame or Nosler Partition would just do a bear in.

I think 20.5" is about as long as a full stock can get and still look proportional, though the Germans routinely built them 22" and even 24" -- though I think they called the lengths something metric <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />.

I like the way you're thinking. Don't forget to show us the pictures when you're done <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />.

I have been shooting a couple of old Mausers with 20.5" barrels and I find the rifles handy. Both have long actions and one is a full stock and the other a half. Based on this observation and that of other short action rifles that I have I would not paint myself into a corner on action length yet.

One of the main things that make these old Mausers so handy is that they are not fat! What I mean is that they have slim sides all the way from the butt through the magazines out to the barrels. Such rifles are much handier to carry and that's a reason I like the 99 Savage so much.

As to the cartridges it's up to you. A 358 Win will shoot heavy bullets but it's range is a little less not to say that one can't hit things with it. At least it won't kick quite as much as a similar weight 9.3 x 62.

We carry rifles more than we shoot them. I would keep the rifle on the small and light side.



The magazine above will take six Whelans or 9.3's with one in the chamber. Such a profile carrys so well and weighs seven pounds.

Looking at some reloading manuals and it does sound like I would be pushing it trying to get 2600. It does look like 2400-2500 should be easy to attain. I'm thinking 225 TSX.
The Whelen and Rem Mag look pretty similiar on paper and I guess it comes down to short or long action. Long action would be an Mauser action, just because it is something else I always wanted. I'm not sure if I'd go with a modern or old military mauser.
I also don't know what I would use as a short action.

I have a funky old Enfield in 35 Whelen Improved with a 21" barrel that gets just over 2,600 with Speer 250's with long brass life. It has a 21" barrel because it was a rebore from a regular Enfield '06 (rusty bore) and it had a kink in the end of the barrel when I got it back so I whacked it off rather than trying to straighten it.