Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles What 35 whelen would you go after?

Got a 35 whelen on my mind…. If you were looking for one what would you go after?? I know the market is slim on selection. May have a lead on a 700 classic but really wondering if it might just be easier to rebarrel an action and just be done What’s your take ?

The easiest way to try one out is to get anything in a 270, 30-06, etc and send it to JES and have him rebore it. If you wanted to go a bit better, a nice barrel put on the receiver of your choice is also another option.

Finding original Whelens is fairly expensive right now, so you may wait awhile to find a deal while doing a rebore will be about a 2 week turnaround.

If I were making another Whelen, I'd likely have the Featherweight profile copied and put on a P64 with a 9 or 10 twist barrel, coated to your choice, and put in a nice stock.

I'd buy a barrel after I found a donor rifle, in my case a model 70! I'd also pay attention to the barrel contour and twist to get what I really wanted.

I would look hard for one of these.



I snagged one, and they have pretty much sold out now, but there's probably a few still floating around. They sold out really fast on Gunbroker for up to $1750. I found mine by just Googling "57160 Whelen", and looking through a lot of (sold out) sites.

Here is a link to the info at Lipsey's.

Lipsey's Hawkeye African 35 Whelen

If I remember correctly the Remington Classic 35 Whelen's had 16-twist barrels.

I went the route of finding a Winchester 70 Classic Stainless and had a PacNor 35 Whelen barrel with a 14-twist installed. If I was doing it today I might even go with a 12-twist barrel.

I had Jess do a Ruger #1 rebore it too a 35 whelen shoots excellent and looks great too. also i have a Winchester model 70 s.s. 30-06 that i am rebarreling so someone need a donor barrel ? cheap ? Pete53

I went this route almost two decades ago, although mine's blued, not stainless: https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1003581418?pid=384077



Shoots the Federal factory 225 grain TBBC into .8" 3-shot groups. More than good enough for my purposes.

That Ruger is VERY nice!

I bought a Rem. M30 and had JES rebore it. Or try to find a 1903 sporter, maybe with shot out bore, and do the same.

I have had this M77 RS for decades. I tweaked it a bit and it shoots very well. Nice light contour on the factory barrel bedded into a light High Tech stock makes for a nice package. Black bear, nilgai, moose and elk have dropped from it. They are a bit hard to find though.

^^^^ This

Ruger made a very good 35 wh for a couple years in a SS Hawkeye. I had one and foolishly sold it. Wish I had that one back....

I'd buy a 30-06 and load it with 200-220 gr bullets and call it good. I tried 35 Whelen and 338-06. The only thing they do that 30-06 doesn't do is kick harder.

But if you're like most people you just have to find out for yourself.

I have a Ruger M77 RS tang safety and the Remington &00 Classic in .35 Whelen with 1 in 16" twist barrels. Both are accurate with 250 gr. bullets and shoot acceptably well with the long gone Hornady 275 gr. round nose. My go to .35 Whelen though is a custom build on a 98 Mauser action and has a 1 in 14" twist. I have not done much with the 275 gr. bullets due to having a rather limited amount on hand. Doesn't matter much as I haven't seen a T-rex in my back yard in years.
PJ

I had JES Rebore to rebore my 1885 Highwall in 30-06 to a 5 groove 10 twist 35 Whelen. Shoots 1/2 MOA or better with evry bullet that I've tried.

Was down to the lgs one day 30 some years ago and spotted a m77rs in 35 Whelen new on the rack for 289.95 about 40 bucks cheaper than the other calibers. I asked what the deal was? He said they didn't sell well and his distributor was closing them out cheap so he bought a couple dozen and multiple cases of factory Remington ammo. I asked how many he had left? He 18-19 why ? I said I'll take one if I can pick it out he just laughed and we headed to the inventory room. Went thru 1/2 doz boxes and picked one with nice straight grain in the wrist and forend. Couple of elk and a few deer I 'm a Whelen fan. You know you really can eat right to the bullet hole..mb

Remington 700 KS Mountain Rifle

Well, they do kick a bit more because they move the same bullet weights faster, and another plus is they make a bigger hole.

They both handle much heavier bullet weights too.

If you can snag that 700 Classic at a decent price, I'd do it (16 twist be damned).

If you want a lipseys Hawkeye African, I have one I’ll part with. Pm if interested.

I have a Remington M700 Classic as my .35 Whelen that I purchased used in 2000. It has since been to Africa twice and to Alberta to hunt moose. Several bear hunts and a double handful of deer. Wonderful cartridge. Probably my all-around favorite. And the M700 Classic seems to be an accurate platform for it.

I've owned Ruger and Remington 35 Whelens. Both had the 1:16 twist and shot 250-grain bullets just fine. If I were in the Whelen market again, then I'd get another of either in a heartbeat.

If I were going to build one from the ground up, then it would be on a commercial 98 Mauser. It might also be a 9.3x62.


Okie John