Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Required rifles for Loony status.

Here's a look at the entire rifle. It was originally a .35 Whelen, but sometime later was rechambered to .358 Norma Magnum, probably in the 1960s, when the Whelen was a still a wildcat and the .358 was a factory round. I also suspect the scope, a 2.5x Lyman Alaskan, was added after the original rifle was put together with a Lyman aperture sight, in a Griffin & Howe detachable side-mount. ( Unlike some dual-sight sporters of the day, the scope was NOT mount high enough to aim under it with the irons.) Since the Pachayr company (founded by Franks's father Gus) was in California, they had access to some really good walnut.

I bought it in 2006 from the late Ike Ellis, himself a very fine stockmaker who had a sporting goods store in Idaho Falls--and a collector/dealer in fine rifles and shotguns. It's original ventilated Pachmayr recoil pad was crumbling, so I replaced it with a Pachmayr Decelerator. You'll notice the white-spacers--which were invented by Pachmayr back in the 30s. The spacers of the edony grip cap and forend are made of elephant ivory. I download the .358 to more like a Whelen, and its shoots very well. I have a book on the Pachmayr story, and believe they used Apex barrels, which as I recall were another California company.