Guys: I'm new to this forum. Also a sucker for classic cartridges and classic deer rifles: My son shot his first deer this year with my 1936 Winchester Model 64 Deluxe in .30 WCF and I shot my first a few years ago with my 1921 Winchester Model 1886 in .45-70. Other cartridges I'm drawn to include the 7mm Mauser, .30-40 Krag, .270 WCF, .300 Savage and .30-06. All of which leads up to my desire to acquire something that shoots the legendary .35 Whelen, and then to find an elk or moose to use it on -- or a big deer closer to home. I'm looking for a factory rifle, rather than a custom gun, and am partial to Rugers, but open to other ideas.
Reading through the other posts here, I can see that a lot of you have a lot of experience with this cartridge, so are there any near-unanimous conclusions as to the superiority of the No. 1 versus the Model 77 RS (rarity, carry weight, recoil, accuracy, etc.)? Preferences between Remington and Ruger (the Remmies seem to be easier to find)? I've read that some riflemen say both the Rugers and the Remingtons have the wrong rate of twist for this cartridge. Anything to that?
I'm not in a huge hurry, as I don't think I can swing an elk hunt until the fall of 2009, but these guns can take awhile to find, too, and I want to make sure I can make an informed decision whenever one turns up. Any advice will certainly be appreciated. TT
