Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska .35 Whelen Rifle Question

Agreed. I did find a FN manufactured M70 Extreme Weather SS in .30-06 with a Zeiss Conquest, McMillian Featherweight, full mag fill option, and Decelerator. At $1,200.00, it's not too bad.

My only concern with the M70 Extreme Weather SS is the weight. 7 lbs. 2 oz., sans scope, is a bit light for a .35W, then again, a scope, rings/bases, sling, and a full mag would likely bring it to a bit over 8 lbs. - probably perfect.

You might consider abandoning your current account and starting over. As it is you have no credibility, no clue, and no chance of being accepted as anything other than a loser...

Just saying...

Art I didn't come here to gain credibility, have a clue or anything else you search here for, I'm sorry you and others lives revolve around a web site... Very sad...

Sitka dummy, read, re read then re re read the first sentence. Now do it again, savvy?? Pass the whelen.... Hint

I really like the FN manufactured M70 Extreme Weather SS in .30-06 I found for sale. I believe this the direction I will take upon my graduation.

I look forward to getting such a rifle, converting it to .35W & tweaking it to my liking. This will be an excellent opportunity to begin reloading as well.

Any suggestions on a beginning reloading set-up that can be expanded upon?

I'd get a rock chucker kit.. But I'm not very credible... Grin

especially since you can't even spell.

I previously checked out the RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme kit, which looks like a good value. However, I'll probably try to find a used kit in order to save $. Any brands I should keep an eye out for? Is it wise not to mix component brands when building a kit?

That would work wonderfully as long as the barrel can be punched out that far. A simple call to JES would confirm this. Here's a picture to show how much meat is there to work with. I'll bet they can punch it out to 35 cal:



Your questions about reloading can be answered in the big game reloading forum here. There have been many threads on what equipment to buy and what the beginning handloader should foucus on. Good luck with that venture. It's been good to me and I have not used factory loads for hunting for a loooooooong time.

Thanks bsa and duly noted, I will check out the reloading forum.

Also, other than cost, is there any real advantage in going with a Douglas SS Barrel, rather than a JES rebore? Are there any drawbacks to a JES rebore, i.e. accuracy issues? I know that the M70 Extreme Weather SS comes with a fluted barrel, so that may be a concern. Should I decide to go with a Douglas barrel, is 22" an optimum length and what about the # of groves?

Tough crowd, and you cry and whine about folks being smartasses on here...

Look for cabelas or somone to run em on sale, or start checking the classifieds here and there and pick up pieces as you go. I like rcbs and Redding...

Buy a Rockchucker, mine was $70 used and is from the 70's. The paint may flake or fade on them but they don't really wear out. Get a set of FL dies, I make all my brass from 270 brass necked up in one pass and trimmed to length, my dies are RCBS. Get a balance beam scale and a powder measure. A Lee priming tool will be way faster and less headache than fiddling with the primer arm on the press, they cost like $11.

Buy some RL15, 4320, 4895, or 4064, they'll all work though my rifle prefers 4064. I've never had primers make much difference in this caliber and mostly use the CCI34 because I got a deal on a bunch of them. 250gr bullets of your choice and you're pretty much all set.

I'd say if you shop smart and buy used dies and press, get the Lee primer tool and I even hear good things about Lee scales and measures though I haven't used them, you should be able to get into everything you need to start for $225 maybe less.

There are several RCBS presses on Ebay right now for $75 or less either buy it now or with no bids. The $225 I hinted at may leave room for a pound of powder and a box of bullets

So lets sum this up:

the OP is going to take a "position" not a job

he is planning on getting a 35 whelen, clearly inferior to the CZ 9.3x62 he could buy for about the same money.(he already owns a CZ, so no learning curve)

if he MUST have a whelen, he is doing it the hardest way possible by reboring something else, is spite of no shortage of factory CRF 35 whelens for sale

now, because all 35 whelen factory ammo is inferior to that available for the 9.3x62, he's thinking about reloading

can hardly wait until we move on to a scope for the rifle.

stlooiearch: You’re making this sound like I’m some sort of idiot. My apologies if I offended you in some way. I posted my questions on this forum because I respect the knowledge and experience here. I’m not oblivious to the fact that there are others with far more experience and knowledge than I and I appreciate everyone’s input. But to address the points in your post:

1) I stated that I have an opportunity to take a position in AK. I used the word ‘position’, because it is definitely different than a ‘job.’ A job is simply paid employment that usually does not have permanency and offers little in the way of advancement or job satisfaction. Jobs usually have a stringent, set of performance elements (duties, responsibilities and tasks – usually menial), which must be accomplished in order to both keep said job and to be paid. A ‘position,’ on the other hand, is a career with a high degree of autonomy, which requires specific knowledge and a specific degree to succeed, and further, can provide an individual with a high degree of fulfillment, which is important to me. Having had jobs and careers in the past that I did not particularly care for (other than the paycheck) I can tell you that it’s a miserable existence working day-after-day at a job or position that you loathe. I have undertaken a very difficult and expensive path in order to accomplish this and be able to provide for my young daughter.

2) While I respect your opinion, I don’t believe that the .35W is “clearly inferior” to the 9.3x62. Granted, the 9.3x62 is an excellent caliber and can handle heavier bullets, but I think they are in the same class and any ballistic difference is negligible. Please correct me if I am wrong. I am still interested in this caliber and I certainly do like the CZ 550 carbine, which is still in contention and which is likely a more logical choice. The main reason the .35W is my first choice is due to the fact that it is .30-06 based and ammunition and components are plentiful – more so than the 9.3x62. I have also seen several .35W factory loads that would easily meet my needs, such as the Buffalo Bore TSX 225gr. Supercharged and the Nosler Partition 250, gr., just to name 2 of the many offerings.

3) Regarding your statement that there is “no shortage of .35 Whelens for sale,” the only CRF factory .35Ws I have seen for sale in current production are the Montana Rifle Co. AVR or V2. I have also seen a few used M77s and Hawkeyes in .35W, but I believe they are now out of production. If you know of other factory CRF .35W rifles for sale that I have not considered, please let me know.

4) No need to wait to find out about the scope. I will use a Leupold VX-6 1-6x24 or a VX-3i 1.5-5x20mm with Talley Q/D rings.

I'd go this route, right off the bat. You aren't going to find a better deal:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/RCBS-Rock-C...7?hash=item2eee77540f:g:9d4AAOSw4hdXH4Gs

Thanks bsa!

There are several good brands on the used market but RCBS and Redding lead the pack. There is nothing wrong with a single stage press made by RCBS, Redding, Lyman, Hornady, or Lee. They'll all give you good service. Check out the local yard sales and guns shops. You may stumble onto a perfectly serviceable press for not a lot of money.

There is no issue mixing brands. With the exception of a couple of oddities, the dies are all 7/8-14 threads and interchange between brands of presses. RCBS and Redding make good dies and are readily available. I have and use dies from RCBS, Redding, Lyman, Hornady, CH4D, Pacific, Herters and Lachmiller with my RCBS and Lyman presses.

I use an RCBS 505 scale I've had since I was 18 and also have a simple electronic scale. Either will serve you well. It is not necessary to buy a powder measure until you get to a point you're loading a lot. For a few boxes of practice loads and hunting loads you can get by nicely with a scale, and a Lee dipper set. Some my most accurate 35 Whelen loads I turned out with a Lee hand press, a small digital scale and a Lee dipper set. All of my reloading gear was packed and in storage while we were living in a small apartment waiting for our house in Washington to sell.

If you get moved up here to Alaska shoot me a PM and I'll help you get started with reloading.

TheKid: Thanks for the info.

mart: Thank you. Very generous offer. It will be 6-9 months before I get up there.