Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only Question for the .400 Whelen Crowd

I’ve been trying to limit the number of different calibers/bores and have not yet come to the conclusion that I might “need” a 40 caliber. My 375 Whelen AI uses the same diameter bullets as my 375 Winchester and my 375 H&H AI. Besides I have 375 molds and jacketed choices of bullets are plentiful. ([bleep] Hornady bean counters for discontinuing the 220 grain flat nose!)
Otherwise, building a 400 Brown Whelen sounds like a hoot. Even with cast bullets it should be deadly for anything on this hemisphere.

Hope you heal up ok!

Thanks

Like most rifle projects this .400 Whelen is evolving somewhat.

My original intent was to take the .358 Whelen barrel off this Montana Rifle Company action, use the barrel for a .358 Norma build and simply rebarrel the MRC action to .400 Whelen and put it back into the HS synthetic stock.



The .358 Norma was going to go in a Garret Accur-LT stock (very lightweight...kinda like a McMillan Edge). As that project has progressed I have liked the idea of a heavier stock on the Norma for balance and recoil reduction. I was a little nervous about the lightweight stock holding up to a big boomer also.

I called my gunsmith today and we are going to use the HS stock above for my Norma (Model 70 Classic Stainless action) and it will be one of two dedicated "Alaska" rifles...with the other being a lightweight .35 Whelen.

I am still going to use the MRC action with a #4 stainless Pac-Nor for the .400 Whelen but the goal now is to pick up a nice Winchester post-64 Super Grade stock and get the metal cerakoted in something that will look close to blued. I see this rifle being used more in Texas for pigs then Alaska and a nice walnut stock for a classic cartridge seems like a good fit. I can always toss it in a synthetic down the road if I decide to use it for a foul weather rig.

If anyone has a well figured model 70 stock laying around gathering dust I am officially "in the market"

Well, looks like my barrel will be here tomorrow so I have some decisions to make. Since my last post on this thread I acquired a .270 JC Higgins 51 (FN Mauser) in really nice shape. The stock has a little character and there is some minor bluing loss but overall a nice solid classic rifle.

In addition to the FN and MRC action (which is already sans barrel)...I have a Model 70 Classic Featherweight .30-06 that I recently discovered has a cracked stock (split along the grain between the front of mag box and the forward action screw). That would also make a possible donor.

MRC




Pros- Nice trigger, ready to thread barrel on
Cons- Model 70 stocks need some minor inletting


FN





Pros- Classic, nice condition, could simply use the existing stock
Cons- Needs new trigger or trigger work, possible safety conversion, less stock options (McMillan only makes flat tops if I go that route)


Winchester Classic





Pros- Nice modern action with CRF, trigger is nicely adjusted, existing stock could be used with some repair work although the forend is a little narrow.
Cons- Hate to chop up a 5 Digit Classic Featherweight with a nice barrel


Thoughts?

I’m curious, “Are you going with iron sights or scope?”
If scope which one?
I have Lyman aperture sight and a post front on my 375 Whelen AI. But I’ve wondered if I should have mounted a scope….

My intention is a lower power optic. I put a 2-7x33 Wide Duplex Leupold on my .358 Norma. I really like that setup and I may actually run that optic on this Whelen. I also have a 2.5-8x36 VXIII that is on the short list. If I could find the right deal, something along the lines of 1.5-5x20 Leupold wouldn't suck.

To me the Mausers are getting less attractive as donors. Now that McMillian is basically out of the game (flattops only, as you said), the stock options are limited and more expensive, at least until Bansner gets their molds up and running. The bottom metal options are limited (and heavy). It's $300-ish (with shipping/installation) to get a safety that works like a model 70 safety. The only easily available aftermarket triggers are timneys etc, meaning no more M-70 open trigger (if you care about that).

...At least this is where I've landed in the past few months. I would vote Winchester.

Thanks for the input. The Timney doesn’t bother me near as much as the safety on the FN. I am sure the stock safety is functional but would take some getting used to.

The Winchester really has the most “plug and play” options.

My 375 Whelen AI was not expensive. I bought a desirable between the wars receiver from a friend who to me is a Mauser guru. Bought a barrel from Shaw, threaded for the Mauser. I rented a reamer chambered it myself and then I inlet and shaped the stock. I had a steel Lyman aperture sight and I bought a post front sight from Brownells. I paid a friend/gunsmith $40 to mount the sights. I altered the action so that it would feed the fire formed and the pre-fire forming ammo. There was no need to alter the safety as I won’t be mounting a scope. This rifle was a little work but it means a lot more to me than a re-barreled factory rifle.

If I were going to use a factory action it would be a push feed so that it would be easier to get the ammo to feed correctly (if needed). The actions I’d consider and in this order would be a Remington 700, a push feed 70, a tanger Ruger.

But mainly with factory rifles I just remove and replace the barrel, sometimes the trigger and sometimes the stock. It’s more of an assembled or put together rifle than a build. I am lousy at checkering. So the stocks I inlet/shape are w/o checkering. I mainly shape a stock so as to fit me, otherwise I have gotten used to most factory stocks so they work for me. The only factory stock that does not work for me is the Ruger 77 - the comb is too low for a scope for me.

Big fan here of the 1.5 x 5 x20 on big guns. Have them on my Whitworth 375 and my CZ 550 9.3 x 62. You want to talk about easy to use....mb

Just got an email that Reloading International got in some North Fork Bullets. I went with some 360gr Semi-Spitzers....now excuse me while I go refinance my house. Ouch.


Also, my Pac-nor tube arrived. I am very happy with the way it turned out. The contour is nice and trim...even looks like it will fit nicely in my Garrett Accur-LT fiberglass stock if I decide to go the model 70 or MRC route. With a .411 hole it really lightens up the barrel I may wish I had a little more meat when I actually touch it off but for now I am happy.







That stock painted brown with a red pad and the metal cerakoted matte black with a matte leupold 1.5-5x20 would look sharp methinks.

I think it looks wicked.

Saw that same email, was wondering if you grabbed some.

Yes, good stuff MR, congrats! CFE-223 will get those 360gr NF drill bits cooking for ya!

Not sure which is harder to find…jacketed .411” bullets of CFE 223….Let’s Go Brandon!!!

LOL, WORD! the life and times of a slow joe bidet usurping residential nwo installment! that said, old powder bud scored me two cases of h-1000 and h-4831sc, just yesterday i delivered 600 rounds of 223 i loaded for a guy who's passed away dad was a gunsmith and quite the shooter/reloader, i used his brass, primers, bullets and powder, for my labor, he gave me a giant bag of lyman treated walnut hull media, two 5lb jugs of rl-22 powder, three boxes of 375 cal 300gr partitions, 1000 wlr primers, as well as the remaining 1400 winchester small rifle primers from the two 1000 count boxes he originally brought over for me to load his ammo, that's some pretty good pay for a couple half days of labor.

Score!

Dropped the parts off with my gunsmith today at church. Went with the MRC 1999 action for a number of reasons after giving it some thought.

1) This action is a little heavy. A little heft when flinging 360-400 grain bullets seems appropriate
2) Excellent trigger
3) I had used the HS stock that was inlet for this action on my recent Norma (model 70) project. Going to a model 70 from a 1999 leaves some gaps in the inletting around the bottom metal and near the bolt release. I am going to use it on this action so the inletting should be perfect once the glass bedding is milled out. When done I will have a quality all-weather stock with a little heft and a full length bedding block that can take some abuse.
4) I am from Montana...seems kind of fitting.

No idea how long the machine work will take. He does quality work so I don't bug him...he just tells me when he is done. After the barrel is installed and cut (thinking somewhere around 20-22") I will send it to get cerakoted.

Scored an 8 pounder of CFE223 today from Midsouth. Sounds like it is moving forward at the gunsmith also. I believe he has the reamer in his hands now.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Good stuff MR, you're on the way to some big fun, cant wait for you to see/hear how hard that 400 hits game ; ]