I had a MRC 1999 .35 Whelen that I couldn't get what I wanted out of on the classifieds so I decided to canabalize it and put together a .358 NM...something I had threatened doing for years but couldn't justify with a .35 Whelen already in the stable. I decided I didn't need a "good" reason so I commissioned the project anyway.

Here is the original MRC rifle in .35 Whelen



I had been present when the loads were worked up for the 1999 and I know the barrel shot the 225 TSX very well at Whelen velocities. It would have been great to keep as a Whelen but to me .35s need shorter barrels and I didn't care for the brake. I am not positive who made the barrel but it is a quality stainless/fluted barrel with a 1:12 twist.

About the same time I found a decent deal on a New Haven six digit Model 70 Classic Stainless in .300 Win Mag which became the donor.

My idea was to take the barrel and HS stock from the Whelen, cut the barrel shank down as far as possible, cut off the brake and try to end up with something in the 20-21" +/- range. The flutes complicated that a bit as there was only so much that could be taken from the muzzle end after the threads were cut off.

I took it to Kirby Allen who lives just up the road and has always done really nice work for me. He wasn't comfortable cutting as much of the shank off as I had originally hoped because he wanted some meat left for this particular chambering. I trust his judgement on that matter way more then my own.




We also didn't dare go any shorter in front of the flutes due to aesthetics.





Ended up right at 22" which was not my ideal but was the max I was willing to go. The balance point ended up being right at the forward action screw which works fine for me.


The chamber stamping turned out very nice IMO.





After he did a little work on the inletting, a proper glass bedding job and a trigger job that took it down to a crisp 2.75# she is now ready to roll.


I put on a Leupold 2-7x heavy duplex but am not sure that will stay there forever. The neighbors have some moose sized hay burners that like to hang out about 175-200 yards from my gun room window. The heavy duplex actually looks like it will work well on big animals even out there a ways.

The finished product...





Overall, I am super pleased with the build. Some factory 250 Norma Oryx I have feed about as slick as greased trout. It looks to me like a Model 70 Extreme Weather that wants to take your standard caliber's lunch money and then kiss their girlfriend. I would love to have had a little more in front of the flutes and a little shorter length but I think I can get over that.

Looking forward to working up some loads. I have no intentions of trying to push every last FPS out of this rifle as even moderate loads equal or best a red lined Whelen and I know what that is capable of. I plan to shoot :

200 RN for reduced plinking loads
250 Speer for an economical hunting/practice bullet
225 TSX for a do-everything big game bullet.

Kirby did some initial velocity testing with H4350 over a 250 Speer and a Fed 215 in virgin Norma brand cases. 74 grains got to 2739 with no pressure indications at all which matches published data really well given the adjustment for barrel length (Hornady shows 2800 with that load from a 25.5" barrel.

I have an AK moose hunt scheduled in 2023. This may be just about perfect for that. I also have a .400 Whelen in the works (that is the MRC 1999s new calling in life) so I may have to flip a coin to see who gets to make the trip.

Hell ya!👊🏻 Dandy Jud baby

Super cool.

Thanks for pictures and story. Please let us know how it shoots.

Beautiful build.
I have long wanted a 358 NM, even though I have no earthly reason to own one. Go figure

That's pretty cool. I always wanted a 358NM as I love 35 cals. For me, my whelen does everything I need. But, I do have a Mod 70 264 in a Mcmillan stock that is just about in need of a new barrel, so.....

Hell yes! That turned out awesome buddy and is an inspiration to get my big 35 going as well.

You did danged good with everything on that.

Should put the thump on moose or anything else you choose to shoot. Lovely rifle!

Good. Smart man, that Mr. Allen.

On a round like that, shank length (and diameter) needs to be enough to ensure safety.. BTW, I love that round.. I've built a couple over the years and the owners have been very happy... Almost wish I did one for myself..

Just put it on the scale...came it at just under 8.9 pounds with the current scope. I think that is a pretty manageable weight for a thumper that will be carried a fair bit at times.

The weight is perfect and those 250gr speer's are too! infact H4350 w/ Fed215's and pre stated bullets was exaxtly what I used on my 22" model 70 SS classic. I mounted a Leupold 1.75X6. Very well sorted out rifle you have there!

You nailed it right there. I wouldn’t want a real light one myself either. Looking forward to hearing how it does on paper.

Ditto!

Just under (9) lbs. for a 358 NM is perfect IMHO, especially since that includes the scope & rings. 👍

Went out to do some velocity testing this weekend with some 250s and H4350 and my stupid chrono went belly up before I even touched one off. I still fired one just to see how it felt. You don't have to wonder if it went off. I would describe it is as significant but not brutal...exactly what I was hoping for. Might even be more pleasant then my lightweight Whelen. That little Leupold gives plenty of eye relief which is appreciated.

That's cool stuff MedRiver. Should be a helluva rifle. Too bad about the chrono!

Thanks. It is my second Magnetospeed that has gone belly up. Says the bayonet is disconnected. The port has always been loose on this one so sometimes it will read fine and other times it will shut down or restart. Frustrating to say the least.

I’ve dusted one. They were good to replace it though.

My first was out of warranty. This one probably still is in warranty. May have to do some digging through receipts to find it though.

How long is the warranty good for??

Not sure but Scheels was awesome and did an in-store exchange for me. That’s what I was doing right before we met up today.

Thanks… I currently have one and haven’t had any issues with it

4350 was always my favorite powder for the big Norma. I burned up a lot of IMR, but H would be my choice nowdays.
Good luck with the rifle, I'm sure you'll love it, especially if you end up taking it moose hunting.

Just read thru the thread. The rifle turned out very nicely. Hope it shoots as good as it looks. I think you'll be happier with the 22" barrel too once load development nears the upper end if you decide to go that far.

I dug out my old springer postal scale & my rifle with 1.5-5x, a 1" leather sling, & 3 rounds of 250s weighs in just a hair under 9#s. With my rifle, there is a point where the recoil/muzzle jump becomes suddenly more noticeable with the 250s. A quick glance thru my notes didn't turn up the info, but memory says right around 2800fps or a bit above is the spot. When testing from a rest I've been resting my left hand on the barrel just in front of the rear sight, no downward push just sitting there, to keep the muzzle from jumping too much. PP2000MR is the speed champ with 250s so far, with best groups a bit under 3000fps. Started a series with N550 for schiidts & giggles as a new to me powder for comparison. It looks promising so far to at least equal H4350.

Great info 358.

Care to share any of your load data on the PP2000MR? It is one on my list and I have a decent supply of it.

The brass... PPU 300Winmag reformed compares within 15-20fps with otherwise same/same loads on same day to my lots of Norma factory brass from both loaded ammo & bulk brass. My fired Norma brass holds 92.4gr H20 full to the top. Haven't measured the PPU.

All speeds instrumental. Oehler 35 center screen @ 10ft., so add what... 15-20fps for MV? Temps were between 50-70*F

With PPU 300WinMag reformed, Fed 215s. I got some 200FTX in a deal so used them to burn up for initial 2 shot groups for speed/pressure testing. OAL was 3.250". I forget the exact rationalization used for the start charge, but it turned out to be way low with my rifle & components. Speeds were very erratic with lower charges. Some ES were as low as 2fps while some were as high as 129fps. Dont remember if I did the muzzle up thing to move powder closer to primer. This settled down above c.72gr. The 1/2 gr. increments were omitted for brevity.

66gr.=2682fps
67=2730
68=2640
69=2734
70=2713
71=2902
72=2859
73=2896
74=2931
75=2981
76=3006
77=3029
78=3061
79=3086
80=momentary lapse of something?
81=3098
82=3136
83=3154
84=3151
85=3174
85.5=3184- limit of powder compression. Still no pressure warnings.

Reshot the upper charges for speed & groups with Hornady 200 Sp.Pt. @3.300"

79=2966
79.5=3019
80=3036
80.5=3038
81=3070
to 85 not chronographed for some reason. Around 84 seems to be the happy spot for group size.

Same PPU brass & Fed 215s with Sierra 225s@ 3.410"

82=3036
83=3071
84=3103-good groups again at 84gr.
84.5=3109
85=3135- slight ejector mark on 1 case, called it quits here.

Started a series with 225 Accubonds @3.512"
82=3106-good speed poor group.
83=3147-poor group-ejector mark & clickers (2ndary extraction)
Pulled the rest apart

Same PPU brass, Fed 215s, & Speer 250 Sptz. @ 3.485".

79=2870-4 shot groups c.3/4 to 1" @100yds.
80=2888- ditto
81=2914- ditto
82=2947-groups opened above this with slightly more "feel" in bolt lift- no ejector mark
83=2976-still no marks, but definite bolt lift

Excellent information. Thanks!

Those 225 Sierras at 3100 would be something to see on deer I would think.

I wonder how the PP Varmint might do on the lighter bullets.

If the 225 Sierra performance reports are true, a deer inside of 400 yds. is in deep schidt. Guessing about 3.5" high @100 will still be climbing @200, zeroed around 300, & 10 to 11" low at 400 while still packing 2400+#s pf energy.

The lightest bullets I've messed with was 200. No... Wait... I tried some 150 PSP corelokts with 3031, but they weren't up to groundhog accuracy much beyond 150-200 yds. Almost bought some of those 185s that were on sale but didn't. More pressing things in the budget this month.

Since the case was FULL of 2000MR, PPVarmint was logically the next step for 200s. Same PPU brass, Fed 215 with 200 Hornady Sp Pt. @ 3.300". 2 shot groups to start looking for speed & pressure.

68=2804 & 2901
68.5=2829 & 2905
69=2814 & 2826- did muzzle up to settle powder before shooting from here upward. ES improved.
69.5=2817 & 2837
70=2870 & 2886
70.5=2887 & 2915
71=2881 & 2941
71.5=2923 & 2964
72=2932 & 2933
72.5=2967 & 2983
73=3027 & 3040
73.5=3048 & 3050

Continued upward with 4 shot groups. Have not retested these yet & probably wont. All shot 3 & 1 on a calm 80* day. 73.5 to 74.5 shot 3 into c.3/4" & the 4th was out by another 1/2 to 3/4"

73=2980
73.5=3010
74=3040
74.5=3037- slight bolt lift?
75=3080-definite bolt lift. These resized notably harder as well. The bulge above the belt was visible as a shiny spot... not to be confused with incipient separation... it just grew in diameter.

So... in my rifle with 200s PPVarmint pressured out at a lower velocity than 2000MR & wasn't as well behaved in any way. Thinking that the 85.5gr of 2000MR is flirting with max, just not able to go any higher to prove it without a pressure measuring device. If you have some of those Barnes 185s, Varmint could be your huckleberry... or not.

Again, excellent info. Thanks!

That is great info 358WCF. Any way you slice it, that is a hammer of a set up you have.

Glad to be of assistance. Let us know how the lighter stuff works with Varmint if'n you decide to try them.

It's t-shirt weather again here so will be playing with varmint rifles more than the big stuff.

Congrats……. all .35’s are good……. You have awesome! memtb

Nice, should thump anything you a liable to run across!

I don't have as much 2000-MR as I had thought but have a good pile of H4350 and it clearly a classic favorite in the Norma so did some velocity testing with the 250 Speer and 225 TSX.

I have been playing with the "Satterlee" method of load development the past year which basically has you pick a reasonable starting charge within a couple grains of max and go up slowly looking for flat spots in the velocity readings. I am not 100% sold on it but I am not not-sold on it either. When I tested some of my proven loads and the method took me to essentially the same powder charge I was impressed. I will keep messing with it till I decide for myself it is either the way to go or a waste of time or powder.

I digress.

The recommended interval is .2 grains but with a bigger case I went totally buck wild and chose .3 grain increments (you should see me at the company Christmas party...totally off the hook). Here is what the data looked like.

250 Speer @ 3.34" COL (2.76" CBTO)
Norma Virgin Brass
Fed 215 GM Primer
H4350 Powder

71.9- 2689
72.2- 2722
72.5- 2707
72.8- No Reading
73.1- 2750
73.4- 2755
73.7- 2776
74.0- 2750
74.3- 2763
74.7- 2767

I did let the rifle cool slightly between shots 5/6 and 8/9 but not completely so all but the first round or two were with a warm barrel. 2750-2767 seems to be about where it wants to max out. Anything beyond that is probably well into diminishing returns territory with H4350. None of the cases showed any signs of pressure and the velocities are right in line with where they should be given my 22" barrel as compared to published data. I plan to shoot for accuracy at 73.3 and 74.5 grains. With such a minor difference in velocity I am hoping the 73.3 shoots best since it is plenty fast and brass life should be excellent.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


225 TSX @ 3.345" COL (2.712" CBTO)
Norma Virgin Brass
Fed 215 GM Primer
H4350 Powder

73.0- 2839
73.3- 2841
73.6- 2857
73.9- 2866
74.2- 2890
74.5- 2879
74.8- 2880 (slight primer flattening, easy extraction)
75.1- 2897 (very slight primer flattening, easy extraction)
75.4- 2908 (no signs)
75.7- 2912 (no signs)

I cooled the rifle a few minutes between 5/6 but that was it this round. Interestingly, if I would have went in 1 grain increments I could have went from 74.5 to 75.5 and never seen any pressure indicators at all. It looks like 2900 is possible but I will likely look for accuracy closer to 2880 or even 2860 as that is plenty fast enough to keep the TSX above 2000 fps past 400 yards. At 2860 brass life should be excellent.


On my property I have an old railroad grade that I shoot into at times. I found a couple bullets. These were impacts from about 10-12 yards. Gravel is obviously pretty rough on even the TSX but both were around 72% weight retention. With the petal shed you still end up with a nice meplat and a slug over 160 grains. That seems like a train that would be hard to stop.



One note on the recoil... I shot today from the front seat of my suburban wearing just a light sweatshirt. I found the recoil to be very manageable with this 9 pound rifle. No bruised shoulder or pain, even with minimal padding from my clothes. It was fairly sharp but not bad about muzzle rise. It is not a pussycat but not a firebreathing monster either...probably no worse then my Ruger .300 win mag which I shoot regularly.

73.7 looks smack dab in the middle for the 250 load.

75.4 for the 225 TSX load looks good too.

I use the same method and like you I’m still learning but it’s worked multiple times. In virgin brass you’ll get a bit more anomalies but overall your stuff looks great to me.

Can’t wait to see how it prints.

The Virgin brass makes sense with the anomalies. Hadn’t thought that through. Thanks

I’m thinking you’re going to have two great loads pretty quick. Chances are the big 358 ain’t going to be overly fussy.

I think that is probably correct. I don't need half minute out of a .358" big game rifle so won't take much doing to get to "good enough".

I need to work up a lighter load with 200s for plinking and forming brass.

Gonna be a hammer Jud! 👊🏻

You guys draw any cool permits?

That 200 TTSX blazing fast might be a sweet all around'er too..

I don't know a single person in my close network that drew anything worth a damn. Obviously still waiting on the big three and antelope.




I have some of those on hand but going to see what they will do in my Whelen before I try them in the Norma.

I have a stainless classic in a 338 win mag. Seriously thought about sending it off to JES for a rebore to a 358 Norma mag.

79S…that would certainly be an easy way to the Norma. Truth is I doubt there would ever be a situation that the Norma covers that the .338 wouldn’t.

I have a lefty model 70 in a 338 win mag, it shoots 250gr accubonds very well. This stainless classic I have just sits in the gun safe. I should get serious work up a load for it.

That'll make any critter really sick. Nice rifle - congrats.