6 of one, half dozen of the other. How to build a 35 Whelen.

[Leaf Litter]

I got back into deer hunting in 2020 and bought a Ruger American 350 Legend that has served me well, taking 3 deer in 2 years. The gun shoots beautifully and the cartridge is a ton of fun to shoot, HOWEVER. Both bucks I shot ended up being less than perfect shots and both first shots ended up not penetrating through the shoulder and into the thoracic cavity. Had it not been for brachial artery hits on both bucks, they probably wouldn't have ever stopped running.

I fully understand what good shot placement means, I archery hunted for a decade and loved it. I just can't get over HOW poorly the 150 XP ammo performed on a live animal and want to change to a round I have confidence in.

Enter the 35 Whelen. A cartridge that wasn't on my radar and for all that I know may not have been legal in Iowa when I purchased my 350 Legend. The round is perfect; potent, easy to reload, easy to find brass, etc. My biggest issue is that beyond single shot, rifle availability is nearly zero, or at least I can't find any.

My question is this: Do I buy a decent 270 or 30-06 rifle with a heavy sporter barrel and ship it off to be re-bored or do I buy a junk rifle for the action and build around it? I'm trying to keep this under $1k, but both options seem to end up around that cost. Which would be the better final product?

 

[Afhunter1]

I’d rebore an older rifle before I’d rebarrel. Rebore’s seem to be very accurate and cost effective. If it was a match gun I’d say rebarrel but for a deer gun a rebore sounds perfect to me. I have a 350 rem mag in a model seven custom KS. It is a fun rifle but at 6# loaded it’s a thumper on both sides.

I think I’d look for a pre 64 model 70.

 

[Jimbee]

I'm really tempted to buy a prefit 35 whelan barrel and screwing it onto one of my tikkas for an Iowa deer gun. But then I'd have to buy dies and bullets and find brass........

 

[Breddoch]

I bought a used Winchester model 70 from gunbroker that the previous owner had Shaw rebarrel to 35 Whelen. It shoots 3/4” groups with 225 factory accubonds. I see a couple of paths:
1. Buy something in the 30-06/270 family and rebarrel. Savage with a prefit barrel seems like a short path to victory.
2. Buy something in the 30-06/270 family and have JES rebore. I don’t have firsthand experience but hear they do good work.

35 Whelen is a great caliber. I think you will be happy either way. Find the donor rifle then decide. Keep us posted.

 

[Bfish22]

I’m in the middle of the same project. I decided to buy a savage and get a prefit. I originally was going to go very budget and use an axis but ended up finding a cheap model 111 in 30-06. Think I’ll end up with an Excalibur prefit.

 

[Leaf Litter]

I’d rebore an older rifle before I’d rebarrel. Rebore’s seem to be very accurate and cost effective. If it was a match gun I’d say rebarrel but for a deer gun a rebore sounds perfect to me. I have a 350 rem mag in a model seven custom KS. It is a fun rifle but at 6# loaded it’s a thumper on both sides.

I think I’d look for a pre 64 model 70.

Reboring was my first thought as well. I did find an inexpensive Shaw barrel but the reviews were not great so a full custom preftit would probably run $500-650. I'm running into some trouble finding a gun with a barrel heavy enough to bore up to 358 and still have some material left over.

 

[Fartrell Cluggins]

A very few bucks over your 1K mark. Brand new. Top quality. No screwing around. https://www.shawcustombarrels.com/rifles/the-mk.-vii-gen-ii-custom-rifle/4

 

[Leaf Litter]

I’m in the middle of the same project. I decided to buy a savage and get a prefit. I originally was going to go very budget and use an axis but ended up finding a cheap model 111 in 30-06. Think I’ll end up with an Excalibur prefit.

I had considered doing the same thing, may end up going that route still if I can't find a good gun to rebore.

 

[Bfish22]

Check x calibers barrel builder. Stainless savage prefit comes out to $400. Watch for their frequent 20% off sales and get that down to $320. McGowen has pretty similar pricing for those that prefer McGowen over x caliber.

 

[CApighunter]

Reboring was my first thought as well. I did find an inexpensive Shaw barrel but the reviews were not great so a full custom preftit would probably run $500-650. I'm running into some trouble finding a gun with a barrel heavy enough to bore up to 358 and still have some material left over.

JES can rebore some pretty thin barrels, he did a 338-06 on a Kimber Montana for me and said he’d have no issue cutting it out to 358 based on the barrel thickness.

 

[Leaf Litter]

I’m in the middle of the same project. I decided to buy a savage and get a prefit. I originally was going to go very budget and use an axis but ended up finding a cheap model 111 in 30-06. Think I’ll end up with an Excalibur prefit.

I had considered doing the same thing, may end up going that route still if I can't find a good gun to rebore.

JES can rebore some pretty thin barrels, he did a 338-06 on a Kimber Montana for me and said he’d have no issue cutting it out to 358 based on the barrel thickness.

That's good to know that it's possible. I start to worry about recoil with a gun that light, but it won't be a daily shooter either.