I have an Oberndorf mauser currently chambered in 6.5-06. I am not crazy about having a wildcat that is so close to .270 performance that I don't see the justification in keeping it.

As far as I know, there would be minimal modifications to rebarrel it and chamber it for .35 Whelen. The 35 would fill a niche in my gun safe, and I have heard good things about it from many shooters more knowledgable than I am.

Any opinions or advise is welcome. Any cons to the 35?

quote:

Any opinions or advise is welcome. Any cons to the 35?

A prudently hand loaded .35 Whelen makes a fine elk/moose/ rifle. It has a plenty of power and is not in the class of the 6.5-06 or .270 and besides that is a quite a bit longer ranged than many believe. It's an easy 300 yard rifle.

That said.....I've posted many times here...."If you really need something more than a .30-06 then you really should have a .375 something!

I have a .338-06, a .35 Whelen and a 9.3 X 62 so I don't practice what I preach a lot!!!!! .....

If you really want to upbore the 6.5-06 I'd suggest a good look at the .338-06 as something between the .270 and a .375

I guess the only advantage of the 6.5-06 is the widespread availability of 160 grain bullets. Which actually, IMHO, make it that little bit MORE flexible than the 270 for all practical purposes.

I actually think that I might even be tempted to keep the 6.5-06 and dispose of the 270 for that sole reason! That long 160 grain bullet maybe just has an "edge" over the 270's 150 grain?

Bailey a 35 Whelan can be a very useful rifle.Many have been produced with 1 in 16 inch twist so light pistol bullets can be shot to make shooting cheap.I think that is a mistake if you want to use it as a big game rifle.A 1in 14 or even a 1 in 12 inch twist will handle heavier bullets.If you build it Idoubt you would ever be sorry after you see how it puts game down.

It is a great caliber and you wouldn't regret it at all. That said, I'm a 375 guy too and would prefer a 375-06 first. Like Vapo, I don't follow my own advice very often as I have a 338-06, 35 Whelen, 9.3 x various millimeters and no 375-06. Maybe that's why I want you to get one.

I know all about the advantages of the 6.5-06 for the hand loader, but I don't hand load. Too many hobbies now, so while I may hand load when my kids are grown, right now it's not an option.

That being said, I really want a larger caliber like the 35 whelen, and since I have an action ( complete rifle right now) that would require minimal modifications to get there.....

My inventory right now is a .300 savage, 7X57R, .270, 300 Wthby and the 6.5-06. Needless to say there are enough deer rifles in there. The weatherby is powerfull enough for everything the Whelen is suited for, just not the same charictaristics in getting there. Plus the wthby is in a Ruger no1.

Kind of planing my Plains game battery,... the 7x57r, 35 whelen and one of my soon to be in production rimfire doubles in 17hmr.

Get a 338-06 instead of a 35 Whelan.

Better bullet selection and slightly more shoulder area for secure headspacing.

BTW, excellent choice for a hunting caliber!

quote:

Originally posted by Bailey Bradshaw:
but I don't hand load. Too many hobbies now, so while I may hand load when my kids are grown, right now it's not an option.

That being said, I really want a larger caliber like the 35 whelen, and since I have an action ( complete rifle right now) that would require minimal modifications to get there.....

Bailey said he doesn't handload, which could be a problem with 338-06 .

KB

Okay, Yes get the 35 Whelen and fill the freezer! Exceptional hunting caliber.

i do have a 35 whelen improved (not much difference) it really does make a fine hunting rifle, while it might not be for 819.678 yard running full out pronghorn shots, for up to 200 yrds or so on moose or the like it is hard to beat. on an alaskan moose this last fall the 250 gr partitions provided complete penetration and excellent knockdown power

I think the 35 whelen would meet your criteria perfectly. Good choice of bullets nowadays. I've had good luck with the 250's and a stiff load of Reloader 15. Factory loads should suffice 'till you decide to reload or find someone to do it for you. Good luck. Paul.

I too own a 338-06, a couple of 35 Whelen's and a couple of 9.3x62's and have hunted big game (elk, bear, nilgai, hogs, moose, eland, kudu, etc...) with them. For last years hunt I used a tweaked old tang factory Ruger M77 35 Whelen with the 225 gr TSX at 2700 fps. It, like the others, performed very well. Six of one, half a dozen of the other. Last season's results.

I have a 35 Whelen and love it. Before you build, make sure you can live with the available factory loads. Midway lists 10 loads.

http://www.midwayusa.com/brows...yString=653***690***

My opinion, which is just and only that: go ahead and get a 9,3x62 instead. You can go as light as 232gr and as heavy as 320gr factory loads, and a good cast bullet will let you shoot all day for less than a quarter a round. They will let you hunt all of the Big Five with one in Africa!

Rich
Buff Killer

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
My opinion, which is just and only that: go ahead and get a 9,3x62 instead. You can go as light as 232gr and as heavy as 320gr factory loads, and a good cast bullet will let you shoot all day for less than a quarter a round. They will let you hunt all of the Big Five with one in Africa!

Rich
Buff Killer

Yep! An Oberndorf Mauser action and the 9.3x62 cartridge just belong together.

I have two rifles in .35 Whelen so I have nothing against the cartridge. The .35 Whelen is a fine cartridge. But, IMHO, between the .338-06, the .35 Whelen and the 9.3x62 I think the 9.3x62 is the best of three.

-Bob F.

Either the 35 Whelen or the 9,3x62 would be a perfect choice.

Suggesting that a "lack of suitable projectiles" is a reason to not build a Whelan is a sure of talking through your ass......

There are more than enough good projectiles out there , most of them designed for Whelan velocities. You just dont need premium or expensive projectiles to put meat in your freezer.

Find one load that your rifle likes , buy lots of those projectiles and go hunting.

I don't know if it is inherent to the 35 family or not, but IMO, both the 35's I own, (358 and 35 Whelen) have been the easiest to develop accurate and effective hunting loads for. My 35 Whelen is a 700 classic and has been a great Moose hunting caliber.

Going to try pistol bullets in it this summer for some extended field position practice.

If you do not handload, I don't see the 338-06 as a viable option. Limited available factory ammo. I love the 35 Whelen and with the 225 Federal ammo it is magic. I find recoil much less in a Whelen than a 375 unless the 375 is heavy. I would consider the 375 Ruger which will make a more compact gun than the 375 H&H. I have a 9.3x62 which I like but prefer the Whelen.

For your situation (not handloading), I would shy away from the .338-06. While excellent, the ammo is not cheap generally and can be hard to find.

The .35 Whelen is a great choice, but the commonly found Remington factory loads are rather unimpressive compared to what a decent handload can provide. There are some decent options like the DoubleTap stuff offered by Midway, 200gr - 310gr bullets from 2850fps to 2300fps should be enough to cover A LOT of bases! And you can use some of the lighter stuff for plinking if you ever wanted to

9.3x62mm is also an excellent choice, especially for a Mauser action. Same versatility with weights from 232gr to 320gr in similar velocity ranges. They both hit hard and penetrate deep.

OK, let me throw a wrench into the discussion.

Lots of recomendations on the .338-06. That led me to looking up info on the .338 Federal. While not as powerfull as the Whelen, it seems to be based on the same principal to develop more muscle than you would think it should have. On paper, I like the idea of the .338 Federal as much as the Whelen. Should be as easy to rebarel my action ( unless there is something I am not aware of in regards to the shorter case length)

Any opinions on the Federal?

quote:

Originally posted by Bailey Bradshaw:
Lots of recomendations on the .338-06. That led me to looking up info on the .338 Federal. Should be as easy to rebarel my action ( unless there is something I am not aware of in regards to the shorter case length)

Any opinions on the Federal?

quote:

Originally posted by Bailey Bradshaw:
I have an Oberndorf mauser

Your long action Mauser will feed the .338-06 round quite nicely and it may not feed the shorter and less tapered .338 Federal round as well.

It makes no sense to me at all if you have the long action to chamber for the short shell.....

I see and heed your point....moving ahead with the whelen

Bailey

There is nothing wrong with a 35 Whelen.

Being an Elmer Keithite I think highly of it. I have never had one, but I did have a 350 Rem Mag once.

However, I have done a tremendous amout of hunting, and killing, with a 9,3x74R, which the Bolt Rifle equivilent is the 9,3x62.

If I knew I would take the rifle to Africa I would prefer the 9,3x62, but for NA including ANYGAME in Alaska, the 35 Whelen, with the proper bullet will do just as well, IMHO.

I love the .35 Whelen, but of course I am a handloader and also use the 225gr. TSX. I'm not so keen on factory loads in the Whelen. So far with the Barnes bullets, it's knocked down two elk in Montrose, CO, but I have yet to have a shot at a little TN whitetail. Looking forward to that day!!! It should prove fun!!!

I agree if you are considering a .338 caliber rifle then go with the .338-06 if you want the minimal amount of work done to your action. .35 Whelen doesn't have any fleas on it as far as I'm concerned either. I have both rifles and while I'd probably part with my Whelen over my .338-06 first, but I'd regret ever having to make that decision. While neither are extremly popular as far as commercial cartridges they are much easier to find cheaper than custom 6.5-06 loads.

Just my two pennies worth, go with the Whelen.
I'll be the first to admit that factoary loads are not loaded to their full potential but they sure as all hell are more than adequate.
I have three rifles in the Whelen, two factory jobs with the 1 in 16" twist and a custom on an Oberndorf action that has a 1 in 14" twist.Well, the 1 in 16" is a bit slower than I'd like but they will handle bullet up to 250 gr. OK.
Next, the question arises, does one need a premium bullet for the bigger game? I think not. One of the beauties of the Whelen is even with stiff handloads, velocity is still slow enough that a premium bullet is really not necessary. I have some very good friends that favor the 250 gr. Speer Hot-Core in their .35 Whelens for moose and that bullet was also his choice when he drew a coveted Grizzly Bear tag.
In my rifles the 250 gr. Hornady Spire point is slightly more accurate that the Speer bullet, but considering the size animals the round will be used on, .25" difference don't mean squat. What one needs is minute of deer, elk, moose or whatever else you want to hunt. I've only tried them in my custom Mauser, but the Barnes 225 gr. TSX is amazingly accurate in that rifle. Three shots in .50" at 100 yards. Powder was RL-15. I won't give the details as it was somewhat over charges in any manual, and Barnes didn't even test it in the manual that I have.
JMHO, but I think the .35 Whelen is a good but very under appreciated round as is the .358 Win. But, like I said, it's just my opinion.
Paul B.