I've been reading "Mister Rifleman" by the good Colonel and at the same time thinking about building a rifle, in the obvious caliber, for the kind of rugged wilderness hunting he loved.

Here's what I'm thinking --

Zastava stainless action, probably replace the trigger with a Timney.

Stainless barrel -- which make? Twist rate? Countour? What barrel length?

Bell & Carlson synthetic stock (I already have one to fit this action, a nice coincidence).

Talley or Warne rings? Would you have open sights as a backcountry backup?

Leupold scope, either a 1.5-5X or a 2.5X compact.

Bullet of choice? Maybe 225 or 250 Nosler Partition, 225 Barnes X, 250 Speer spitzer (Finn Aagaard's favorite)?

I have a 350 Rem Mag and use to have a .358 too.... My 2cents worth : 1-16" twist in my 350 will stabalize even the big 300 grain bullets and is very accurate. The 1-14 twist on my .358 worked well too. A faster twist is not needed and may not be as accurate. 22" is all the barrel you need. I like the 225 Nosler but the 250 grain Speer grandslam looks good too.

I'm not the one to give you advice on the barrel and rings and such, but bullets I can. In my experience a great all around bullet is the speer 250 gr hot-core elk to deer it has proven it's self. The 250 partition is great and the 250 grand slam as well. My gun has liked the 250 hornady round nose at it has been a great performer only used it on deer though. I don't have experience with the 225 partition, but it should be great. I have shot the 225 bear claws from federal and they are impressive.

I own a custom Whelen on a pre 64 Model 70 action. It has a 24" Hvy Sptr. Douglas barrel, 2 1/2 lb trigger pull, 1 in 14 twist, with a 6x Burris Blk. Diamond 50 mm lens. It is the ultimate big game killing machine hence my name. I've taken several elk, numerous deer, and a 6'3 Montana blk. bear last year at 40 yds. BLC-2 and R15 are the powders I use for my handloads. Bullets I use are the 250g Hornady Rn(most accurate) and the 250g Nosler Partition for elk,bear. I neck size my brass for ultimate accuracy.

Ive used 250 nosler partitions in my 35 whelen (Thompson/center custom shop encore barrel)
with great results. I easily group under 1 inch with reloader 15, and like the last poster
I necksize my brass. As far as rings the Talley rings are the best Ive used.

I specificaly asked for the Zastava trigger on my custom mausers. Worked on by a good 'smith' they are excellent. 2lbs, crisp, all steel and they lock the bolt when on safe (which a timney doesn't) which means you'll never have the rifle fail to fire because the bolt has lifted an inch while being carried on safe and blocked the striker.

qb]Here's what I'm thinking --
Zastava stainless action, [/qb][/QUOTE]why not use a decent military 98 action ? Still better than Zastava.
/QB][/QUOTE]

YES, YES, YES. I fully agree with you

Try 1 in 10, and shoot everything up to barnes x. I built my first 358 with that barrel, douglas, and it's a sub moa with sierra 225, and 300 grs
takes 2 weeks more to get, and the 1 in 16 is for 35 rem only.
22-24 inches is all you need
jeffe

While mine is now a 350 Rigby, it started as a 35 whelen ackley, VZ-24 action, midway 24" 1-14 barrel, leupold 2.5X compact and a bastogne walnut stock I'm finishing up. Personally, I find that the B&C stocks feel like clubs, and the cheap injection molded stocks just aren't stiff enough.

I personallly prefer a longer barrel, but anything in the 21-25" range will be fine, just pick whatever length you prefer.

As far as twist rates, it depends on what weight bullets you'll be shooting. A 1-14 is certainly fine for 250 gr and under, if you plan on shooting the heavier bullets 280-310 gr, then a 1-12 or even a 1-10 would be called for. Cast bullets in the whelen are too much fun, I've shot 150, 158, 180 and 200 gr pistol bullets, they can be suprisingly accurate, and also recoil less when loaded down to 800 fps.

On the other hand, if you'll be shooting cast, you want as slow a twist as you can get away with. I've been quite happy with the 1-14 twist, though I would invest in a better quality barrel in the future, just so I didn't have to work so hard getting the bullet fouling out.

For barrel makers, Pac Nor, Walther, Shilen, Douglas et al make fine products. More accuracy will be gained or lost by who chambers the barrel then by who finished the bore, IMHO. My rifle's groups were reduced in 1/2 by having it re-chambered!

I'm very fond of the 2.5X compact scope, I had a 4a reticle fit as well as click turrets from premier reticles. I currently have weaver bases and rings, but plan to change in the future. I also like back up irons, but have yet to fit them. I'm planning on an NECG barrel band front, and still not sure if the rear will be a ghost ring on the action or an island ramp sight.

For bullets, it depends on the game. I see the whelen as a natural with 250 gr bullets, I've put speers, hornadies and swifts down range, but have yet to find legal game in front of the rifle. With the weight and dia of the bullet, an the moderate muzzle velocity, bullet construction really isn't an issue. "Premium" bullets won't make it a big bore, and std bullets should provide plenty of penetration.

Thanks to everyone for the advice ... I am thinking 1:14" would be a good compromise twist, I'd love to be able to shoot .38 semi-wadcutter revolver bullets for practice or small game.

The choice of the Zastava action is because it's stainless and CRF.

John

try 8-10 grs unique w/ cast pistol bullets. I've loaded them down to 800 fps, they are extremely quiet loads, no recoil, and suitably accurate for small game hunting.

You will like the whelen, I'm considering building another one, but with the standard chamber this time around.