Can anyone tell me what years the 35 Whelen was available in a factory bolt action rifle.

Secondly, how many where manufactured by each company.

To my limited knowledge only Remington and Ruger produced a 35 Whelen here in the states.

Finally, once I decide to build one of these critters. Does one brand of gun action/magazine tend to work better than the other for the O.A.L. of the cartridge. I have a Remington Model 700 which has a long magazine of 3.7 inches compared to a Ruger long action of 3.3 inches.

Does it really matter?

Wouldn't mind building one on a Savage Piller bedded action.

If you long throat the rifle and have a magazine longer than the standard 3.3 inches , you can load 250 gr spitzers to utilize part of that long neck for powder space and achieve some pretty fancy speeds out of the old cartridge . If you want to work mostly with the lighter bullets , you may not want to go that route..........

7-30 Waters,

I believe you are corrct in that only Remington and Ruger produced commercial bolt actions for this caliber. I believe that in 1988 or 89 is when Remington first produced this rifle in its "classic" line. Then Ruger produced a few rifle in the ninties, I have no numbers or estimates as to how many were produced.

Now to the building part. Any standard length 3.3-3.4" action/magazine length is fine. Any of the commercial actions along with the mauser '98 will make a great rifle. Hart Rifle barrels along with Ed Shilen are producing 35 caliber barrels these days so you can get a very good barrel at a reasonable price.

IMO, you don't need to long throat your chamber or go to the longer action/magazine because this cartidge has a fairly long neck. I can seat my 250 grain Speers to 3.400" COL(magazine length on my 1903 Springfield) and the bullet does not extend below the neck of the case.

I have found this cartidge very easy to load, with powders ranging from IMR 3031 - IMR 4350, With IMR 4320 and Reloader 15 being the best for accuracy and speed. The 225 grain Nosler Partitions and Barnes X really make this great cartridge even better.

Good luck,
BigBullet

BigBullet......agree with you on the 250 gr Speer.........however , it is about the shortest of the 250 gr spitzers..........the Hornaday and the Nosler are some longer........then there is the 250 Barnes , the 280 gr Swift , and the 310 gr Woodleigh if you need to punch thru two moose with one shot........

[ 11-14-2003, 19:30: Message edited by: sdgunslinger ]

sdgunslinger...you're probably right on those heavier bullets. I have not had any experience with them. The 250 grain Speers are the heaviest I have tried in the Whelen.
BigBullet

I have a Rem 7600 in 35 Whel that is one accurate rifle. I use IMR 4320 and Speer 250 spitzers with Fed Match 210 primers and Fed Prem Brass. I have a low power 1.75x5 Redfield Widefield Scope on it in Redfield Rings/Bases and installed a Decell. Recoil pad.

"Boy what Bear and Moose Getter"

I sent a 7600 in 30-06 off to Rem and had them rebarrell it to 35 Whel. for about $200.

Alaska Bush Man:

Where did you get your recoil pad? I want one for my 7600. That hard plastic plate isn't much comfort at the range.

Thanks.

7-30:

I believe the 1988 700 classic was a 35 Whelen; they produced it in their BDL rifle as well as the pump for a number of years after that. Ruger has done a number of runs in the Whelen.

If you have a 700 action to spare, that would be a fine choice for a barrel job. If you like a stainless, go with a pac-nor: $400 for a bead blasted finish (I'd go with a #4) and that includes lapping and action truing. Get a 1-12 or 1-14 twist; the 1-16 may be a bit slow for bullets heavier than 250, such as Swift's excellent 280 gr A-Frame. A Shaw barrel (in my experience) is not a bad choice if you're on a tight budget, despite what some on this board say. Good luck.

I was told that Winchester also offered it from their custom shop at one time, bu I've never seen one. - Dan

7-30

If you decide not to build one, but instead, buy one, I know where there is a NIB Remington 700 Classic. My guess is he'd let it go for $675.

WN

7-30:

I built my 35 Whelen on a 700 Remington, standard length. At the same time I built another Whelen on a 98 Mauser. They are both tack drivers, and shoot the Speer 250, and the various 225 grainers, equally well. The standard 700 has more than enough magazine length. The 98 however, requires that you have the smith set the throat length to the magazine, if you want to seat your bullets close to the lands. No problem either way.
A tip though, if you choose a 98, have the extractor modified, so it will slip over the rim of a chambered cartridge, like the 03 Springfield, it will save you some possible headaches in the field.

As to powder I like 4064, and get 2600fps+ with a 250 grain bullet.

Like some of the others, I see no need to shoot a bullet heavier than a 250 grain in the Whelen, so I have no experience to offer.

Good Luck with a great cartridge.

Jerry