Howdy,

I am itching for a new rifle. I want something that is all weather, like stainless or teflon in a synthetic stock. I have a .35 Whelen 700 Classic with a nice walnut stock, so the thought occured to me to get a new 700 CDL in .35 Whelen and then get it restocked in a good synthetic and maybe tefloned as well.

But I also thought about the new .325 WSM in a Model 70. I already have a .257, .270, .280, .30-06, .35 so the gap there is really between .30 and .35. Or maybe it is time for a all weather .375 H&H. Come on guys, what do I need???

It looks like you've got the mid-range well covered. At this point, go "light" or go "heavy."

A 22-250 or .223 would both be fun to shoot - cheap too.

Or, get a magnum of some kind. .325, .338, .375, something that'll bite at both ends.

You do understand you'll end up with all of 'em anyway...the hard part for now is in the choosing!

I did forget to mention I have a .22-250 for coyotes and prairie dogs.

I love my .35 Whelen, but with its blue/walnut makeup, it is not the best "all weather" gun. My thoughts were then running to a all weather gun to bridge the gap between the .30 and .35. I could go the route of a new .35 Whelen CDL then get it tefloned and synthetic stock, but it might be cheaper in the long run to go with a .338 WM or .325 WSM in a stainless/synthetic configuration.

I would like to see Sako release a stainless/synthetic version of the .325 WSM. I have a Sako and have shot several others. The nice thing with them has been in my experience they require no gunsmithing (trigger job or bedding) and usually shoot several brands of factory ammo well.

Boy...it would be hard to beat a nice, tough, stainless synthetic 338 Winnie in that line up!

I sold mine for a 338 RUM, then sold THAT and now really want a 338 winnie again. Plenty of rifles to choose from. Ammo everywhere, and a great round to reload. Bullets from 160 to 300 grains and manageable recoil.

In spite of the .323 diameter, the 325 WSM will wind up bing a lot more like a 300 Win Mag in a short action, which is fine if that is what you want. However, if you want the thump of the 35 Whelen and the trajectory of a 270, you NEED a 338 Win!!

The Sako 75 Stainless Synthetics are available in 338 Win Mag and 375 H&H and the Tikka T3 Laminated Stainless is availabe in 338 Win Mag.

Sako / Tikka Rifle Models & Calibers

firstshot
------------------------------
Make your first shot count!

I have not ever fired a .338 Win, but have always admired that round from afar. I guess having a '06 and .35, I felt like I didn't need one, but now have reached a point in my hunting life where I am considering some hunts for big game that may be in some locales where the weather tends to be crappy and the game large.

Anyone out there fired one in comparison to a .35 Whelen or even a .375 H&H, which I have shot a fair amount. If you can handle the .375, I suppose the .338 is tolerable?

The 338-06 sounds like good choice to me.

Elmo

all weather .375 H&H - Way to go - Kills any thing any ware.

Roland

I would go with either a .338 or .375. Bullets and brass are readily available by a bunch of manufacturers. There are not too many choices out there for 8mm bullets. The 338 has the abaility to knock down bears with solids or Northforks, and also be able to reach out and touch something with high BC bullets. The .375 is more than you would need for almost anything in North America, and then some. There are some folks that say a .375 with a Northfork or GS custom bullet will do less meat damage than a .243 or .270 with spitzers such as a Hornady, or Swift Scirocco for that matter. The GS custom website has pictures of skinned animals to "prove" that theory. As far as recoil goes, you do not have to reload your ammo so hot that the primer falls out.

quote:

Originally posted by duckster:
I have not ever fired a .338 Win, but have always admired that round from afar. I guess having a '06 and .35, I felt like I didn't need one, but now have reached a point in my hunting life where I am considering some hunts for big game that may be in some locales where the weather tends to be crappy and the game large.

Anyone out there fired one in comparison to a .35 Whelen or even a .375 H&H, which I have shot a fair amount. If you can handle the .375, I suppose the .338 is tolerable?

The 338 Win has less recoil than a 375 H&H and more than a 35 Whelen, but is closer to the Whelen. I have shot all 3 quite a bit. The H&H is a fine round, but to get good sectional densities for long range shooting and penetration, you need fairly heavy bullets. This and the larger case capacity adds up to more recoil.

Since you mentioned 400 yard shots the 338 is better IMHO. You might like a thumb hole stock on the 338, as it puts about 20% of the recoil into you trigger hand and arm and would make it super easy to grab out of a scabbard. This and a good premium recoil pad will put felt recoil at about the same level as the 35 whelen.

I just picked up a Model 70 Super Grade in .338 and have found it surprisingly pleasant to shoot, even from the bench. I have a .375 Mod 70 that kicks a little harder but is probably a pound and a half heavier. Both are great guns and fun to shoot. The .338 is probably the more practical choice for North America.

Jeff

I certainly do not try to take 400 yard shots on game. I have done it once with the .35 Whelen but that was because we were in the last couple of hours of a guided hunt and it was the only chance I was going to get.

I prefer a heavier rifle, so something in the 8 1/2 lb class for a .338 should not be too bad? If I need a lightweight mountain rife, I won't need the horsepower of a .338 or even .35 Whelen for that matter. That is the spot for my .257 Rbts!

new whelen.

Enough of the small bores, time to go a custom .416 Remington and up...
Cheers...
Con

Being as you have the Whelen , I wouldn't bother with a .338 , a properly loaded Whelen comes mighty close to what the Winchester cartridge will do .

It seems to me you are only lacking on the bigger end , so if it were me I would go with a .375 , .340 Weatherby , or maybe even a .338 or .375 Ultra if you like M-700 s . The stainless laminate M-700 is a pretty appealing package .

I have also considered a .375 H&H, for the same reasons and I would like to get back to Africa to try for a Cape buff. The .375 would be the next logical step upward.

Not having owned a .338, I didn't know if there was lot of difference between it and the .35 Whelen. I have never wished for more performance when using the Whelen. I know you do give up a little range to the .338, but I am hoping with the new ammo from Nosler that I purchased, that will be minimized. On paper, it has the same trajectory as the 180 grainers from the '06

I say go with an M700, Shilen or similar barrel 1-10 or 1-12 twist stainless, McMillan stock in your preference of style. Use Ceramacote as it is tougher than Teflon. I would say H&S stock but they way overcharged me for a short LOP and took two months more than their estimated delivery time. They also refused to put in my requested Millet QD sling swivels. I prefer three swivels and a Ching sling in leather. I use both leather and nylon web depending on weather. Set up your sights so you have backup aperture sights and optics for long range and brush. Leupold QD Weavers help. The backup scope and aperture can save a hunt. The aperture is much lighter than a scope to carry. The Whelen can be used with 110gr pistol bullets to 310 gr Woodleighs in soft or FMJs. Let us know your choice. Packrattusnongratus

Duck,
why would you buy a new CDL and then change the stocK? To me the nice looking stock and the job they did on it would be the reason I would buy the Remington..... that and combined with Winchester screwing up the great stocks that they had for years with the new "facelift" they are trying to peddle.

Remington cleaned up the Model 700 real well with the CDL series. Winchester is trying to out do Remington's "crappy and ugly" dept's Model 710, with their new Synthetic stock designs. At least with the crappy stocks I have seen them with at Wally Mart. If I bought a new Winchester from Wally Mart, the first thing I would do is get it home and get that stock off of it,, even before taking it to the range to see what kind of quality or barrel I got.

I personally believe, that Wally Mart is the shooting industries answer to their prayers about Quality Control. If a gun does not pass quality control, instead of fixing it or scrapping it, they just put it in the Lot Numbers that will be sold to Walmart and KMart . We don't have any Kmarts around locally here any more tho ( and thank God really.)

Cheers and good shooting
seafire

Seafire. T'ain't necessarily so. I have a Wallyworld M70 with synthetic stock that looks like a Winchester Black Shadow without floorplate. Every load I've run through it has been one inch or less. What made the big difference in groups was I removed the crappy Simmons El Cheapo scope that came on the gun and put a 3x9X Leupold Vari-X II in it's place. The rifle shot well enough to drop a cow elk at 530 yards, laser measured.
I don't much care for long range shooting, but where I hunt, after the first few shots on opening day, the elk head on out into these very large meadows and hang out well into the middle. The one where I shot the cow was about two miles wide and five or six miles long. I was behind the very last bush I could find. Still, that cheapie Wally World M70 did the job. One thing I do recommend is get rid of the recoil pad they put on them. It's as hard as a piece of granite. I put a Pachmeyr Decelerator on mine.
Paul B.

Have you considered having your Whelen Ackley Improved? Either Ackley or Brown Whelan gives you near magnum velocities with a magazine that will hold a handfull. Jim