I'm having a 358 built by Mike Scherz on a 1909 action. My turn in line has come up and all the parts are in. Now it's time to pick a caliber. When I sent him the parts I originally wanted a 35Whelen, but lately I've been thinking a Norma mag might be nice too. The extra 200fps might come in handy but I don't know. What do you guy's think? The barrel is a #3 Shilen and I'd like it to finish out around 24" The action is going to be rehardened so I think it'll be strong enough for either.

Which one would you do?

Terry

quote:

Originally posted by TC1:
I'm having a 358 built by Mike Scherz on a 1909 action. My turn in line has come up and all the parts are in. Now it's time to pick a caliber. When I sent him the parts I originally wanted a 35Whelen, but lately I've been thinking a Norma mag might be nice too. The extra 200fps might come in handy but I don't know. What do you guy's think? The barrel is a #3 Shilen and I'd like it to finish out around 24" The action is going to be rehardened so I think it'll be strong enough for either.

Which one would you do?

Terry

I would go with a .358 Norma with a 22" tube. Velocity loss is practically negligible in the Norma, but is much handier.

I'd go with the Whelen. I have no argument against the Norma Mag but the Whelen has plenty of power and is a classy round. Also if you ever decide you want to sell or trade the gun you'll be better off if it is chambered in 35 Whelen. I think I would start with a 24 inch tube and only shorten it if I didn't like the way it carried and balanced. It's pretty easy and inexpensive to shorten but of course you can't go the other way.
Good shooting,
Weagle

I'm on my 3rd norma mag now and it's a longranger and a powerhouse. A few yrs ago had barrel cut to 21" and lost 60fps. 280 swifts for brown bear and 225 np for the rest. JT

For me it boils down to recoil and hunting style, since the rifle will weigh the same either way. My 35 Whelen has a 23" barrel and is built light because I cover a lot of rough ground when I hunt and because I don't like rifles that kick hard. I don't feel recoil when shooting game, but I do feel it on the range and I shoot a lot. Weagle makes a good point about barrel length, and his logic applies at the other end of the barrel as well. If you start off with a 35 Whelen, you can always get it punched out to 358 Norma.


Okie John

There's nothing wrong with the fine .358 Norma, but the action you're using is much better suited to the .35 Whelen. Your project will be cheaper, easier, and possibly more satisfactory because you don't have to open the bolt face or regrind the magazine feed rails and replace the magazine follower if you use the Whelen. Besides, in the Whelen your magazine will hold 5 shots, but likely only 3 in the Norma Magnum.

If I really wanted a .358 Norma, I'd start with an action built for a belted magnum in the first place.

TC1
My choice would be 358 Norma, a classic Swedish caliber :
358 Norma will be fine with 24 inch barrel but you need to get a new magazine/floorplate. To re-harden the action is a wise decision.

Cases for the norma cases can be made from 7mm rem, 300 win or 338 win.

Cheers
/ JOHAN

quote:

Originally posted by TC1:
I'm having a 358 built by Mike Scherz on a 1909 action. My turn in line has come up and all the parts are in. Now it's time to pick a caliber. When I sent him the parts I originally wanted a 35Whelen, but lately I've been thinking a Norma mag might be nice too. The extra 200fps might come in handy but I don't know. What do you guy's think? The barrel is a #3 Shilen and I'd like it to finish out around 24" The action is going to be rehardened so I think it'll be strong enough for either.

Which one would you do?

Terry

9.3 x 62. You get more bullet weight, more bullet diameter, more powder capacity than the .35 Whelen, and the same trajectory. Or 9.3 x 64 mm if you want velocities like .375 HH and flatter trajectory. Or .375 HH.

Why not do a 35 whelen ackley? Do you reload? If so, this cartridge would be an even better choice in my opinion.

I second the 9.3x62.

If you modify the action, there's no going back. But, the 9.3x62 covers all your bases.

I'm assuming you reload, or you would for the 358 Norma...

9.3X62......I've got one already

Terry

Then I'd go with the 358 Norma.

35 Whelen is too close to the 9.3x62, of course the Norma is to.

358 Norma.

If you have a 9.3x62 ... why a .35 at all?

Might consider going to a bigger action and doing a .375 H&H or a .416 Remington.

If the action is limiting, the barrel has already been acquired, and Africa is not in the future at all ... go with the .358 Norma.

quote:

Originally posted by mstarling:
If you have a 9.3x62 ... why a .35 at all?

Might consider going to a bigger action and doing a .375 H&H or a .416 Remington.

If the action is limiting, the barrel has already been acquired, and Africa is not in the future at all ... go with the .358 Norma.

I've also got a .375 which is pretty much my limit when it comes to recoil. If I should ever go to Africa I might go ahead and spring for a .416, but right now it's not a priority.

You're absalutly right about not needing a .35 Whelen...or a .358 Norma for that matter. I've got a .30-06 that can take care of all the chores, "Need" hasn't got much to do with this rifle at all.

Terry

TCl ---- If you are going to do a .358 chambering and already have a 9.3 X 62, you need to go on to the STA, if you want to stick with the caliber. I have a couple of STA's that are awesome. That said, if I had a 9.3 of any kind I would step on up to the .416 of some kind and not look back. Good luck and good shooting.

Hey TC1,

If you are going to hunt only on this side of the big pond, I doubt that you would ever need anything more powerful than the .35 Whelen. However, if you want more range the the obvious choice is the Norma.

I chose the Whelen because of the ease of reloading and availability of cases.

I have a Moyer and McClausin .35 Whelen built on a VZ-24 action. It is long throated with a #4, 27 in. Shilen barrel. It shoots the 280 gr. Swift at 2,547.

What I wanted was a rifle that would dispatch anything on this side of the pond at 200 yards. I only use a "peep sight". By the way, this rifle is a true "one holer"!

You've chosen a great caliber, no matter which form it takes.

Good Shooting,

Smoker

You can load the 358 Norma down to do anything the whelen can do, and you can also load it to full patch. The Norma can launch bullets 25 gr heavier the same speed as the whelen, and it has sufficient case capacity to make use of the heavier bullets, ie 270, 280 and 310 gr.

I would not do the 35 whelen ackley, it is at best 50 fps faster then the whelen, and if you want more capacity, then by all means go with the Norma.

I ended up re-chambering my 35 whelen ackley to a 350 Rigby, which has essentially the same case capacity as the Norma. The only problem is Bertram brass is junk, Hornbear is next to impossible to obtain, and removing the belt from 375 H&H brass, deepening the extrar cut, forming and trimming the brass is a real hassle.

You've got a tough choice.

I have a personal dislike for magnums, so I've opted for a Whelen as my moose gun, however, if I were (ever again) to feel the need to hunt with a magnum, I'd choose the Norma.