In early stages of putting together subject caliber rifle on VZ24 action and any suggestions as to ideal barrel length for that caliber. Local 'smith suggests finish length of 24" and am inclined to agree, but thought I would ask for those who shoot the 35Whelen.
All feedback appreciated.
martin

+1 for 24 inches.

+2 for 24". Really like the .35!

the twist is more important, what are you getting?

Rich

I have one with a 24in barrel.Should work wel for you.Good Luck

Good question about the twist, never even asked.
Can get about anything needed, what's a good all around twist since most likely will be shooting 200+gr. bullets? I have always heard good things about the 35Whelen and might also mention I have a ready source on quality cast lead/GC bullets which I plan on shooting for practice, fun, etc.

quote:

Originally posted by MFD:
Good question about the twist, never even asked.
Can get about anything needed, what's a good all around twist since most likely will be shooting 200+gr. bullets? I have always heard good things about the 35Whelen and might also mention I have a ready source on quality cast lead/GC bullets which I plan on shooting for practice, fun, etc.

If it was mine, I would go with 22" barrel in a 1:14 twist. I have two like that, they will handle anything you want even in the heaviest weights.

Anything between 22" and 25" will work great. Anything shorter and muzzle blast may get unpleasant. I have a 25" on my Whelen AI and am getting 2800+ out of a 225 TSX.

SWD,
I have thought about an AI and curious if you have any problems w/ brass, etc.?? The performance you mentioned is impressive and can do an AI as easy as the std., and in fact my 'smith mentioned it to me for something to consider. What is your barrel twist?? Thanks,

martin

I have a 22" Std 35 Whelen in a stock Rem 7600.
Plus a 21" 35 Ackley Imp. my working load is 250 gr bullet at 2600 FPS in the AI.
In the 35 Whelen Std Rem pump rifle I run it a
250 gr at 2480 FPS. very impressive on big moose with std. 250 gr Speer bullets!
The 35 Whelen AI gives you a nice case with out a lot of trimming. Feeding is not as smooth
but if you own both 35 Whelen & AI it is a nice
way to come up with brass for your AI. Plus
I would rather shoot the 35 Whelen AI at 2600
with 250 gr bullets. Than run the 35 Whelen at max pressures.

24" works great on my 35 Whelan

The Whelen is a monster cartridge. Good enough to kill anything in North America. To really shine it needs heavy bullets and a 1 in 12 or 1 in 14 twist. Most Remington fatory Whelens are 1 in 16 twist. A 22" barrel is adequate but a 24" lets it live to its potential.

MFD, If I recall my barrel is a 1-12. It's been about 7 years since I built it. The pressures are up there to get that kind of speed, but the primers are no flatter than plenty of factory ammo. Recoil goes up significantly from a 2500fps load. Also not every bullet will give you that kind of speed. Partitions always seem to go fast. I just worked up the Barnes TSX load last week, I had been shooting 250 Partitions which will do 2700. Rem 9.5 primers and Hodgdon BLC2 is what I shoot. I've tried lots of powder and bullet combos and that's the end of it in my gun. It shoots about an inch at 100. I'll be pig hunting this friday with it, so hopefully I'll have a hunt report on it. If I were building another Whelen I'd probably do it again, but now that I also have a 9.3x62 on a Mauser and a 9.3x74 double it's doubtful I'll do another Whelen for myself.

I have three rifles in .35 Whelen, two factory with 1 in 16" twists and a very nice custom rifle I found at an estate sale that has a 1 in 14" twist. The custom outshoots the factory guns by a noticable margin. All three rifles have 22" barrels. If I build another Whele, something that I am seriously considereing, it will have a 1 in 12" twist barrel that will be 23" in length. hy 23"? Just to be different. My custom 7x57 Mauser also has a 23" barrel. The load my Whelen Mauser likes best, FWIW is 60.4 gr. of RL-15 and the 225 gr. Barnes TSX. groups have been running between .50" and .75" depending on how I'm shooting on a particular day. Bullets in the 250 gr. range from that rifle run in about 1.0" to 1.25", again on how well I happen to be shooting on that day. Powder for those is H-335.
Paul B.
Paul B.

22-24 inches and 1:12 or 1:14 will work great!.
Lou

Not intending to horn in, but, I read in "CARTRIDGES of the WORLD" that a 35 whelen improved would make a better round anyone have experience with them?

quote:

Originally posted by Bryan Chick:
Not intending to horn in, but, I read in "CARTRIDGES of the WORLD" that a 35 whelen improved would make a better round anyone have experience with them?

Did they write that? I disagree.

All input appreciated, no problem. I have heard the same thing regarding AI version of the 35Whelen and according to "ammoguide" early reasons given for the AI version was to provide more shoulder for supposed headspace problems w/ shallow shoulder of the Whelen. According to ammoguide, this was not the case for Mr. Ackley dismissed this rumor and only reason was for an edge in performance which is supposed some 5%?? Could easily do the AI approach, but too lazy to fireform brass I guess.
Did have opportunity to speak with barrel provider and the barrel is a 12 twist and will finish at 24". A Douglas No. 3+ pattern you might say and the twist will be closer to 13 than 12.

Fire forming is certainly a consideration and a pain in the butt! Fortunalely I can walk outside my front door and do it, but it still takes time and costs money and doubles the ammount of reloading I have to do. Depending on what your intended use is if you hav'nt ordered your barrel you might also consider the 9.3x62. With ability to shoot up to 325gr bullets it's a real stomper, although there's no fleas on the Whelen and it's an American classic.

MFD - I have a 35 Whelen on a Zastava action
with a Douglas 1-12. It is stainless steel
and 24" long. It shoots great. You will be
pleased with your choice.

1:10 twist. At Whelen speeds you can't over stabilize anything but pistol bullets. You might want to try the heavy weights, and after it's screwed on it is too late to find out if a faster twist was too much or not.

Rich

Well, it would take a book to explain just why I am building a 35Whelen when I already built a 9.3x62 some year or so ago.(as mentioned, the 9.3x62 is a great cartridge.) All of it started w/ building a 300WM from some spare M98 actions I had collected over the years and let's just say the action got messed up a bit and would not retain 300WM rounds due to improper machining of the rails. Had a very fine, hand selected barrel fitted, NECG express sights fitted, barrel band, etc. plus Turnbull treatment on various parts resulting in some bucks, but action would not work. Thanks to Jim Kobe, we eliminated the problem by switching that barrel to a BrowningFN action and that left me with unused action that seemed fairly useless. Just by chance while wondering what to do with the action, stuck some '06 rounds in the mag and bingo!, took 5 down and not a hitch. Smooth as silk! Remembered that same barrel maker had a surplus new excellent barrel in .358 and visited w/him the other evening and having some 35Whelen rnds to try, again the action/magazine worked like a charm.
Already have purchased Argentine bottom and will have Jim do a two way safety, already have nice walnut stock underway(winter project)and will end up with very serviceable 35Whelen. Do I need a 35Whelen since I have the 9.3, no, but I have a few others I don't "need" as well.
As to the messed up 98's rails, another person had relieved some portion of the rails and upset the geometry for the 300WM case, but fortunately it works well for the '06 based round and even the 308 case feeds just as well?? Live and learn as they say. I do part time teaching at local college and just 3 more weeks of class and I will be off until 4/10 so plenty of time to glue it all together.

24 inch with 1:10 twist will give you the most versatility with any 35 caliber bullet.

Barstooler

Mine is a Ruger M77 with a 22" Shilen barrel, 1:14 twist. I have both the paddle stock, and the later plastic version, but prefere the "paddle"
It shoots like a dream both 225 and 250 grainers, balance is fine and it´s easy to carry all day long.
My "got to" utility rifle for deer and moose.

Mine has a Krieger 1:12 that is 23" long.
Balance is more important than a specific length.
Thanks, Doug

Mine is a 1-14" twist rate, magnum contour, 24" barrel. The 1-14" rate would be my personal minimum twist rate for the Whelen, 1-12" would be the optimum.

Never heard anyone suggest a 1-10" rate until this thread, just remember the faster the twist rate the slower the velocities of your loads. Most 30 cal cartridges use a 1-10" rate so that would be extreme.

One of these years i want to try shooting some 300gr bullets to see how my 1-14" does, but i think it would be fine especially if shots were kept to within 200yds....

Oh yeah, about the AI version, you will only get about 50fps more out of an AI for all the guys who are getting 2,600fps with a 250gr bullet, you can get a safe 2,550 fps with a regular whelen, no discernable difference to trajectory or energy....

I built my Whelen with a 24 inch barrel but soon cut it to 19 inches. Taking that 5 inches off made a heck of a difference in it's handling and as I used the rifle in the brush hunting for deer and hogs it works just fine. I may hunt black bears with it in Alaska next year while I am fishing a salmon run. I don't know how much velocity I am losing but I can get plenty with IMR 3031 and AA 2520.

12" twist 22" on my VZ-24 action.

Mike