Was wondering if there is enough improvement to warrant doing an improved version.Borrowed a mates whelen for a quick hunt yesterday dropped a nice little sambar stag never seen one drop as quick before .It got me thinking about a m17 enfeild i have in the gun locker.

I sure wouldn't spend $$ to go for a 35Whelen AI. The 35W would be far cheaper for dies, etc. I don't have the exact cpacities but I figure a 1% velocity for 4% capacity gain at equal pressure. So that puts you in a 25-35fps gain.

If you want to be different like the looks of an AI by all means go for it. just don't expect it to be a 358Norma when you get done.

as ramrod said, and as much as i like the ackley rounds, you won't see much. even P.O.Ackley wrote that as the bore diameter to case capacity goes up, the increase in performance drops off. in his books, he states that the 30-06 showed the least increase of all the rounds he did.
i have 1909 and a whelen barrel as my next project and am contemplating the same question, right now.
i think, at one time there was a trend to blow the '06 cartridge out to get a better case shoulder for headspace with both the whelen and the .338, but it's been pretty well established that there's plenty enough shoulder on the '06 case left after opening up the neck to 35 cal.
still, if you like the ackley version, there's no solid reason not to do it... these are our toys, they do look neat and the few extra bucks for dies shouldn't stop you from being satisfied with what you build. i have and have had several ackley rounds and even though i hardley ever load them to thier full potential they give me something satisfying to do with my brass and powder besides just stuffing powder and bullets into brass tubes.

To see an improvement I would do a 35 Hawk or the 35 version of the longer 370 Sako but for the expense and limited ROI you might as well just leave it as a regular Whelen. You already see it does a good job. There is not a thing the 35 W wont kill with the right bullet and good placement of shot.

quote:

Originally posted by sambar02:
Was wondering if there is enough improvement to warrant doing an improved version.Borrowed a mates whelen for a quick hunt yesterday dropped a nice little sambar stag never seen one drop as quick before .It got me thinking about a m17 enfeild i have in the gun locker.

I went with the .411 HawK on 98 and saved my enfield for somethin' bigger.

My buddy has a very nice 35 Whel in a Sterling Davenport , what a sweety!!

Thanks guys you have been very helpful

35 WAI .. expect less than 50fps .. probably less than30 FPS .. get an inch longer barrel and see the same from the std...

One of my early custom rifles was an "improved" whelen. I think it was called the Brown-whelen, with the shoulder moved forward. What a pain that was. I shot it some and luckily found a buyer for the rifle and dies. Last I heard was that he was still happy with it 20+ years later, but I say good riddance.

Since then I got a standard 35 Whelen and never looked back. With this cartridge compared to the so-called improved version it comes down to feeding issues, especially if using a Mauser action. The standard 35 Whelen is slick feeding, and the improved version is at the very least annoying.

KB

good point kabluewy, i noticed that even my 6.5-.270 Ackley is a bit more rough feeding than with a standard 6.5-'06 case. as a mater of fact, if i really load a round fast, i will sometimes get a dented shoulder.

My Whelan AI is built on an FN action. It feeds smooth, has good case life and the cost to build with a Douglas barrel was the same for either. A set of Redding dies cost maybe 20 bucks more. For me since I build them myself cost doesn't really figure in other than dies. So far I have a 257 AI, 35 Whelan AI, 6-06, and 260 Rem AI. In the future will be either a 250 Savage AI or 6.5X55 AI I also have a really nice 1909 Argetine action that will likely get a similar treatment.