I am thinking of buying one of the new model 70 Winchester extreme as they seem like a pretty well made rifle with the bell and Carlson stock etc in 30-06 caliber and changing the barrel to a 35 whelen.

I have some Qs for those who know more about this than I do:

1. Is it a pretty straightforward barrel switch job given that the case is the same?
2. What custom barrel maker would you recommend.
4. what barrel length and twist rate? I am looking to shoot 250 grain bullets and hoping for sub MOA accuracy.
5. Any gunsmith recommendations?

Thanks,

Arjun

Yes, there is nothing special to change a 30-06 to a 35 Whelen. No modifications of the action or magazine would normally be needed.

Douglas would be my choice for such a build. Though any of the normal aftermarket barrels would get you what you want. I don't see a need to pay extra for a match barrel, or cut rifling on a hunting rifle build.

24" with a 1:14 twist in a #3 contour.

Any of the gunsmiths that post on this forum or the gunsmithing forum would be the first ones to check.

Jeremy

The other obvious option is to send it out for reboring. JES and several others offer this service.
Cheaper than rebarreling. The only limiting factor is the current diameter of the barrel and if it has enough thickness to make the rebore possible.
Rebarrel or rebore either one and no other changes required.

A rebore ain't a bad idea. Barrel fits your stock and I believe you have plenty of meat in the barrel.

I second the Douglas recommendation; I have a Douglas on my 35 Whelen and it shoots great.

As for twist, any of the standard twist rates will work for 250 gr. bullet. I hung a 1:12 on mine because I wanted to the option of shooting heavier bullets, i.e. 280 SAFs and 310 Woodleigh Weldcores, which a 1:16 will not accommodate.

If you think you'll lean towards 225's or even 200's, then you could go with a slower twist.

Having said all that, mine absolutely loves 250 gr NPs and shoots 225 gr ABs with equal aplomb.

Have fun! The Whelen is as close to a free lunch as you can get in the ballistics world..."modesty with muscle"!

If rebarrel is the choice I have used Pac Nor, McGowen, Shilen, Bartlein and Lilja in the last 6 years or so and had great results with all of them (don't know about the Lilja yet).
Most modern barrel makers these days produce excellent barrels.
Again simplest would be re bore.

I'll second the rebore option with Jesse at 35caliber.com - he did one for me in Whelen and it's a peach. Like LRx above I had mine done with a 1 in 12" twist and it shoots both 225s and 310s great! Jesse's prices and turnaround time (about a week) are astonishing.

perhaps send it to JES Reboring in Oregon, and just have them bore it to 35, and get a slightly quicker twist, like 1:11" and have a bit more flexibility as far as the heavier bullets...?

I had a Ruger 77 .270 rebarreled to .35 Whelen recently and went with a Shilen #3 with 1:12 to handle the heavier bullets. In hindsight the 225 TSX probably does everything I would ever need so not sure the fast twist was really necessary.

I am still in the break in process and so far have not been able to find a load that the rifle REALLY likes. Most loads will put 3 or 4 within 1-1.25" but it seams I always get 1 or 2 fliers in a five shot string that open the groups up closer to 2". Plenty accurate for what I plan to do with it but cloverleafs make me happier. I am hoping I can get it settled down here shortly for a possible CA pig hunt this summer.

I will say that Shilens customer service was phenomenal. I had originally ordered a lighter contour and had it cut to 20" for an open sighted close range thumper. The bore was not centered well in the barrel and it was throwing bullets to the left badly. I actually ran out of windage adjustment on my NECG ghost ring before I could get it to hit within 5" of center at 100. I sent micrometer pics of the barrel to Shilen and they put a replacement barrel in their production queue immediately and I had the new tube within 10 days. All I had to do was mail the old one back once my 'smith had it off.

I will definitely work with them again with customer service like that.

If I was to do it over again I probably would have went the JES route. I have a ruger 77 in .338 that I can tell really wants to grow up to be a .358 Norma. $225 and a week or two with Jess seams like an efficient way to get there.

I have had good luck with High Plains Reboring, all rebores shot an inch or better and that's phenominal IMO...3 shot groups btw

I only use Lothar Walthar barrels..For the money Douglas barrels are a nice barrel.

quote:

Originally posted by monttrap04:
..so far have not been able to find a load that the rifle REALLY likes.

UPDATE: After having tried Hornady (200s and 250s) as well as the 225 TSX, three powders (RL 15, H4895, Varget), and numerous charge weights... I tried some 225 Sierras today in front of RL 15. A mid-range load (52 grains) seated out to 3.3" produced a 4-shot .55" 100 yard group. Higher charges opened the groups up to between 1.25-1.5". Most would put three under an inch and then one flier as the barrel heated up. Zero pressure signs and my max load was within .5 grain of book max. Hoping to chrono it later this week and hope to see 2700+ on the screen when I get to the upper end of the charges.

If I can get 3 around 1" at 2700+ I will be a very happy camper. If 2600 is all I can get I will be a camper with a standard level of happiness.