35 Whelan dead, try 9.3x62 instead?

R

Rusty S

New member
The 350 Rem Mag and the 35 Whelan, ( probably the 358 too ) are no longer chambered in the new catalogs I've seen. Always wanted a 350 or Whelan, actually saw one of each 3 years ago in an out of state store. I got home, called a few weeks later when I had money and they were gone.

I recently got a CZ527Mannlicher stock in 223 I'm gaga over. It NEEDS a big brother, maybe two. CZ offers a mannlicher stocked 9.3x62 and that round has apparently had a longtime substantial ( enough ) following outside the US to keep it around for year after year.
Plus it's listed as having factory loads with 285 grain bullets putting out 3400 to 3500 ft. lbs. ME. About 5% to 10% over the Whelan and 350 Rem Mag, with heavier bullets. More like the old 350 Rigby

The cases are available from Norma, loaded ammo from Norma and RWS, cases can be reformed from 3006 if need be, and premium bullets from Barnes ( solid bronze/brass ) Tropy Bonded and other US sources are available to reload which I'd rather not do,
but would have to lay in a stockpile of components for just in case.

Anyway, anybody know of the 9.3 from experience or hearsay?

If I gotta go to something to I have to reload, I think I'd go the old 350 Griffin and Howe: the 300 H&H tapered case necked up to 35 with no other changes to keep the case capacity lower.
 
You could find something relatively inexpensive in .270 or '06, and get it rebarrelled to the Whelen. This would give you free choice of the barrel's weight and length.

After all, you could readily use even a "rusty clunker", if all the stock needs is refinishing to be usable.

FWIW, Art
 
Atkinson did that on my 03A3 turning it into a Brown-Whelan 25 years ago. Too much work for a wildcat but now that the Whelan is a factory load...

Is he ( Atkinson - Marquart's former partner ) still in business? Who else does reboring?
 
Rusty. You can scrounge around the gun shows, and if you are lucky, you can find a .35 Whelan. I found two. One is a beautiful custom job on an Oberndorf Mauser and the other, a Ruger M77RS. I'm looking for one of the Remington pump guns now.
The one good thing about the Whelan is there are more bullets available for it than the 9.3x62. Also brass will be no problem if remington and federal drop the cartridge. Just resize good old 30-06 brass. That will work for the 9,3 too, BTW.
I can't, for the life of me, figure out why the American shooter goes nuts over the old .35 Remington, and ignores the .358 Win. and .35 Whelan, both of which are better rounds.
Good luck on your search. I hope you find a Whelan.
Paul B.
 
There should still be a fairly good supply of 35 Whelan rifles out there on the used market. My father has a Ruger 77 in 35 Whelan and we used to have a Remington pump in that caliber also. I have always admired the 35 Whelan and cannot really see how it would become a dead cartridge any time soon. As for the 358 Winchester, I have killed two deer with this cartridge and I rate it among my all time favorites. We have a Browning lever action chambered in 358 and it is one hell of a good rifle. We used to have one of the Savage lever actions in this caliber, but my father in a moment of weakness (or stupidity, I haven't decided which) sold it.
 
The Remington custom shop may still be doing up model 7 customs in 350. In August I was up in the Hamilton Montana area at the store I'd seen the 350 and Whelen in a couple years earlier. They'd told me then people up there didn't go for 35 cal, and there wasn't a one there this trip.
 
I have a .358 Win built on a Ruger stainless model 77, a 35 Whelen Special Edition Ruger model 77, and I had a 35 Whelen built on a model 70 Winchester stainless Classic. The latter is in the process of being converted to a 358 Norma mag. As a non-reloader, I have purchased factory ammo using the Internet that was delivered to my residence for all three of these calibers. I am going to plagiarize something that I read on another forum. "The 35 caliber is for hunting rifles, all the rest are for guns." CP.
 
The .350 Remington would be a great cartridge in the right rifle, and would be even better if it didn't have that stinking belt.

Just another of the promising cartridges that Remington killed through poor marketing over the past 40 years.
 
I have a Whelen

Mine's a 7400 semi-auto in perfect condition (unfortunately it's never been on the elk hunt I got it for). Exceptionally mild recoil for a cartridge that gives appx. 2000 ft-lbs at 400 yards. Average guy may shoot a .300 mag 5-10 times and give up. I could shoot 50 straight from this. In my area this was considered an "odd" caliber and I got it for $250-275 IRRC. Dealer was happy to get rid of it....I was happy to get it.

All I've shot so far are 250 gr. Core-Loct's. Shoots about 1 1/4" at 120 yards. I've got a 1.5x6 B&L on it. Makes a nice package.

I've got a copy of a Handloader article. He talked about the "Improved" version that runs right with the .300 Mag with less noise and recoil. Should fit the "take anything in North America" idea fine. Just a thought.
 
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