Who made this 35 Whelen rifle?

[GaNightTrain]

I have this rifle and can find no identifying markings that make any sense to me other than the caliber of ammunition.

 

[Jimro]

It's a commercial M98 action.

Most likely a Zastava or FN action. The stock looks like Parker Hale or Mark X with a side safety covered up.

No telling who put it together.

Jimro

 

[HKFan9]

Might as well throw a dart at the dart board, as said above, Mauser action... many many gun smiths and even garage guru's built off them.

 

[GaNightTrain]

Thanks for the info, at least I know I didn't miss something simple.

 

[Clark]

I got a 35 Whelen Mauser [ Santa Barbara action ] in 2008 for $300 and turned it into a 260.

 

[Oneb]

I have a custom Whelen built on a Zastava/Whitworth action and it is clearly stamped as such. The proof marks are also distinctive.

oneb

 

[Jimro]

OneB,

I have a Husqvarna built on an FN action, with no distinctive marks on the receiver (pre-68 so not even a serial number). Some of the Santa Barbara actions were the same way (built on contract for another company), and I can only assume that the Zastava actions that were provided for other companies were supplied without adornment.

Still, it looks like a fine rifle, and if it shoots tight I wouldn't bother with it. The 35 Whelen is a fine cartridge.

Jimro

 

[Jim Watson]

I don't know WHO assembled it, a lot of small shops don't bother. Either they figure it doesn't matter or they worry about getting identified and charged back federal excise tax such as put one gunsmith out of business.

Whoever it was, he had probably read the old Gun Digest book, Custom Guns because it is a dead ringer for one shown there.

 

[Oneb]

AFAIK, Zastava did not market rifles or actions direct to the US market through their own factory distributors. They sold barreled actions to Interarms -- later, to Charles Daley and to Remington -- in the US and to Whitworth in England. Those companies finished -- did the final polishing and bluing, D&T-ed them and added iron sights etc. -- and stocked the rifles with wood from separate suppliers. A friend of mine worked on assembling the Interarms versions at the Interarms facility here in Alexandria VA. Interarms also used Whitworths for its higher grade offerings and those bore both logos.

Some barreled actions were sold too but they all had the proof marks from Zastava which, I was told are required by import law and had the Interarms and/or Whitworth logos too.

Oneb

 

[CowTowner]

I got a custom 35 Whelen built on a Domoulin commercial Mauser action.

 

[Bob58]

I had Golden State mauser, perhaps a Santa Fe that had the R-prefix. I assumed it was a replacement SN after they scrubbed it.

 

[Jimro]

OneB,

What you write is true. But before all of that there was the "Herters J9" which had "Yugoslavia" roll marked on the side of the action (at least on all the examples I've seen), some roll marks were struck more deeply than others.

Jimro