.35 Whelen twist Rates and length barrel?

Bill Costik

Some of you guys know that I am going to gunsmith school. Also some of you guys know that I was thinking of doing a .358 WSM. Well come to find out that Hart chambers one of their barrels in .35 WSM. Took all the fun out of it for me. Another gentleman had a P17 in .35 Whelen at school, and it really put an impression on me. Thinking of building one on the large ring action I have. I'm not sure on who to go with on the barrel, twist of that barrel or the length. I'll be shooting 225 and 250 grain bullets out of this gun mostly. I was thinking something like a 24 inch, unless you all would think I need something longer to get everything out of the round that I want? Help me out guys.

nononsense

Bill,

Traditionally, the twist rate for the .35 calibers has been either 1:12" or 1:14" almost across the board. However, as with all things, there have been some exceptions. Some of the older Marlins and Rugers in 38-55 have gone as slow as 1:16" or 1:18" and some of the more modern cartridges get barreled with a 1:10" twist. Mannlicher-Schoenauer used the 1:10" for the .358 Win. of all things. The commercially chambered 35 Whelens usually had 1:14" and 1:16" twists.

I am not a fan of the 35 Whelen at all. I consider it to be a milque toast cartridge of mediocre performance. But, like so many other medium capacity and woods type cartridges, it has its place and its supporters. My experience has been with the .350 Wells Express (.375 H&H case) and the Super 35 Wells (.378 WBY case). These along with the .358 Norma Magnum are superior in most ways to any of the others.

An alternative to the .35 calibers is the newly resuscitated 9.3mm (.366) cartridges developed and maintained in Europe in the single, double and bolt rifles and enjoying a revival here in the U.S. These are available in:

9.3 x 57
9.3 x 62 (like the Whelen)
9.3 x 64 (best selection for the Mauser in my opinion)
9.3 x 66 (incredible cartridge)
9.3 x 72R
9.3 x 74R
and an assortment of wildcats.

You can get .35 caliber barrels made by virtually every barrel maker here in the States. Lothar Walther should have a discount program for your school. Call them to see. Brownells carries several L-W barrels but I don't see the .35 caliber.

Ballistically, a 22" barrel is O.K. for the .35 Whelen but a 24" is better in my opinion. I've used some of the L-W barrels in their 650mm (25.6") length and they are terrific for the larger capacity cases that I listed above.

Best.

Snellstrom

Sometimes a choice of a caliber or cartridge is not only based on its performance numbers but sometimes an intangible that can't be quantified by numbers. For some picking cartridges like the .257 Roberts or 6.5x55 Swede or 30/06 or the .35 Whelen is not because of the numbers they generate but more of a feeling they generate in the builder or user of the gun. Sure the Roberts is outdone by the 25/06, the 6.5 Swede is dwarfed by the .264 Win Mag, the '06 is felled by the .300 Mags performance and the Whelen fallows where .358 Norma mag shines. Each and every one of the cartridges mentioned is an awesome performer for its intended task and that my freind is where the real decision lies.
Do you want to build a rifle so that everyone who hears its title knows what a barn burner it is or do you want to build a rifle that invokes a feeling of game hunts of days gone by with a finally legitimized "wildcat".
The choice, young man is yours.[;)]

Sorry I got carried away, in reference to your twist rate question Nononsense hit the numbers right on the head, if I were building it for me it would be a 22" to 23" barrel. Handy and should give almost everything that the .35 Whelen has. I just saw that Brownells has barrels for the Whelen too.

All of the 9.3's mentioned by Nononsense would also fit the "nostalgic" feeling I was talking about so would a .375 H&H !