I wish they would chamber a BLR in 35 whelen

Jason_W · Post by **Jason_W** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 11:18 am

Non bolt chamberings for the whelen are kind of few and far between. Remington makes a semi auto for it, but auto loaders have never really been my thing.

Jeeps · Post by **Jeeps** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 11:34 am

You could get a used long action and re-barrel it.

They are still offering the BLR in .358, that is a very good second option.

Up until the post about there lack of customer service I woulda said give em
a call and see if they would put a .358 barrel on a long action receiver (assuming
they don't have a whelen reamer) and send it to ya, then you could have it
reamed.

I have a friend who has the older version of the 7600 in 35 whelen and it is
really nice on the pump platform.

Jason_W · Post by **Jason_W** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 11:38 am

Jeeps wrote:You could get a used long action and re-barrel it.

They are still offering the BLR in .358, that is a very good second option.

Up until the post about there lack of customer service I woulda said give em
a call and see if they would put a .358 barrel on a long action receiver (assuming
they don't have a whelen reamer) and send it to ya, then you could have it
reamed.

I have a friend who has the older version of the 7600 in 35 whelen and it is
really nice on the pump platform.

That's an idea.

Does anyone happen to know how much a rebarrel job costs?

GANJIRO · Post by **GANJIRO** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 11:56 am

It may be more cost effective to rebore a 30-06 rifle to 35 Whelen

Jeeps · Post by **Jeeps** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 12:21 pm

Wes · Post by **Wes** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 1:24 pm

Those Browning barrels are plenty thin already. I to have wanted a BLR in 35 Whelen. I do have a custom bolt action in it already. Real nice caliber. Plenty of gun for elk and moose. I've shot and reloaded for 4 different guns in this caliber including the pump. That pump shot pretty well, but it darn near loosened your teeth everytime you pulled the trigger with the 250 gr handloads I used. The trigger was horrible on mine also. 7lbs and creepy and inconsistent. Same thing might be said for a BLR though. I'd try it anyway because it's got a lever!

Jason_W · Post by **Jason_W** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 1:26 pm

Wes wrote:Those Browning barrels are plenty thin already. I to have wanted a BLR in 35 Whelen. I do have a custom bolt action in it already. Real nice caliber. Plenty of gun for elk and moose. I've shot and reloaded for 4 different guns in this caliber including the pump. That pump shot pretty well, but it darn near loosened your teeth everytime you pulled the trigger with the 250 gr handloads I used. The trigger was horrible on mine also. 7lbs and creepy and inconsistent. Same thing might be said for a BLR though. I'd try it anyway because it's got a lever!

Maybe that 750 autoloader will soak up some of the recoil. It has a nice thick recoil pad on it as well.

I've just had historically bad luck with semi-autos. I've never fired one yet that didn't jam at least once per outing.

BenT · Post by **BenT** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 1:37 pm

The 750 auto has nice fit and finish . They make a carbine with the short barrel which is much handier than the rifle.

It's hard to rebarrel a newer BLR because of the alloy receiver has a chance of getting sprung. If you check Browning's site they only sell barrels with receivers. So that tells you something. Now the 358 is 95% the caliber that the 35 whelen is. You can't go wrong. Plus it's a short action BLR verses the long action . That save you a couple inches in over all length. I felt the long actions were too front heavy. Plus the BLR is a light rifle , you will get plenty of kick with the 358. I had a BLR in 300 wsm and it was brutal ,just too light of gun. The 358 BLR will feel like a 30-30 as far handiness.

Also 35 whelen in the REM 760 pumps are pretty common , if you like pumps.

Jason_W · Post by **Jason_W** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 1:51 pm

BenT wrote:The 750 auto has nice fit and finish . They make a carbine with the short barrel which is much handier than the rifle.

It's hard to rebarrel a newer BLR because of the alloy receiver has a chance of getting sprung. If you check Browning's site they only sell barrels with receivers. So that tells you something. Now the 358 is 95% the caliber that the 35 whelen is. You can't go wrong. Plus it's a short action BLR verses the long action . That save you a couple inches in over all length. I felt the long actions were too front heavy. Plus the BLR is a light rifle , you will get plenty of kick with the 358. I had a BLR in 300 wsm and it was brutal ,just too light of gun. The 358 BLR will feel like a 30-30 as far handiness.

Also 35 whelen in the REM 760 pumps are pretty common , if you like pumps.

What is the ammo and component availability like on the .358 win? I'm not really one to split hairs over a few hundred feet in muzzle velocity.

edsguns · Post by **edsguns** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 2:00 pm

Maybe that 750 autoloader will soak up some of the recoil. It has a nice thick recoil pad on it as well.

I've just had historically bad luck with semi-autos. I've never fired one yet that didn't jam at least once per outing.[/quote]

Jason, I'm on my 3rd .35 Whelen, a barrel for my T/C Encore. You don't want to fire hot 250gr handloads in it...lol. (talking recoil only)
My first was a Remington 7400 and NEVER had any type of malfunction, a buddy owns and hunts with it now. I also still have a 700 Classic in it and love that gun, not overly heavy either. I've lamented the fact that the BLR is not produced in .35 Whel for years (and I own a .358 BLR too!). I think it would make an awesome platform for it. I keep hoping, myself.

BenT · Post by **BenT** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 2:05 pm

Winchester list their 200 gr at 2490 fps. If you load your own you could get another 75fps. And if you go with the 180 grain you start pushing 2700 fps which the same as a 30-06 180 grain.

Lastmohecken · Post by **Lastmohecken** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 9:31 pm

Jason_W wrote:
BenT wrote:
What is the ammo and component availability like on the .358 win? I'm not really one to split hairs over a few hundred feet in muzzle velocity.

Ammo can still be got, but you probably need to plan on handloading for it. Brass can be purchased new, but all you have to do is run a .308 win case through a 358 resizing die and you have your brass.

Bullets are plentiful, about anything that can be loaded in a .357mag up through a 35 Whelan can be used. You can use all of the pistol bullets for the .357, and rifle bullets for the 35Rem on up. I always liked the 200gr roundnose Serria, and the 180gr Speer.

1886 · Post by **1886** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 9:36 pm

Others have mentioned this but the Rem. 7600 in .35 Whelen is super slick. Remington out did themselves with this one. Free floated barrels, super strong action and a trigger that can be tuned to be pretty darn good. It is not a lever but a more useful hinting rig would hard to find. One could do much worse. 1886.

PaulB · Post by **PaulB** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 10:08 pm

I have the .358 BLR. It is a great thumper (on lined-up milkjugs anyway

) considering the light weight of the gun and the recoil is not bad either, even shooting Speer 250gr bullets at around 2250fps. I was going to use the Speer 250gr GrandSlam for hunting elk in grizzly territory, but so far only milk jugs, heh.

The best load I found for it, recalculated for the 20" barrel, was the Accurate online site, which shows a 250gr Hornady RN going 2310fps. The powder is AA2520.

Elmer Keith liked this cartridge. That's good enough for me!

JP_TX · Post by **JP_TX** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 1:48 am

If your interested in the Whelen in either the pump or the 750 simi, they have them on gunbroker right now.

35 Whelen is a very fine caliber, mine is a Rem 700 CDL. Accurate and hits very, very hard. DoubleTap loads high velocity in 200, 225 and 250grn.

Next to my 444 it's my favorite thumper.

JP

Lastmohecken · Post by **Lastmohecken** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 9:45 am

I like the 358 win, and the 35 Whelen, but a caliber I like better then either is the .350 Remington mag. I have owned and loaded for all three, but currently only have the 350 in a Remington 700 Classic.

I wish Browning would add the 350 REM Mag to the BLR line, I would probably have to try one of those. And I am tempted to get another BLR in 358 Win, I hated to get rid of the one I had, but it was an older steel framed gun with the rounded magazine, and was not reliable. And I have been tempted to rebarrel or rebore a 95 Browning to 35 Whelen, but frankly I like the 30=06 loading in it, just fine, and don't want to give that up.

Oh well, I don't have enough time to load for and hunt with all of the guns I have now.