.35 Whelen?

I am going to change an old .270 110 to a different calibre. I have about settled on .35 Whelen, and wondered if anyone here had done that, and what the results have been.

A second question. Someone recommended that I go to .338 Lapua. Is that possible (or advisable) on the 110 action?

A few years ago I put a .338-06 barrel on another older 110. It's a very good shooter with the original stock camoflaged with mil-spec WalMart camo paint. Hurts to look at, but every time I start to upgrade the stock, I look at the groups it shoots and decide to let excellent alone.

Several memebers here have rebarrelled to 35 Whelen and love them. It is a caliber that is on my "bucket list" of calibers to go through.

As far a the 338LM goes, I would say no way. It would be possible to physically do, but the strength of the 110 action may not be up to the task. You would most likely have to download the 338LM to keep it in a safe zone, which kind of negates the point of going to that round. If a higher level 338cal round is your desire then I would give the 338 EDGE a good looking into.

JMHO

The 35 whelen would be super easy, just screw the new barrel on and shoot, the case is the same as the .270 so nothing else would need changing. The 338 Lapua would be much more challenging and I don't really see the point of it unless you just enjoy having the snot kicked out of you.

You can easily convert to .338 LM and the action can handle it no problem. The big problem is that unless you buy a 110 BA or a 110 FCP or LRH in 338 it is not very affordable to do in a repeater. With a good muzzle brake like the ones that come on the Savage factory .338's the recoil is negligible. Cost is another factor with .338 LM Good quality match grade bullets are not cheap and it eats up powder. You of course can down load it, but what is the point of buying a long range rifle and downloading it. The question is, is this going to be something to play with or to hunt with? For a hunting rifle 35 Whelen is a great round. I bought a 114 American classic in 30-06 and I am now starting the wait for my new barrel in 35 Whelen. Other than an oversize lug and glass bedding that is going to be my new hunting rifle in factory trim.

'The Colonel' is good to have around, and not hard to do.
This summer, I purchased an older (1989 mfg date) Model 110 in .270. Put on a Shaw varmint barrel that I purchased from Tammons here on the forum.
What did I do to it? Probably more than was absolutely necessary to make a hunting rifle. I cleaned the bolt and trigger really well, sanded out the barrel channel for the varmint contour barrel, refinished the old stock, changed the plastic trigger guard for a metal one, added 2 crossbolts and a wrist brace to the stock for strength, lightened and adjusted the trigger, replaced the factory extractor ball with a .040" one, fit a Pachmayr Decelerator pad to it stock, bedded the action and I am basically good to go.

I have not had the time to complete my load development or guarantee that I have worked out all the kinks, but I like it and I will hunt with it this fall in the PA woods. It is already 'Minute of Deer' accurate.

Here are my posts about it so far.
http://www.savageshooters.com/showthread.php?16392-35-Whelen-initial-results-(Teaser!)
http://www.savageshooters.com/showthread.php?16724-35-Whelen-ladder-test-Inconclusive

I hope this helps.

http://www.savageshooters.com/showth...ighlight=338LM

Here is a thread to read about a 338LM.

35 Whelen is an awesome round and I can't wait to get everything together to build one myself. 338LM, regardless of what some other comments on here have said, is not wise to do on the standard 110 action. Due to the case diameter with the small shank barrel the chamber walls are too thin and will cause it to swell too much every time a round is fired leading to stuck cases etc., not to mention other safety issues. The larger diameter case head creates a lot more bolt thrust as well and is more than what the standard 110 action is designed to handle. You'll have locking lug set back issues. You can do a search on here for where Sharpshooter has talked pretty in depth about his testing on this.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by efm77

You can do a search on here for where Sharpshooter has talked pretty in depth about his testing on this.

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I was looking for that thread to post up here for the OP, but the above link I posted was the only one I could find that was relevant and mentions Sharpshooter's thread and has a link to it, but it must be for the old forum's format or something and it wouldn't come up for me. Maybe someone who is smarter than me with the search function can post it up here.

Not to make your decision any more difficult, but the 338-06 is another great consideration! Personally, I'm considering a 338 Campfire (338-375 Ruger), but I still need to thread on my 6.5x284 onto my project gun before I move on to another caliber. Too many projects, not enough time...

I'm a long-range shooter, not a hunter...so perhaps there's something I'm missing about the Whelen...

The .300WM offers better performance, and .358 bullets ain't exactly bursting off the shelves... Is it about barrel life?

Had a .35 Whelen in a Shaw barrel on a Savage 110. It shot fairly good, but I had built a .35 Whelen on a Mauser some time ago that shot a little better. I had the .35 Whelen Shaw barrel re-chambered to .358 Norma Mag., changed the bolt head/magazine routine and the .358 Norma Mag. is a real shooter. However, the .35 Whelen is still a very good round and they both work good out here in elk country.

I went with the 338-06 myself. I think the last time I posted on here (about 5 years ago) I had just completed it. I started with a 30-06 110 that I picked up at WalMart. After selling off the factory barrel, stock, and scope package I bought a Adams and Bennet from Midway and a JRS laminate stock from Boyds. For 3-shot groups at 100 yards with handloads it will do 1 1/4" if I'm off or about 3/4" if I'm on.

I did a fair amount of research on the 338-06 and the 35 Whelen before I began my build. I wanted a non-magnum for larger North American game. When reviewing ballistics charts it showed that the 338-06 was behind the 338 WM by about 150 fps out to 250 or 300 yards or so. My realistic maximum range anyhow. And the recoil figures were a lot less as well. I chose the 338 over the 35 due to bullet availability (read choices) and sectional density.

Ranger412 is spot on with the 338-06 praise, IMO. Mine is built from a 110 in 30-06, like his, with a 24-inch Shaw barrel kit (magnum contour) and mounting my Swaro 4.5-16 x 50 scope. I just restocked with a Boyds laminated thumbhole. It shoots 200gr Sierras at 2900 fps and 225gr SST's at 2700+ fps, using 60 and 55gr of Varget, respectively, both loads sub moa. Check the ballistics tables - the 338-06 is a "sweet spot" cartridge for the basic 30-06 brass, better than either the 30-06 or the 35 Whelen with 200gr loads, and is VERY close to 300 Winmag energies at those bullet weights. Cheezie