Calling all 35 Whelen Pro's!

[BirdDog123]

Hey guys,

*after reading I realize I am kind of wordy... relevant details are in bold.*

So I came across a hell of a deal on a T/C encore. Right now it has a .50 cal barrel on it but I am selling that to purchase a 35 whelen barrel. My receiver is blued and I can't find a great deal (or even an available) blued barrel for 35 whelen.

I basically want the function of this rifle to be purely a woods gun for white tail. It would be great to know it could knock an elk down but I am a younger guy so it may be another 10-15 years before I could go elk hunting (let a man dream).

So with this in mind, I want the most compact, lightest, whelen I can get without significantly hurting terminal performance or accuracy (within 200 yards).

Since my whelen is a single shot, I think I also want to take advantage of a pointed bullet. Everything I like is 200gr so I beleive that will mostly be my weight (Barnes, Hornady, or Nolser... still undecided but I'm more of a Barnes guy). As far as sighting goes, I am still conflicted. Right now I am thinking a simple peep sight and fiber optic front bead would be best given my average shot distance and teh recoil of the rifle. After more experience with the gun, I may go to a small variable zoom scope (like a 1-4x20)... but for now I don't wanna get scoped .

What I have been able to find is a company who will custom build a barrel to my specs for a somewhat reasonable price. I just need a few pointers from some people more experienced than I.

Here are a few questions that I am looking to answer:
1. How short is "too short" for the Whelen? I'd love an 16-18inch barrel if it can be effective out to 200 and my shoulder can stay intact. Also gotta measure the receiver to make sure that overall length is longer than SBR.. but I believe it will be.
2. What twist should I get with a shorter barrel shooting a 200gr bullet?
3. Is there any reason for a muzzle device or an integral muzzle brake? Would this serve a legitimate purpose for my short barrel?
4. Are there any other things I should consider with this set up? Anything that perhaps I am overlooking.

 

[Plateau Hunter]

If you want a barrel that short get a .358 Win. It will do everything a Whelen will do. On an Encore a 20" barrel will still give you a very handy powerful woods carbine with capability to 300yds or more depending on your ability. Having killed a lot of deer with a .35 Rem and a .358 Win I will say the .35s are excellent game killers. For legal purposes I would want the barrel to be at least 16.25" with 16" being the legal minimum without a sbr stamp. Your oal with a rifle stock should be fine legally but research that info. You are going to have to go with a custom barrel more than likely as I would imagine the .35 cal used Encore barrels could be hard to find. Pics when you get it done-good luck.

 

[Rubberduck270]

Do you handload BirdDog?

 

[mr.big]

yeah I think with a 16 inch barrel the 358 or the 338 Federal would make more sense,the 35 Whelen will just be louder and have more recoil for basically nothing in return,my older brother has a Whelen and a 358 and a 338 Federal,,he loads the 358 with pistol bullets for cheap practice and even shoots cast boolits in it,and then when he hunts he shoots 200 gr Hornadys,,I was with him last season and he shot a good deer in the chest coming straight at him and the 200 Hornady exited out the off side back ham,,it is a custom K98 with 20 inch barrel,,it made a believer out of me,,with a 22 inch barrel and 250 gr bullets the Whelen would be head and shoulders better but for what you describe I would get the 358,,