Hmmmm... well, there's lots of good receivers out there, so pick the one that personally appeals to you. I, for example, have no use for a Remington receiver. Millions would disagree, and obviously that works for them and all the power to them. For me, make it the older Sako actions or Husqvarnas. Personal choice; they're all fine. If you have a favoured gunsmith that will only work on certain actions and you're fine with that, then you're good to go. If you're set on a quality action and a gunsmith says he doesn't work on them or they are NFG, then go find another gunsmith.TarpMan said:
Loads... that's interesting. I'm always intrigued that so many people with the "littler" .35's think they need a 225 or 250 grain bullet to get the best out of the .358 Win and .35 Whelen. I'm not sure if that's from the days of less than stellar bullet choices available for the .35's or what. I do know that Dave uses the same 180 grain Barnes bullets in his .35 Whelen as my wife uses in her .358 Winchester, and they're crossing the chronograph at about 3070 fps if I remember correctly. That's pretty darned flat shooting and hardly "inadequate" when you think of how Barnes bullets hold together - certainly not a "bush gun". The 200 grainers would, if he tried them, I expect be just a tad slower out of the gate but shoot a bit flatter as you got out there a bit.
I kind of like the Barnes bullets, perhaps because I've been patient enough (and willing to spend the money on the extra boxes of bullets) to eventually find a really good load in my rifles. They ain't always reloader friendly...
So as far as a big game load goes, I'd probably do the "what if" to compare ballistics and terminal energy for 200 and 225 grain offerings in the bullet design of my choice. Unless the heavier bullet offered significant advantages in either ballistics or terminal performance, I'll stick with the 200 grain bullet and a bit less recoil - maybe even a bit flatter shooting, although I'll bet not much.
If you're playing in the alders with Yogi, then I'd probably go straight to the 250 grainers. If 200 yards is going to be a long shot, then just for fun and because I can, a 250 - 300 grain cast bullet with a big flat meplat, heat tempered and the nose drawn, is as good as any jacketed bullet out there. Lots of good designs out there; here's a picture of just one, although in a .358 Winchester instead of .35 Whelen:
