.358 win or 35 whelen varminting

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OCCAM

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Now, there are plenty of people out there that suggest these .35 caliber brethren are the "most efficient" "hard hitting" "Thors hammer""Mild Recoil" "400 yard capable" "Magical unicorn medicine" "blah blah blah"....

Now, Ive got to admit I'm biting. But I am really in need of a Varmint rifle.

People keep bringing up pistol bullets driven at 3000+ fps, and provided they stay together I would imagine they would be quite effective at dumping lots of energy into coyotes, raven, MAGPIES, gopher(Safari!!), field mice, grasshoppers.... :eek:

My question I guess would a .358 or .35 whelen really be a good investment for casual varminting?

Now this is not my only reason for building such a rifle, but it is a primary one.

I plan to build the rifle off of a savage package because I want a Detachable mag, and really all it needs to start is a barrel swap.

Thanks for having a look
 
Just on the off chance you're serious about this being the primary reason for building such a rifle, pistol bullets in 35 cal are very short and light. Consequently, they have very low ballistic coefficients, shed velocity rapidly, and bullet drop is extreme at long range.

They work, but are more a short range proposition, and do not hold together well at high velocity.

Having said that, the 250 gr bullets make great elk, moose and bear medicine! :)

Ted
 
Rumour has it the BLR sometimes does not go BANG and there are the horror stories of rifles shipped back and forth, and back and forth, and back and forth, for warranty.

I dont know the truth of these but I do know that a bolt gun is far simpler design and I dont have to ship it to Browning for a good cleaning. Also not sure on the twist of the BLR.

I think I would want a 1-16 twist which is why I am not going for a ruger with their 1-12.
 
The Savage has the advantage of easy barrel swaps, once you get the factory barrel off for the first time.

I have used pistol bullets in 35 rem, 357, 358 and 35 Whelen. used for plinking and shooting practice. Never thought to shoot a ground hog with them since not allowed over 270 in Southern Ontario.
 
Why not? said:
Just on the off chance you're serious about this being the primary reason for building such a rifle, pistol bullets in 35 cal are very short and light. Consequently, they have very low ballistic coefficients, shed velocity rapidly, and bullet drop is extreme at long range.

They work, but are more a short range proposition, and do not hold together well at high velocity.

Having said that, the 250 gr bullets make great elk, moose and bear medicine! :)

Ted
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Well most varmint bullets have poor BC's, Because they are short and light. or vice versa.

I know there are better choices for Varminting, however if one could find some light Pistol bullets that would hold together in a full house load, 300 yards should be a snap. And thats really as far as I can hit anything reliably anyway :bsFlag:
 
OCCAM said:
Rumour has it the BLR sometimes does not go BANG and there are the horror stories of rifles shipped back and forth, and back and forth, and back and forth, for warranty.

I dont know the truth of these but I do know that a bolt gun is far simpler design and I dont have to ship it to Browning for a good cleaning. Also not sure on the twist of the BLR.

I think I would want a 1-16 twist which is why I am not going for a ruger with their 1-12.
Click to expand...

Interesting, this is news to me. I can't say I've ever owned a BLR.
Too bad it has a bad rep.Guess your boltgun with be less troublesome indeed.

Added info twist rate:
.357 Mag. = 1 in 16"
.35 Remington = 1 in 16"
.356 Winchester = 1 in 12"
.358 Winchester = 1 in 12"
.35 Whelen = 1 in 16"
.350 Rem. Mag. = 1 in 16"
.358 Norma Mag. = 1 in 12"

If a guy wants to chuck pistol bullets at rifle velocities at varmints, I'll be the last fella to discriminate.
I'd really like to hear what works and what does not work for you. Good luck to you!
 
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Hornady has a good ballistics calculator on their site if you would like to look at bullet speed, trajectory and energy from a 35 Whelen.
 
OCCAM said:
My question I guess would a .358 or .35 whelen really be a good investment for casual varminting?

Thanks for having a look
Click to expand...

In a word, no.

While you CAN shoot typical varmints with those rounds, there are far, far better cartridges for casual varminting.
 
"...not allowed over 270 in Southern Ontario..." Only parts of Southern Ontario and only some municipalities say .270. Others say .275.
"...in need of a Varmint rifle..." I'd be thinking about one of the .22 centre fires or 6mm's before a .35 calibre. .358 Win isn't exactly common any more and it's pricey stuff. Winchester 200 grain factory runs $60.95 per 20 here in Ontario. .35 Whelen runs $46.95 for Remington. $21.95 for .223.
 
To me a varmint rifle gets shot a lot (think gophers), so recoil comes into play. A .358 or .35 Whelen would have way to much recoil for me to enjoy shooting varmints very much, unless it was just the occasional coyote.
 
OCCAM said:
Well most varmint bullets have poor BC's, Because they are short and light. or vice versa.

I know there are better choices for Varminting, however if one could find some light Pistol bullets that would hold together in a full house load, 300 yards should be a snap. And thats really as far as I can hit anything reliably anyway :bsFlag:
Click to expand...

Well, not nearly as poor as spitzers designed for varminting, but help yourself........and then get back to us with your results. Will be interested in how they work out. :)

Ted
 
Well I load the 158 hornady xtp over a case of w748 in the 358 Win for fun, and will tell you it will literally explode small animals.
I have not tried them out to very long range, but plinking across canyons at water jugs, they give a pretty good acount of themselves.
I'm shooting them out of a 22" shilen barrel with a 14 twist.
 
Like the above poster, i kept shots under 250 yds,so it was a point and kill proposition for the most part. It was also a very cheap load to shoot, with winchester componenent bullets available for around $20/100.
 
bam bam said:
Well I load the 158 hornady xtp over a case of w748 in the 358 Win for fun, and will tell you it will literally explode small animals.
I have not tried them out to very long range, but plinking across canyons at water jugs, they give a pretty good acount of themselves.
I'm shooting them out of a 22" shilen barrel with a 14 twist.
Click to expand...
Man, you got me really thinking of another use for the 356!
 
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