Shooters Forum banner

Does a 35 Whelen need a 24 inch barrel?

17K views 12 replies 11 participants last post by  TMan 
#1 ·
Looking for a 35 Whelen bolt rifle. Several Remington Classic 700s are available but only have 22 inch barrels. Should I keep looking until I find a 24 in barrel? Gonna use it for Mule Deer.
 
#2 ·
The difference will be minimal, if any. It is a fairly high expansion ratio cartridge using medium-speed propellants, so the remaining pressure will be fairly low at the muzzle. That means that the bullet won't still be accelerating strongly.
 
#3 ·
I read somewhere about 5-10yrs ago that the author of the article did an experiment with a 35Whelen to fing the optimum barrel length. After going thru alot of powder and a few barrels, he determined that anything over 21" was too long.

He said the 21" barrel gave the best combination of accuracy and speed without velocity lose. That big hole in the case likes faster burning powders and the longer barrels did nothing to help. The harmonic balance point also came with the 21" barrel in his test, although that might vary due to barrel profile.
 
#4 ·
I went thru the same thoughts 22 or 24". Decided that all the 35 W rifles had 22". If I wanted that, I'd have got a 358 w. Getting the most out of these medium cartridges means a longer barrel and heavy handloads, if that is what you want.

So I decided it by gettinga 24 inch 338 win mag, never had a regret, after Two Alaskan, and two Afraican trips the 338w. mag is my choice with a 24 inch tube; in a medium bore rifle.

Just my thoughts
 
#10 ·
Thanks guys, that's some good help cause I'm also looking at two custom Mauser 98 builds in 35 Whelen with 24 inch barrels.

So this is one caliber where longer isn't better. That's a very useful piece of info.
Good choice. My Whelen wears a 24" barrel. If you are going custom build make sure you ask for a faster twist in case you want to shoot heavier bullet. (1:12 for example)

Barstool(er)
 
#6 ·
I have two Whelens, one with a 22" barrel, one with a 24" barrel. Load for load, the 24" Barrel gets a bit more velocity, but it's not enough to rave about. Both rifles are very good for accuracy.

My thought is that if you see a good buy on a M700 Classic, with a 22" barrel, you might want to grab it and run.
 
#7 ·
Yeah the medium bores do just fine with shorter barrels. About all you gain is weight if you lengthen the barrel on a .35 Whelen / .350 Rem Mag / .358 Win. Also, a lot of people don't realize that because they vibrate less, shorter barrels (which are stiffer by their very nature) tend to be more accurate too.
 
#8 ·
I think that the best reason to get a 24" over the more common factory 22" is for balance/ fit. I have long arms and more 24" barrels fit / balance me than do 22". granted contour and stock come into play also, but just make sure it fits you well and be happy with it. not that i advocate not using hearing protection, but the 24" will be slightly easier on your unprotected ears than the 22".

advntrjnky
 
#9 ·
I've owned two 35 Whelens, a rebarrled '03 Spgfd w/ a 24" bbl and a Remington pump w/ a 22"er. I want to build another and I think I'm gonna stay at about 21" on the bbl length. Most of my elk hunting is done in the timber so a shorter, lighter gun is appealing. Larger bores tend to lose a lesser percentage of velocity with shorter barrels.
 
#11 · (Edited by Moderator)
Personally I want a 26" barrel in order to shoot subsonic rounds with very little noise signature. The longer the barrel the lower the decible reading when it does clear assuming you are loading at subsonic velocity.

I just built a 358 Winchester with 26" barrel I like alot and the noise with subsonic ammo loaded about 1075 is about like a 22LR from a 20" barrel. Look up the term CAT SNEEZE LOADS on google and see what I mean.

In a survival situation you don't want to necessarily want to advertise to the world you are out and about which you will likely do with a full house load.
 
#13 ·
I have the Remington 700 Classic in 35 Whelen. When tested with the same ammo next to a friends longer barreled 35 Whelen, the two inches makes a bit less than 100 fps consistently.
That sounds about right. The difference between my two Whelens is a bit more than that, but the chamber on my 22"/7600 is distinctly tighter. Rounds that go through my CDL need to go through a small base die to feed easily in my 7600. I suspect the fact that the CDL can eat a couple more gr of powder, bullet for bullet, makes an even bigger difference.

I've considered having both reamed out for a .35-.280 Remington, where I'd get a 3-4gr larger capacity, but risking the accuracy on a pair of tack drivers just isn't worth the extra 50-100fps gain.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top