Converting a 30-06 to a .35 whelen?

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Grundy53

New member
I purchased a Remington 760 in 30-06 awhile back and I think I want to convert it to a .35 whelen. I've heard that you only need to swap out the barrel. Is this true? if not what else needs to be done? I searched the archives and din't come up with anything. I would appreciate any help. Thank you!
 
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Wyosmith

New member
As far as the rifle is concerned you are correct. New barrel and it's done.
I am unsure if the magazine for the 35 is the same as the 06.
 
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Wyosmith

New member
On a 760 there's nothing to it. If you can get a Remington factory replacement barrel you can swap it out yourself in about 30 minutes.
 
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Rifletom

New member
.35 Whelen

Now this thread has got my wheels turning. I've been thinking on doing the same to my Ruger MKII 30-06. Wyosmith, pretty much just a barrel switch right?Oh boy; this could be a very Merry Christmas to me! Any further info on this would be greatly appreciated. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
 
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Grundy53

New member
I was just looking at a parts list for the 760 and it says that the 30-06 and .35 whelen have the same magazine assembly so that is good news. :)
 
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MarkCO

New member
25-06. .270, 30-06, 338-06 and 35 Whelen are all the same action, bolt face, magazine, etc. Just a barrel swap.

If I had a 760 and could find a factory barrel, the conversion to .35 Whelen is what I would try for. For a Ruger MkII, I would strongly consider the .338-06. It is a little flatter shooting with better performance out at 300 yards plus. Dies and bullets are widely available and, being one of the most popular wildcats, most barrel makers will chamber for it. Yes, it was sold in factory trim by Weatherby for a few years, but no longer.
 
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Rifletom

New member
MarkCo: Lordy; now you've given me something else to consider! Geez!
BUT! This is a good thing, as this is something that will get done.
One or the other, this will happen. .35 Whelen or .338-06? Hmmm.
Dang it Mark! Oh well. Happy Thanksgiving!
 
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jmr40

New member
An honest evaluation from someone who has owned both 35 Whelen and 338-06.

Both are very effective rounds suitable for anything in North America, without being too much for whitetails. Both shoot plenty flat for farily long range shots. At least 300-400 yards before trajectory becomes a factor. Both are high on the coolness factor and will give you something to hunt with that is uncommon, but still practical. Factory loads are available for both, but 35 Whelen is far more common and cheaper. 338-06 should be considered as handload only and 35 Whelen is much better handloaded. 30-06 brass can be used to make brass for either.

I liked the 338-06 better because of the better bullet selection and flatter shooting ability. The 35 Whelen can be light loaded with lightweight .357 pistol bullets for small game, but I never tried that.

Now the bad news.

Both recoil considerably more than a comparable 30-06, in the 300 WM range. With 200 gr and heavier bullets the 30-06 will equal or outperform either on game. While both will shoot equal bullet weights slightly faster than 30-06 and show more energy at close range, the better SD of the .30 bullets results in deeper penetration. The much higher BC of 200 gr 30-06 bullets means that before the bullets get 200 yards from the muzzle the 30-06 bullet is faster, shoots flatter, has more energy and penetration. The .03" or .05" advantage in bullet diameter is a non-factor. After bullet expansion you couldn't tell the difference between any of them.

If you are going for coolness either are a great alternative to more common rounds. They do work, but if you want more performance on larger game you'll be at least as well off by loading a 30-06 heavy. While I do like both rounds, and the 280 BTW. I no longer own any of them. The slight advantages, if any, simply weren't worth the complications to me. But I won't argue with some one who likes either enough to use them.
 
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MarkCO

New member
I hunted for 20 years with the .30-06, then the 35 Whelen and the last 10 with the .338-06. So I guess that qualifies as owning all three. The .338-06 pushes a 10% more frontal area slug, at about 300 fps faster than the .30-06 given the same weight. That is nothing to sneeze at. The performance on game, mostly mule deer and elk have resulted in some of the guys I hunt with going to the .338-06.

At 500 yards, the 225 (Nosler with a BC of .550) .338-06 has 47" of drop and 1900 ft-lbs of energy. At 500 yards, the 220 grain (Nosler with a BC of .351) .30-06 has 90" of drop and 912 ft-lbs of energy. Maybe for little whitetail deer that does not make a difference, but that is huge in my book. I've looked at the bullet performance from 40 to 505 yards on over 30 animals, mostly mule deer and elk, with all three calibers and the performance difference is obviously in significant favor of the .338-06 followed by the .35 Whelen, and then the .30-06.

To say the .338-06 recoils considerably more than the .30-06 is where I really disagree. It is a little more than the .30-06, but nowhere near the .300WM. Maybe you had ill fitting stocks. The .35 Whelen is a little stouter than the .338-06, but still not close to the .300 WM.

jmr40, you might want to review your notes, because I think everything you said is pretty easy to prove wrong, except that yes, the .338-06 is a reloading proposition.
 
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papershotshells

New member
I was bitten by the Whelen bug when I first got into the gun game. I have fired a couple that were owned by other people, but I have yet to own one for myself (other guns always seemed more important at the time). I plan to change that in 2014 and build my own 35 Whelen.

To me, my ultimate Whelen will be built on an '03 Springfield action (I even bought an '03 action a few years ago to build a Whelen on, but sold the action before I could start the build).

One of the reasons I want a 35 Whelen is to shoot cast bullets out of. I have a decent selection of .358" molds that I want to try out of a Whelen.

Papershotshells
 
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old roper

New member
I've never shot the 338-06 but build 338x270HGT had a better case capacity over 338-06AI and 200gr bullets 2900 fps to low 3000fps and mid 2600fps with 250gr bullets. Good article in Wildcat Cartridge Vol II page 461 about that case and I formed my cases from 280 brass vs 270 case and Redding made the dies for it.

Next build 30-06 and 30-06AI next build 35 Whelen and 35 WhelenAI.

When I have something build it's for hunting deer/elk/bear/antelope and we all differ on what we like.

I still shoot a 30-06 in fact have two of them and 35 WhelenAI. I think the advantage of 338 is in the 338mag chamber for elk and I just sold that rifle this year to fellow in ID.

Problem with ballistic table you can cherry pick certain bullets to compare vs what you may use in hunting. My Bartlein barrel 30-06 I shoot 180gr Partition and 35 WhelenAI a 225gr AB and other 30-06 took cow elk this year with 150gr E-Tip.
 
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Clark

New member
Convert35Whelento260likeLeeconvertingvictrolatoaclockwhileElinorconvertsclocktovictrola.jpg


Someone converted a Parker Hale Mauser to 35 Whelen.
I converted the rifle from 35 Whelen to 260 Remington.

It reminds me of Lee converting the victrola to a clock while Elinor converts the clock to a victrola.
 
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