35 Whelen vs 9.3x62 for cast boolits

[Uncle Grinch]

The real question is... "which one do you "really" want? Do you want to have many choices or a limited field to choose from; is investmet expense an issue; do you want something that most every other shooter has or can readily get?

Or, are you like me and decided on the 9.3x62 due to the "glamour and history" and the desire to have something that is "different" than the next guy's rifle?
After the initial expense and the quest for components, there's not much difference, especially when shooting paper.

[JesterGrin_1]

The real question is... "which one do you "really" want? Do you want to have many choices or a limited field to choose from; is investmet expense an issue; do you want something that most every other shooter has or can readily get?

Or, are you like me and decided on the 9.3x62 due to the "glamour and history" and the desire to have something that is "different" than the next guy's rifle?
After the initial expense and the quest for components, there's not much difference, especially when shooting paper.

I think the 35 Whelen is pretty darn different as in not the Norm or not even in the neighborhood of Norm lol. At least in South TEXAS.

[texasnative46]

to ALL,

Either the 9.3x62 or .35Whelen can be easily & SAFELY made from 30.06 brass BUT if you want to shoot a 270grain JSP or SOLID, I would pick the 9.3x62.
Otoh, the .35Whelen is easier to buy "off the shelf" and has BETTER sectional density than the 9.3x62 IF that's important to you. Furthermore, the .35Whelen, with its longer neck, is better to reload.

As for me, I'm seeking a LEFT-HAND, controlled-feed, action to make into a .375Ackley Improved with a Shilen barrel.
(I'm planning a trip to Africa in July-September 2015 & that's the rifle that will "travel". - I will take ammo in 250GR cast loads, 270GR JSP & 300GR solids for the rifle.)
ONE of the things that I like about the .375 is that it does VERY well for WT & elk with CB and is "stout enough" with heavy loads/bullets for anything that walks on Earth.

BTW, I have a very nice (read seldom used) set of RCBS dies for .35Whelen that I would like to trade with someone for .375IMP dies.

yours, tn46

[texasnative46]

To All,

Reference the difference between .35 Whelen & 9.3x62mm, IF you are planning to ever go to Africa (OR I've been told to some European nations) to hunt, the 9.3 is THE rifle to have there for larger game, unless you want to go BIGGER & > .40 caliber.

yours, tn46

[warboar_21]

really don't understand you. Simple answer- availability 35w. Better round 9.3. The diff is minimal. Twist is the ?. Weight of beast might be a factor. Throw the same weight and they won't know the diff. Myself, I'm working on a 1-12 35w for 250gr CBs. Availabililty swayed me. But I'd by a CZ550 in 9.3 and shoot factory if I saw one.

Buds Guns has a CZ550FS in 9.3x62 right now. If you are looking that is.

I bought one in 6.5x55 and haven't regretted it one bit

[texasnative46]

To All,

I just bought a Remington Model 760 pump-rifle that was converted from .30-06 to 9.3x62mm by JES, courtesy of a tip from one of our Cast Boolit forum members.

I was also lucky enough to get a near mint 2.75X Redfield scope from one of our other GREAT forum members & found a suitable set of NOS Redfield rings on ebay.com (CHEAP) to suit the rifle.
(This rifle/scope combination is my birthday present to me, for the 2017 Africa hunt.)

Now, if I could just find a suitable boolit mold to suit the 760 in 250-280 grains, I'd be literally "loaded for bear", as well as leopard, plains game & Cape Buffalo.
(I have been ordered to provide a large "spotted kitty" pelt to drape over the back of the couch in the den, by "she who must be obeyed". - She is NOT nearly as wild about having a Cape Buff glowering down from the den's wall!!!!)

Note: I have been emailing for a spell with a "home missionary" to the Tinglit people from our church in AK who recently did "The Texas Heart Shot" on a caribou with a 280 grain GCCB @ 2200FPS out of a 9.3x62 Husky. - Went in near the base of the tail, exited out of the front of the chest & went down like he had been poll-axed. = GYD, 2 steps later, Mack swears.

Btw, at least here in TX there are lots of European used BA rifles with decent scopes in 9.3x57mm & in 9.3x62mm AT LOW PRICES (for the quality that they demonstrably are) in the gun-shows.
(At the last big San Antonio show there was a vendor who started out Saturday AM with at least 30-40 rifles in those chamberings, as well as 8x57mm.)

yours, tex

[JesterGrin_1]

Yes a popular mold maker here on the forum makes a boolit that looks just like the 358009 except it is for the 9.3.

Sorry I can not help as I have the little 35 Whelen Ackley Improved.

[paul h]

For a bullet caster and handloader the 35 whelen makes the most sense in regards to available bullet molds, commercial cast bullets, commercial jacketed bullets and published load data.

For a factory rifle and factory ammo standpoint, the 9.3X62 is a more practical choice. Then again if factory offerings were the driving force I'd give serious consideration to the 338 win mag and 375 H&H. And while yes the 338 and 375 have more recoil, I've had enough time behind a 35 whelen, 350 rem mag, 350 Rigby, 338 and 375 to say their recoil is all in the same ball park. I.e. if you can handle one, you can handle all.

Due to mold availability I'd have to say the 35 whelen is IMHO the most versatile cast bullet chambering and it can literally be loaded for mice to moose. I haven't tried any of the sub 158 gr cast bullets (will have to add to my loads to try list) but a 158 cast bullet at 1200-1700 fps is a great small game and range load that is economical to shoot and easy on the shoulder and ears. Going up to 200 gr at 1800-2000 fps provides a nice close range dear and coyote load. I haven't taken game with my 358009, but have little doubt leaving the muzzle at ~2000 fps It's a fully capable big game round to reasonable ranges.

[Silver Hand]

I have not owned a .35 Whelen but it was the cartridge that influenced my choice at the time, about July 1968 or was it 1969. I was an apprentice for a gunsmith who built beautiful custom rifles and did his blueing to a standard that was hard to match, as an example he would compare a top of the line Sako rifle side by side at the time of sale to his finished product and customers loved it.
To the point, Consider the twist rate of the barrel for the weight of boolits you intend to shoot most often.
I chose a 1-16 twist rate in a 350 Rem. Mag. cartridge. I fell in love with the short throw of the bolt and that short fat belted case. My consideration was hunting and using those large 250 grain pills when I finally got out West. Several whitetails were taken in Vermont and in NY State
but my dream came true running bear with dogs and hunting Elk here in Oregon.
Amazing results, having had so many one shot kills on large animals.
I hope hunting does not offend you but you brought back some great memories with just the mention of the .35 Whelen.
The .350 Rem. cartridge with J. bullets, Speer 250 grain psp will maintain one hole groups at 100 yards and not just once in a wile, consistently and I have shot under one inch with cast boolits at 100 yards a time or two.
Pistol weight pills are not accurate, even using k pock or fillers to keep the powder against the primer I am hard pressed to hit a can at 100 yard, think twist rate once you decide!
Hope it becomes a rifle you will enjoy for your lifetime as I did mine.
Silver Hand

[Norske]

Texasnative46 has a point that can apply to NA big game as well as Africa. Factory loads for the 9.3's use tougher bullets than what's in most factory 35's. The 9.3's were designed to be affordable African rifles, and they have a faster twist rate (stabilize longer bullets). Most 35's have a 1 in 16" twist (my BLR 358 has a 1 in 10"), the 9.3's twist rates are standardized around 1 in 14". The difference isn't very important for game up through black bear, but if I were to hunt grizzly, moose, or bison, I'd want the extra penetration of the tougher 9.3 bullets.

[texasnative46]

Norske,

A 280 grain GCCB in front of 50 grains of Varget is a brilliant black bear/deer/big hog/moose load for the 9.3x62mm. - About 2150FPS

I see no real reason for using expensive JHP, when moderate CB handloads are excellent/clean killers on such game animals & won't "kick your head off".

yours, tex

[9.3X62AL]

90% of my 9.3 x 62 shooting gets done with cast bullets, my 270 grain flatnose at 1750-1800 FPS. Such a load will knock deer on their natural ASpirationS with a well-placed shot at any range I am likely to find one in the coastal sage scrub and mixed conifers that most of my venison-chasing happens within.

I have shot less and less of the 286 grain j-words at 2400 FPS as time goes on. I do prefer the 250 grain spitzers like the Nosler Ballistic Tip or its evolved ideations, which get to about 2625-2650 FPS. These track very closely with the 30-06/180 grain spitzer loadings--same velocity bracket, similar bC, and similar trajectories to 400 yards. The 30-06/180 grain loading has been a do-everything standard for close to a century in the game fields, and justifiably so. It's good company to be in. The 9.3 x 62 just hits with half-again more energy at any range.

Would that same deer I'm discussing have a preference between the 35W and the 9.3 x 62M? Only a "Choice C"--none of the above. Would I opt today for a 9.3 x 62 over the 35 Whelen? Not as readily as I did in 2002. Today, I would scrounge up a 30-06 and send it to JES Reboring for re-cutting to 35 Whelen, providing I could get a 1-12" twist rate with that cutting process. Short of that, it would still be a 9.3 x 62.

[texasnative46]

9.3x62AL,

Inasmuch as I have Model 760 Remington pump-rifles (right now) in .244 Rem, .300 Savage, .30-06 & 9.3x62 Mauser, I "reserve" the 9.3x62 for BIGGER game than WT/HOGS.
(Fwiw, my circa 1898 ".30-40 Krag equivalent GCCB load" does a fine job in .300 Savage & .30-06 rifles on WT/hogs. = I see no good reason for a heavier load, as it kills cleanly out to all of the typical hunting ranges in our area of Texas)

I suspect that in Moldova/Ukraine this Winter that Russian boar, Red Deer & wolves will fall to my "pet gccb load" BUT when I go to Africa in the Fall of 2017 I'll try to take the Cape Buff for the den wall with the standard "factory" 286 grain load. = Buffs "take considerable killing" & you certainly don't want to just wound one.
(The famous big-game hunter & author, Robert C. Ruark saw several Cape Buffalo wounded & which were NOT "stopped" quickly by 2 shots from a LARGE-BORE double-rifle, in the hands of a Professional Hunter, like Henry Selby.)

yours, tex

[9.3X62AL]

Bears were the prime motivator for the purchase of the CZ-550 in 9.3 x 62. More specifically, an encounter with a black bear that got the bulge and Mrs. 9.3 and I while berry-picking in the local mountains in Summer 2002. When you can smell them--hear their CHUFF CHUFF CHUFF a few yards off--but can't see them, just a Ruger Redhawk to stand behind as you retreat did not seem like much of a deterrent. These days, when Marie and I go berry-picking I sling up the 9.3, and it has 286 NosParts on board with enough IMR 4320 to prompt about 2400 FPS. So, YES--there are a few nasty critters left in California, and not all of them walk on 2 legs and get early releases from prison.

[texasnative46]

9.3x62AL,

I hear that you folks from "The People's Republik of Kalifornication" are having trouble with some aggressive Pumas too??
(IF I was going berry picking in CA, I might well pack along my 12-gauge riot-gun & loaded with buckshot.)

yours, tex

[9.3X62AL]

HA! Funny you should mention the Big Kitties......Marie and I were out around Chiriaco Summit earlier this year when she kicked up a cougar about 25 yards from where she was running her metal detector. She came back to the truck (where I was having a cold drink) with metal detector in one hand--P228 in her other hand--and looking back over her shoulder a LOT more that she was looking forward, and not wasting any time doing this.

Houston, I think we have a problem.

"AY, PI---E GATO GRANDE!!" were her first breathless words, followed by RAPID Spanish for about 25-30 more seconds. My "habla Espanol" batting average runs about .350-.400, and when it gets fastballed my comprehension shrinks, but I discerned that a large cat took off and hauled pagodas while she was looking for rocks and whatever else she finds with the detector......and that she was less than amused. She returned to the un-subtitled version of events in about a half-minute, though still unamused. I had the deep sagacity to NOT point out how her accompaniments outdoors attracted so many toothy critters in such close quarters since we met in 2000. I had the Mini-14 along, loaded with soft-point 55 grainers, so if the cat got froggy we could settle his hash most ricky-tick.
In fairness to both critters, we WERE in their neighborhoods. As long as they mind their manners, all will be well. They want to chew on us for some reason, IT'S ON. I have long-standing agreements with bears and cougars, having seen my share of both while hunting for 50+ years. I don't go onto their turf to mess with them--they don't come onto my turf to mess with me. Step outside those rubrics, it won't go well for them.

[texasnative46]

9.3x62AL,

WELL UNDERSTOOD.

Fwiw, I never go out & about on our family farm up in NE Texas without a loaded shotgun. = All manner of toothy critters there, including some REALLY NASTY-tempered feral hogs.
(My nearest neighbor was "treed" all afternoon by a group of them, until his adult son came looking for him in a truck.)

yours, tex

[USSRSNPR]

I too am of the Whelen crowd. Built one on a Chilean Mauser and I love it! This year I got a NOE 36-280-sp mold and while I'm still working on loads, it seems to work very well with R-15.

[swheeler]

Today, I would scrounge up a 30-06 and send it to JES Reboring for re-cutting to 35 Whelen, providing I could get a 1-12" twist rate with that cutting process.

Deputy Al why the 1;12 instead of the old standard 1;14 twist for the 35 Whelen? I'm guessing because of the Cali ban on lead projos making your choice longer for same weight mono style?