[T_McD]

I am trying to decide what .35 caliber rifle to buy. I have two requirements: .357-.358 caliber, and able to easily make light loads approximating .38 special.

The two cartridges I am thinking of right now is .35 Remington and .35 Whelen. I will probably shoot mostly .357 pistol bullets, just fun plinking. However, I want to be able to shoot heavier bullets for use on deer and pigs.

I am somewhat leaning toward the .35 Whelen just because of 30-06 brass availability. Are there any other factors or cartridges worth considering?

 

[flareside_ford]

Other calibers I would consider are .357 mag, .358 Win, and .358 MGP. The .357 mag gun will shoot .38 specials obviously but gets close to .30-30 ballistics with full bore357 mag loads. The .358 Win is the .308 necked up so brass should be readily available. The .358 MGP is a wildcat for the AR15. It is the 6.8 SPC necked up. It is ballistically similar to the .35 Rem if I remember correctly.

 

[T_McD]

My reservation with .357 mag is that there are no cheap (single shot) rifles available. Also .357 mag has to be maxed out to get to the level I am looking for, and has a somewhat short range

 

[T_McD]

Oh and not a fan of ARs or wildcat rounds, so the mgp is out although it sounds really interesting

 

[flareside_ford]

I am assuming at this point that you are looking at single shots? Any of the other three mentioned would work well in my opinion. It might be a little easier getting the light loads out of the .35 Rem because of the smaller case capacity.

 

[T_McD]

Pretty much. The lack of available .357 mag single shot rifles is what started my search. I like the idea of being able to shoot quiet .38 special loads in the same rifle as full-strength hunting loads.

 

[Charley]

I built a 35 Whelen a few years back on a 98 Mauser action. One of my favorite rifles. You can go everywhere from .38 Special to full throat 35 Whelen levels. I shoot about 90% cast bullets in mine, 200 grain FN at about 1850-1900 FS, or close to the 35 Remington. Easy to go up and down powerwise.

 

[macvs2]

Largest feral hog I've taken, +/- 700lbs live, was done with a Rossi '92 in 357Mag. Punched a 180gr hard cast over a healthy dose of H-110 thru his brain pan. Dropped in his tracks.
bob

 

[lilwoody]

Largest feral hog I've taken, +/- 700lbs live, was done with a Rossi '92 in 357Mag. Punched a 180gr hard cast over a healthy dose of H-110 thru his brain pan. Dropped in his tracks.
bob

This, I gave one of my sons a 94 Marlin in 357 mag. 180 grain HCs over H110 makes a great short range hunting gun because of it's accuracy. If you are within the range limitations of the rifle head shots shouldn't be a problem. My 94 in 44 mag has 3 deer, 6 hogs and a near 400 lb bear under it's belt. All but one were head or neck shots.
Problem with pistol bullets in any of the others mentioned is the jump between the much shorter pistol bullet to the rifling. I've loaded a very wide variety of pistol bullets in my 2, 35 Rems (Marlin 336 and a Rem mod 81 with velocities from 180 HC at 900 fps with a 8 grain charge of tight group, to 2800 fps with 140 grain Leverevolutions with a case full of Varget.
During the last buying frenzy I came very close to building a AR15 platform to shoot 35 Rem loaded with pistol bullets. I have it all on paper, biggest problem would be matching the chamber cutter to shorten the throat so the shorter pistol bullets would contact the rifling. Everything else except the barrel can be gotten off the shelf from different suppliers.

 

[ral357]

Bass Pro has a Hand I rifle in 35. Whelen for $299. They now also make 357 Mag barrels for the handi. Pick up a 357 barrel to use for your light use and use the Whelen for heavier duty.