OT- 35 Whelen Pump Rifle

[86er]

I posted some of this over on Bruce's pump rifle forum but I'll repeat it here. I purchased a Remington 7600 that 1886 located for me. I bought it unseen with merely a brief description from Gary. I thought I was buying a used gun and I knew the model and caliber. It ended up coming in its factory box with all the paperwork and chamber brush. It looks like new and would probably rate 95%. According to the paperwork it is a Limited Edition - Special Run from the custom shop. It has fancy wood, an ebony forearm tip, two-piece ebony butt plate, cut checkering, raised comb and good metal sights. The paperwork includes a custom shop check-list that has "air gauge", "smooth action", "polish trigger", "target crown" and "test fire" among other items. The included target showed three shots within 7/8", but it did not indicate the range or the ammo. I figured it was Remington's most popular load, the 200 grain Core-Lokt. I put a Leupold 2X8X36 scope on it and bore sighted. Within 6 shots it was right where I wanted it - 3" high at 100 yards. I fired 5 different 3 shot groups. All measured less than one inch and 3 of the groups had two shots touching with one of them putting two in the same hole. This was not from a solid rest like a Lead Sled. I put the magazine on a shooting bag and I held the pistol grip with my right hand while my left hand was under the toe of the stock. I am amazed and pleased at how accurate, smooth and responsive the rifle is! I will switch to 250 grain loads for the hunting I plan to do. It will serve the exact role I was trying to fill - a bear, moose and elk rifle for up to 300 yards.
Sorry about the photo - it doesn't let you appreciate what it really is:

[2ndovc]

Great rifle Joe!

Not much you can't do or can't go with that one!


Been wanting one too!
Really taken with the .35's lately.

jb

[Pitchy]

I`ve never owned a pump rifle but that looks like a fine one.

[1886]

Have fun Joe. I am anxious to hear about that hunt you have planned. 1886.

[Tycer]

Very nice!

[Ysabel Kid]

Only thing the photo is missing is a pair of slippers!

Congrats Joe - seems like a heck of a find!!!

[Lawyer Daggit]

I have a 35 whelen 7600 though not with the pedigree of yours. Mine will shoot clover leafs if I do my job right. They are naturally free floated and shoot brilliantly once you get used to the trigger.

[Lawyer Daggit]

I have a 35 whelen 7600 though not with the pedigree of yours. Mine will shoot clover leafs if I do my job right. They are naturally free floated and shoot brilliantly once you get used to the trigger.

[O.S.O.K.]

You'r killing me Joe! Congrats on this too. Just proves again how accurate those pump guns can be.

35 Whelen is an outstanding caliber. A great Elk round for sure.

[Nath]

You have lady luck riding with you again Joe

N.

[hfcable]

Joe, that is a wonderful find. i have really been tempted by those. saw one with the [ less desirable to me ] laminated greyish stock, in the local shop, a few years back. yours is the best looking one i have ever seen. that rifle could do anything that needs doing! congratulations!

[AJMD429]

Wow...

Back in my kidhood days, I read Jack O'Conner and just knew that

• only bolt-action guns can be accurate...

[/size]

...then in college I shot an AR-15 HBAR, and learned that a few select semiautos could be accurate,

But semiautos could obviously only be accurate if they were ugly 'modular' things and shot mouse-killing ammo.

...then I shot an accurized Garand, and learned that even 'classic' semiautos could be accurate.

But I still knew that handguns were inherently inaccurate.

...until I shot a Contender in .223.

Of course shotguns were pretty useless in terms of accuracy.

...then I shot a rifled slug-gun with saboted 'pistol bullet' slugs, and realized shotguns could be accurate.

Still, lever actions were just for playing cowboy - pretty but inaccurate.

...then I bought a Marlin XLR in .35 Remington.

The 'final frontier' was that of course pump-action rifles were silly playtoys that couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.

...NOW where do I go from here...?

[Twodot]

Its gotta be a fluke.
A riflegun with a two piece stock cannot shoot minute of angle groups.
I read it in a book someplace and on the internet, it must be true.



Nice rifle by the way.
..

[stew71]

That there's a funny-lookin' 870 you gots there.....

Nice rifle!!

[LeverBob]

Perfect! A heavy hitter in every respect. I am suitably insanely jealous. I will rectify that condition as soon as I am no longer poor as a church mouse.

LB

[spaceman spiff]

I have one chambered in 30-06, It's more accurate than I am. I have done an inch @ 100 yds.

spaceman

[firefuzz]

Nice rifle. You may get more spoiled to the ole pump action than you want to. As I've said before in several places the 760/7600 rifles are the sleepers for accuracy in the Remington fold. And the .35 Whelan will readily kill anything in north America.

Rob

[Udy]

About the most acurate rifle I own. .257 Roberts. 760 Remington If I can hold still it will do this with factory ammo consistantly. Slide actions are under rated, and about the easiest caring gun made next to the lever. Don't know why they never really took off, this one is a fiftys vintage.

[Nath]

Wow...

Back in my kidhood days, I read Jack O'Conner and just knew that

• only bolt-action guns can be accurate...

[/size]

...then in college I shot an AR-15 HBAR, and learned that a few select semiautos could be accurate,

But semiautos could obviously only be accurate if they were ugly 'modular' things and shot mouse-killing ammo.

...then I shot an accurized Garand, and learned that even 'classic' semiautos could be accurate.

But I still knew that handguns were inherently inaccurate.

...until I shot a Contender in .223.

Of course shotguns were pretty useless in terms of accuracy.

...then I shot a rifled slug-gun with saboted 'pistol bullet' slugs, and realized shotguns could be accurate.

Still, lever actions were just for playing cowboy - pretty but inaccurate.

...then I bought a Marlin XLR in .35 Remington.

The 'final frontier' was that of course pump-action rifles were silly playtoys that couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.

...NOW where do I go from here...?

A smoothbored musket

N.

[spaceman spiff]

Wow...

Back in my kidhood days, I read Jack O'Conner and just knew that

• only bolt-action guns can be accurate...

[/size]

...then in college I shot an AR-15 HBAR, and learned that a few select semiautos could be accurate,

But semiautos could obviously only be accurate if they were ugly 'modular' things and shot mouse-killing ammo.

...then I shot an accurized Garand, and learned that even 'classic' semiautos could be accurate.

But I still knew that handguns were inherently inaccurate.

...until I shot a Contender in .223.

Of course shotguns were pretty useless in terms of accuracy.

...then I shot a rifled slug-gun with saboted 'pistol bullet' slugs, and realized shotguns could be accurate.

Still, lever actions were just for playing cowboy - pretty but inaccurate.

...then I bought a Marlin XLR in .35 Remington.

The 'final frontier' was that of course pump-action rifles were silly playtoys that couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.

...NOW where do I go from here...?

A smoothbored musket

N.

I wonder what Goliath thought about the accuracy of David's weapon.........

[hfcable]

and then there is the atl-atl
which some people are starting to hunt with again

[Lawyer Daggit]

I have a love hate relationship with my 7600- I don't like the fact that I have to carry it locked and I don't like the button safety, preferring a hammer style lever gun safety, problem is it is too darn accurate to bring myself to sell.

[Les Staley]

There is a used one in a shop near me... if anyone is interested, pm me and I'll tell you where... Les

[t.r.]

I always thought of the mighty 35 Whelen as America's answer to Germany's 9.3 X 62 cartridge. That is, hard hitting performance for truly big game without the muzzle blast and recoil of a belted magnum. Efficiency with power to spare!! The Colonel got it right!

Congrats on your fine lookin' rifle.

TR

[kaschi]

I bought a 7600 in 35 Whelen brand new when Remington 1st came out with them in the fall of 1988 for $335 (still have the receipt). It carries a Leupold 2x7 compact scope and has killed 9 deer, all one shot kills using Rem 200 gr PSPCL factory ammo. It's an absolute hammer. The closest was 35 yds and the farthest was about 275 yds. I always thought it would be a great elk or moose rifle. Maybe someday I'll get to those places and try it out.

[awp101]

About the most acurate rifle I own. .257 Roberts. 760 Remington If I can hold still it will do this with factory ammo consistantly. Slide actions are under rated, and about the easiest caring gun made next to the lever. Don't know why they never really took off, this one is a fiftys vintage.

[awp101]

and then there is the atl-atl
which some people are starting to hunt with again

I had to look that one up...


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlatl

[Stan in SC]

When in my early teens I became interested in atlatls.Made one and got pretty good with it.
Introduced my grandsons to the concept several years past.Read up on them and you will find out how absolutely advanced they were.

Stan in SC

[hfcable]

When in my early teens I became interested in atlatls.Made one and got pretty good with it.
Introduced my grandsons to the concept several years past.Read up on them and you will find out how absolutely advanced they were.

Stan in SC

stan, that is neat! would be very feasible for hunting caribou here, often get within 20 yards or less even
There is a whole organization for those who study and use the atl-atl
Got the link somewhere

[Lawyer Daggit]

The problem with the 7600- and my only dislike of it is that it has to be carried with one up the spout- the action is to noisy to close before taking a shot as you can with a bolt action and the safety is one of those silly little button things.

Result- I don't feel safe as I don't like to hunt like that. If Remington put a tang safety on it I would be a lot happier.

[msmith1228]

The remington 200 and even their 250 gr ammo is prety anemic. I think you will find that 225 gr will work best in your 35. Mine loves the 225 gr factory nosler.

[AJMD429]

About the most acurate rifle I own. .257 Roberts. 760 Remington

I know this is an old thread, but I was just musing on how could a pump rifle be so accurate with that 'rattly' forend, but then got to thinking, maybe there is some bit of 'free-floating' that occurs between the shooter/rest and the gun that way, during the milliseconds of in-barrel bullet travel. Just wondering. . .

.

.

.

. . . need me a pump gun, that's what I need...!

[Lawyer Daggit]

These rifles are free floated and embarrassingly accurate. Mine will shoot clover leaves at 100 yds (3 shots only- then it opens up)

My only complaint with the gun is that you have to carry it cocked and locked and the button safety is as noisy as that on an AK.

Trigger is also terrible - once you are used to it they shoot well.

If you want to use one on whitetail size game I suggest the 180 gn Hornady pistol bullet. At about 3000 ft per second it shed some lead, but works well on that size game in the Whelan or 350 RM.

[bunyan]

A remington 7600 in .35 whelen is yet another rifle on my bucket list. You guys are killing me! Pump rifles are pretty common here in Pennsylvania. So are leverguns. We can't hunt with semi-auto rifles, so for followup shots, many hunters have adopted the "amish machinegun". I don't really trust any gunstore around here that doesn't have at least one 760/7600 on its used rack. Its a PA icon in the deer woods. Most 760/7600s are between 300-400$ around here, but finding a .35 whelen isn't easy, and the few I've seen are more around 600$. I've considered having a 760 in .30-06 opened up to .35 whelen to make life easier. There was an article in one of the gun rags over the last year on the .35 and the author had done just that.

[Nath]

These rifles are free floated and embarrassingly accurate. Mine will shoot clover leaves at 100 yds (3 shots only- then it opens up)

My only complaint with the gun is that you have to carry it cocked and locked and the button safety is as noisy as that on an AK.

Trigger is also terrible - once you are used to it they shoot well.

If you want to use one on whitetail size game I suggest the 180 gn Hornady pistol bullet. At about 3000 ft per second it shed some lead, but works well on that size game in the Whelan or 350 RM.

Is it the same trigger block used on the pump 22 (is it model 592??). Years ago I slicked a trigger up real easy on one!
N.

[Lawyer Daggit]

I don't know. A while back I had a gunsmith adjust all my triggers to a 3lb let off, the aim being to get the let off as similar as possible on all my hunting guns. He could not do anything about the 9422 M or the 7600.

[madman4570]

Joe,


You know what I think of pump guns!
That is absolutely a beautiful gun.
Honestly,I just don't know how it gets any better than that one?
Congrats on a great gun to a great guy!