35 Whelen vs. 9.3x62

[T Bone]

My grandfather's Remington 721 30-06 has seen many days on the mountain, but not in the last 10 years.

The first 4-5 inches of the bore is dark and accuracy is poor. As a result I don't take it out.

I considered a rebarrel but now am planning on reboring. I like the idea of keeping the steel original.

I'll be using JES reboring (who's services are surprisingly inexpensive) and he says the options are 338-06, 35Whelen and 9.3x62. I've dismissed the 338-06 as it's just too similar to the deadly 30-06, of which I have plenty.

So I'm looking at a close to midrange thumper with 3 remaining questions.

1) Whelen or 9.3x62?
2) 3, 4 or 5 groove rifling?
3) 1-12", 1-14", or 1-"16 rate of twist?

 

[noharleyyet]

whelen
4
12

 

[kansasdad]

whelen
4
12

firearms whisperer

 

[Ben Lamb]

whelen
4
12

This.

250 grain bullet @ 2650 fps. Sub-MOA even with my crappy shooting.

 

[putm2sleep]

Gorgeous weapon! Sweet looking business end to that gun!
'crappy shooting',,,,,my a$$ - what are you talkin about?

 

[Summitthunting]

Ammo looks to be twice as expensive for the 9.3 vs the 35. Bullet selection looks good for both. Are you going to handload?

 

[Goldtip]

A 9.3x62 would be pretty danged cool for sure, but I think a 35whelen would be more useable when it comes to needing supplies.

 

[T Bone]

Yes I reload.

Nosler #5 manual shows the 9.3 ahead of Whelen by 100 fps when both are loaded with 250 grainers.

Still tossing it around.

The primary argument in my head for the Whelen is my grandpa. He was never too fond of anything German after serving in the Euro theater in WWII. Maybe this could German round in his rifle could change his mind.

 

[Ben Lamb]

Yes I reload.

Nosler #5 manual shows the 9.3 ahead of Whelen by 100 fps when both are loaded with 250 grainers.

Still tossing it around.

The primary argument in my head for the Whelen is my grandpa. He was never too fond of anything German after serving in the Euro theater in WWII. Maybe this could German round in his rifle could change his mind.

Barnes makes a 286 grain lead free that would be interesting in the 9.3.

I've had impressive results with reloader 17 in the whelen. That powder seems to like medium bores.

 

[Deleted member 20812]

I shoot Barnes in my .338-06. I have to think that a 286 grain X from the 9.3 would be pretty impressive if you thumped a critter with it.

I went through the same decision process and ended with the .338-06, but honestly either of the other two would be highly cool also. The Whelen would probably be my choice if I were to do it over again.

 

[jryoung]

Whelen for the convenience, even though the 9.3 has better ballistics.

I think my next build will be a .35, I just can't decide if it's a whelen, 350 Rem or 358WSM. I've got a bunch of 7mm RM brass so the 350 may get the nod.

 

[Mica Man]

I would lean toward the Whelen but then again I'm a 35 fan. I pack a 350 Rem mag around once in a while and have had good results.

 

[Ben Lamb]

Gorgeous weapon! Sweet looking business end to that gun!
'crappy shooting',,,,,my a$$ - what are you talkin about?

Thanks! It's a hand me down from my father. I rebarreled and refinished it. Had the original /358 caliber barrel on it, but had way too much free bore on it to be useful. Ended up putting a new Douglas XX barrel on it with the 1:12 twist. Loves the 250 grain speers and hornadys with RL-17. TOok 5 whitetail with it last year: devastating on them.

35 Whelen is the poor man's .375 H&H Mag.

9.3x62 is no slouch either!

 

[havgunwilltravel]

I have to admit i don't have a lot of experience with either, but i believe they will both do a good job at reasonable ranges spitting out a decent weight slug for larger farmed animals.
The 9.3x62 is certainly gaining a lot of popularity over here on the sambar, and some guys have had excellent results with the Woodleigh 250gr Protected Point in the 9.3, its probably not a bad choice when pushed pretty hard and at the moment i am just running plain 286gr Power Point factories out of my sako 75 in 9.3, but when i have enough cases i will reload for the Woodleighs.
You won't go wrong with either choices.

 

[1_pointer]

9.3 would be my choice. With the 250gr Accubond started out at 2600+fps it's more than a short range affair. The Whelen is cool, but the X62 has more panache! I'd only pick the Whelen if I was planning on using pistol bullets for plinking and small critters. There's plenty of big game bullets for each.

 

[Summitthunting]

Graf and Sons has a lot of 9.3 components. Does JES make sure the new cartridge feeds properly?

http://www.grafs.com/

 

[Wally Dog]

Tbone, Have you considered .358 Norma..........?
WD

 

[T Bone]

Wally,

I havn't considered 358 norma. I don't want to mess with a different bolt face, magazine, etc. If you want to send me your custom, please do.

I've had two conversations with JES. So far, they are very patient with my dumb questions. He does check feeding reliability prior to punching the barrel out. He says that most '06 based bolt guns feed 9.3 reliably.

Still deciding on 3 vs 4 vs 5 groove

1st choice will be 9.3x62, ? groove, 12" twist (if the 9.3 feeds correctly)

2nd choice will be Whelen, ? groove, 12" twist (if 9.3 doesn't feed correctly)

JES says they are on a 3 week turn door to door currently. That's pretty snappy.

Pointer, as you're the guy that introduced me to the idea of 9.3, yes, I agree that the balistics of the round make it a killing machine to normal western big game conditions.

Edit: Just got off the phone with him again. 3 groove is all he offers in the 9.3.

 

[1_pointer]

I'm far from an expert, but I wouldn't be scared of a 3 groove barrel. I know that Pac Nor does lots of them. The only knock against them that I have read is that after some wear they can be rough with match type bullets at high speeds. Neither of which should be a problem with a 9.3.

 

[danr55]

9.3 X 62 is a hell of a round but almost the ballistic twin of the Whelen round. Should you wind up somewhere without ammo, you're more likely to find 35 Whelen then the unusual European round. If it were me making the choice, I'd opt for the 9.3 just because it's unusual.