M77 LH rifle in 35 Whelen

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bigbore45colt

Hunter
Joined
Apr 9, 2005
Messages
3,532
Location
Phoenix, AZ
In RH, yes, I have several as do many others. In LH, I don't think any were ever made.

However, I am far from being a M77 expert so I will let others that are more qualifed than me give a more definitive answer.

BB45C
 

Otony

Blackhawk
Joined
Aug 4, 2000
Messages
560
Location
Pacific Northwest, on the "Dry Side"
Are you asking about the one on GB? First thing to ask the seller is if it has a custom or factory barrel. There are no comments in the ad to determine this info either way.

And remember, a factory .35 Whelen barrel could have been pulled from a RH rifle and re-fitted to a LH rifle. A good smith could do it and no one would be the wiser. Only factory records will show, and just like bigbore45colt, I do not think the factory ever offered that in LH.
 

Boxhead

Blackhawk
Joined
Mar 28, 2004
Messages
970
Location
Either Texas or Idaho
I have had most of the 35's and am also a fan. That said they have all been culled leaving me with two 35 Whelen's. My stainless Ruger Mark II 350 Mag did not feed reliably so, while very accurate, it was dumped. I had a BLR and a pre-64 M70 Featherweight in 358 Win. Best I got safely was 2450 fps with the Sierra 225 gr which I consider a useless bullet for what I hunt when I use a 35 cal rifle. The 225 gr Partition safely went 100 fps slower in my guns. The short vs. long action debate is also useless to me. Now I am quite settled with my "tweaked" old factory tang M77 RS 35 Whelen that drives the 225 gr Barnes TSX at 2700 fps and consistently puts 3 inside 3" at 200 yards, fine. It is a well proven bear, elk and moose killer for me. My other Whelen is a rebored pre-war JP Sauer Mauser that I use with open sights and load rather mildly with the Hornady 250 gr RN at 2300 fps. Pigs have crumbled to this one.

That said, I have been using the 9.3x62 since 2000 and have whacked a number of critters with it including a big eland when I hunted Africa in 2002 with one of mine. The 250 gr TSX (I used the X back then as the TSX was not out) at 2650 is a killer. No surprise really. I use the 338-06, 35 Whelen and 9.3x62 with premium bullets for about all of my "bigger" big game hunting and have never been let down. If it's just deer my old M700 in 270 Win with 130 gr Partitions is what I grab.
 

Tracer

Bearcat
Joined
Feb 12, 2010
Messages
6
Location
Mid-West
I never had a .358 but a close friend of mine hunterd with one years back. I do have the poor man's ".375H&H", better known as the 35-Wehlen. It is a Remington rifle and very seldom even gets shot. I wish it were a Ruger or Winchester.

I once hunted black bear in Canada with a couple of younger hunters who choose to use there .358's on a big black bear (450-lbs) only they had cheap reloaded bullets and would not listen to an old man's advice. They did not kill their bear, only wounded the animal never to be seen again.

I think the .358 is an ok caliber up close wilth good bullets but I still like the idea of having a 35 Whelen instead. It is at least 200 to 250fps faster and that is nothing to sneeze at using a 250 grain bullet.
 
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