Discussion Forums

Calin Brabandt

I think the 375 Ruger would give me a bit more room to work with than the 35 Whelen in this equation. It's tough to generalize with any value but trying to compare apples to apples from your ballistics information, the 475 Ruger might be a 400 yard whitetail rifle for me with the right load, whereas the 35 Whelen is something like a 350 yard whitetail rifle. Either cartridge meets my 300 yard requirement, but I have more download opportunities with the 375.

I think you might be right about the Creedmore inspired subconscious reactions. Given that the Creedmore brought little or nothing new to the table (what does in firearms cartridges?) and what it does bring seems to be target-oriented rather than hunting-oriented, I'm happy to see a swing--even if it's subconscious. Being non-belted, maybe some of the new long action Noslers bring a little bit more to the table, but I don't really know; I don't have any of them.

My inquiries here are based on my new hunting situation and desire to reduce dead run probability, if I can do so (and justify having some fun with what I think will be a relatively simple and economical gunsmithing project).

I've researched the Axis re-barreling warnings and the problems appear to be rare (most rebarrels are bolt-ons) and EABCO will do commerical Axis / Edge re-barrelling. If I run into a problem, I suspect that it will be solved by "finding" the existing barrel thread on my lathe and single point cutting it down a touch to match the action. I don't expect to encounter a problem though and DrThunder88 didn't encountered a problem in the two conversions he's done. EABCO will also do the magnum bolt head mods, but I have a mill and it's not worth trading the EABCO conversion asking price for the little time required to mill a new $26 part (only requires on simple setup).

Thanks for all your help!