Swung by the local fun shop after some last minute Christmas shopping and came home with an interesting rifle. It's an FN 98 Mauser with a tang safety added, nicely fitted into a lightweight fiberglass stock. The only issue is it's in a pretty obscure chambering, 35 Ackley Magnum. COL for this cartridge is 3.25" and bolt face diameter is .532. Barrel length is 24", medium/light profile and it is just a little front heavy
I could use a light weight medium-big bore with an 18-20" barrel, and am thinking of the following:
Cut and recrown it. Use faster powders to achieve full burn in the shorter barrel, with the hope of achieving .35 Whelen performance in a small package. Will require expensive dies and careful load development.
.375 Ruger - Fits dimensionally, ample load data and cheap dies.
.458 WM - Neither stock nor I will handle full throttle loads, but easy enough to load down to 45-70 levels. Will likely use heavy cast bullets at modest velocity.
Thoughts, recommendations, something I've overlooked?