I load and shoot 35 Whelen in it and the fired cases come out as ,,,35 Whelen.
Are the 2 the same specs?
I will look again at the orig bbl markings on the underside again when I get a chance and see what it says.
Almost. You see, the 9mm M/88 (9x63mm) was directly derived from the 8mm M/88 rimless (also known as 8x57 I), and was somewhat famous as the "Florstedt-Patrone". It also had distinctly higher pressure than the mild 9x57mm Mauser, and back then was exalted as a "long-range hunting cartridge". Alexander Florstedt was quite a boastful guy, a colourful scribe, and a arrogantly chauvinist macho to boot, but that was the time... there might be listed more than one US gunwriter who could fit a comparable description.
Whereas the .35 Whelen was derived by T.W. wildcatting-wise, from the .30-06 (in Germany called 7,62x63mm), which was derived from the .30-03, which itself was originally derived from the 8x57 I, because US ammo producers needed the extra case capacity with the propellants that back then in the .30-03 they only had at their disposition.
Depending upon how the chambers were cut by the makers, one cartridge might indeed be exchangeable with the other or not, in one specific gun; there was no normalization.
Carcano
