I may have an opportunity to do some horse tradin', and swap my last rifle for a G2 Contender in 30-30. I'd like some input on the effective range of the 30-30 in this platform. I understand that its limited by my ability, but I want to know, what the gun is capable of. Keep in mind, that I do NOT handload, and will be using factory ammo. My 30-30 marlin loves 170 gr federal ammo, of which I have PLENTY. If the contender, with factory ammo isn't going to cut it past 100yds, I'll just keep the rifle. However, I. Am really liking the idea of a 30-30 pistol, and maybe a future. 223 barrel for it as well. If I were to make the trade, the contender would get the bushy elite 2-6x32 thats on my SBHH now, and the 44 would get a red dot sight.

The 30-30 is easily capable of 150+ yards on deer. The only issue may be bullet choice as it will be going a little slower than a rifle, but the flat nosed soft points that most factory ammo use should work well enough. I would load it with a 125 NBT if I had a 30-30, but I don't think there is any factory ammo with that bullet.

Boot,
The 30-30 would do very well with hand loads. You would have to try the factory load. I have a 7-30 Waters and a 223 barrel for my Contender, love both. I shoot both out to 220 yds on steel Both have Bushnell 2 x 6 on them
Mark Schronce

You might try the Leverevolution ammo so you have more of a spire point but I think if you start reloading you'll find another hobby you love plus alot of these handguns really come to life when handloaded. If you ever start handloading you could always either have that barrel rechambered or swap it for a 30-30AI which will give it a little kick in the pants.

I agree with the above. 30-30 contender is good past 150yds on deer, IMHO. The 30-30 AI makes it really special -- 250 yds or more.

However, one more point. I, too, traded my old M94 30-30 for something years ago. I have regretted it many times. I have since replaced it (pre 64 M94s five times over) but the ones I have now are not the one I used to have. Think carefully about the trade before you do it.

Boot,

Hopefully cmnash and KRal will comment on this post - I believe both have used the 30-30 with great success (and factory ammo). But beware...those barrels begin to multiply!

I dont think you will regret the trade. I hunted a Contender in 30-30 from Fox Ridge that was as accurate as any rifle I have ever owned. Plenty of power for 150-175yrds. Mine would shoot 3.5 inches at 150yrds with Winchester 150gr HP factory ammo.

I have no experience with hunting with the 30/30 contender but have had two fourteen inch barrels. Both shot very well with factory150 grain ammo. Handloading makes this cartridge come to life. Great bullet choices are available. Mine would shoot 125 nosler bt's amazingly.

If you did handload, the 30-30 in a contender out performs a 94 in every way BUT velocity, simply because it"s a single shot and you can do more with it.

Do it. My best current farthest shot on a deer with a 14" 30-30 contender is 165 yards. That was with 170 grn remington corlokt which for some reason my barrel loves. The best I have ever been able to do with any handload is only as good as the 170grn remington.

I chose 30-30 contender because didn't have time to make wildcat brass, and 7-30 waters brass or ammo is pricey.I think the 14 inch barrel is the best choice. I have a 10 inch which carries well but I wish I had a couple hundred feet per second more velocity on my barnes 110gr ttsx bullets. I mostly hunt with a rifle. Thought the contender would be fun. Some folks say keep your shots inside 150 yds. crosshairs sure bounce around at 100yds.Maybe I'll hunt with the pistol this year.

That they do. Just gotta time the squeeze right.....

I shoot a Contender in 30-30 with factory loads and will tell you the Hornady Leverevolution makes a real difference. I sing its praises to anyone who will listen. It does just shy of 2100 fps across my chrono while factory 170s do a litte better than 1900fps. The bullet has a listed BC of .330 but mine shoot flatter than the Hornady calculator predicts. The Leverevolution bullet isn't just a little faster and more pointy, it expands more violently and makes noticably larger wounds. I planned on using this gun, ammo, and Bushnell 2x-6x on antelope so I shot paper and milk jugs filled with water out to 300 yards. The bullets fly straight with remarkable accuracy, drop less than expected, and show expansion all the way to 3oo. I would never say this is appropiate for 300 yard shots on game but I have absolutley no reservations saying it will work at 200.

I shot this deer at 218 yards and was pleasantly suprised at the damage. She dropped DRT. You can see the shooting house over my shoulder.

I got my antelope at 107 yards but was prepared to shoot farther.
The 30-30 is never a bad choice in the Contender.

Nice pics there, cmnash! Good to see a fellow Ga boy doin well! Do you have the G2 contender? How much rise/drop are you seeing with the leverevolution out to 200? Even though I've always been a fan of the 30-30 in a rifle, some folks claim it wont kill a deer past 125 yds. I know better. Im thinking I'd enjoy a handgun in the good ol' dirty thirty! How would you compare the recoil with a 44 mag factory load?

Yeah, great pics! The 14" 30/30 in Contender was one of my most accurate and fun barrels I had. Plan to get another some day.

Hello Boot. My Contender is a not a G2. It is a stainless Super 14. I sight my gun with Leverevolution ammo with a 150 yard zero. This puts the bullet a tick over an inch and a half high at 100, about 5 inches low at 200, and about 20 inches low at 300. Recoil is subjective but I would say a four and a half pound Contender in 30-30 is comprable to a three pound 44 revolver with factory 240s, maybe a little less even. My wife is headed to Wyoming for antelope this fall. I have let her shoot the gun and she thinks this is at her upper limit while she finds a .223 enjoyable. Remington makes a Managed Recoil in 30-30 that I would say feels half the recoil but with a grip that fits your hand a 30-30 is relativly easy shooting.

Have you had any problems from the hornady ammo not performing on game at closer ranges?

My wife, Pink TC shot this public land boar at 10 yards with a 30-30 rifle and Leverevolution. They leave the 22 inch barrel at 2300 fps so the bullet hit the hog faster than it would ever leave the handgun. The jacket split and lost its core but made it to the offside shoulder. He dropped in his tracks. She has shot about a dozen animals with the Hornady load in a rifle at ranges from 10 yards to 230 yards. Witnessing this performance convinced me I wanted a 30-30 barrel for myself.

I have a conternder in 30-30 necked down to 7 mm it's a 7mm international rimmed love to shoot it, have not hunted with it but will this fall. Working on loads now. 140 sierra 3/4 in. At 100yds. Going to try nbt in 120 gr. 2175 fps with 140's.

I have hunted with the 30-30 pistol and killed my first handgun deer with it but not happy with it. I have shot various factory loads with the 30-30 and the best round was the Remington 150 grain SP. The leverevolution was all over the paper. I killed a few deer with the 30-30 but was never happy with results. I was not happy with the blood trail nor the damage to deer. I have since started reloading and it shoots a 4" group at 150 yards with Nosler 150 Ballistic tip. This coming season will be the first with the reloads. With that said I would highly recommend handgun hunting. But be warned it is addictive and the barrels will multiply.

r

Bullet rise/drop has been a common misperception forever. There is no overcoming gravity; the bullet never actually rises above it's original bore line once it leaves the barrel. Instead, gravity begins its unavoidable force and the bullet starts falling instantly.

I used to think the same way, that the bullet "rose" but it really physically doesn't.

The geometry between the barrel bore and the sights/scope mounts accomodates for this gravity drop. In other words, the eye looking through the sights sees a straight line; thus the sights are regulated so that they are not parallel with the bore; rather they are regulated so that when the trigger is pulled, even though the bullet starts dropping instantly, the sighting picture allows for this, and we get hits on target. IE: the bullet "rises" (but not really RISES) above our line of sight, and then drops through our line of sight, but doesn't actually rise from it's original axis in relation to the earth; gravity makes sure of that.

So...for those that are totally confused...

An example that may be even more confusing OR help in understanding:

Take a rifle shooting a 50 grain bullet (or 120 or 180 or 200...doesn't matter)

Line that rifle up exactly parallel to the earth. Take another bullet (but the same make, weight, etc) bullet by itself and set it at the exact same height as the rifle barrel bore. Pull the trigger and at the same instant drop the bullet by the rifle bore. Assuming a perfectly flat parallel to the earth surface for the test, then both bullets will hit the ground at the same exact instant.

Therefore, that is why a faster bullet has a "flatter" trajectory; it travels further before it hits the earth; the timing is still the same. This is simply Physics as I understand it.

At any rate, that is the way I understand it, and am certainly not an expert on this as I have never done a bullet drop test; but please if any of you can help out here it is appreciated.

Wow Gregg! That sounds remarkably similar to a professor I had in college. LOL! We are in fact doing just what Gregg said. Your sight picture is compensating for the effects of gravity on the projectile to allow the object in flight to reach the distance that you desire.

Gregg's explaination is spot on, at least that is the way I have always understood it also. to try to explain it further look at a set of open sights. These sights (front and rear) are not both the same exact height from the center line of the bore and once sighed in for that gun and that load the shooter levels the sights but the bore is actually tilted upward at an angle be it ever so slight (ie with open sights if you want to raise your point of impact you raise the rear sight and in reality when keeping the sights level you are actually lowering the rear of the barrel).

Larry

cmnash, just out of curiosity, have you ever tried the Hornady 140 Monoflex out of your Contender? All gilded metal nothing to separate. Article in Shooting Times, author was impressed with it on black bear out of a lever rifle.
Thanks,
Charlie

I have been working up loads for my 10 inch contender with 2x leupold since January. I chose the Barnes 110 grain TTSX FB bullet and half dozen powders. I ended up with 34 grains of RL7 and 2250 fps. .075 in. off the lands seats this bullet way out there C.O.L. 2.875". Lee Factory Crimp die helps hold onto the bullet. Shot 1 inch 3 shot group at 100 yds. off rest. This will be my deer load.

I was somewhat frustrated by the limited velocity potential of this barrel, but I think this will work out okay. Im use to shooting a Win.Model 70 in 30-06 or .270 win. and wasn't sure if I could even be lethal with a 10 in. Contender. Now for much practice in the field and at the range.

I tested 4 factory loads with my 14” Contender yesterday, around 98 or 99 degrees when I did so. I chronographed 5 rounds of each type.
Remington Managed Recoil 125 grain JSP
1990, 1999, 2044, 2029, 2014 Av=2015 SD=21 ES 44
Hornady LEVERevolution 140 grain MonoFlex
2252, 2211, 2225,2207, 2214 Av=2221 SD=18 ES=45
Remington CoreLok 150 grain JFP
2073, 2070, 2106, 2133, 2136 Av=2103 SD=31 ES=66
Hornady LEVERevolution 160 grain FlexTip
2119, 2063, 2076, 2093, 2096 Av=2089 SD=21 ES=56

How accurate was that 140 grain load? I like the numbers.

While running the rounds through the Chrono I was not trying to focus on accuracy. However after shooting the 5 rounds of each type I shot 3 rounds of the 140 and 160 at 75 yard for accuracy. I got the best grouping out of the 140. But after the previous 20 rounds the last 6 were not my best especially in the heat. I want to do more testing, shooting a little slower.