The last time I posted I was asking about the 7 TCU for deer hunting. Well I have been down with shoulder problems and need to go to a hand gun. I have two options availiable to me right now and they are both contenders. One in the 7-30 waters and the other in 30-30 win. I will be shooting 200 yds max and would like something with light recoil.I do not handload and I know the 30-30 bullets are more readily availiable. Suggestions please!
Thad

I have no experience with .30/30 in the Contender. I do however, have a 7-30 Waters and have killed several deer with it. My farthest kill has been 150 yards. The recoil is very light. Factory ammunition is effective, albeit not as common as the .30-30. A few boxes will last quite a while.

You really need to handload for either to get the most out of a handgun length barrel. Waters ammo is not all the common so if you won't load yourself I suggest the 30-30 and keep your distance under 150 yards.

Well said and I agree.

I had a 30-30 and a .30 Herret Contender at one time. In those days it was tough to get a decent bullet that would work well for those rounds (30 caliber) in a handgun. I killed 2 or 3 big Colorado muley bucks with them but never got the bullet performance that you see today.

I would probably load a Nosler Ballistic Tip; no heavier than 150 and maybe even lighter.

JMHO

since you do not reload I would defenitly go with the 30-30 you can get ammo anywhere and if you use the flextip hornady ammo that should work about as good as anything besides the only ammo factory loaded for the 7-30 is 120 grain flat nose which is a little light for 200 yards i load 140 grain NBT for the 7-30 and 150 grain NBT for the 30-30 and they work great out to 200 yards on deer

I load 120 gr ballistic tips in my 6.5JDJ which isn't to different from the 7-30 waters. I have taken eastern whitetails out to 360 yards with that load. I have killed many many deer with the 120 ballistics and have never tracked one more then 40 yards.

I disagree. Go for the 7-30. With factory ammo (120gr) it does a lot more than most can believe. I have seen two big red deer (Stags) killed with the 7-30 and factory 120s. While I would not choose that round for that job, both of these stags were killed dead with one shot each (thru the heart).

Several years ago I used a 7-30 contender to kill the biggest black antelope that I have ever killed (24"). He was about 300 yds away. However, I was shooting a handload.

Cfish is right on. The 7-30 is as close as you will get to the 6.5 JDJ in a factory round. It also recoils less that a 30-30.

Most of my "new" handgun hunters are started with a 7-30. I keep a few of them on hand as "loaners" to new shooters. They are nice.

The 7-30 Waters would be the better choice of the 2, when it comes to killing power. The problem with it is the lack of availability of factory ammo. That could be overcome by buying several boxes at a time from one of the large houses like Midway or others.

Believe it or not Wally world carries 7-30 waters in my little town. Did you know that some of the gun managaers for specific walmart stores will actually order in ammo if requested by customers. And when they do you don't pay the shipping fee. I just found that out a few weeks ago.

I have had a 30-30 AI's and a couple of 7-30 Waters.

I just bought another 7-30 Waters a couple of months ago because I sold my 30-30 AI.

The 7-30 Waters is one of those golden gems that is commonly overlooked. My oldest son will start hunting with the 7-30 Waters. FWIW…

I believe the 7-30 Waters would be better suited for your needs. Ammo is not as readily available as the 30-30, but a few boxes would last a long time. If you do decide to handload, 120-130 grain bullets really bring out the best in this cartridge. I have the Ackley Improved version of the 7-30 Waters and it is one of my favorites.

I love the Waters, it is one of only a few bottleneck cases that I shoot. But, the factory loading doesn't do justice to the short gun, especially at longer distances. I asked a Sierra tech about the bullet that Federal loads and he said that it needs 1,800+ fps impact velocity to work and with the low BC of that slug it struggles to get there @ 200 yards from a 14" tube. If you load it with a 120 NBT and a heavy dose of 4895 or Varget it will work well out to 250+ yards.

Thanks for all the info. I think I will go with the 7-30 waters.

Thad

Ps, Welcome to the Forum!

So maybe if you get "hooked," you will start reloading for it to get the most out of it!

Best of luck, and welcome here.

All this talk about the 7-30 prompts me to ask, anyone tried these ?
http://shop.reedsammo.com/product.sc?productId=1490&categoryId=76

I had Ron Reed & Co load me some 120 NBT's before I got the stuff to stuff the Waters. He did it on my own once-fired cases so neck size wasn't an issue. Not sure if Ron will still do that but it may be worth asking. He is a stand-up guy.

I have the 30/30 in 7mm international rimmed . I loaded some 140 nbt with h335 vec is around 2175 in a 14 in barrel .(Going to try 120 nbt when the weather cools down here in ky 104 today

Thanks Rod,
I did write to Ron and he's already responded (yes that was fast). He states that he's not re-loading at this time just new stuff so I think I'll try a box of his 140g anyway.

Jeff

I shot a deer at about 25-30 yards with a 140gr NBT at 2200 ish fps. Here was the end result.

Deer ended up in the freezer!

[quote=TCTex.]I shot a deer at about 25-30 yards with a 140gr NBT at 2200 ish fps. Here was the end result.

Nice, thanks Tex.

And if hogs are added to the menu? I have a very accurate 30-30 bbl. from MGM. Have not used it yet. I need to use solid copper in the the blasted "condor zones" but as luck would have it, it loves the Barnes tsx.

I have a great load for the 110 grain Barnes TTSX Flatbase.34 grains Alliant Reloder 7 gives me 2250fps from my 10 inch Contender 30-30. such a compact package and shoots these into neat little groups.Its topped with a 2x leupold.

I have both 7/30 and 30/30 Win and I favor the 7/30 Waters flatter shooter, I like the Barnes bullets, and I've killed all kinda critters big and small with one shot with em. I load mine with a 140gr Barnes TTSX in the 7/30 Waters @ 2250 fps as an average Chro at my shooting range @ 100 yds. I have shot thru Deer/Bear shoulders with no problem, I seen this set-up take a BIG hog with one shot, an Auodad @ a 140 yds blow right thru both shoulders, no problem. The Barnes bullet makes the 7/30 Waters a much harder hitter! FWIW...JMO

And then there is the new Hornaday Mono Flex gilding metal for the Lever Evolution. 140gr 30-30win. Im hoping this one will work in a 14" bbl. to kill hogs past 100 yrds. Dont know what the muz. vel. would be. I think the test bbls are 24" and 2500fps. Anyone used this yet?