the Contender-G2?

In my collection I have 22 centerfires and then a big jump to the big bores like the 44 magnum,375 JDJ and 4570. Nothing inbetween, so to speak.

I would like some opinions on what would be a great round for deer, antelope, even black bear.

For some reason I am partial to a 6.5 mm although some do not. Thanks for any replies.

Either the 6.5 or .309 JDJ are a good place to start. .444 Marlin cases are easier to acquire than .225 Winchester I believe.

I'm a .30 caliber man, and I believe the .309 would serve you well for anything from picket pins to black bear to large African antelope.

There's also the 30-30 or the AI version. I would think they would do well for your needs.

The 6.5 JDJ is an awesome cartridge but the availability of .225 Win brass pretty much rules it out in my opinion. I would say that a 7-30 Waters or a 30-30 AI would suit your needs very well. They both use cheap and easy to find 30-30 brass and barrels are relatively easy to find on the internet. The 7-30 will push a 120 grain bullet to 2400fps, and the 30-30AI will just about get that with a 150 grain bullet. Just my 2 cents.

"Best" will always be arguable, of course, but these two are excellent choices if you handload.

SSK normally has .225 brass in stock.

Do you hand load?

I agree with MS Hit Man. 6.5 and .309 JDJs are hard to beat, but .225 brass is the problem. The .309 JDJ would be my choice for game up to elk with the right bullets. For deer size animals I've used it out to 350 with the old 3-9 Burris (non BPLex). With a Blex I wouldn't be afraid of extending it another 50 yards or so. Recoil is reasonable. Accuracy is excellent.
A few weeks ago I put a 150 BT, 165 BT, and 165 NSB in 1/2" at 100. Deer are absolutely pounded with these bullets. Smaller game simply says "no mas".
Out of the 200+ deer I've taken with my .309 very few have ran more than 10 yds. Most drop.
I did witness MS Hit Man drop a very large red hartebeest with his .309 beyond 200 yds. It ran about 5 yds.

The 30-30AI and 309 run about the same speeds right? Not to derail, but is there an advantage to the 309? Just curious.

John,

In the lighter weight bullets, probably not much difference at all. However, in the heavier weights, I believe the .309 will outpace the AI. I've no experience with the .30-30 AI, just basing my opinion on previous experience. Either would do well on deer sized game.

A slightly larger bore that I like is the 35 Bullberry. A couple years ago it was in the same category as the 225 Winchester based rounds. Originally it was made from 375 Winchester brass necked down, and then blown out. The brass availability problem with the 35 Bullberry has been cured by Starline. They now make 38-55 brass which works just fine as the parent case. C&H makes dies for it.

My brother has a 30-30AI he is pretty impressed with.

Another one to consider is the 6.5 x 30 JDJ. It is based on the 30-30 case, and has slightly more case capacity than the 225 based round.

Bob R

When I was shooting single shots the 30/30 Ackley was a particular favorite & my bullet of choice was the 135 gr Sierra Single Shot Pistol Bullet. I took one bull elk with that same bullet from my 308 Encore, he never took a single step. Killed a muley buck an hour later with a 250 Improved.
Never had a 309 but it has a world wide reputation for being a dandy. Heck it has a world wide reputation just in WV!!

Dick

My all-time favorite is the .257 JDJ, but since you said "black bear", I also have to agree with the Hit Men that the .309JDJ is probably your best bet. Go with a 14" barrel on any of these for best ballistics.

IF BRASS IS NOT A PROBLEM GIVE THE 6.5 JDJ A TRY (OR MAYBE EVEN A BALLISTIC TWIN LIKE THE 6.5x30), BUT WHEN DOC ROGERS SPEAKS YOU NEED TO LISTEN, THE 309 JDJ IS IN ANOTHER LEAGUE.

Match Grade Machine will chamber the 6.5 Grendel and brass is readily available.

Both of my favorite two single shot rounds use the .30-30 case as parent so they are easy to come by. First is the aforementioned 6.5 x 30 and the second is the .30-30 AI. I generally run 129gr'er in the 6.5 and the 130 SSP's in the .30. Either will do the trick on medium game.

JD's 6.5, 7mm. and 30 cal Cartridges
7x30 Waters
30-30AI
6.5-30-30 Imp

I appreciate all of the advice. I need to add a caliber so I have all bases covered.

I had a 6.5mm wildcat on the 30/30 in my contender and would only get three firings from a case before there was case head seperation. If I was to do another contender I'd go with a round based on the 444 to have superior parent brass.

JD once advertised the .375 JDJ was ample for anything from mice to elephants.

I like the 375 JDJ but it seems Hornady discontinued the 220 grain flat point bullet.To me, it would be an ideal bullet for deer, black bear and even moose. Yes. I did kill a small moose in NH ages ago with the 220 grain factory load by TC.

As far as a bigbore general use round, I think the 358 JDJ would be better. There are so many fantastic medium game bullets available. One of these days my .35 Rem. Will make the transition!

The 358 is a fine choice.