Hello, I'm looking to buy a new Contender barrel for my Brother. He currently hunts with both a 35Rem. and a 444Marlin barrel. These he uses for whitetails in NY. He's planning a trip for whitetail in Texas and wants to use the Contender but would like a bit more range. What would anyone suggest.
Thanks for your help, Bob

7x30 or 375 JDJ

With the .35 Rem (good to 200yds) and .444 Marlin (good to 125-150yds) he has all the short to mid-range punch that he'll ever need. I'd go with Tom and suggest the 7-30 Waters. It's a factory offering, dies are readily available and brass is easy to find (made from 30-30). Range is good for 300yds in good hands.

I agree 7x30

Heck who am I to buck the system so to speak. I too would have to agree that the 7-30 Waters would seem to be the logical choice. While I have never hunted with a Super 14 7-30 Waters I have taken 3 Whitetails with a 10" 7-30 Waters. I was super impressed with the 7-30 Waters in a 10" Contender, I can only imagine how impressed I would be with a Super 14 version.

Larry

7-30 Waters. If he wants to load to the max 375 Win cases are stronger than 30-30 and 7-30 cases.

OTOH, if he reloads, the 30-30 loaded warm with a 125-130 gr BT, Partition, Barnes X, etc isn't a slouch.

I am trying to learn here too. What about the 309 JDJ? Not good because of it's wildcat status or other reasons?

Again for the 7-30 Waters! A 30-30 AI with 125's will have comparable muzzle velocity, but because of the lower ballistic coeficient of the short-fat boolit won't carry that as far down range. A standard 30-30 has less case capacity than the 7-30. And in a pinch you can get factory fodder to feed it too.

I'd vote 7-30 for factory and 309jdj for a custom barrel.

Well, I'd go for a 308 Bellm first, but, I'm a cheapskate and 308 dies are cheaper than JDJ dies. The 30-30 Ackley Improved is the same class (for any PRACTICAL SAFE purpose) as the Bellm and JDJ rounds, but, in a pinch it can use 30-30 ammo; the result being fireformed AI cases.

I still prefer an unbraked 7-30 barrel.

The 309JDJ is an excellent cartridge. Maybe one of the best whitetail cartridges for the Contender. I shot a doe with mine at over 250 yards and she dropped on the spot. The only drawback to it is that initial brass prep can be a little tedious, but after that it is a very easy round to reload for. FWIW, I would always opt for a 6.5 over the 7 mm any day. I would look to the 6.5JDJ or 6.5 Bullberry if reloading is not an issue.

I have a friend who has a 7-30 barrel for sale. It has a factory break and scope base. He wants either $135 or $150 for it I can't remember.