Members, Can a 30-30 Contender with a 10" barrel and the right handload take medium size game in the 150 to 200 yard range???
If possible, what would the handload consist of?? Thank you for any information....JFS

guys have said the 125 BT do wounders out of a 30-30 and the AI's
i beleave 150 is feasable.. 200 im not that good to make a judgement call on it.. i have a 10 inch one and never tryed
if i was going for a 200 yard deer killer... i would go with a jdj work horse... now if you saying PA deer... i beleave it could be done with the right rest and shooter.. heck them new hornady rounds say they can do that with a regular 30-30 but thats a longer barrel.. so its a hard say... i bleave 95% 150 yes... 200 im not good enough to make that kinda judgement

Dave

When bullit pass through lung of deer shot from Hunlee Contender 375 Windchester deer never stop to ask if that was 30-30 or 375 Windchester ;)Hunlee is one to think 30-30 bullit will kill deer if you can shoot deer in heart or lung!!!Hunlee ask why not???30-30 been round long time and has kill many deer,bear,elk and evin moose!!!Hunlee do admit 30-30 is small calliber campair to 45-70 butt 30-30 still take down deer good aswell!!!Hunlee is very proud and is standing very tall today.Hunlee has fathered many children,,,is very good looking but now has a fat belly....

hunlee

hunlee

I think the 30-30 is accurate enough to hit what ever you want at 200 yards once you figure out the drop, but in my experience, the case isn't very efficient as far as powder capacity -vs- velocity and maximum pressures. I was having problems with bullet performance on Whitetails .... If you want, send me a PM and I will send you my load data.

like I said, I never had a problem with accuracy. We used to shoot pop cans off the top of a fencepost at 100 yards and it seemed easy. Maybe I just never found the right bullet for Whitetails ... ???

I may have an opportunity to do some ram hunting this winter in
Texas where shots can be long and was told that a single shot handgun with its longer range, as compared to a revolver , should be part of my battery. Single shot handguns are new to me
with the previously mentioned 30-30 Contender w/10" barrel and an old Pachmyer Dominator in 30-30 w/12" barrel being all that I own. My only other experience was to watch some other handgunners
make some fantastic long range shots with the 6.5JDJ back in '96
at the YO. The rams to be hunted can get to the size of a large whitetail. In previous posts I`ve often read where you guys have used a 120gr bullet in 30-30`s to good effect, however, after reading what Leasongs just wrote about 30-30 bullet performance,
would the 6.5JDJ be the way to go?? What is the best barrel length for these high performance handguns??

all of my barrels are 14". I think the 30-30 will work for you, you will just have to find a good load. Maybe some of the guys on here will have something that works for them.

I loaded some Nosler 165gn partitions for mine once. The velocity was too slow through my 14" barrel to expand the bullet properly. I shot a medium sized doe with it. Put a dime sized hole straight through her. She ran quite a ways with little or no blood trail. Found her, but it wasn't easy!

I loaded some 125 Nosler ballistic tips and didn't have much luck with them either.

My best load for my 14" 30-30 TC barrel was with a 125gn jacketed hollow point. I think because the bullet is designed for maximum expansion at minimal velocity.

If range is a factor, I would stick with a 14-15 in barrel. You will loose any were from 150-250fps if you go with a 10 in barrel. I would look at the 30-30AI or 309 JDJ in a 14in barrel if you want to stick with a 30 Cal. But that is just my .02 thought.

I remember in a previous post that Dan B, the grand Pooh Bah that he is, made the comment that the 7mm’s did better at that velocity. Something along the lines of the 30 cal bullets didn’t expand as well because they were not going fast enough. IE, the bullets were designed for 06 velocities.

FWIW, the 10" barrels of any caliber do not make the best long range rigs. You just don't have enough length to get the most out of the burn. A 30-30 in a 14"er will get you to 200 and with a varmint style bullet like the Hornady V-Max you should have decent performance. A better option IMO would be a 15"er in 7-30 Waters, where you should be able to get 2,600 fps out of the muzzle with a 120 and retain good velocity and energy out to 250. Short barrels are nice for carry, and I have a few but I know their limitation and don't push it beyond that. YMMV, Rod.

I've taken several deer over the last few years with a 10" .30 Herrett and 130gr Hornady SP (not SSPB) bullets at distances to near 150yds. Those bullets are running at 1900fps, shoot .75" at 100yds and will keep 4" groups at 300yds. On the deer mentioned, I've never had a failed expansion or a bullet fail to penetrate completely. I'd feel 100% confident in taking a whitetail at 200yds with this set up.

Also...FWIW...200yds is not as far as you think. With some practice, a good load and steady rest in the field, you can easily make this happen.

Well, I thing Dan just answered the question succulently. I am guessing the rest of it is just personal preference.

Many years ago a gun dealer buddy of mine decided that since he sells lots of Contender Handguns chambered in .30-30 Winchester that he would also come up with a Commercial Reload to have on hand and sell to his customers that bought .30-30 Winchester Contender Handguns.

My gun dealer buddy did all the loading and I did most of the accuracy testing. Every time he'd get in a used .30-30 Winchester Contender Barrel he'd get it to me and some of his ammo for me to Chronograph the ammo in that particular barrel and shoot some 5 shot groups at 100 yards.

One of the barrels in question was a 10" .30-30 Winchester Contender Barrel. The load my gun dealer buddy put together was with 125gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips loaded with AA #2230. In the 10" Contender that load averaged 2127 FPS. I don't remember exactly how that barrel groups that load, but do remember that this load never printed a 5 shot group at 100 yards from the bench that was over 1 1/2".

I never did shoot anything but paper with that 10" Barrel, but have used the 125gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip in Super 14 .30-30 Winchester & .30-30 Ackley Improved Contender Barrels to shoot both Varmints & Whitetails with good success.

If the 10" .30-30 Winchester Contender is what you have, find a load that shoots good in your barrel and go hunting.

Good luck.

Larry