which one?

[bobg]

If you were going to hunt whitetails with a Contender 14" barrel which caliber would you choose. 7-30 Waters or 300 Whisper?  All shots would be under 100yards.
 

                 Thanks,
                    bobg :?

[Questor]

7-30 Waters.

[KYODE]

30-30 Ackley Improved :eek:  oh! i wasn't allowed that one was i
7-30 waters
you never know, you may change your mind later and want extra range. till then you can load a nice,mild, accurate load for under 100 yard use. :idea:

[Zachary]

7-30 Waters.  Although I would prefer the 7mm-08. :wink:

Zachary

[kciH]

7-30 Waters.

[bobg]

Thanks for the help guys. I agree with using the Waters but i'm not sure why.  What are your reasons on the Waters over the 300 Whisper?
 
                    bobg

[kciH]

The 7-30 waters is a more verstile cartridge that was designed and created for the purpose of hunting.  The 300 whisper was desinged to be used with 250gr bullets fired at subsonic velocities from suppressed machine guns and bolt action rifles.  The fact that it will perform on game was an added side benefit.  The increased case capacity and higher velocity makes the 7-30 a flatter shooting round, should you entertain ideas of shooting at longer ranges, and it will push lightweight bullets for varmint hunting/plinking at quite high velocities.  Is one a bunch better than the other at 100yds? Probably not, but the 7-30 is  more versatile.  Also, while it is hard to find, it is a factory round and there is a lot more data for it than the Whisper.

If you decide to go with the 7-30, here are a few bullets I had good luck with in the 7mm TC/U and 7mm BR, which are a little slower than the 7-30:Sierra 130gr Single Shot Pistol bullet, Nosler 120gr Flat Point (deisgned for the 7-30 using the rifle).  I used the 140gr Ballistic tips at one time also for tremendous accuracy, but I don't know if the bullet has been changed since then to make them more suitable for rifle velocities so I can't recomend them.  Both the Sierra and the Nosler I mentioned will open on deer from a 7-30 Waters, for under 100yds the Nosler would be my first choice.

[Hawkeye]

I have two 7-30 Waters. One 14" w/break and one 12". I have taken deer with both. I like the 12" just because I tried the load in it and the 14" and didn't get much more velocity. I have shot all my deer except one withe the 120grn V-Max by Hornady and never had one go more than 20 yards after being hit. Nice exit hole. It is the same bullet that Hornady used to call the SSP (Single Shot Pistol). I took one other deer with the 139grn SST by Hornady. It needs to be loaded just a little faster than the V-Max.
I have not taken any deer with this load farther than 120 yds but took three coyotes from 150 to 220 and the V-Max ripped them up pretty good. I'm working on a load now with the Hornady 120 Spire Point just for kicks. I shoot it for Silhouettes and get good trajectory from 50 yds to 200 yds with it. My buddy shoots the 120grn Flat Point in his old Winchester 7-30 Waters at 2150fps which is the same velocity I get from my Contender. He has taken several deer with it and had good wound channels with them.
It is a good choice. Heck, my fireform loads shoot within an inch of my target/hunting loads. Can't beat that. The 7-30 doesn't gulp powder and the bullet selection is never ending. I shoot 32 grns of IMR 4895 in both my pistols with the 120 grn bullets and 30 grns of IMR 4895 w/the 139grn.
It not a real hot load but it hits where I want. Good luck.

Mike

[HHI 812]

The smallest 100 yard groups I've ever shot with any weapon has been with a 9" stainless SSK .300 Whisper. I have had 5 different barrels. First was a 18" blue SSK 300 Whisper, when JD first came out with it, and later got 8 3/4", 9", 16 1/4" stainless SSK barrels and a 10" stainless 300 T/C factory barrel. The best groups and highest velocities were with the 1:8 twist SSK barrels. My little 9" matched my buddy's 14" 30-30 velocities, with a 125 grain BT, and I used a smaller case, a lot less powder and and as a result, less recoil! The shorter barrel was so much easier to carry around also. The 9" did 2100+fps with the 125 BT, and 1900fps with the 150 BT. Going to the 14" will definitely gain more, but just liked the balance of the shorter barrel better. There was a fella by the name of Chris Christian, who had access to hunting a lot of deer and pigs, and compared cartridges like the .357 Mag, .44 mag, 7 TCU, 6.5 JDJ and the .300 Whisper. He said the bottlenecks usually dropped the game on the spot, or close, than say the straight wall cartridges. The 3 bottlenecks cartridges pretty much worked the same. But he liked the .300 Whisper because it did it with the shorter 10" barrel. And as you stated, 100 yards was about the range you will be working with, and the .300 Whisper ballistics will do. Just my 2 cents! Good luck on your search!