Author Topic: Contender cal 4 whitetail?? (Read 2174 times)

tourangeaud · « **on:** January 22, 2007, 04:01:35 AM »

As the subject states, what would be an available cal for a contender sufficient for whitetail deer hunting?

thanks

spinafish · « **Reply #1 on:** January 22, 2007, 04:33:31 AM »

let's see there are the TCU's..6,6.5.257. & 7 mm...there are the pistol rounds..357, 357 B & D. ,357 Max. 10mm, 10mm Mag, 41 Mag. 414 Supermag, 44 Mag. 445 Supermag,.45 Long Colt, the 30-30 based rounds..7-30 Waters,6.5 JDJ #2, 6mm and 6.5 Bulberry,35-30, then other traditional lever action rounds...35 Rem. 32-40,375 Win. 38-55 Winchester, 45-70, a cornacopia of custom wildcat chamberings from J.D. Jones, Bulberry,VanHorn, Gary Reeder, and many more I'm sure..then there are the new darlings..the 6.8 SPC and the 6.5 Grendel(the later J.D. now chambers Contenders for).. I probably missed some..

flyfisher · « **Reply #2 on:** January 22, 2007, 05:24:37 AM »

tourangeaud,

What type of whitetail hunting are you referring to? Up close and personal shooting or open field 200 yard shooting? There are a HUGE range of calibers for Contenders that are capable of killing deer at different ranges. Get an Encore and the caliber choices get even greater.

tourangeaud · « **Reply #3 on:** January 22, 2007, 07:30:42 AM »

flyfisher,

I have an encore already. 50 cal BP, 12 ga, and 7 mm rem mag. I have the encore covered. I just recently enherited a contender. 357 mag and 44 mag barrels. Both short barrels with scopes. I'm more interested in puting a longer barrel for longer distances. Any suggestions welcome?

Graybeard · « **Reply #4 on:** January 22, 2007, 07:56:40 AM »

There are others perhaps as good but none better than the 7-30 Waters. It is my hands down choice in the Contender.

tourangeaud · « **Reply #5 on:** January 22, 2007, 08:11:05 AM »

Is that a standard round you can buy in retail or something you need to reload?

?

tourangeaud · « **Reply #6 on:** January 22, 2007, 08:14:40 AM »

can you get that cal for the origional contender not the G2?

flyfisher · « **Reply #7 on:** January 22, 2007, 10:33:35 AM »

The 7-30 is a standard round, by standard, I mean there are factory loadings for it, but not often easy to come by depending on where you look. I must agree with Graybeard...for longer shots, it's going to be hard to beat the 7-30.

Yes, the original Contender was offered in 7-30 (it is not just a caliber offered solely for the G2; you can shoot the 7-30 in both) and from what I've seen barrels seem plentiful.

If you are worried about finding factory loads and that is a big issue, maybe look into the good old 30-30. Pretty devistating in a Contender at decently long ranges. IMO not quite as good as the 7-30, but it would satisfy your needs. If you handload, you can also load pointed ammunition in the 30-30 making it IMO much more versatile than shooting just round noses.

longwinters · « **Reply #8 on:** January 22, 2007, 12:36:37 PM »

What I would wonder is if you can find 30-30 cartridges in the lower weight bullets. All I ever see is 150 and 170 gn bullets which in my opinion would be pretty hvy bullets for a contender; with recoil and all. I am sure there are many who shoot the 150's but it would not, IMHO, be something I would want to go shoot 20-30 off at the range. That is part of the reason I really like the 7x30 Waters. Before I reloaded I found where I could get the cartridges factory and the bullets were 130 gn. I am reloading these days and really like the 120-130 gn bullets.

Long

steveus · « **Reply #9 on:** January 22, 2007, 01:55:47 PM »

I load for .30-30 for 14" Contender barrel, really like it, it is really a whitetail killer. 130 gr. Hornady Spire Point. I like this better than 150 gr., although they have served me well with factory loads. Steveus

jhalcott · « **Reply #10 on:** January 22, 2007, 03:56:54 PM »

there were some 125 grain bullet loads for the 30-30,but they were meant for varmint shooting.You do not sound like a reloader so the 7-30, 30-30 and maybe the 35 Rem would suit your needs. IF (big if) you take up reloading ,the field of deer rounds grows considerably.

jhalcott · « **Reply #11 on:** January 22, 2007, 04:00:27 PM »

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MnMike · « **Reply #12 on:** January 22, 2007, 04:15:17 PM »

IMHO 7-30.

The factory stuff is not bad [my handloads are better of course

]. If you can't get them locally, buy from Midway or one of the others.

mike

SD Handgunner · « **Reply #13 on:** January 23, 2007, 05:38:27 AM »

I would have to ask if you Handload or not as in my opinion that would make a huge difference. Another question would be is this to be a Factory T/C Barrel of a Custom Job.

If for Factory Ammo with a T/C Factory Barrel I would vote for a Super 14 7-30 Waters. Yes there are a couple Custom Ammo Mfg.'s that offer loaded ammo for this Cartridge with Spitzer Bullets but this ammo is really spendy. However the use of Spitzer Bullets in this cartridge increases the range capabilities (provided the shooter is up to the task).

Now if you are talking about a Custom Barrel, but again with Factory Ammo the choices are much more limited. Not sure if they still offer it as a chambering anylonger but at one time SSK Industries offered Contender Barrels in .250 Savage. Again like the 7-30 Waters there is only a limited number of factory loads available. I presonally have tried the 100gr. Remington Pointed Soft Point Factory Ammo in a 14" SSK Contender Barrel. This ammo chronographed a little over 2400 FPS, and would consistantly print 100 yard 5 shot groups between 1" to 1 1/2".

Handloading opens up a whole new world for the Contender Handguns. One of my favorites in a 14" Contender is the .30-30 Ackley Improved. The .30-30 Ackley Improved is basically a .30-30 Winchester that has had the shoulder moved forward and at a sharper angle. In addition the side walls of the cartridge case between the rim and the shoulder get blown out to less taper. This results in 31% more case capacity than the .30-30 Winchester has.

I had an old style T/C Contender Barrel rechambered to the .30-30 Ackley Improved. The old style T/C Contender Barrels used a different style of rifle with fewer lands and grooves and a different Rifling Twist Rate than new T/C Contender Barrels.

I tested out 2 bullets in my .30-30 Ackley Improved and used a half dozen different powders. My best loads came with either of the 4198's with the 125gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips. Top loads (of which the fired cases simply slid out of the chamber when the barrel was tilted upward) produced approximately 200 FPS more velocity than did standard .30-30 Winchester Loads in this same barrel.

My only regret about the .30-30 Ackley Improved is that I sold the barrel I had and currently do not have a barrel chambered for this cartridge.

There are a host of other cartridges also that provide excellent ballistics for the Handloader in the T/C Contender. I guess what I am saying is if you are a Handloader the sky is the limit.

Larry

longwinters · « **Reply #14 on:** January 23, 2007, 12:03:30 PM »

Like said, handloading really is the key to Contender shooting. And its a great excuse to get into it. Then you can buy any cal. barrels you want and have a never ending shooting adventure.

Long

xphunter · « **Reply #15 on:** January 26, 2007, 05:41:11 AM »

IMO-To have the full potential in the Contender distance wise for deer you must reload.
Got to love the 7x30 Waters.
Also the 30-30 AI.
A cartridge I am about to begin playing with is the 5.6x50R case (RWS brass) necked up and improved in 6mm & 6.5.
A 6.5x50R Imp. will approach the 260 Rem in a Encore.
This is the expensive route on this last case as the base, but it is in essence a elongated 222 Rem Mag. case with a rim. Since the head size is the same as the 223 you can safely run bolt pressures (like you can in the 223 & 17 Rem) in the Contender without risk of springing a frame.
Cases are expensive-around a buck (and some change) per case. Still cheaper than Lazzeroni brass. Many scoff at this price but compared to a custom rig or the cost of a hunting trip this isn't that much money and you get to reuse the brass.

ourway77 · « **Reply #16 on:** February 09, 2007, 12:30:29 AM »

I agree the 7-30 Waters gets my vote, easy to make brass from 30-30 brass. Shoots great with a variety of powder. Haven't had any extremly long shots, however did kill a large Doe at 70 yards, just started Hunting with a pistol. I live in Delaware they have a special season for pistol in January. While straight walled cases are only legal, with barrel lenght no more than 12-1/2 inches. I have 10 acres next to my house, Also took a big Doe on state land with my 44 magnum, she folded right up. As to what is the best caliber? If you can light up the boiler room. I say any caliber that you feel comfortable with. Lou

bspeckchaser · « **Reply #17 on:** February 19, 2007, 04:22:50 AM »

I have used the 7-30 Waters with the Nosler Bal tips and they work great. Haven't tried them past 125 yds tho. Other caliber is the 309 JDJ with the 165 Nosler Bal tips. It is also a great whitetail stopper! They will both handle anything here in Texas!

determined451 · « **Reply #18 on:** February 21, 2007, 02:38:45 AM »

the Waters gets my vote also...The 35 Rem. is good, and of course the 30-30....WARNING these things are addictive...you can't have just one...it is Un-American...I only wanted one ...3 yrs. ago...bought the 7-30...now I have 10...it is a great way to start handloading also...AND since you are just buying half a gun....probably you can sneak it in past your wife....works for me...let us know what you get..D-451

flatlander · « **Reply #19 on:** February 22, 2007, 05:59:58 AM »

Get a 7-30 and buy ammo from Reed's