30 Herrett came

todd

todd

Well-Known Member
top is a 14" 7x30 Waters with a Contender frame with a reflex sight and a 2.5x Swift scope (old and over the counter until some company said no warranty and good one).

bottom is a 30 Herrett and a 2-7x Swift scope (i bought it around 8 or 9 years ago, no warranty...:angry:)

old Lee 30 Herrett reloading dies
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i have an old 30 Herrett trim die and a 30 Herrett HF cut off jig in the mail. i'll see which one is best with my one left hand. :rofl:


i looked down the barrel and it was clean, but i'll have to take to bare steel and she will get a drop of oil on the patch. then i'll have a chamber cast and and a lead slug to go thru it. i also don't know what the twist rate is, 1:10" or 1:14". i don't know if i'll use 165gr Ranch Dogs or if i will buy some 150gr FNHP GC? i have found some cast boolit loads (i think https://stevespages.com/308p_2_150.html ). i have about a pound of H322 and 6 or 7 lbs of Rel 7 and 2400 and 2 or 3lbs of IMR4895. i found jacketed bullet loads, but i don't want to use them. the 2-7x Swift scope can be put on, too. i think my dad (RIP) will smile because i want to do cheaply. note i want cast boolits and a cheap scope to go with the "cheap" dies. the reloading was $30 and the trim die was $25. i bought the jig for $11.39 ($3.50 s&h) on eshay. the brass will be Starline, but i've already bought it and 400 or so brass are just sitting there, waiting to become a 35/30-30 brass. they don't know about the Herrett!!!:rofl: i figure i only need about 100 pcs, so 300 pcs can wait until...................



i've bought another TC Contender barrel.........a 10" in 357 Herrett. i shouldn't have done it, but it was going so cheaply, that i bought it. now i need 357 Herrett dies!!! i have already bought a 357 Herrett jig. i'll need a scope mount to put on 2.5x scope or the reflex sight. i'll have to wait a couple of years to replace the 30 Herrett barrel.
 
Bret4207

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
Do you want to punch paper or hunt with it? I've put some thought into this, day dreaming some might call it, on the off chance I talk my old partner out of that 30 Herret I let him buy out from under me. I'd be thinking of it as more of a walking/tractor varmint gun. I was thinking something in the 135-145 gr area with a GC and FN would be about right. Still light enough to get some yardage out of it with a low powered scope and yet enough to knock a coyote out of commission easily. And, heavy enough to take a deer should I need to. I think there comes a point with heavier bullets where barrel time might overwhelm scope adjustments, but that's just me pondering variables with no actual hands on experience to back it up.

Just thinking out loud I guess.
 
todd

todd

Well-Known Member
mine will hunt deer at 60ish yards or less. i not a competitive shooter, unless you count me vs myself :rofl: !!! although, there was a time i could have been. i was into the one-hole syndrome, but i got tired of making a one-hole handload (i came close). now if it goes under 3" at 150 yards (3 shots/bench), i consider that good enuff for gummint werk.

since i never had HP mold (i use FN, WFN AND LFN molds), i'll might try a 150gr HPFN or WFN HP GC ( https://www.gtbullets.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=7&sort=20a ). if i don't try a HP, then i'll use 173gr Ranch Dog, of which i know it werks!!! (30-40 Krag with 173gr Ranch Dog going 1926fps has killed about 15 or 16 deer at ranges between 20 - 173 yards)
 
Bret4207

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
If you figure 60 yards is it, +/-, why not a 311440? The custom makers list them and they seem to work pretty good from what I've seen as long as you aren't stretching the distance to target. Worth looking at.
 
Michael

Michael

Active Member. Uh/What
My old 14" 30 Herrett with the 1:14 twist would shoot 311291 just fine with 24gr of H335.
Funny thing, it did ok with the 150gr Sierra SP, but a 150gr Hornady- too long. The throat was also quite lengthy.
Bob Milek was partial to the 110gr and 125-130gr bullets for deer and antelope. Somewhere..... I know this line is getting old really fast, I have an older issue of Handloader that covers his findings on the above when he and Steve Herrett were developing the round. I will try to locate the box it and the other issues are in and get back with you. It will likely be at least a couple of weeks.
 
Bret4207

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
Bob Milek did a crap load of work with the Herret line. IIRC he wrote for Shooting Times and in Handloader, maybe some others. I don't recall him shooting cast, but may have just forgotten. He was big on fast with jacketed ammo.
 
todd

todd

Well-Known Member
when my dad (RIP) first started the contender (i think it was '92 or '93), he had a hard time on what caliber it should be. he was torn between the 7x30 Waters (we didn't know anything about this one) or the 41 mag (he always wanted a revolver in 41 mag). he waited about a year to decide and then he bought the 7 Waters. he choose the 115gr Speer hp and IMR4895. he bought 300 pcs of 7x30 brass. i bought him 200 pcs more. (i found the brass at a gun show). he shot that gun every week for months. it went from 2" groups to 1/2 - 3/4" at 100 yards (5 shots/bench). deer season came around that year and he piled up the meat. every year, he would take that gun out and every year he'd fill up his tags. 10 or so years, he had a hard time seeing the target, so he tried holographic sights (reflex sights) and Dad liked them. he would always say he shot the deer at 50 yards or less (more around 20-30 yards), so he didn't the 2.5x scope. the group size went to heck, but at 1 1/2" at 50 yards, he didn't mind. 5 or so years ago, he shot an 8 point at 10+/- yards and that was the last deer he killed and it was last time he went into the woods. his back and his heart were a big part of it. we still got to go hunting, but it was in "mobile deer stand." we had heat and a roof on our heads and everything....lol. yes, we got into his truck and drove around and sipped our coffee and ate tasty cakes. you could leave your Longjohns and everything heavy at home. heck, it got so bad, that a couple of times, we forgot our rifles. but you better make sure that we got the coffee and tasty cakes!!! if you didn't, then to the gas station, we go!!!oh, yeah, the deer. we just find one that was up to our standards. the bucks were too small and does weren't fat enuff. besides, we always argue over who got the chance to shoot a deer. or most likely, get out of Dad's truck. put on the orange coat, take the gun out of its case. load the gun, aim the gun, shoot the deer, walk up to the deer, pull your knife out, gut the deer, drag the deer, put down the tailgate, put the deer in the back of the truck, close the tail gate, make sure that gun is unloaded, put the gun back into the case, take off your orange coat and finally, get into the truck. then you got to skin and butcher it. it is just too much. i don't want to give up my seat to do that. besides, i'm handicapped and my dad was older and "handicapped" too. :rofl:
 
J

John

Active Member
No experience with the Herrets but the 7/30 works great with cast. i have a rifle bbl in the contender and shoot the 150 Louverin Hunter from NOE and the 137 gr Baby Thor. You can punch 1" groups all day long with 9 gr Unique and the Lee bullet to fire form after making brass from the 30-30.
I have a 14" 30-30 bbl that loves the 311440 pushed about 1500 fps.
 
oscarflytyer

oscarflytyer

Well-Known Member
How'd I miss this one first go round?!? I have the 7-30 Waters, a 223 bbl, and the 30 and 357 Herrett bbls. And the Herretts purely because of all the Milek write-ups!
 
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