Gun Gods - or Devils!

[oscarflytyer]

OK - the Gun Gods (or maybe the Devils!), smiled upon me today at the show!!! Traded a Ruger Am 308 w/ Leopold scope for a Contender with 14" 7-30 Waters Super and 10" 30 Herrett Super bbls! Waters bbl has a 2-7 scope on it. Contender has been a bucket list gun for me for a long time! And these are two of the top calibers I would have picked!

Any load data/info/etc would be appreciated! Thanx!

 

[freebullet]

Congratulations!

Honestly, the tender don't fit me. Khornet would be the guy to talk to. He helped a local newbie work a load for the waters & they did well with it.

 

[fiver]

if you find no data start 30-30 data would be acceptable top end stop data for the 7-30.
150 for a 145, 170 for a 168 etc.
I generally just use 75% of my 30 cal's pet load in the same case size for my 7's and have good results right off.

 

[Bret4207]

There was a LOT of interest in those two calibers in Contenders back in the day, what? 30 years ago? Should still be plenty of info on line. You can just so a search on "Bob Milek Contender" and you'll get access to a lot of his old articles and load data. The 7x30 Waters should have an equally large amount of data out there.

 

[Brother_Love]

I had a 30 herrett back in the day when I shot silhouettes. Other than forming brass you will love it. They are very accurate. Congrats!

 

[Rick H]

I have Contender Carbine with a Bullberry 7x30 Waters bbl. on it. I mostly shoot Jacketed Nosler 120 sp and Speer 130 BTSP's. It is a wonderful deer rifle. I use reformed 30/30 brass and mostly Win.748 powder. I'm not sure how that would work out in a shorter bbl.
I just got a 135gr. Soup Can Lee mold from Midsouth and have only fired 10 rds with starting loads of 748 underneath the soup cans that were PC'd and one coat of BLL. They were very promising. Why 748? I have a lot of it.

 

[Dusty Bannister]

My experience with the 30 Herrett is limited. I slugged the bore and found the bore to be .302". I had the Lee C312-155-2R and found the nose to mic about .302 and it fit and looked great. But time and weather did not cooperate so I sent the mold to a friend in VA and bought the same mold in 6 cav. That mold casts a nose of .305". I guess, I will work with that when I find the weather more agreeable. I am strictly a fair weather shooter.

 

[Bret4207]

I stupidly passed up a very nice Contender with a scoped 218 Bee barrel and a scoped 30 Herret barrel. Oh yeah, for $300.00. Did I mention I was stupid? STOOPID! My old partner bought it and still has it. I'd really like to get it from him but I was also stupid enough to let him on on the actual value. Yeah, not one of the worlds great thinkers here......

 

[Jeff H]

They have a very dedicated following and most of the people I've talked to have been gracious in sharing knowledge. I have a few links I could share if needed. I wasn't a fan in the pistol configuration but love them as a carbine. Neat guns but take a little getting used.

 

[oscarflytyer]

Jeff - will take ALL the info you or anyone else is willing to share. And yeah, the 30 H looks like it will require a ramp up. If anyone has a set of unused 30 H dies they want to part with, I am all ears. Same with brass.

For the 7-30 Waters, bought 100 rds of Fed blems with 120 grn Sierra game king for $70! And getting another 40-60 brass and ammo from seller this week, so I am all good there.

Rick H - the factory ammo I got has the Sierra 120 - should be good. What I expect I will reload as well.

Bret - I traded a Ruger Am 308 with nice basic Leupold scope +$50 for the Contender setup. And TC came with one scope. And getting some ammo and brass and wood grips from seller. Very happy with the deal

Last - any 120-135 284 molds, and/or 120-135 308 molds, I am all ears (have a couple 308 molds I might trade). 284 gas checks and want to part with a few 100... And don't forger 30 H dies/brass - lol!

 

[CZ93X62]

I never caught The Contender Fever. Handgun silhouette was BIG at my home range for many years (our Rick was a part of that, IIRC) before he went Over The Wall and escaped back to the USA. Still, the arms type (single-shot) doesn't call to me like repeaters do.

 

[oscarflytyer]

CZ - Love my Levers! But for some reason, always wanted a Contender! And this set dovetailed perfectly!

Regarding IHMSA shooting - when I was in the Army, in Germany, '86-'89 - I met Randy Gates (Civ contractor), Elgin Gates' brother. We were both in Karlsruhe Germany at the time.

 

[Bret4207]

Yupper! A Contender Carbine was always a wish, especially back in the day when you could get 22 K Hornets, 218 Mashburn Bees and other oddballs for about a C note. Times have changed and so have prices!

 

[Rick]

I had a 14 inch Mashburn Bee, what a great little cartridge. Prices changed? Yep, for sure. I bought my first Contender brand new from a sporting goods store in Oregon for full retail at $125.00.

 

[oscarflytyer]

Shot the 14" 7-30 Waters tonight. Factory Fed nickle brass (NOT my fav, but cheap visual blems! $15/20). First time firing a Contender, factory ammo, 100 yd indoor tube range (not my fav). AND... first three trigger pulls resulted in a 1.1" zeroed group! I am psyched! AND hooked on the Contender! WHY, oh why didn't I pull the trigger on one long ago! Now, I am looking at other caliber bbls for it. Not sure if I will keep the 30 Herrett - dies are crazy expensive new and forming brass sounds like a pita. looking at caliber options...

 

[Bret4207]

Used to be a lot of grip options for them. My dad had one of the very early versions with the panther cast into the sides of the recvr. Had a very square grip and he had 2 barrels- a 22 Mag, which was scary accurate compared to the other 22 mag handguns available, and a 44 Mag "Hot Shot" barrel. I think back then they were all 10 inchers. The Hot Shot thing was a screw on choke tube you used with TC's proprietary shot shells. I think a couple of grouse fell to it but mostly it went unused. The 44 Mag was a bear as all we had them was full house factory loads. One very cold day I took a shot at a very aggressive chunk of ice and split the web of my hand open as though I'd taken a razor to it. IIRC a very ugly Pachmayer grip went on it shortly thereafter. I later sold that gun and regret doing it to this day.

 

[JSH]

Specialty pistols and the IHMSA board.
What ever you think you know about reloading, does not all apply or work in the TC platform.
Bellm has some good input,but don't think it is written in stone as he would have some believe. Most of his thoughts apply towards full tilt top end loads.
On the dies, ask and ye may receive at a good price. Always seems I look and don't ask, then find out some one had a set for cheap.

Be aware all Herret chambers are not alike. I suggest forming in that barrel and using virgin or once fired at the most. I was gifted some fired brass on my first one, getting it to work was as much as making new. EAB offered it at on time.

Factory throats may be on the long and generous side. Most loads will be geared towards lighter bullets.

Jeff

 

[oscarflytyer]

Thanx Jeff. Funny what you say on the dies. I just two sets of RCBS 7 TCU die for cheap - just because. One for me and one for trade bait! And EAB does still sell the brass, but very proud of it. Can't decide if I want to pay that, or make. It is a time thing... And intend to shoot lighter bullets. 120s in the 7-30 and 110-130 in the 30. If I shoot cast (and prob will to shoot cheap and fun), will prob go 140-150 in the 7 and 150 in the 30.

 

[SHYOLDMAN]

Watch out, keep those barrels apart, they seem to breed into more and more calibers within a short length of time

 

[SHYOLDMAN]

Yupper! A Contender Carbine was always a wish, especially back in the day when you could get 22 K Hornets, 218 Mashburn Bees and other oddballs for about a C note. Times have changed and so have prices!

Funny, I tried to sell a carbine set, stainless barrel(223),scope, forearm and stock at the gun show last week, not even a looker