As above, 10" the Herret, 14" the 30-30. I recall reading Bob's article years ago when it was first introduced. Long ago I was looking for a 357 Herrett but could never locate one. Now the problem is compounded by trying to find a barrel and dies.
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As above, 10" the Herret, 14" the 30-30. I recall reading Bob's article years ago when it was first introduced. Long ago I was looking for a 357 Herrett but could never locate one. Now the problem is compounded by trying to find a barrel and dies.
I started with the 30 herrett when they first hit the market have hunted deer and lot of varmits with good success. Them added 357 herrett I have never been without at least one barrel in each.
I started with the 30 herrett when they first hit the market have hunted deer and lot of varmits with good success. Them added 357 herrett I have never been without at least one barrel in each. They are easy to make cases for and great hand gun hunting rounds.
This is an old post but did you guys notice the op said "old flat side"? If I remember correctly they didn't make many of these and are worth some bucks today..... just sayin
GregS
I'm thinking that Lee still lists 357 Herrett dies as well as 30.
Last edited by TCLouis; 07-25-2019 at 12:42 AM.
Amendments
The Second there to protect the First!
Depends if it has any etching on it. All the old Contenders are "flat sided" but only a few were clean of any engraving. Those are worth some bucks. If you like to form brass, a 10" 30 Herrett is a good option. If not, the 357 Max might be a better option. Similar performance without having to make and fireform brass.Originally Posted by mrk1500
Back in the mid to latter 1900's, I got the Contender fever. After a few tries with various calibers, I wound up going with the 7/30 Waters. Amazing accuracy and I wound up taking a few deer with it. I also found out that .22 Hornet brass wouldn't withstand more than 5 full pressure loads without getting case head separation. I'd picked up a .22 LR Match Grade barrel 14" in length for practice and fun. That Contender changed the way I had previously looked at break open handguns/rifles. When I moved on up in caliber, I picked up a .30 Herrett. I had several mis-fires and just didn't stick with it. Which, is how I wound up with the 7/30 Waters in a 14" barrel length.
Looking back, I sort of wish I had just gone with the 30-30 and been done with it. No case forming, plentiful brass...etc.
Good luck with your decision and choice. Caution though, a Contender can be addictive!
Murphy
If I should depart this life while defending those who cannot defend themselves, then I have died the most honorable of deaths. Marc R. Murphy '2006'.
It sort of depends upon what you want to do.
If you want to shoot 200 yard silhouette it is a top choice for that. If you want to do field pistol it is over powered (32-20 gets the job done). If you want to hunt deer there are better choices I think. I personally do not like small bores in handguns, even Contenders, if you intend to hunt deer. I have a 32-20 10" Contender and it really impresses me with its performance, but I use 357 Maximum or 30 Herrett's big brother 357 Herrett for deer. Case forming for 357 Herrett is pretty straightforward once you accept that you will have to anneal the cases. The dies are available for 357 Herrett so I assume it's not so bad to get 30 Herrett.
One thing though...and this applies to all rimmed bottlenecked brass in Contenders. They actions don't "lock up like a bank vault" despite what you think. The design is not particularly rigid and it is a good idea to have a little free play with the headspace. You may find out it is necessary to full-length size after every shot to set the shoulder back, as I did with 357 Herrett. I suspect the problem is even worse with 30 Herrett. After converting a 100 or so cases you get more reluctant to shoot because you realize that you are just wearing them out. It is the reason why I switched to 357 Max which I believe outperforms 30 Herrett overall. I find 32-20 brass seems to last longer, probably because it is such a diminutive case, so the stretchy-ness of the contender action doesn't result in much distortion over time.
I don't know if 30 Herrett T/C barrels are generally good or not. The 7mm Waters barrels are almost always good. The 30-30 barrels are usually not. It sort of depends upon who cut the chamber I think. Part of the reason why contender barrels tend to multiply is that many of their barrels suck and guys are always swapping and trading looking for the good one that shoots well.
I personally would not buy a contender barrel that could not be re-chambered to another cartridge for this reason. 30 Herrett could be re-chambered to 30-30 and re-bored to a variety of cartridges, so it has that going for it.
Last edited by curioushooter; 07-22-2019 at 07:00 PM.
back 30 years ago if you didn't have one you just weren't cool. Don't know why it faded away into oblivion.
Step #1 for buying a wildcat TC barrel is to see if dies are available.
Step #2 is to see if you can afford them or stand the wait for custom.
My preference is to buy a barrel and dies together, but that doesn't mean you won't be buying special forming dies or other parts.
If you just want to shoot, buy something with factory ammo and be done with it. If you want to learn more about reloading, start buying wildcats.
Most people would sooner die than think, in fact, they do so. -B. Russell
My old one did not have any problem with headspace. And I backed off the dies a bit to not reset the shoulder when reloading. I wore out cases after 10-20 reloadings. Most of the time case necks split but some would show case stretch near the base. The case necks were more my doing since I neck turned them after forming and did not anneal them.
IIRC, Herrett instructed to not full length resize specifically to keep from stretching the cases every time.
I like the little Herrett, very efficient little thing. The brass should be formed and maintained as close to "0" headspace as possiable, it will last a long time that way and be more accurate. Same is true of all the rimmed bottle necked rounds in the Contender. I once had the 30 in both a 14 and a 10 inch, one had to go as the chambers were enough different to be a pain. I am not organized enough to keep seperate brass for the same cartridge in the same gun, just not worth the effort. I found a 14 inch 3030 and now settled on 14 inch 3030 and 10 inch 30H, it was designed around the 10 inch length. The 10 inch 3030 I had gave much more muzzle blast for little gain over the 10 inch 30H. Now the 14 inch is a different story. Be aware, a lot of the data for the 30H and 357H is pretty hot for a Contender. Both are capable of stretching a frame if pushed too far. Look for pressure tested data and I consider 40,000 cup my limit. It's a fun round but I would just go 3030 in a 14 if I wanted 30 cal. I prefer the 357H, it is really a fun round and likes the RCBS 200 cast really well.
“You don’t practice until you get it right. You practice until you can’t get it wrong.” Jason Elam, All-Pro kicker, Denver Broncos
It is impossible to keep the headspace zero. When you fire it the case flows back and forward. The shoulder will probably bump the chamber next shot and therefore isn't headspacing on the rim. If this happens again the action may not even close completely. Furthermore the actions are rarely square with the chamber, so you and up with a case that isn't perfectly round. It may not go in with any direction next time. In short: you want a little headspace in contenders for a number of reasons. They are not bolt actions. I use the Hornady dies for 357H and it gives very detailed instructions on how to use the minimal proper headspace with the FL die. I completely wasted money having a custom Lee collet neck sizing die. Sure the neck tension will be right but after one or two firings of 357H the shoulder needs to go back. I aimed for 10 reloads and never had a problem. That said I have 357 max cases that go ten reloadings before they need a trim! No lube. Just run them through a cheap 357 mag carbide die.
No frame side engraving guns were sold thru IHMSA with serial numbers that contained the calibers, like IHMSA30Hxxxx.
I know because I bought one but have since sold it.
I do still have the Hornady dies though, and some formed brass. formed from both 30-30 and 225win.
The 225 win brass has both a higher tensile strength and thicker wall that requires neck-turning, but has a smaller capacity
Size/Prime a few cases when starting off with a progressive and put them aside. You can plug them back into the process when a bad/odd case screws up in the priming station and continue loading.
We have had different experiences, I guess. Gotta do what works for you. Personally , I don’t want the case headspacing on the rim, I headspace on the shoulder and have no issues with chambering again in the same barrel. As far as out of square, my two frames are close enough to work, ymmv
“You don’t practice until you get it right. You practice until you can’t get it wrong.” Jason Elam, All-Pro kicker, Denver Broncos
Had one in the 70's got rid of it after I got a 30/30 barrel.
Wildcat that to me was a pest.
This was my experience too. I had RCBS dies and they had very specific instructions for initial forming to make sure the headspace was properly set at the shoulder. I remember the initial fire forming load had to be tight enough that the barrel just barely locked up. Subsequent reloads were set to make sure that headspace did not change.
I have 14" in .30 Herrett and it shoots great groups with the Nosler 125 gr. Ballistic Tips. I also have 14's in .357 Herrett and .35 Rem both of which like cast boolits.
My 30 Herret 10” does not do well if the shoulder of the case is head spaced snug. I have to push the shoulder back ever so slightly or my Contender will not fire, just click. What is happening is that the action is just enough out of battery that whatever safety linkage that it is built with causes it to misfire when the action is closed on a slightly longer case.
I like the 30 Herret and an even better option is to rechamber to a no trim 30 Herret. This is the body of the Herret case but a full length 30-30 case. The reason for less boiler room in this cartridge was to enhance performance in a ten inch barrel.
I have a 14” in 30-30 and it is also a gem and would be a better choice than a 14” in the Herret in my opinion due to not having to futz with case modifications. But I consider a 10” and 14” Contender as apples and oranges, two different worlds.
I also run the 7 mm TCU but in 14” and 21” and that is a gem. A 10” in the TCU would be fine but I do not have one of those. My 10” Herret is enough to satisfy my 10” fetish and there are better mold choices in 30 caliber than in 7mm (lighter boolits).
One other point about the 7mm TCU is that the free bore on those barrels makes that cartridge more accurate with heavy bullets and not as great for varminting, IMO.
I think the 7 mm Waters might actually be a better fit to run the gamut of lighter 7mm slugs but that is just a guess on my part.
Three44s
Quote Originally Posted by Bret4207
“There is more to this than dumping lead in a hole.”
If you want it to headspace on the shoulder then 35 Rem is what you should be using.
Look. I am not expert, but Mike Bellm IS. I strongly encoruage you to read the links the the articles he has written. His observations are exactly my own.
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