7-30 Waters or 30-30 ?

[M-Tecs]

A wildcat based on a 30/30 operating at higher pressures could be a problem. SAAMI 30/30 or under loads not so much.

Also for calculating breech thrust it's the internal area of the case not the rim diameter that matters.

The SAAMI spec for the 375 Win is 52,000 CUP. Rumor had it that the early factory loads were on the hot side. Never owned a 375 Win in a Contender. I do have both pistol and carbine barrels for the 45/70 in a Contender. I have zero interest in above SAAMI pressure loads in either. They just kick to much.

[Todd N.]

I personally don't think the 7-30 or .30-30 are optimal small game cartridges . There are much better ones available for that role. Sure, if one of these is what you have, run what you brung!

As to the .30-30 frame stretching... WHAT???
I have been shooting the .30-30 in my Contender since about 1978 or '79. Back then, I ran my .30-30 loads as hot as I could trying to get .308 Winchester performance out of the little single shot. Never did stretch the frame. In 1991 I reamed my barrel to the .30-30 Ackley Improved chamber. WOW! I could push those .30 caliber bullets even faster! I can only imagine what kind of pressure I was forcing the poor "weak" .30-30 case to withstand. Never did stretch the frame with THAT cartridge either.

Somewhere around 1997 I picked up a Super 14 .44 magnum barrel. Less than a week later it had been reamed to .444 Marlin and a muzzle brake was added. Best load I found for that cartridge used the Hornady 300 grain XTP- the one with the dual cannelure grooves. That one accounted for several California muleys while I was stuck there for college. THAT cartridge never stretched the frame either, and I KNOW my 300 grain XTP load was at the SAAMI 44,000 CUP limit.
I still shoot that barrel on occasion. It was used on a cow elk hunt about 6 years ago- sort of a blast from the past. I still use that receiver to this day with multiple barrels. It shows no measurable stretching at all.

In my opinion,

if you start with a good frame that has no distortion issues and have EVERY one of your barrels fitted by a Contender specialist, and pay attention to how you size your brass, you will not stretch your frame.

[MT Gianni]

Previously I had mentioned the 30 Reece due to availability from MGM. Going back through the 30 badger / 30 Reece thread (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...adger-30-Reece) post 85 says that MGM has a 30 badger reamer. If you are willing to pay the price, a 30 badger from MGM sounds like a super choice for a "just less than 30-30" hunting round. It uses 38 special cases, uses easy to find dies (30 mauser) and is super easy to make. Actually in a 10" barrel, I would not be surprised if the badger comes real close to the 30-30.

Even with all of my existing barrels, I am getting tempted to try out a 10" badger.

I really like the rounds that use a close to 0.375" diameter case (38 special, 357 & 223). This is the biggest diameter case where you can load to maximum normal rifle pressures in a Contender.

With 30-30 and larger sized cases people have damaged their Contenders (stretched the frame) with loads that did not look "too hot". Although I shoot my 30 Herrett a lot, I push it a lot less than I did before I learned about the above.

For cartridges that are 0.375" or less in diameter, you can just look at fired brass and primers to tell if your loads are safe in a Contender. As such, you can experiment around all you want provided you are careful, work up in small increments and pay attention to what you are doing. Note that the higher allowed pressure of this case size allows for some decent performance even with smaller capacities. This is why the 300 BO comes real close to 30-30 performance with a much smaller capacity.

The badger designer determined the maximum efficiency was achieved in a 21 3/4" bbl.

[ShooterAZ]

I have both, but use the 7x30 barrel much more often. I use it in Silhouette and it is a tack driver. The 30-30 is easier to cast and load for though IMHO. My 30-30 barrel has a compensated barrel and is crazy loud at the range, that's probably the main reason I use the 7x30 more. Both are excellent barrels though, very accurate.

[marshall623]

7-30 Waters , 150 gr. NOE Hunter very accurate with 3031 and RL7 . The 4895’s are good powders for the Waters as well

[TCLouis]

What USCRA112 said seems to be good logic.
Coated bullets for other purposes I think I would lean toward 7X30 though I have never had one!

[ubetcha]

What would be the symptoms of a stretched frame. I have shot a 14" 30-30 with cast bullet for silhouettes since 1984. I started getting a hard opening situation last year. Decided to take it apart this week and polish all components that showed contact with another part. All seems good until I put the bbl on. I have even tried different locking lugs to not avail. Installing the newer style lugs without the floating pin makes it worse to the point that it won't unlock. I also have different bbls, but at this time, I have not tried them to see if the hard opening occurs with them

[M-Tecs]

What would be the symptoms of a stretched frame.

https://www.go2gbo.com/forums/36-tho...-symptoms.html

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...rame-stretched

https://specialtypistols.infopop.cc/...Y&m=1850052556

http://www.reedercustomguns.net/foru...hread&id=33673

http://www.lasc.us/bellmHeadspace.htm

[nagantguy]

Love them both- but the 7-30 super 14 barrel I got two years ago is one of if not the most accurate gun I own with jwords or cast- it’s not common to have both, and it doesn't seem to matter the flavor or powder across the spectrum of loads it shoots amazingly well and I fancy my self a verybfine pistol shot especially heavy- short rifle type pistols and I’ve stopped shooting the waters before cause at 75 yards I was one hole- making brass is a snap but some times I do worry about keeping 30-30 and waters brass separated but not to long ago injad few hundred pieces of brass properly head stamped as a gift for my son being born from a fantastic member of our own CastBoolits!!!!!!!

[Alferd Packer]

Geared to cast 30 and 32 cal pistol bullets so the 30/30 for me.