Contender frustration.....

[marshall623]

If a factory doesn't chamber then you have a leg to stand on as far as T/C replacing it. Just a suggestion

[triggerhappy243]

My point is this. The barrel is chambered for factory 30-30 ammo. If factory 30-30 ammo does not chamber, then it has a factory defect. 30 cal. Bullets made for bolt action rifles have a different ogive then 30-30 bullets. Same way as cast boolets. There may be other types of interference you are dealing with that do not seem obvious.

[marshall623]

Oh. Sorry. Yes factory loads seem to fit. But I don't buy factory stuff. Maybe running the loads through a Lee factory crimp die???

could be a issue with you dies , or brass . Do you have good neck tension when seating the jacketed

[waco]

Neck tension is good. All loads for all lever guns are good. I'm afraid the barrel is the culprit.

[high standard 40]

If factory loads do chamber, then there is nothing wrong with the barrel. Try to load some with NO crimp. A crimp is not needed in a Contender with bottleneck cases.

[triggerhappy243]

Is it possible, your bullets are hitting the rifling before the case is fully seated in the chamber?

[triggerhappy243]

If factory ammo chambers, there are issues with what or how your reloads are put together. Possibly when you crimp, you are creating a bulge in the case somewhere.

[rbt50]

at one time I had over 100 barrels and the only one that gave me problems was a 6mm tcu. it had a tight neck and I had pressure problems with all my loads.

[725]

Too much flare on the case mouth can hold 'em out, and a Lee Factory crimp die will resolve that. A chamber cast will give you the best info to move forward with. Recutting the chamber is easy and there are reamer rentals around. It's a pain to make up for a general lack of craftsmanship now-a-days, but not impossible.
"Keep buggering on!" -- Winston Churchill

[waco]

Too much flare on the case mouth can hold 'em out, and a Lee Factory crimp die will resolve that. A chamber cast will give you the best info to move forward with. Recutting the chamber is easy and there are reamer rentals around. It's a pain to make up for a general lack of craftsmanship now-a-days, but not impossible.
"Keep buggering on!" -- Winston Churchill

Loading jacketed rounds. I'm not flaring the brass at all. A few thou off the necks and it chambers. Just kinda a PITA step to load plinking ammo.
I'll be on the look out for a new barrel.

[waco]

Just checked a factory round. Rem. load. Neck measures .327" and chambers fine. My hand loads are FC brass with Speer 130gr HP bullets loaded to 2.600". Neck with bullet seated measures .3295" and will not chamber.

Brass has been trimmed to 2.025" the full diameter of the bullet is in the neck.

Turn .004" off the neck, they chamber fine. All my brass is FC and WW

I have the one RP factory round. I'll just make do and turn necks.

I have a Lee 113 RNFP mold in the mail. Maybe I can get this guy to shoot.....

[rexherring]

It's worth it to have a gunsmith just run a proper reamer in it and get it right.

[triggerhappy243]

I just looked thru my speer manual. Are you sure your bullet is not bumping the rifling before the case is fully seated in the chamber? Speer makes a 130 gr. Specifically for the 30-30 and 2 others that are listed have a longer taper ogive. And did you measure the actual bullets diameter?

[garandsrus]

Just checked a factory round. Rem. load. Neck measures .327" and chambers fine. My hand loads are FC brass with Speer 130gr HP bullets loaded to 2.600". Neck with bullet seated measures .3295" and will not chamber....

Shoot the factory round and them reload it with a jacketed bullet to see if it will still chamber. If not, the problem is somewhere in your reloading process.

Measure the diameter of the jacketed bullets also. You may have something other than .308 bullets.

[MT Chambers]

What dies are you using, some dies are off and may not be sizing cases to chamber's specs, I'd try some ones Redding dies and I'm sure all will fit, does the sized case fit without the bullet?

[fast ronnie]

My contender barrels are a little on the long side, and must be loaded a LOT longer than I wish. One thought, are your bullets actually .308 or are they for a .303 which is .312? That's what I use in my Mosin, and they measure .3115.

[Three44s]

First, I'd send that 10" barrel down the road.

You can advertise it as shooting factory rounds and that you are going a different direction.

The first reason is that 10" and the .30-30 don't go together well. The .30 Herret and 10" ... yes, but the .30-30 .... no.

Get a 14" or better a 16" and you can run it either as a handgun or rifle.

AIing a 10" .30-30 would make even less efficiency.

If you don't believe me read what the older load manuals say on the issue.

I have a 10" .30 Herret and a 14" .30-30 and they are both gems.

I have a 10" .222 Rem and it's a DOG! There are a notable exception or two .... the 7mm TCU is often good in 10" ........ it's even better longer but for those wanting the better balance of a short barrel ..... the 7mm TCU usually accomodates them. Hornets and .221 Fireballs are great in 10 and longer.

You can only go so short with a given case and then the party is over.

My .02 worth

Three 44s

[Tar Heel]

A lot of good info above waco......seems to be hinting that your loads are suspect. As much as I hated to think my loads may be anything less than perfection, that has always been the case when I run into problems like you have. I seriously doubt the barrel is the issue. I have been shooting the T/C products for decades and have factory and custom barrels. All have been exceptional. While there is always a possibility of a lemon, odds are it's something to do with your load flow or detail.

T/C barrels are not sloppy like some semi-auto chambers. Slight bulges, imperceptable to the eye, will shut you down and cause you no end of grief. Loading technique must be perfected and tailored for these barrels which typically run tight. I suspect, mind you I say suspect, that there is some little detail causing you this angst which when discovered, will cause you to blush. As they say, the devil is in the detail.

Is it possible to find a friend or gun shop with another 30-30 barrel and see if your load will chamber in it?

[fryboy]

this ...

"All loads for all lever guns are good."

if my comprehension skills are awake this morning .... leads me to think that you have other ammo loaded for lever guns that fit in this barrel - is that correct ? ermm not counting that one factory round , if so i'm with the majority of posters ..something else besides the barrel is amiss

[waco]

Thanks for all the input guys. I have loaded and fired this load before. I guess I should have mentioned that. Everything was fine then. Win. And rem. Brass all fit good. This time I'm using FC brass. Measuring the loaded rounds across the neck with a mic the FC loads run about .003" larger than the other brass. I don't really want to shoot jacketed bullets though. I tried loading a 311041 in WW brass seated to the crimp groove. No go. In order to chamber the round I had to seat the boolits gas check WAY below the neck. Boolit was sized to .310"
Again, thanks for your input. I'll probably just send the barrel down the road and find something else to fool around with.