30-30 in TC Contender

[Machado]

Gentlemen,
Can anybody suggest a reasonable 30-30 load for a 10" Contender? I only have 165 gr jacketed bullets; no gas checks are available in this country. I'd also like to use Unique. Thank you.
Machado

[Lloyd Smale]

Your not going to get a barn burner load with unique in the 3030 its just to fast for anything but a plinking load and its really not going to work well with jacketed bullets. I shoot alot of 8 grains of unique with a 170 cast for a plinking load in my rifles.

[fourarmed]

I agree that Unique is not at its best with jacketed in the .30-30. I would try to get some SR-4759 and start at about 15 grains and work up. I would think it would top out at around 20, but 15-17 is where you should find the sweet spot.

[hivoltfl]

try 24 gr of 4064, I think you will find what your looking for. or try 26 gr of 3031, its a good one for that weight of bullet.

Rick

[GrizzLeeBear]

What fourarmed said. There are a lot of IHMSA shooters that swear by 4759 in the 30-30 Contender. Tames the muzzleblast down and makes some very accurate loads for knocking down steel rams at 200 meters.
Unique makes good light cast boolit loads, but I don't know about it with jacketed bullets.

[twotrees]

are No More !! Serria 130 gr SSP bullets shot great in my 14" bbl. killed well but I'm out and they don't make them any more. I have some 125 Hornady's and some 130 Speer HP's in the cabinet, after season I'll try to work up a load.

Till then I'll be shooting Lyman 311291 gc over CMR 100 (+ 1 gr dacron) in RP cases. It's a bit slow but shoots so good I'll take close shots.

Good Hunting,

TwoTrees

[Lloyd Smale]

You guys that know me know that i worship cast more then most but as far as the 3030 goes you will have a hard time beating 150 or 170 corelocks on game. they were designed for the 3030 and are what the gun made its reputation for killing out of proportion to its size with.

[44man]

I had a lot of trouble shooting IHMSA using cast boolits and slow powders like 3031. 4759 works best in the shorter barrels. Mine was 10" but you might have luck with a longer barrel.

[Machado]

Thank you for your prompt answers, gentlemen.
I find the 30-30 no better than the .44 mag in the same barrel length, for any purpose. The RCBS 300 grain cast bullet riding 20 grains of 2400 knocks the 200-meter ram easily. I am also glad there are only 10 rams in the sequence.
I understand from your recommendations that I will not achieve any significant improvement over my old .357 load of Lyman's 358429 over 14 grains of 2400. This one will punch through anything worth eating or needing shooting in this country, non-stop. I lubricate both these bullets with my own concoction of beeswax, carnaúba wax, beef tallow and some chassis grease molten together and leading is zilch.
Guess I'll shoot the remaining factory ammo I have and then relegate the 30-30 barrel to the bottom of the safe.

[GrizzLeeBear]

I understand from your recommendations that I will not achieve any significant improvement over my old .357 load of Lyman's 358429 over 14 grains of 2400.

Hey Machado, you shooting this load in a Contender? How does it shoot on the 200m rams (and the 150m turkeys for that matter)? I'm getting a 10" 357 barrel for hunting and sillywets. Trying to decide on what bullet to shoot in it. I keep looking at the 358429 since it is heavy, plain base and comes in a 4 cavity mold. Since I will be shooting lots of them I want to get away from 2 cavity mold and gas checks.

[Scrounger]

Maybe no more effective than the .44 but possibly a bit more pleasant to shoot. Ballistic co-efficients make the .30-30 more effective as ranges increase, more mass and diameter favor the .44 at shorter ranges. Take your pick...

[jeff223]

i dont know what you plan on shooting but when you run out of those 165 grainers i would try to get some 125 grain Nosler BTs and work up a load with those.you should get very high FPS even out of your 10 inch barrel and the Nosler BTs work very good on game.the Nosler 125 BTs go hand in hand with the 30-30s and Contenders

im not shooting a regular 30-30 but i have my 17 inch 30-30ai Contender and i killed this prong horn last month in Wyoming with it.i shot this animal out at a loooong distance and the boolit worked like a charm.

sorry about this guys but i still shoot jacketed boolits too:oops:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid225/p93be41c22ebb30bd46e2c43556e48e6b/e78efa4a.jpg

[Machado]

GrizzLeeBear, I use the .357 for Field Silhouette - rams at 100 meters. It knocks them down very easily. It will knock the 200 meter ram too if you hit the upper half of the target. Ours are hinged, and will not fall unless hit dead on. The .44 will give you more flexibility there. I have the four-cavity mold, and can't complain at all. Good productivity and hard to overheat.
Scrounger, you're right. But the ammo I have is rifle fodder, it belches like a flamethrower and bellows like my wife when she found out how much I paid for the Contender ensemble. I'm losing power there. I don't scope handguns, and can't see well much beyond 200 yards. I restrict my hunting to 100 yards or less, so the .44 is hard to beat. No need for a fancy bullet either, just a good solid hit.
Thank you, Jeff. I'll try the 125 grainers. Congratulations on your proghorn, must have been a challenging shot at the distances that country imposes.