Contender frustration.....

[waco]

It's pretty bad when you have to turn 30-30 necks to be able to chamber .308 jacketed bullets. I am very unhappy with this 10" Contender barrel. Are they all like this? This thing is worthless. Too much hassle to load for. Spend the $$$ for a custom I guess???? Please tell me not all Thompson barrels are junk. I have been looking at others on Gunbroker and Ebay but I'm gun shy now about buying another Thompson barrel. This is very frustrating.
Waco

[high standard 40]

I have owned dozens of Contender barrels over the years in an assortment of chamberings and have never had a problem you describe. I have had the opposite with some being chambered on the loose side. Can you offer more details?

[NSB]

I've owned three Contenders and at one time had two different 30-30 barrels. No problems ever with any of them. I've had at least a dozen barrels and never had a problem other than they are on the loose side, not the tight side. You've got to have something else going on.

[waco]

Its like there is no throat at all. Super tight chamber. Even with jacketed .308 bullets I have to turn necks to get them to chamber. This is my first and only TC barrel. The one round that did chamber out of twenty I loaded measured .3275" at the neck with the bullet seated. Others measured .328"-.329" and will not chamber. Cast??? FORGET about it. Way too fat. I'd have to turn the necks way down. I was able to get a stubby little 32 cal. 100gr RN boolit sized to .309" to chamber but it only barely stuck out of the case mouth.
I guess I just got a bum barrel......
Waco

[James C. Snodgrass]

Like every one else the are usauly loose . I would do a chamber cast. I use a .310 sized cast in mine. With only sizing half of the neck.

[high standard 40]

Did you get this as a used barrel or is it new? Factory TC or aftermarket (Bullberry, MGM, etc)

[waco]

Did you get this as a used barrel or is it new? Factory TC or aftermarket (Bullberry, MGM, etc)

Used on Gunbroker. Factory TC barrel.

[Hickok]

Waco, I just went and miked the necks on some of my 30/30 loads with .310" boolits and they go .329"-.330" using Remington cases. Your loads are just fine.

[waco]

Waco, I just went and miked the necks on some of my 30/30 loads with .310" boolits and they go .329"-.330" using Remington cases. Your loads are just fine.

I thought the loads were ok. Thanks for checking yours.

[high standard 40]

Looks like a chamber cast would be a good idea. That's what I would do.

[ballistim]

I read an article by Mike Bellm about all the problems with T/C factory barrels in different chamberings and the problems common in each one. I have 5 T/C's but after buying a .357 Maximum chambered by Mike I'll only buy a T/C factory barrel at a "can't pass it up" price and will buy custom barrels from now on.

[FLHTC]

It's quite possible that the barrel was sold for the very reason you describe. I would email T/C

[kenyerian]

Sounds like a perfect candidate to ream out to 30-30AI .

[waco]

Sounds like a perfect candidate to ream out to 30-30AI .

Thats an idea!

[triggerhappy243]

A duhh question here. Does factory ammo chamber and close? And are you loading 30-30 bullets or bullets designed for a bolt gun?

[rockrat]

Or run a 30-30 reamer in the chamber.

[kweidner]

Maybe I'm the excpetion but I have never had a bad TC barrel. All have been 1.25 MOA or less. Some have been....well......if I post it some will think me a liar. I have had a few really really good ones .......put it that way. Seems to me a chamber cast is in order as well. If I were to run a reamer it would be AI.

[marshall623]

Try a factory 30-30 round if it doesn't chamber send it to T/C . Or have someone clean it up with a 30-30 reamer

[waco]

A duhh question here. Does factory ammo chamber and close? And are you loading 30-30 bullets or bullets designed for a bolt gun?

I really don't see what that matteres. If it won't chamber 30 cal J words or normal 30-30 cast boolits, there is something wrong IMO.

[waco]

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???

[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.

[leadman]

waco, I size .309" for my 2 Contenders in 30-30 and 30-30AI. T/C barrels seem to be right on the money for bore dimensions so no need to size to .310". Also just a thought but are you trimming your brass?
Take a good look at the end of the chamber throat. I have had lead and/or gilding metal build up there and caused problems.

Take a cartridge or 2 apart and make sure the bullet is not getting burred up by the case when seating. This will cause a neck to be too large.
I shoot many boolits that have the GC below the neck and they shot fine so not a big concern to me.
.003" thicker is alot, sure it is 30-30 brass and not 32 Special?

T/C guns carry a lifetime warranty.

[waco]

waco, I size .309" for my 2 Contenders in 30-30 and 30-30AI. T/C barrels seem to be right on the money for bore dimensions so no need to size to .310". Also just a thought but are you trimming your brass?
Take a good look at the end of the chamber throat. I have had lead and/or gilding metal build up there and caused problems.

Take a cartridge or 2 apart and make sure the bullet is not getting burred up by the case when seating. This will cause a neck to be too large.
I shoot many boolits that have the GC below the neck and they shot fine so not a big concern to me.
.003" thicker is alot, sure it is 30-30 brass and not 32 Special?

T/C guns carry a lifetime warranty.

Thanks. I'll look at that.

[waco]

Well. I feel a little stupid. Some of my brass was about 5 thou over. This was just enough to not let them chamber.
I went ahead and sized a 311041 down to .309" and tried to chamber it. It was a VERY snug fit. I'll try another with brass that has the neck turned.
Anyway. Problem solved. Thanks again for all the help.

[ballistim]

Well. I feel a little stupid. Some of my brass was about 5 thou over. This was just enough to not let them chamber.
I went ahead and sized a 311041 down to .309" and tried to chamber it. It was a VERY snug fit. I'll try another with brass that has the neck turned.
Anyway. Problem solved. Thanks again for all the help.

I went deer hunting as a teen only to find out my 6.5x55 reloads wouldn't chamber in my Mauser sporter, found out it was because the cases were too long. Luckily I had a box of Norma factory ammo that hit the same point of aim. I learned two important things from that; one is always check case length & other is to chamber every single round. I've never had a bad ammo experience since while hunting.

[fryboy]

Well. I feel a little stupid. Some of my brass was about 5 thou over. This was just enough to not let them chamber.
I went ahead and sized a 311041 down to .309" and tried to chamber it. It was a VERY snug fit. I'll try another with brass that has the neck turned.
Anyway. Problem solved. Thanks again for all the help.

meh... we all overlook something sometimes ( usually the most obvious [doh] ) or otherwise boo-boo , that's usually no big deal but being able to admit it .... that's as real as it gets and not everyone can do so [shrugz] glad you're on your path to your newest addiction [insert evil laugh here]
just for grins quite often a little 32 cal. boolit can be used for a very enjoyable plinking load , even women and kids love'em

[leadman]

You can probably size to .308" and they would still shoot fine. Al Sharpe was big on sizing to the bore size.

[waco]

You can probably size to .308" and they would still shoot fine. Al Sharpe was big on sizing to the bore size.

I'll try that as well.

[Three44s]

Good to hear you may be on your way!

Three 44s

[gwpercle]

I have a 30-06 that chambers cast boolits only when sized .308. Years ago when I started reloading the Lyman Cast bullet Manual said to size them .308, so that's the size die I bought. Then lately was advised that .309 was better, so I bought a .309 sizer. One 30-06 won't chamber .309's, the other, a 03-A3 Springfield sporter will , and a 94 Winchester in 30-30 will also chamber .309's.
Difference in accuracy....none that I can see. They all group just the same and no leading!
Go figure....try the .308 size, that should do it.
Gary

[carbine86]

All loads that I use in my contenders with the exception of a few (357 herret, 45-70) get the lee factory crimp die. Try using a marker on a bullet of a loaded round and attempt to chamber it. See where the marks are and go from there?