Last year I bought a Contender with the 209x .45 muzzlelader barrel.

This year, after things wind down (still almost 2 weeks left of mzl season) I plan to buy my xmas present, namely a 14" barrel for the Contender.

I have it narrowed down to twin bothers 35 Rem and 30-30 Win but I need some advice make a better decision.

It seems from reading other forums it's a horse apiece ballistically between the two loads.

I do not reload (yet). This may be the starting point for me but I want to have a good aftermarket load available until I get ramped up. Does any one make a 35 Rem or 30-30 load for Contender?

Once I start to reload, which is more accessable? I chose these two chamberings because I don't want some wildcat load that I have to 'fire form' casings and shoot my breakfast cereal to the wind. Am I on the right track for a simple load to start with? Brass available? Longevity of casings? Will chicks think I'm cool?

Am I overlooking the obvious or so green that I should stick with a 12ga slug?

Any advice is welcomed and appreciated. Wish me luck in the morning.

Used to own a 14" bbl for a Contender in .35 Rem. It was quite a hand cannon, in my opinion. Had a 2 1/4" muzzle brake permanently installed on it to make it legal as a shoulder firearm.

Took several deer and a few javelina with it, all one-shot kills. Only problem, another person made an offer for it that I just couldn't refuse. Suppose there's been a few deer and such down in Texas that have fallen to it since.

Think either cartridge would make you a dandy handgun for medium sized game hunting. Be aware, short barrels in rifle chamberings have fiercesome muzzle blasts and recoil.

Too bad you don't handload as the 7-30 Waters is a great handgun cartridge in the 14" barrel. Of the two you listed I'd take the .35 Remington in a pistol length barrel. Ammo for the .35 isn't nearly as common, nor does it offer near the variety, but it works better out of a handgun length tube than the 30-30. Take a look at Hornady's new levergun ammo for the .35 Rem.

I shoot a .35 Rem from a XP-100R but that is a whole different animal than a Contender. Do you have the ML barrel in a handgun or rifle configuration? I've been toying with the idea of a ML handgun barrel for the Contender or Encore but have not done it yet.

I shoot a 14" Contender in .357 Herrett and a .357 Maximum carbine barrel. My Dad has a 10" .30-30 barrel and one of my brothers had 14" barrels in both .45-70 and .35 Remington, both were equipped with muzzle tamer brakes.
There was little comparison between felt recoil with the .45-70 and .35 Remington. The .35 Remington was very hard to shoot well. I felt it was due to the muzzle tamer changing the recoil impulse. Anyway, the .35 Remington was a very difficult barrel to shoot well.
My 14" .357 Herrett barrel is easier for me to handle in recoil despite the fact that is has a significant muzzle rise.
I find a 10" .30-30 barrel rather pleasent to shoot with 125 and 130 grain bullets.
In the .357 Herrett, .357 Maximum and .35 Remington the Hornady 200 grain spire point bullet is hard to beat in a handload.
I would not order a TC barrel equipped with their muzzle tamer. If I felt I needed a muzzle brake I would talk with Forum member Deer Assasin about his brakes.

Not a fan of muzzle brakes, can see the reasoning behind them and if it is a must-have for you, then it might be better to investigate the various choices.

Have shot T/C's in both calibers, but am not going to be able to give a fair assessment. My 30-30 experience was with an octogon 10" barel...tended to memorable recoil. The 35Rem was in the thcker barrled 14" version which did a good bit to tame the thump...was still noticable, but didn't birte nearly so bad as that skinny 10" 30-30.

I have a TC in 35 Rem and the recoil doesn't bother me, but then again, I just like shooting. I would rather have the 35 Rem. Several years ago when I got interested in shooting handguns, I used to read stories about the exploits of Bob Milek. The two calibers that he got me started in were the 223 and the 35 rem. He used the 35 rem. to kill elk out to 200 yds. He made his living writing about hunting with handguns and he was very successful with the 35. I bought mine and never regretted it a bit. I have carried it hunting, but wasn't successful. I just happen to like the old 35 Rem.

I use the 14 inch .30/30 barrel on a contender and like it alot. I have shot several deer with the round and like it. the advantages of the 30/30 are:
cheap ammo
available ammo
bullet selection
brass availability
and some other intangibles like caliber recognition. This is handy when explaining what you want to the guy behind the counter.

The disadvantages of the .30/30 are:
factory 150 and 170 grain bullets may not expand too well in deer sized game.
deer sized animals are about the upper limit of the .30/30' s capability. ( I know larger game has been taken, yet I think the cartridge is stretched a bit for larger game).

While the .35 is a better elk and bear round, brass can be scarce and bullet selection can be tricky. heavy pistol bullets expand well but maybe too much and light rifle bullets may not expand. yet the round itself is really excellent if you are willing to face these issues.

regards,
Gene

Too bad you don't handload as the 7-30 Waters is a great handgun cartridge in the 14" barrel. Of the two you listed I'd take the .35 Remington in a pistol length barrel. Ammo for the .35 isn't nearly as common, nor does it offer near the variety, but it works better out of a handgun length tube than the 30-30. Take a look at Hornady's new levergun ammo for the .35 Rem.

I shoot a .35 Rem from a XP-100R but that is a whole different animal than a Contender. Do you have the ML barrel in a handgun or rifle configuration? I've been toying with the idea of a ML handgun barrel for the Contender or Encore but have not done it yet.

I shoot the ML in the 24" carbine. I like the size, I had a cheap CVI that was OK but I wanted something nicer (call me vain) so when I went shopping I fell in love with this little pack rifle.

I shoot it pretty light. I had trouble with accuracy with powerbelts, and they get way too much for those things, so tried Hornady XTP's 180/.40 in a sabot but got mixed results. Now I am shooting 158/.38 in a sabot with 2 pellets of Triple 7 and I can drive tacks at 75 yds (open sights only in MN). i wish I could get the 158 in a polymer tip.

What is the anticipated life span of a new casing? 3 reloads? 5? Is one manufacturer better than another?

You mentioned the 7-30 Waters. How much 'fussy' work is there to reloading that one? Fire forming? head spacing, etc? A couple of other threads advised staying withe 30-30 because of avail. of factory loads. But if the factory loads are loaded for the carbine what good are they?

Now I sound kinda crabby but I'm actually really excited. We have been in the middle of a blizzard for 2 days now. I got cabin fever after lunch today and went for a walk in the woods with my bow and ended up filling my doe tag on a spot and stalk just working the wind with bedding areas. One down, one to go. If the roads are crap in the a.m. I might play hookey again and go ml in the morning before I show up for work.

I really appreciate everyone's advice I just looking for an easy eggress into hand-gunning and most like will pick up reoading as a bonus.

toolscrool, there is one issue(legal) you might want to investigate before turning that rifle into a handgun. Did the frame come from the factory as a rifle or handgun? You can change a handgun into a rifle(legally) but not a rifle into a handgun. Do not know where the muzzle loader fits in there. I shoot a 10" 30-30, and a 10" .357 Max. The 30-30 is sweet with 125gr Noslers. Good luck with your search.

I shoot the ML in the 24" carbine. I like the size, I had a cheap CVI that was OK but I wanted something nicer (call me vain) so when I went shopping I fell in love with this little pack rifle.

I shoot it pretty light. I had trouble with accuracy with powerbelts, and they get way too much for those things, so tried Hornady XTP's 180/.40 in a sabot but got mixed results. Now I am shooting 158/.38 in a sabot with 2 pellets of Triple 7 and I can drive tacks at 75 yds (open sights only in MN). i wish I could get the 158 in a polymer tip.

What is the anticipated life span of a new casing? 3 reloads? 5? Is one manufacturer better than another?

You mentioned the 7-30 Waters. How much 'fussy' work is there to reloading that one? Fire forming? head spacing, etc? A couple of other threads advised staying withe 30-30 because of avail. of factory loads. But if the factory loads are loaded for the carbine what good are they?

Now I sound kinda crabby but I'm actually really excited. We have been in the middle of a blizzard for 2 days now. I got cabin fever after lunch today and went for a walk in the woods with my bow and ended up filling my doe tag on a spot and stalk just working the wind with bedding areas. One down, one to go. If the roads are crap in the a.m. I might play hookey again and go ml in the morning before I show up for work.

I really appreciate everyone's advice I just looking for an easy eggress into hand-gunning and most like will pick up reoading as a bonus.


There's no fuss in loading the 7-30 Waters, but brass is more difficult to find at reasonable prices unless you make your own. The 7-30 is based on the 30-30 and has the rimmed casings which some prefer in the break action pistols. Headspacing is a non issue if you know how to adjust your dies so the round headspaces on the shoulder..it's a pretty simple deal. You want to avoid neck sizing only with a Contender as it can cause accuracy problems if there is pressure on the frame from the cartridge in some instances. Get the die where it needs to be and leave the lock ring locked...pretty simple. If I could only have one Contender barrel it would be a 14" .357 Maximum WITHOUT the muzzle brake. It is no trick to get 1900-2000fps out of mine with a 180gr Hornady pointy Single Shot Pistol bullet (SSP). If you ever decide to pump up the velocity in your ML that might also be a good bullet to try in it if it will shoot.

Federal is the sole maker of factory 7-30 Waters ammo. The 120gr FN bullet would probably work fine at hangun velocity up until you decide to handload, but you'll have to ask someone who has used it.

I have a bunch of deer-suitable Contender handguns to choose from: 7TCU, 7 Int Rimmed, 30 Herret, 30-30, 357 Herrett and 45/70, not to mention a 260 XP. And have shot the 35 Rem considerably. I do agree that it's a difficult gun to shoot well, the percieved recoil is considerable...even in a braked barrel!
Lately, I find myself reaching more and more for the 10" 30/30 barreled piece. It's handy, light, and loaded with 130 gr SS spire points its all I need for deer. I'd choose the 35 Rem only if you intend to go after bigger game, and perhaps not even then. If you want bigger have a look at the 375 JDJ offering from TC. Also, 35 Rem ammo is not often available and when it is it's likely loaded for a rifle. The chambering itself is on it's way to obsolescence. The 30/30 ammo-and cases if you ever want to relaod- is inexpensive and available most everywhere. The 150 grain load will work on deer just fine.

+1 to the 7-30 Waters.

I load up from 100 gr HP's to the 160 gr BTSP...there isn't too much the Waters can't do when you know how to play with it...it loves H-335 and AA-2520...light loads of IMR-4198 and RL-7 work VERY nice out of it as well...it has a weaver 4x and it will have little change in POI/POA between the diffrent bullet sizes...perhaps 2-3" with the 100 gr going higher at 100...I keep my velocities mild at around 2300 fps on the small stuff and around 2000 with the beefier rounds...makes the brass last a long long time...

Your question as to how long 30-30 brass will last...depends on you. You just neck size, get a collet sizer or X-die, and you can probably get mebbe 8-10 loads out of a piece of brass if you keep your foot out of it...keep your velocity in the low to mid range, and it would last a good long time...I have gone 5 loads then anneal the necks...just set 20 pcs of brass in a small tray or somthing full of water, and take a propane torch and heat the necks up...DON'T go too far...I generally heat them to where they just start to get discolored, then back off...you want the bases in water because those don't need to get too soft...primers backing out and such...let them air cool don't water quench as that will just make them harder...that will keep you from splitting necks and such...

D

To add a little to CookieMonsters post...you can expect between 24-2500fps with a 120gr bullet when using a 14-15" barrel and 2300fps with a 140gr bullet isn't asking too much but will be toward the top end of the loads with the best powders. Makes for a pretty flat shooting round out to 200 yards or so.

Might also be worth your while to take a look a custom barrel maker, like www.bullberry.com , as their barrels shoot consistently better than the factory stuff from what I've seen with the two barrels I have from them. Not saying there is anything wrong with the factory stuff, but the custom barrels are guaranteed to shoot and you get to have them "your way" and in a huge variety of chamberings.

The 120gr Nosler Ballistic Tip shot very well out of my 7mm TC/U and 7mm BR pistols. They still shoot well out of my XP-100 in .284 Winchester but at just shy of 2900fps the recoil is a bit more snappy. 140's at 2750 will get your attention but are not brutal like a big bore handgun can be.

Another option to explore would be to pick up an Encore if you want to shoot factory ammo. The pistol is heavier, which helps manage the heavier recoil of the cartridges it fires, the weight is also more to drag around the field with you. I prefer the Contender/G2 to the Encore, I have both, but there are some rounds the Contender won't handle. The only real advantage I can see for the Encore for you would be it's availability in the .308 family of cartridges that offer lots of factory ammo that will work just fine out of a pistol length barrel...but will have a bit more recoil and muzzle blast.

The only real advantage I can see for the Encore for you would be it's availability in the .308 family of cartridges that offer lots of factory ammo that will work just fine out of a pistol length barrel...but will have a bit more recoil and muzzle blast.



um...a BIT more? :rolleyes:


Lemme guess...you call a 45-70 a decent white-tail cartridge? :D


D

um...a BIT more? :rolleyes:


Lemme guess...you call a 45-70 a decent white-tail cartridge? :D


D


.260 and 7-08 aren't too bad in the Encore...make a heck of a fireball, but the recoil isn't too bad. Wouldn't be shooting either of them with a solid wood grip from the bench if I had a choice in the matter.

This is true...I shot a friends 7-08 15" and actually quite liked it...it wasn't much more than my Waters.

I just prefered the contenders grip...the encore is just...odd-feeling, I guess?

I am still lusting after a Kathadin 450 Marlin, though...


I have an aquaintance in Oregon...he has a 460 Weatherby in an Encore...that and several other loudenboomers...I have yet to have the pleasure to shoot that monster..but I want to soo bad....I guess I am a bit touched in the head. :D



D

Toolsrool
What do you plan to hunt? For elk or big bear the .35Rem will be good, for deer size game the 30-30. You say that you want to get into reloading then I suggest you go wildcat and find a 14" 35Rem and have it rechambered to a .358Bellm for your heavy gun. If you want an outstanding deer/elk round find a 14" 30.30 and have it rechambered to a .308 Bellm. Both are easy to load for and are outstanding calibers.

John

I have a 14" 7-30 that I have shot quite a lot for 20 years. It handles Federals factory loads like a champ. When I reload for it I use 120 BTSP from which ever manufacturer has them cheapest at the time. It has never been very picky about what bullets it is fed. They have flat slapped the snot out of every deer I have shot with it. I have taken muleys and whitetail with it and am planning to take it this weekend for a quick Axis deer hunt before I go move hog traps.

Think seriously about the 7-30.

Ceyl