I hunt with a 10inch contender in 44mag , using COR Bon hardcast and Cor Bon penetrator loads. I'm looking for some more OOMPH out to 100 yards. Whats the best round coming out of a 10-14inch contender barrel for deer ?

Thats a trick question, I dont think there is a best. But, a 35 remington, or a 45-70 will do just about anything that needs doing. Also some of JDJ's handcannon calibers, are eye openers, but more trouble and expense than most people want to deal with. DM
One more thing to consider, is the Encore was brought out because people kept trying to strech the capabilities of the contender beyond its original capabilities. resulting in streched frames. T/C was good to me, replacing 2 frames I had streched, but it took a lot of heavy loads to do it. So if you really want a mega oomph load, go to the Encore.

i friend of mine was looking for a round to put silhouettes down with alittle more authority a few years ago so i urged him to have his .44 magnum barrel rechambered to .444 marlin.......... that worked really good to put those rams down at 200 yards!!

Dogman,

you don't say if you reload, so this is kinda tough.


Factory loads? I suggest going with a 35 Remington or a 45-70 like has been suggested.


IF you handload, well...the doors open wide, sir.

You can start off with the 7-30 Waters and work right on up...30 WCF with spitzers are an amazing thing. :)

375 Winchester is a good choice if you want somthing kinda off the beaten path. The 375 JDJ is a good choice if you want to go hunt Yeti or some such. :D

I know the Encore is there for those who wish to shoot even heavier artillery...but the stuff that is there for the Contender is all you really need for the Lower 48. :)

D

For deer you have a lot of choice. There are a lot of .30-30 barrels around. Those and .45-70 barrels both give you readily available commercial rounds and lots of bullet selection for handloads. Having shot the 45-70 barrels, with and without muzzle breaks, including doing so with some "elephant" loads, I would say the Contender can get you to a lot more than just deer level performance with those bigger bores.

The .30-30 is probably more reasonable to class as a deer cartridge, but you will find that with less than a rifle barrel's length, you need to load your own for best performance. The .45-70 will require you to know your target range a little better to compensate for drop, but it is loaded with relatively fast rifle powder, and so can do very nicely from a shorter tube.

Nick

Best is kind of hard to define. I will suggest that the 30 Herrett is worth a look. It gets going pretty good with 130 grain bullets.

Cheezywan

I have a .357 Herrett and it has to be my choice because I have it. I would get a 30-30 if you don't reload and you should consider it even if you do. The 30-30 would give yoou a good choice of bullets with a few even designed for single shot handguns. It would also give you a good supply of cases and factory ammo. I have seen Contender 30-30's shoot one inch 100 yard groups. The main thing with the Contender is there are many good deer chamberings and the best one is the one you like best.

I hunt with a 10inch contender in 44mag , using COR Bon hardcast and Cor Bon penetrator loads. I'm looking for some more OOMPH out to 100 yards. Whats the best round coming out of a 10-14inch contender barrel for deer ?

I don't if it is the best, but I shot a 7x30 waters 14 inch barrel for my contender. Rounds are easy to get from Federal but with factory you are stuck with 120grain. Mine performs fine at 100 yards. I have heard the round is good out to 200 yards but that is way outside of my capabilities. By the way shot a nice 4x5 with it this year. Fox Ridge Outfitters can get you your barrels.

35Whelen,

What distance did you pop that 4x5 at?


D

Cookiemonster,
It was a 30 yard neck shot. That is the first deer I have taken with my contender. I am fairly new to hunting with contenders but I am hooked and dedicated to them now.

I shoot 30-30 in my contender and it has enough power to take down deer and such at 100+ meters. The recoil isn't light, it is however bearable. If the kick is a problem, I'd see about a heavy barrel.( My 30-30 has a lightweight octagon barrel). This is just my two cents. I hope it helps.

Dogman, you could take your .44 mag barrel and rechamber for .444 marlin OR the .445 mag and you could still shoot the .44 mags in it. Either would be cheaper than buying another barrel and give you more oomph.

get one of everything! love the .30 herrett and 375 win. 7-30 improved, 6.5 bullberry. haven't tried 45/70 yet, might be a bit much.

have tried the 30-30 and 35 rem. also, like them too! took a nice 5x5 whitetail 2 yrs ago with the herrett and 150 gr. roundnose hornady, worked very well at about 85 yds.

Another vote for the 445 mag. It would just be a rechamber job. IMHO a 444 would be a lot more case and powder for a little more power. If you have to have the extra power it can be done but you would probably be beyond efficient opperation.

what case is the 445 mag off of?

I agree with the 30-30 solution. The two deer that I shot this year with the 14" barrel both dropped in their tracks. I put a 2.75x Burris scope on mine and I can put a quarter over 5 shot at 75 yards-not shooting from a bench. I don't reload, yet-gotta get christmas paid for first so I can get a press, so I shoot federal 150 gr loads for plinking at $9.00/box and I shoot the Fusions 150 gr. loads for the money shot.

The best advice I got from my gun dealer was to stay away from handgun loads for deer hunting. Side by side, the bigger case has more options,if you reload for conteder action and the bullets in .30 cal are for the most part designed for hunting.

P.S the kick is very comfortable, I can shoot this factory 150 gr load all day. I don't understand all the whining.

The 6.5 JDJ is about ideal for deer sized game. 120 grain bullets will expand properly at 6.5 JDJ velocities. Light recoil with a lot of power.

Dogman, I think I would go with the 445. I have a 10" 357Maximum barrel and have started shooting 38spl. and 357 magnum loaded with Contender load data. 357 magnum is pretty accurate out to 100 yards. I kinda have 3 barrels if you look at it from the caliber side. In the 445 you could shoot 44 spl. 44 mag. and turn it loose with the 445 supermag. Just my thoughts.

I have my own articles on my website about the .30 Herrett, 7-30 Waters, .375 Win as well as guest articles about the .30-30 and the .30-30AI. Go read them and make up your own mind.

I've taken mulies out to 350 yards with the .30 Herrett and 7-30 Waters. Rockchucks to the same distance with both. Have yet to fill a tag with the .375; I think that barrel has a secret game repeller inside it!

My recommendation? For the factory ammo shooter, the .30-30 hands down. For the reloader, the 7-30, again hands down. If you like to tinker, though, there are no flies on the .30 Herrett.

www.reloadingroom.com

i have thought about getting a contender chambered for .357 max so i could reload my own without getting new dies..... i'm wondering how it would perform in a carbine lenth barrel with jacketed bullets of course..............

My recommendation? For the factory ammo shooter, the .30-30 hands down. For the reloader, the 7-30, again hands down. If you like to tinker, though, there are no flies on the .30 Herrett.

www.reloadingroom.com

I guess for the reloader and those that like something a bit different and or like to tinker, my choice would be the .30-30 Ackley Improved. It really is quite an amazing round.

Larry

I think the 7-30 Waters is a good round in the contender.

If it hasn't been beaten into the ground by now. :rolleyes:

Best for what?

I really like my 6TCU for punching targets a few hundred yards away :)

I like my .223 for blasting away with cheap ammo at "various irregular" targets alongside my friends with their ARs :cool:

I dearly love my 7-30 for killing things out to 300 yards or so. (within reason) ;)

I like my 45-70 when I really want to throw a fireball and abuse my wrist :eek:

My .357, .41Mag and my .44Mag are fun for 25 - 50 yard offhand target shooting :o

If I were going to try to kill things larger than deer, I would probably buy a .375 JDJ, or perhaps a .338 JDJ. I'm unlikely to do this, so I haven't considered it much.

It really depends on what you want to do and what your definition of "Best" is. That is the blessing and the curse of the Contender platform. :p

I don't think you can beat a 30-30 loaded long with a 135gr spitzer over some IMR3031. Shoots very well out of a "Super 14" barrel and the Pachmyar furniture tames the recoil very well. I have an incredible trigger on mine which is a must for tight groups and the 2.5x7 TC scope on top of it all.

Dogman:
I live out here in Northern CA and hunt these small blacktails
and mulelys with a 10" heavy barrel Contender in 7mm TCU,I
have found that the 140gr Nosler Ballistic Silvertip moving at 2288 fps does a fine job out to 200yds.

If I was to draw a tag for the North Eastern part of the state,
where the big boys hang out I would use my 15" Encore .30-06, pushing the 150 gr Ballistic Silvertip at 2730 fps.

The little TCU is fun to shoot and doesn't have a lot of recoil
which the 06 does, its a hand full but I don't think its as bad as a .44 mag with heavy 300gr loads.

Both cartridges will do the job out to 200yds or more if you can do your part.

Good luck and have fun!

Techs at fox ridge outfitters like 10" 7mm-08 barrels they use for deer hunting they told me.

Hi , I humted with handguns only for over 12 years and I really liked the 44 mag in a 10 inch specifically using a LBT 300 grain LFN paperpatched bullet mold to cast bullets of pure lead.with 24 grains of win 296. great expansion with the pure lead no leading because of the paper patch and great penetration because of the 300 grain weight , I used a 2 power Leopold most of the time but occasionly a Tasco pro point. I figured a 44 mag was good for at least 150 yards with this combo using the load described above if I did my part.I have never hunted with the 14 inch but from what I gather from other peoples experiences either the 35 Rem or the 30-30 or the 7-30 waters are good out of this barrel length. BillyCraig

I find the 44X307 really hard to beat for use in the Contender. A little less recoil than the 444 Marlin but all the power and accuracy you could ever for out to a solid 200 yards.

A

It is really hard to pick just one.I have to make the choice everytime I go hunting.The 445 SM would be a good round in my opinion.I don't have one now but I am planning on getting another 44 mag barrel and ream it out to 445.The 7-30 and 30-30 are hard to beat on deer.

i use a 357max w200 gr rn w/10" t/c
worked well on anything i tried including imhsa
don't like 44mag barrel hits to hard on my side

My choices would go beyond 100 yds-7x30 Waters & 30-30AI