.30-30 in 10" Contender

[Machado]

Gentlemen:
I am an admirer of the .30-30 and have had very good results with this round fired from a 10" Contender at the 200-meter ram with 170-grain bullets. I reduce factory loads by 3 full grains to increase case life with no appreciable performance loss. Even so, case mortality is greater than I would like, and other shooters and myself are running low on .30-30 cases. Importing a replenishment supply is out of the question. I'm thinking about rechambering to .300 Herrett (based on the .308 case) or .300 Whisper (based on the .223 case), since brass is substantially available. Ideas, comments and/or suggestions?
Thank you,
Antonio

[AJMD429]

If brass 'importation' is that much of a hassle, I'd make the decision based entirely on component availability.

Either of the rounds you mention can be loaded in the pistol.

Also consider bullet availiability (including casting them yourself or buying lead vs. jacketed ones) and powder consumption.

Given those concerns, I think the .223-based round would have the edge due to using less powder. Both could use cast bullets as far as I know with equal ease. On the other hand, if .308 brass is more easily gotten than .223, I'd use that case.

What makes .30-30 'out of the question' - is it a law of some kind...?

[Pete44ru]

My only comment is that buying my first Contender (in the -70's) was entertaining.

It was a scoped 10" .30-30 with a T/C leather shoulder holster for $100 - bought from a local guy, walking around a gun show in New Hampshire with it.

It was cheap (and entertaining), because the seller had a huge (fresh) wound in the center of his forehead, from the front sight striking him in recoil, and he only wanted to get shut of it.

.

[Machado]

If brass 'importation' is that much of a hassle, I'd make the decision based entirely on component availability.

Either of the rounds you mention can be loaded in the pistol.

Also consider bullet availiability (including casting them yourself or buying lead vs. jacketed ones) and powder consumption.

Given those concerns, I think the .223-based round would have the edge due to using less powder. Both could use cast bullets as far as I know with equal ease. On the other hand, if .308 brass is more easily gotten than .223, I'd use that case.

What makes .30-30 'out of the question' - is it a law of some kind...?

Thank you, AJMD. I think I'll go with the Whisper. About importing components, our government has imposed such strict rules that make it next to impossible to obtain certain components, and our local manufacturer does not make .30-30 cases. Albeit legal, it is not a popular round in my country.
Pete44ru, one of the reasons I opt for the .30-30 in the 10" Contender is that it raps my knuckles a little less than my full-house .44 magnum loads. As a footnote, either of these calibers is way too much for anything that needs shooting down here.

[nemhed]

I am personally very interested in the 300 Whisper based on the research I've done on the subject, but mostly from the the stand point of using a heavy for caliber bullet at sub-sonic velocities out of a rifle. The cartridge also seems to have just as much potential as the 30-30 at higher velocities.

[Rusty]

I had a Contender Super 14 in .30-30 years ago that I shot at steel rams and such till they shut down our range. I used 150 grain bullets and 3031 powder with great effect. I also used a plain old Lee loader for all my reloading. I think case life was extended greatly by neck sizing only. The only problem I ever has was one time when I fired some Federal factory rounds in it that seemed to be too hot for the gun. I had problems primers flowing into the firing pin hole and the gun was hard to even break down.

It's been a while since I looked at the .300 Whisper but I wonder if it would have the velocity to knock down the rams.

[30hrrtt]

because of the length of the 30-30 brass, a rechamber in either will not work

if you can get a new barrel and 223 brass, the whisper would be good

[Machado]

I had a Contender Super 14 in .30-30 years ago that I shot at steel rams and such till they shut down our range. I used 150 grain bullets and 3031 powder with great effect. I also used a plain old Lee loader for all my reloading. I think case life was extended greatly by neck sizing only. The only problem I ever has was one time when I fired some Federal factory rounds in it that seemed to be too hot for the gun. I had problems primers flowing into the firing pin hole and the gun was hard to even break down.

It's been a while since I looked at the .300 Whisper but I wonder if it would have the velocity to knock down the rams.

I have the same problem you found with the Federal rounds. I also found that when I increased bullet weight to 170 gr the problem was minimized.
I'm not interested in the subsonic Whisper round. That's based on the .221 Fireball case. I intend to load the .223 case to the gills and use a 170 grain spire point soft nose bullet.
Antonio

[Machado]

because of the length of the 30-30 brass, a rechamber in either will not work

if you can get a new barrel and 223 brass, the whisper would be good

First we drill out the .30-30 chamber. I'll have a .223/30 chamber insert made in exactly the same dimensions of the drilled out chamber. Freeze the insert, heat the barrel, put the insert in, let them come back to room temperature and pronto, a free-bore Whisper chamber. Friends have done that for the .30 M1 carbine. Loud, ineffectual and laborious.
I've been thinking about reaming the chamber to .308 and load the cases down to .30-30 specs, but that will be an accident waiting to happen. Maybe I could push the .308 case shoulder a hair back so a full-house .308 won't find its way there??
Antonio

[Dave]

Sometimes you just have to do with what you can get. If 308 is common you may have to be happy with 308. Do you neck size your cases or full length resize? Seems like they would last a long time neck sizing. Why can't 30-30 cases he had in your area?

[Machado]

Sometimes you just have to do with what you can get. If 308 is common you may have to be happy with 308. Do you neck size your cases or full length resize? Seems like they would last a long time neck sizing. Why can't 30-30 cases he had in your area?

Dave,
I hand de-prime fired cases then full-length resize them using the RCBS X-die, then tumble them for four hours in ground walnut and corncob medium soaked in refined kerosene, then put them under the sun for a couple of hours to evaporate all kerosene residue before checking for defects. The end product is almost too pretty to shoot.
I'm insisting on the .30 caliber because of the heavy-for-caliber bullet I can use that gives me what I want out of a short barrel. I also have .223, .357, .45 LC, .44 mag, 7mm TCU and .444 barrels but find the .30-30 the most enjoyable. The latter two are 14" tubes, and I classify them as "chopped rifles" and not handgun barrels. The .444 is intended for sporting gentlemen only slightly less substantial than the Incredible Hulk.
Recent trade agreements between Brazil and the US have made it very difficult to import certain components. Cases are among them.