T/C Contender: Best caliber/barrel for deer??
Yes, I have been bitten by the T/C Contender bug.
I have an ORIGINAL model in stainless steel, and am gathering some barrels. Biggest I have so far is a .45LC/410gauge in a pistol barrel.
I have been getting some e-mail from Midway and other places with specials on Contender barrels. But many are in "wildcat" non-standard calibers. Trying to decipher what to buy.
Already, plans are being made for next year hunting forages using the T/C Contender. So I am gathering "facts", not fiction about what barrel/s and calibers to use for 25 - 75 yards use on white-tails. I want to use "carbine" length barrels, hopefully in a "factory" manufactured caliber that ammo can be found easily enough over the counter without having to re-load. (Although I will re-load them anyway later) Some info on "pistol" lenght barrels for the same purpose will also be appreciated.
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"If it ain't broke, fix it anyway... make it better!" (RadCat)
I have an ORIGINAL model in stainless steel, and am gathering some barrels. Biggest I have so far is a .45LC/410gauge in a pistol barrel.
I have been getting some e-mail from Midway and other places with specials on Contender barrels. But many are in "wildcat" non-standard calibers. Trying to decipher what to buy.
Already, plans are being made for next year hunting forages using the T/C Contender. So I am gathering "facts", not fiction about what barrel/s and calibers to use for 25 - 75 yards use on white-tails. I want to use "carbine" length barrels, hopefully in a "factory" manufactured caliber that ammo can be found easily enough over the counter without having to re-load. (Although I will re-load them anyway later) Some info on "pistol" lenght barrels for the same purpose will also be appreciated.
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"If it ain't broke, fix it anyway... make it better!" (RadCat)
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Best deer hunting T/C Contender setup I had was the .35 Rem in a 16" bbl. Seemed to knock whitetails head over heels under 100 yds.
Keep off the Ridgeline0 -
7-30 Waters. [^] 0 -
45/70, 30/30, .35 Rem & .357 Max (The last may not be easy to find anymore.) 0 -
quote:Originally posted by gruntled
45/70, 30/30, .35 Rem & .357 Max (The last may not be easy to find anymore.)
I am getting a 45-70 barrel anyway, but it is not what i really want to use for deer. So far I have checked the data for the 35 Remington and 7-30 Waters, and the 7-30 Waters is winning...
I really wonder how it feels to shoot the 7-30 Waters in a 14" (pistol grips) barrel, versus the same in a 16" (carbine) with the shoulder stock?
The 35 Remington will handle heavier bullets, but I wonder about the recoil and the cartridges availability.
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"If it ain't broke, fix it anyway... make it better!" (RadCat)0 -
35 Remington or 45-70. I haven't seen any of the 7-30 Waters ammo available over the counter yet, so I don't really consider it for hunting. 0 -
I have used the 35Rem with handloads out to 160yds on whitetails.
This is out of a 12 inch ported barrel. 2000 fps with a Hornady 180SSP bullet. This bullet designed for use in a pistol.
Retired Air Force Msgt--NRA Life Member since 19710 -
I have the 7-30 Waters in a 21" barrel , my son used it the first year he went deer hunting , he was 12 at the time , had no problems with recoil,and no its not for sale [:D]
I had a 12 or 14"(don't remember which ) non ported 35 rem barrel, that thing was not fun to shoot , it wnet byby
you may want to take a look at the 7mm TCU , no factory ammo for it but its a 223 necked up to 7mm , very fun cal0 -
7-30 ammo is a little spotty at times. The best caliber for deer will be the
30/30 Winchester, it will do all that needs done out to a couple hundred plus yards. When you get to reloading it is where it really starts to shine.
A few friends use it with the 125 Ballistic Tip when they reload it, if they use factory it's always 150 grain.
It's awesome in a 14" pistol too.
Years back folks had a hard time with the 35 Rem going off in the TC's, and not many good bullets for it either.
Gun control is hitting what your aiming at.0 -
Things are slowly forming an image in my brain. But some of the data I'm getting bears some thought.
Looking at the potential of a cartridge is nice, but when confronted with the pressure limitations put on the "original" Contender, it becomes a different reality.
I have some barrels already. .22LR, 357Mag.,45LC/410. I know I am interested in the .223 Rem and the 45-70, and intend to get these two anyway, in addition to the subject of discussion here.
But herein lyes the dilemma. My favorite rifle caliber has always been the .30 caliber because of the great variety of bullets weights and shapes available, more than any other. Here I am limited by the 40,000 - 42,000 PSI's allowed into the Contender.
The barrels I have all fall within those pressures. But take the .223 Remington, which I hear is "popular" among Contender shooters. Factory pressures for the .223 Remington are listed as 55,000. Most people I know do not reload this round because it can be purchased very cheaply. (Even cheaper if you use Wolff ammo [:D][xx(][xx(]) So, what's going on? Can you, or can you not fire "factory" .223 Remington in a Contender?
And on to the subject here. I never really liked the 30-30 Winchester, and always considered it "underpowered" for deer, even though it has taken legions of deer down. Being primarily used in lever action rifles I can understand this, and its operating pressure is listed at 42,000 which is at the maximum "factory" loading offerings. So where does that leave me for the "handloading" advantage? Just the shape of the bullets? That is why I was thinking of the 7-30 Waters since it is based in the case and pressures of the 30-30 Win. Frankly, other than the ballistic coeficient in favor of the .284 diameter of the 7-30 Waters, the 30-30 would/should have it beat, but only if you could match the speeds?
So, the jury is still out looking for more input from you guys. [:D][:D][:D][8D][8D][;)]
And while you are at it. Can you shed some light on this .223 Remington "pressure" issue? [?]
Thank's.
Venry, (RadCat)
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"If it ain't broke, fix it anyway... make it better!" (RadCat)0 -
I ahve always liked the idea of a small diameter projectile that has all kinds of bearing surface...6.5 and 7mm being my favorites. With the given weight of the respective bullets, I think the relatively larger area allowed for a BT or hollowpoint cavity in the long 7mm's makes for a better pill downrange. Add to that the 7-30 Waters is about 2 inches flatter (within your wiasely prescribed 42,000CUP limit) at 100 yards and I think, regardless of the trouble of forming brass, you get a better 200 yard deer cartridge. At this point I would like to commnend you on the restraint you show in your reloading practices; all should take note!!! It's easy to soup up you're 30-30, but difficult to remove that bolt from your forehead!!!
"When I cease learning...I'm dead"(Me)
"When I was 14 I used to marvel at how ignorant my old man was...by the time I was 21 I was truelly amazed at how much the old bugger had learned in the intervening 7 years!" Samuel Clemens
"History is written by winners"(Patton)
"You get a lot farther with a kind word and a gun than you do with a kind word alone!"(Al Capone)
"There is nothing lower than the human race...except the French" (Samuel Clemens)0 -
if you happen to decide on a 30-30 (21")or a 35 rem barrel(16") , drop me a line 0
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