# 7-30 vs .30-30 vs .35 Contenders



## Jason280 (Jan 25, 2010)

So, which would you pick in a 14" Contender?  The 7-30 will likely have the better ballistics and least recoil, but brass can be an issue.  The .35 certainly offers heavier bullets, but how much of an advantage will it be over a .30-30 in a 14" non-ported barrel?


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## srtgr8 (Jan 25, 2010)

i shoot 30-30  in a 14 inch ported barrel with125 grain ballistic tips usally drops them  quick.


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## HandgunHTR (Jan 26, 2010)

I have a 7-30 and it is a dream to shoot.  It is the ported version (which I don't particularly care for because of the noise).

With 120 Nosler BTs or 120 grain Sierra SPs, I am getting right around 1" at 100 yards and velocity is very good.  Ballisticly speaking, you will get more velocity and better downrange punch with the light-heavy 7mm bullets than you will with the lighter bullets out of the 30-30.  Bullet availability is better than the .30 caliber stuff right now too, but that may change soon.  As for brass availability, 7-30 brass can be very easily made from 30-30 brass.  Just run it into a FL sizer and fireform.

That being said, my next barrel will be a 30-30AI.  The only reason is that I already have 4 7mm barrels between my Contenders and my Encore.  I only have one 30 cal and that is a 30-20 (32-20) Contender barrel.

I didn't mention the .35 Rem because I don't have a lot of experience with it.  However I would say that you won't gain a whole lot with the .35 except for more recoil.  Big, slow bullets do work though.


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## frankwright (Jan 26, 2010)

I have had the 7-30 for six or seven years and it will put a deer down. It is capable of really great accuracy with handloaded ammo.

That is the rub, if you reload go with the 7-30, brass is not hard to find, I have bought all mine commercially and have never had to fireform my own.
If you don't reload the 30/30 would work just fine.


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## Razor Blade (Jan 26, 2010)

I have had the 35 , its a good deer and bear round , but its just more than you need . The 7-30 or the 30/30 would be better , just my opinion . I now have the 14 inch 30/30 with a muzzle break, loud , but not unbearable , just use plugs in the ears . I reload but you can find 30/30 anywhere . Just no need to load them unless you want something special . Scott


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## Jason280 (Jan 26, 2010)

Right now, I have a 7-30 and a .30-30, both in 14" non ported barrels. I am thinking seriously about simply sticking with the .30-30 and having it reamed to AI, as I have a set of RCBS dies collecting dust on the shelf.  That way, I can still shoot .30-30 in a pinch.  On;y question is, how much actual velocity can you gain with the AI in a 14" barrel over the standard?


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## HandgunHTR (Jan 26, 2010)

You can pick up about 200fps with the AI.

For most that wouldn't be worth it, but if you are looking to eek every last inch out of it, then AI is the way to go.


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## Ole Georgia Jim (Jan 26, 2010)

I tell ya Jason it would be hard to go wrong with any of those three. I have hunted with and shot deer with all three. The first 8 deer I killed with a handgun was with a 35 and it was a positive deer getter. The old 30/30 also worked well on deer. Now days my main go to round in a Contender is the 7/30 (got three of them LOL) but, I believe it's at it's best if you reload. My longest deer handgun kill to date was with the 7/30 this past season (200 yards). I guess the 7/30 is my favorite in a Contender but, like I said don't think you could go wrong with the other two.  James


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## Bernard goldsmith (Jan 26, 2010)

30-30 here!! The deer i got last week with it didn't know what hit him! 35yds open sights!  running!!


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## barnabus (Jan 26, 2010)

That is the rub, if you reload go with the 7-30, brass is not hard to find, I have bought all mine commercially and have never had to fireform my own.
If you don't reload the 30/30 would work just fine. 


x2


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## Eddy M. (Jan 26, 2010)

I have a 7X30 14" with M-brake ---- WAY TOO loud but VERY accurate --35 Remington  14" Very accurate and recoil is not bad------------- like them both  short range 35 long range 7X30 ---------------- but really in pistol range either would work for me unless I'm in a place where I NEED a long range gun


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## bowhntr (Feb 7, 2010)

My first Contender round was the 30-30 25+ years ago , I got a load from a guy in Michigan back then and it was lights out for any thing I shot. I'm on my 4th& 5th Contenders now and dont have the 30-30 but I load for my buddies 30-30 10" Contender, I have a 15" 7-30 Waters MGM barrel and it is deadly out to 300yds w/ 120gr BT and Varget . When I bought my first 7-30 I found 200 new 30-30 brass at a gun show for $10 this is what I form all of my 7-30 with . All you have to have is a set of 7-30 dies and some cheep bullets , you can neck them down in one stroke of the press then find a load to use for fire-forming the brass . There are lots of powders available for the 7-30 and a couple come to mind , Win 748 and Varget have worked the best for me. I have been reloading 25+ years now I have 3 presses at present , you can buy a cheep Lee single stage press and a Lee loading manual for under $50 bucks to get you started or buy the Lee anniversary package for around $200 and have everything you need to start some serious loading. I have bought a lot of die sets off of E-bay for very little money and have duplicates of some because they were so cheep. If you know somebody who reloads ask them for some help. Its all how bad you want to do something that gives you the drive to try!!!!!


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## RLFaler (Feb 8, 2010)

.35 Remington for me. Simply because its a little less common, but I don't take shots futher than 100 yrs generally. Also, it is a little nostalgic.


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