Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 7-30 Waters

I have read about this caliber and like what I read. Why is it not more popular? Was it ever chambered in a bolt action? So far, looks like I will have to get a new barrel for the Encore if I want one....not a lever man. Thanks

I have a Contender carbine in 7-30.. It's the perfect contender cal. In a bolt action it won't do the things a 7-08,7x57,280 or 7 rem mag will but in a light carbine it will fit a Contender & none of the above will. If I was going encore I'd go 7-08.

Welcome to the campfire 101guns.

The 7-30 Waters was developed to try and get a flatter shooting cartridge into a lever action. It's just a .30 WCF necked down to 7mm. I don't know of any bolt action ever being chambered for it.

There really isn't any other niche for this cartridge. If you want a bolt gun that shoots a 7mm in a similar velocity get a 7mm-08. With the same bullet wieght the 7mm-08 gets about 250fps faster.

If you gotta have a 7-30 Waters go for it. I don't know of any major ammo companies loading for it though. And your probaly gonna have to make your own brass for relaoding. If you don't reload I'd drop the whole idea.

I can see no advantage in getting a 7-30 Waters in anything but a lever action. If you don't like levers though you probaly won't like good advice either. Holding a nice lever gun is like holding a pretty girl. Damn sexy rifles.

Good luck.

As big a fan of the 7-30 Waters as I am, I'd have to agree that the 7-08 would be a better choice for the Encore.

But in a Contender (pistol or carbine) or in a lever rifle, it's just about THE perfect deer cartridge out to 200 yards or a bit more. Actually, I've dumped deer at 300 with the 7-30 from a 14" Contender, and it was a bang-flop. But - I'll also admit that I was straining that barrel a good bit.

I guess my love for the bolt and sing shots has clouded my willingness to try the levers....but then again, I get chocolate at baskin robbins EVERY time because I know I like it. I already have the 08 in a Browning A Bolt. I have several .243, 6mm, 6.5x55, 7.62 mini-mauser,.260, etc. I love to hunt, but I am not a magnum man. I tend to buy guns that I can let my kids shoot with me...currently looking for the waters, 250 savage (bolt too), etc. I recently picked up a full-stocked H&R .30-.30 that I am going to load with the reduced recoil load. It's stock is cut down to 12.5 inches. Anyway, I will probably do like Rocky and look for one in a TC. Thanks all...I'm enjoying the site.

My buddy had one in a single shot that he used for his son's first couple of deer hunts. I don't know if it was a TC or a Mossberg. Right there with the 250 Savage as the perfect youth caliber.

At an NRA convention in Seattle, my friend Dick Pelton (former Winchester hand who'd honchoed the formation of U S Repeating Arms [USRAC] and acquistion of the New Heven plant) asked me whether I'd designed any rimmed cartridges. I hadn't.

He said that USRAC wanted to introduce a new cartridge in the Big Bore '94.

Ken Waters had wildcatted the 7mm-.30-30 quite some time earlier, so I recommended that Dick get in touch with Ken ASAP.

Next I heard was that USRAC would make the rifles, and Federal would load the ammo.

Dick has gone on to other gun companies, USRAC has changed hands a couple of times or more, and Ken Waters (if he's still alive) doesn't write articles any more. Tempus sho' do fugit and change things as we know 'em!

And the 7-30 Waters has proved itself to be all that Ken, Dick, and I expected it to be � a superb lever-action cartridge for deer. (It's nice to be able to look back at some of the little things in our past that have worked-out as well as we'd hoped that they would!)

Its a shame Marlin didn't join in with a 22" 336.
I think Winchester needed the 24" barrel to hit 2,700 fps.

Actually, the 7-30 Waters was developed as an alternative to re-barrel burnt out 30-30's and its not just a necked down 30-30, its shoulder is moved forward and there's less body taper. This info is from Ken himself, Winchester heard of the idea and built some 94's in the chambering.

I belive there is one or two factory loads left and two bullets a 120gr flat nose and 139gr Hornady FN and brass can easily be formed from 30-30 brass, so the Waters is not dead.

If i was going to set up a youngster it would be on a .243 win, theres tons of factory loads and its a light recoiling, flat shooting and accurate cartridge.

With that said i have been looking for a 94 in the 7-30 and they are almost impossible to find so people are holding on to em for dear life!

The 7x30 Waters is paired with the .30-30 Win. as one of the two cartridges that are considered at best short-range deer rounds in a rifle, and good for 250 yards and about any non-dangerous game in a scoped handgun.

JB

I have a custom Savage 99 rebarreled to the 7-30.

Back when I had a TC Contender carbine in 7-30, maybe 18 years ago, the sole factory load was Federal Premium w/ a 120 grain flat point bullet. To the best of my knowledge they're the only mfg that has evey offered ammo in 7-30. Mine was just about too light, paired w/ a Leup 1.5-5x20 scope, thus the reason I traded it. I always thought it'd be perfect beginner/youth gun but in my hands, at least, the factory 21" barrel just didn't balance well.

I had the same situation with a Contender carbine in 25-35 Win.
It had a 18" barrel, it was super cool to tote but hard to shoot due to its light weight.

I bought a stainless Marlin 336 a few years ago along with a 100 pieces of nickel plated Federal brass in 7-30 Waters.
My plans was to send the Marlin to Z-hat custom guns for a barrel swap. I ended up trading the Marlin away. Sure wish I would have built that Waters........

Heck I wonted a 7-30 so bad I loaded my 7mm-08 with Nosler 120gr. FP solid base to 2,700 fps to try out. Sweat shooting little load.

I've had a couple of Winchester 94's (24" barrel) chambered in 7x30 Waters slip through my hands in the past 20 years. The first I bought used, though it looked like new, in a Connecticut gun shop in 1987. I didn't get to hunt w/it until 1990 and shot my first deer, a nice 9 point, with it in SW Tennessee. I loaded the Nosler 120 gr FP over AA2230. A year later I sold the gun (stupid) and picked another one up in 2002 which I also sold (even stupider) thinking I could always get another. I haven't seen one for sale since, but have gotten a Contender Carbine for my son chambered in 7x30 and he'll have it this year for his first deer hunt.

If you can't find Federal brass, 30-30 works great...just neck it down and fireform. The powder that had worked the best for me w/regards to accuracy and velocity was Norma 202. Federal still loads for it though the bullet has switched from a Nosler to a Sierra BTSP FN.

I was thinking about the Contender carbine 7-30 just the other day. It looks like my little girl is going to be a lefty and I figured it would be an easy first deer rifle when paired with a cut-down stock and a .223 barrel for practicing and plinking. I know the length, LOP,and chambering are the main concerns when picking a gun for a small child, but people often forget about weight. I've seen 10-11 year old girls have a hard time shooting an 7-8lb rifle offhand just because of the muscle effort it takes to keep a standard weight rifle stable and on target.

That is what I did.

Started three grandkids that way. A Contender with a 16 1/4" 223 barrel is light enough for even a small eight year old. Be carefull, I now have three pistol barrels and two rifle barrels. Planning another rifle barrel, a custom 223!

Got a 7GNR rifle barrel that I have yet to shoot. The 7GNR is an improved 7-30 Waters. In the 25" barrel I have, it should get close to 2700 with a 120NBT. This one is mine for deer season this year.

If you have never worked with a Contender, there are a few things that will help. First relieve the forend around the barrel and where it touches the frame. You can use a rubber washer on the studs to help float the barrel. When you are shooting off bags, keep the front bag close to the front of the action. Also the G2 is better for a young shooter because it can be uncocked and recocked without opening the action like is required with the older Contender actions.

I have both G1 & G2 frames, the G2 carbine is better because The 23" barrel can be held off hand while with the 21" ist thing you have to look for a rest. The forend on the g2 is also much better, luckily you can use these components on both frames, 1 of my g1's has a Georgia Jim Eracer forend which fits 21" & 23" barrels. Now if Boyds would make a laminated g2 stock set. Ed Brown stocks 7-30 brass made from 30-30 brass & Coyte arms made from 375 brass.

Last fall for the first time I ran across someone shooting a 7-30 Waters. Went on a hunt with some of my son-in-laws family and the guy with the 7-30 was a friend of theirs. He was in his mid-70s and apparently had had the gun for many years. He missed one shot in the thick brush so I didn't get to see how effective it was at bringing a deer down. Maybe I will have another chance to see it in action this fall.
I can appreciate the idea of using a lighter recoiling load. For my hunt last fall I used my 30/06 loaded with a 170 grain flat nose over about 41 or 42 grains of H-4895. Figured it would be like a 30-30 improved. Unfortunately I didn't get a shot with it so didn't have a chance to check it out either. My only deer was taken with my muzzleloader.

Where did you find that, Chrome?

I bought the brass several years ago from either Grafs or Midway. (Now its almost impossible to find). I stocked up on all the 7mm flat point bullets as well - Hornady 139 gr. FP, Nosler 120 gr. FP, and the Speer 130 gr. FP.

Since the invention of the Hornady LEVERevolution 160 gr. 30-30 ammo it sort of covered the ballistic advantage of the Waters over the 30-30 Win.

How bout a Marlin 336 Stainless chambered in 7-30 Waters firing a soft ballistic tipped Hornady 120 gr. LEVERevolution ammo ?
I'd buy one........