Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Single Shots 30-30 T/C Contender Purchase

This might be of more interest to Canadians, but the story is interesting enough to post.

For years I've wanted a No. 1 in 30-30, but as most of you know, they aren't easy to find. Even harder in Canada.

Last week, in a moment of weakness, I ordered a G2 Contender through an importer (no No. 1s available). $456 US. Contenders are not popular in Canada because of the importation problems that resulted after 9/11.

So far, the company that I ordered from has been very attentive and have kept me informed on the progress of the shipment. They do all the paperwork. You just supply your information. For Canadians, that's your PAL (Possession/Acquisition License No.) and mailing info.

They ship once a month to Canada, so it won't be leaving to come up until the middle of next month.

I will post the company's name should everything go smoothly.

I asked about a 30-30 barrel. They are restocking and told me that they should be available next month. With a little luck, both will be shipped together.

I have a box of various pointed 308 bullets that originally were destined for an H&R SS, but for whatever reason, was a piece of [bleep].

The older I get, the more difficult it is getting to make a simple purchase - a box of bullets or a rifle. The bottom line is, I won't be shooting it until late June or even July. Silly.

Clearly you should have done more research before deciding where to be born.

The G2 .30/30 is a neat idea, one I've considered off and on over the years. The last test I read said the triggers are running a little heavy now, so you might want to look around for someone to tweak it if that proves to be the case. The two I had a while back, both handguns I bought used, were fine, but that was pre-S&W.

Keep us posted.

I have an original 1st Gen Contender to which I fitted a 23" carbine barrel, and found a Bishop thumbhole stock for it.



It's quite accurate, though stiff to open. At some point I need to give it to someone who knows how to fit locking lugs, and get it to where it opens more easily. I really should refinish the stocks too, so they match.

The Bishop thumbholes are long out of production, but work very well, IMO. I like them more than any of TC's carbine stocks.

One of these days I may take one of the current Miroku Low Walls, and have it rebarreled to .30-30. Think that would be just about perfect for that round, maybe even a bit nicer than a Ruger #1

I have a couple of Nikon scopes sitting here. I'll pick one. Probably the 2-7. Hoping the transaction goes smoothly.

Unless I get lucky, I'll have to be content with the Contender. I sure hope it shoots 2 in @ 100yd without fiddling too much.

I'd bet it will easily beat 2" at 100

Anything less than that is gravy. That's all I ever hope for, except for some of my specialty rifles.

Had a 10" TC in college. Routinely shot 1.5" for 3 shots at 100 yds

I have a group I fired at 50 yds using factory 150 CL. The group is literally one SMALL hole. A cloverleaf IIRC < .2. C-t-C using a 2x EER

They will amaze you.

Sounds to me like your needing an "Easy Open" mod done on that old piece. Bullberry is your friend.

Have a variety of barrels for the Contender, all rifle length pipes. First was a 22" .30-30 and it shoots so well it's boring. Pretty much doesn't care what bullet I put in it, they run fine.

Thanks, yeah, T/C used to offer the Easy Open Mod as well in their custom shop, but S&W torpedoed that deal

I should see what other sort of interesting cartridge BB could make for a Contender

Smilin' here....they built the .30 Sneezer....

I don't have any target pics handy for the .30-30 but it is a sub MOA shooter. My other barrel has a .22 short match chamber. Target below followed a serious barrel cleaning in numerical sequence using the red dot sight. CCI CB shorts zeroed for pigs. It runs 1/2" for 5 at 50 yards with the CB's and CCI HVHP shorts. That barrel has slain over 100 wild hogs.



The Sneezer at 50 yards with a red dot sight;



And these bullets; 30:1 183 grains.



I'm considering the purchase of a .25-20 Win barrel just for chitts'n grins. I suspect I might wind up with a Hornet barrel at some point as well.

It would be nice to get a 22Hornet barrel. It's a favourite of mine. Here in rural Onterrible, tis the bees knees for a sorts of critters around the place.

Had a 12" Hornet barrel. Loud little bugger. My son, who tested all kinds of used guns by shooting into a snail, still talks about the noise that thing made. Only one worse was a braked .350 RM that blew the rubber gasket off the snail. Plugs and muffs required!

Have you ever tried a 10 inch .221 Fireball? Huge fireball and lots of noise.

I don't know about the rest, but I have a couple of 222 Rems. Never saw a need for a .221. Mind you, I might have better luck with that cartridge than I did with my Hornets.

I have a Contender in the AA plated version in .30-30, with a 14' barrel and really nice wood. Never really warmed up to it in that caliber. After discussions with Mike Bellm, he has it in his shop now to re-chamber it to .30-30 AI, says he's sure I'll like it better.

Mike

My favourite cartridges are rimmed and they need nice lines when I'm looking at them in silhouette. The 30-30 has those lines. I hope you enjoy your improved 30-30.

No matter which cartridge is used, we need to have confidence that it will work for us. For me, some of that confidence is visual. The cartridge must be appealing to my eye. The Contender itself is an attractive piece as well. If it wasn't so cost prohibitive, I would own more No.1s, and chamber them in any calibres that appealed to me. I am hopeful that the Contender will scratch that itch.

A small update. I couldn't find a mount or rail in Canada for the Contender, so I asked Jerry Teo of Mystic Precision to order one in for me. The Canadians might know him. He serves competition shooters and that's where I have got a couple of my rifle barrels and other hardware. I have three new scopes on the shelf here, but only one 2-7. So that's what I'll be using. It's a Burris Fullfield 2-7x35 and Warne rings.

Silly as it sounds, the only thing left to get is the barrel!

Might want to call him back and have him order a couple more. Very few Contender jockeys are happy with just one barrel.😁

I already have a list.

I have to clear out some project and test rifles and free up a couple thou to complete this purchase and some other things. I need lead and gas checks for a few cals. I also have to finish with my 30-303.

I managed to find an importer for MGM barrels up here. I have ordered the 30-30 barrel.

It's a shocker when you pay in Canuckian dinars for goods out of the US. With shipping, import fees and taxes, the order comes to $775 CDN. Divide that by 1.4 (exchange) and you get $553 USD. So, a quick tally goes something like this: All figures in CDN Dinars (Alms! Alms! I'll break your Alms!)

action $650
barrel $775
scope $225
base and rings $100

Total - $1750 (I coulda bought a No 1 )

But going forward, it will be cheaper. The import fees and the weak dinar make it 'spensive. The importer tells me about three months before I have it in my hands. August, I guess.

So, everything is complete. I just have to wait now.

Anyone shoot a 218 bee carbine in a contender?
If so, how is effectiveness and accuracy?

I've thought the same thing. Will likely scratch the itch with a .223 barrel and then download it to Hornet and .22 mag velocities.

Whatever floats your boat.

Everything is now been ordered.

For any Cdns that wish to order a new Contender, you will have to go through an importer. Encores are easier to buy. Cabelas, Bass Pro and others carry this frame.

Once the transaction is complete, I will post the barrel i.porters name and address.

Steve, can you legally send a firearm to the US for repair? I don't know import/export law between the US and CA. Anyway, if you can, Mike Bellm is the man who can make a TC Contender run like a champ. He also sells kits that you can do your own trigger job, should you be inclined. He's a bit eccentric but really knows his stuff.
http://www.bellmtcs.com/store/

Most firearms up here have authorized repair facilities. I know Mike won't accept work from outside the US. I assume that if it is shipped to an ffl, he would though. I don't know how much an ffl holder would charge for that.

I know the shop now has an FFL so guns can be shipped directly to it but that may not address the international situation.

I guess the best way would be for me to call or email him and ask.

I know that he does sell some items up north. I just bought a dial indicator for headspace from him. That wasn't an issue. WRT sending a receiver to the US, it's definitely been a big issue since 9/11. In Canada, we have always been able to ship firearms via the mail. No special concerns. Shipping south has to be handled differently.

I got the phone call this afternoon from the importer. They have mailed the receiver. Should be Wed or Thurs next week. Now it's just waiting on MGM for the barrel.

That's an exciting call. I'm sure the MGM barrel won't be too far behind. What are you doing for stock set, does your frame come with a set?

I only bought the frame. The 30-30 barrel was a separate order. Once I know that things work smoothly from MGM to Canada, I'll order a 6x45mm.

I might be needing a 6x45 myself, seeing as how I can't seem to resist bargain .243 bullets, despite having way more than enough to smoke the barrel of my new Ruger, as yet unfired.

I didn't grow up during the Depression, but sometimes it's hard to tell.😛

I know what you mean. Sometimes I wish that I would buy enough of a particular bullet brand and style that I could never run out.

I have a 243 Winchester bolt that loves 80 gr. Rem PSP bulk bullets. I bought 1000 of them some years back. I have probably less than 200 left. Remington doesn't sell them anymore as a bulk item, so I'll have to search for a substitute. Knock 'em dead coyote bullets.

I'd be checking on the throat of that 6x45mm barrel. I don't like to crowd the body of the case with the bullet heel, and you're getting there with 80+ grain bullets in a 6x45mm. 80 grain Partitions are as much as I want to go.

The frame arrived today. No issues and no rough handling.

It was ordered on 18 Apr, so it took 6 weeks to arrive. I've no problem with that at all. The process was simple and the company handled all the paperwork. Beside firearms, they can also import firearms accessories. The link has all the necessary steps to make a purchase in the US and import into Canada.

https://www.irunguns.us

One tiny detail that everyone should find laughable.

I registered the Contender for warranty. There wasn't much in the box, just the frame, foreend and two screws. I wondered about the hinge pin. This was my first Contender. Maybe they ship a hinge pin with the barrel.

I emailed T/C and asked. They were very prompt to respond. No, the fellow said, there should be one in the box.

Here's the silly part. The hinge pin attaches the barrel to the frame. Therefore, it falls under a part of the US export regs that controls firearms parts. In short, it cannot be sent to me directly.

The Cdn warranty centre here has to get it and they will forward the pin to me.

Glad I didn't have a barrel!

Same thing happened to me. Then when I got a pin it didn't matter anyway because a barrel wouldn't fit. Tc.eventually sent a whole new frame

You're scaring me.

Dang, Dude, you just can't catch a break.

Musta really pissed off the Karma Fairy at some point.

With the exception of Ruger No1s, every single shot rifle I've owned hates me, I swear.

So I decided to do something that few people do. I am going to take an inexpensive Savage Axis, put a Shilen select match grade barrel on it, in the original contour, and make a walk around varmint 6x45mm with it. What does that have to do with single shots? I was going to buy a Contender 6x45mm barrel, but I'm getting skittish.

Didn't mean to dissuade you. I think the contenders are great. I just had bad luck

No worries.

It sounds like BS, but I've had a number of single shot rifles over the years and they were plagued with problems. Most were H&R, but I did have a couple of Rossis, one Browning and two Ruger No1s. I posted here about a few of them.

As I said in an earlier post, never a lick of problems with my No 1s, but the rest! I must have got some bad ones that slipped past the QC inspectors. Mounting holes not threaded on one. Improper lock up in another. An internal problem with the transfer bar in a third. All problems were unrelated to ammunition.

I had a 30-30 H&R go through two scopes, and never figured out why. I wrote it off to bad luck. Ditched that one quickly! I also shot my chronograph with that same rifle.

If there is a saint for single shot rifles, he's POed with me over something.

You can't make this stuff up.

I bought a dial indicator from Kurt Bellm and it was delivered to a town 90 miles away. Different postal code. Different address. I talked to the post office about this, but haven't heard back. Kurt has been very gracious. He was going to send another indicator out, but I want to wait until net week. Give the post office a chance to locate and reroute it (if possible).



P.S. The hinge pin is now on the way from the Cdn distributor.

No dial indicator. The Canadian post office must have given it to one of their friends. Order cancelled. Hinge pin has arrived. Now waiting on MGM barrel. Will probably be another month.

I am quite a fan of our northerly neighbors, but that is a wee bit insane game you are playing to get a Contender and 30-30 barrel.

Yes, it sure is.

This is a classic, "you know you're getting old when..." situation. One of the unintended consequencies of 9/11.

I just hope all the pieces fall into place before you go under or start drooling in your oatmeal.

The rest of us are pretty heavily emotionally invested in this business and need some closure.😛

Would it be possible to get a PO Box at a UPS store in Buffalo NY and just have barreled shipped there? There is no paperwork on this side of the border for the barrel. The receiver has the serial number.

Yes, it's possible, but barrels are controlled goods when crossing borders. We don't need any paperwork for shipping barrels from a store to a customer on this side of the border either. If I carried a barrel across the border without declaring it, they would be pumping sunshine to me for a few years, No worries. We have an importer here, so barrels aren't a problem. He does the paperwork.

Crazy what happened during/after 9/11. People got killed. The towers went down. And the resulting legislation put a cramp on what used to be regular commerce.

Dumbazz me sold a barrel to a guy in Canada, little did I know that even to sell parts I needed an export license.

Barrel got seized in Chicago and now they want the "estimated" value of $200 for me to get it back. I just told them they could keep it, I only sold it for $150 and paid $46 in shipping so a net of $100 and you want me to pay $200 to get it back?? No thanks you can keep it.

Cannot believe how ridiculous things are.

I had done a little bit of research before I agreed to ship it and must not have seen anything that says any parts are required to be shipped by a licensed exporter.

And the thing is, barrels are serialized n either side of the border. They're just metal tubes. The minute a border comes into the picture, the game changes.

I hope that things get back to normal, but I fear that they will only get worse.

We humans are a strange lot sometimes, eh? Make up rules and such out of fear........................ or the need to make up new rules. Perhaps the old rules weren't being broken enough?

And to think they attacked on 9/11 with planes..........................not Contender parts.

Makes sense to me... NOT!

I hope it all works out eventually and you get your nice 30/30 single shot Steve. Best of luck up there in Canukian land.

Geno

Thanks. It will work out. I have everything but the barrel, and that isn't due here until the end of next month or the beginning of August.

It was dem Canukian pilots that's causing the uproar.......

I think our pilots are safe, unless they are tasked to bomb some bad men in the ME. The media up here is as bad as CNN.

This is definitely off topic, but our baby PM is catching hell from the left leaners about our sniping. If you are not aware of what happened a few weeks ago, one of our snipers tagged an ISIS member from a little over 2 miles away.

I don't think my Contender can manage a shot like this.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-sniper-shot-iraq-1.4179825

https://www.vox.com/world/2017/6/25/15863472/canada-sniper-record-two-miles-isis-iraq

Yea , I was just joshing about the pilots.

Not being able to send parts across the border has really reduced the terror attacks.....note sarcasm.

Your Snipers do deserve respect. I hope your resident lefties get a bunch more to wring their hands over.

Back on topic, I have a Super 14 Contender in .30-30, put it up for sale but didn't advertise, just mentioned it to a few friends. A little time went by and I eventually decided I wanted to keep it. I tried some IMR30301 and Nosler 125 Ballistic tips and it turns out to be a very accurate combination.

I doubt I'll ever hunt with it, but it sure is fun to shoot.

I knew you were kidding about the pilots.

I'll try some 3031 when the barrel gets here. I have a few hundred 125 gr. Sierras on my bench.

The Sierras oughtta do simply mahvelous.

This just in from Kurt Bellm...

Returned Shipment

Hi Stephen,

Just a quick note to let you know that the shipment was returned to me undelivered. I'm very sorry for the order and more than willing to help you with a resend. I've already refuned the entire purchase but in the event you would still like the item please let me know.

Thanks,
Kurt Bellm
Bellmtcs.com
1GUNSHOP.com
1-970-433-9525
---

I will order again. Nice of him to let me know. For a while, I thought that Kurt didn't believe that the order never got here. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of postal shipments that went astray. Going to, or coming from the US. I've been selling my books for about 15 yrs from my website, and only had two disappear.

Steve, turns out my camera still works. Good luck with your project, my own was blessed by Zeus.

I'll be happy with groups twice as big.

The barrel should be here within the next few weeks.

I had a 10" 218 mashburn bee barrel for my contender, it was a custom as I recall from Bullberry. It was an ok round, as I recall the only bullet it shined with was the 45 sierra.

Given the on again off again nature of obtaining less common brass, I would highly recommend the 221 fireball over the 218 mashburn. More accurate, more powerful, much easier to manipulate the cases on the press and if you have the barrel machined for a rim you can form cases from 360 DW and use rimmed or rimless cases.

Mike Bellm is the man to ask about the T/Cs. His trigger springs are as good as it gets you can tune your T/C for a very reasonable amount and his step by step walks you thru it no sweat. If you decide to do the trigger mod buy a set of his pliers an excellent investment. I have done several and each one turned out well.

I got good news last night. My barrel arrived at the importer. He's going to check it and have the barrel in the mail on Monday. I have a mount, rings and a Burris 2-7x35 ready to attach. Things are coming together.

Alright!

Look forward to hearing developments.

I got the barrel yesterday. It is installed on the action and the scope is next. I'll put the 2-7 on later today. Maybe a bipod to prop it up for pix.

I talked to the barrel importer about ordering a 357 Maximum. I just placed an order for an Accurate 180gr. .358 mold.
r.

I like the Maximum too. I think one shooting the apparently solid gold Swift A-Frame bullets would be an awesome whitetail gun.

Congrats on your patience finally paying off.

The more I look at the Maximum, the more I want one. Beside the 180 gr. Accurate Mold I ordered, I will probably order the Lee .358 200 gr. RNFP. I'll nose around at castboolits.com later for reviews.

In the meantime, just like everyone else does when they get a new rifle or car, time to show it off. The pix were taken with my smellphone camera. The wood looks quite nice. The flash washed some of the grain out, but you get the idea.

'




This bonus photo is a corner of my office. I bring stuff up from my shop, so I can have it close by when I'm on my laptop. It's messy because I have 3 projects on the go, so stuff kind of piled up. I'll clean it up later.

Steve, as you build your barrel collection you might want to consider an alternative or two for sights. The picture I posted earlier was shot with an old El Paso Weaver K2.5, as were the groups below.



Another that I'd recommend is the older Leupold 2.5X which does yeoman duty.



The Sneezer likes the red dot as well.



My view on the Contender and the likes of modest velocities is that the handy nature of the platform is not handicapped by low power glass. Smallish scopes do not encumber the gun with bulk and complexity, but they do perform beyond the needs of the platform. I have 3 barrels for my own with another on order. Two of the three wear Millett SP1 red dots and they do fair enough from day to day.

My short shooter w/red dot:

Thinking of a 10-12" Maximum from MGM as well. If I go with that I will have Bellm cut the chamber.

Should be a nice whitetail cartridge for a handgun in the woods.

What? You don't like my 2-7?

It's easier to get a Contender up here than the proper Leupold scope. Or Leupolds at reasonable prices. Most shops only stock what are perceived to be the best sellers - 3-9s, "tactical" scopes, etc. With our dollar being in the tank, even a cheap 2.5 Leupold Ultralight is $500, and a special order item to boot. A 4x33 is $560 taxes in. It's madness! Madness I tells ya!

We need our dinar to be worth around .85 to .90 for business and commerce to recover up here. The exchange rate improved from when I bought the Contender - a couple of months ago it was approx. 1.35 CDN for 1 USD. Now its 1.28 Canuckian for 1 USD. Lot of businesses up here are doing the minimum stock thing. The exchange rate is a real commerce killer.





I agree. Get that barrel and have fun with it! I wish I could do the same, but here in Canuckia, we are not allowed to hunt with a handgun - unless you're a police officer, that is. The minimum barrel length for a rifle is 16". Crazy, ja? But true.

Can I ship you a 2.5x Leupold w/o causing an international incident?

Your scope is fine, and I'm kinda of the opinion that on that platform smaller is finer.

My other scope is a 1.5" Unertl about 2' long with springs and stuff.

Good heavens, don't do that!

The Dept of Homeland Security would come down on you hard! Scopes, even low power hunting scopes, are on their list of controlled goods. They cannot be sent out of the US without the proper paperwork. I appreciate the offer, but you really don't want to go there.

It's a strange world fo' sho'!

https://www.ice.gov/eecc

Is strange a Canuckian euphemism for retarded? Sounds like it.

I sorta get the part about weapons, and unlike our last retard-0 prez I'm not going to break the law, but not even Lizzie Borden could hurt anyone with the damn thing. They are petite.

Dang it all....

I was trying to be polite.

As for silly rules...

Earlier in this thread I mentioned not getting a hinge pin with my action. I phoned the T/C customer service line and was told that since I live in Canada, they could not send me a pin. The reason is because it is a gun part. It had to be forwarded by the T/C rep up here.

I rationalize it this way. It would be impossible for the US govt to go through every firearm part to determine whether exporting them would constitute a danger to the country. As a result, they said that if it attaches to a firearm, it's controlled.

Consider what I went through to get the frame and barrel. I ordered the action in mid April. The barrel a few weeks later. I just got the barrel last week. Three and a half months!

Frame: Went through an exporter (and paid his markup) to get a single shot action sent here. Extra time, and the paperwork had to be filled out. Final cost: $705 CDN ($520US)
Barrel: Same. The exporter's markup and added expensive for shipping. My barrel ended up costing $770 CDN ($570 US) because of the added fees and markup.

Total, not counting scope and mount: $1445 CDN ($1090US)

Believe it or don't, the barrel I just ordered from Bullberry has about a 90 day wait. Nothing special really, a .22 LR match with threaded muzzle. Will have about $450 into it.

Dies: 90-120 days
Brass: 90 days
Mould: 90 days

I gotta hope Armageddon waits for my schedule...

This is what happens when you let a bunch of clowns here on the 'Fire talk you into developing a wildcat....
They didn't even volunteer to be targets either.

phffft........

Now I don't feel so bad about some of my projects, though a 2400 dollar AR will make you ask yourself questions.....but, it is a nice one!

Damn you and your posts steve. Made me buy a frame again. I can stop anytime I want. Itch. Twitch.

My 357 Maximum barrel is going to come from MGM. No reason. I just like the acronym - MGM. Machine Gun Mike's.

You shouldn't listen to the people around here. Just sing.





But just think of all the joy you'll have paying the credit card bill. You'll know that the bankers will be able to send their kids to a good university like Haaavid - not some lowly state college.



Of course you can stop anytime you want. You just don't feel like it. I think of it as spending my kid's inheritance.

Yeah, we need to stop passing down the wealth. Kids today need to learn again about Mother Necessity.

Couple days back the kids and grandkids were here. I asked one of the 14 y.o. lads what he was gonna do when the grocery shelves were barren. He told me he would shoot something. I told him the ammo shelves were barren too. I swear I saw a light bulb wink on between his ears. -Oh the horror!- He paid remarkably close attention as I showed him how to recharge a primer, cast a bullet etc..... Then I showed him the simple path with a flint lock long rifle. He asked if they still make flint locks. Jesus wept.

Steve, Have you checked with Ed's TCs? He has a huge selection and is priced pretty well. Most barrels appear to be MGM. His .357 Max is listed for $295 for a basic carbine barrel.

Grampa will guide him.

He might be more upset that his online games and cellphone won't work, should there be a 'zombie a flock of lips'. You'll get a handle on him. And for God's sake, buy the kid a flintlock!




I didn't know he existed. I'm new with Contenders. He might not sell to Canada, but I can check with my importer, if he doesn't. I just sent him an email.

And he responded. He cannot send them into Canada unless I use an importer.

I figured that, so I'll use my importer again.

Steve, in consideration of his limited horizons, civilized (?) education etc I deemed only a caplock for the moment. Advanced studies when they are appropriate.

It's a .32 squill rifle.....

Ah, he's lucky to have you around to help. When he's older, he will be able to think back to when you helped him get his start. By then, he'll have a flintlock. Just tell him this is a picture of you when you were younger. And tell him you invented it. He's young. He'll believe you.

You sayin all the stuff my dad told me might not be true? Lol

Dads lie. Grampas never lie!

That picture brings back memories. Had the rifle, the hat, and the shirt!

Did you guys ever get The Last of the Mohicans down your way?



These are the original single shot boys!

It was a story about Hawkeye, a white guy, and his friend, Chingachgook, and their adventures in the Hudson Valley (NY) in the mid 1700s. It's a period drama that was filmed entirely in Canada, just outside of Toronto. The principles, John Hart and Lon Chaney Jr., played Hawkeye and Chingachgook. The stars were Americans. The show was based on a book by James Fenimore Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans.

Almost all of the show's actors were Canuckian. They used to bus the actors from Toronto, east, to Pickering. The area where it was filmed in 1957-58 has been completely swallowed up by suburbia.

http://johnhart.tripod.com/pickeringhawkeye.html

I have not gone through all 9 pages. I hunt with a 30/40 Krag, think 303B or 30/303. MGM made the barrel, very accurate and good to 200 yards. Have a 444 Marlin on a Contender and its more then needed for deer or for me to shot. Next there is a 375 JDJ a 444 casing necked down to .375 great cartridge. I noticed a 30/303 project. Consider a 30/40 K barrel from MGM.

May be off the subject but I have or have had Contender barrels in .22LR, .22 Hornet, .222, 218, .222, .223, .256 Winchester, .30 & .357 Herrett, & .41 Mag - ALL of them have been extremely accurate and the .256 Winchester is scary. You have a nice looking outfit there Steve - sorry about your laws......we will probably be there all too soon !!

Whoops! My bad. It was Davey Crockett stuff I had. I was a lot older when the D. Boone show came on, with its Jewish Indian.

I finally got the Contender out for a range trip. I have been busy with it and the 30-303, some stock installations and several replacement scopes. I have also been hunting. Not much time for here.

I had 10 125 gr Remington factory loads that I used to sight in the Contender. I don't believe Remington makes them anymore, but Federal makes 125 gr 30-30 loads.

I fired odd and ends. Different loads and cartridges left over from my reloading bench, as well as partial boxes of factory ammunition. I had a bunch of 110 gr. loads that I used to try in some of the 30-30s I've owned over the years. They never shot worth a hoot from my levers, or an older Handi Rifle. In total, I shot about 65 cartridges.

The range was deserted. That in itself made shooting a lot of fun. No one to worry about. I wanted to show you the wooden walls they put up. You shoot between the upper and lower walls. I'm not sure what the height of the gap is, but if you look closely, you can see bullet holes along the bottom of the closest wall. Look under the 50 Yd sign. The idea is to stop projectiles from being shot over the backstops. That has never been a problem, but it's 2017. Someone in government probably got a raise or a promotion for thinking this up.

I forgot to post this pic. It is my 30-303. This is the single shot forum, but I had to swap scopes, and only shot one cartridge at a time. To sight this one in, I used some old 125 gr. Remington PSP bulk bullets.