Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Single Shots Contender calibers for deer

Do you usually get full penetration with those 110gr TTSXs?

mcknight...never recovered a TTSX yet, plowed on through all critters, including 4 hogs, largest pig was about 200#....but, in hindsight, i think all kills were broadside, or only slightly quartering.

also shoot the 80gr TTSX in my 25x30/30 Ackley, running pretty close to 3000fps, same results. Our deer are not overly heavy around here though , usually 125-150# field dressed.

It seems to me that I saw a Contender carbine with an MGM barrel chambered in 250AI about a year or so ago.

Some folks chambered or rechambered their rifles to the .250 AI on the theory that the straight walls of the AI would reduce back thrust to within Contender rating. Some also reloaded it down somewhat to stay within the limit. I have Contender carbine barrels in 7-30 W and .30-30 AI. Both are nice shooters. The best choice in a current factory barrel would be the 7-30, but Ed at edstc.com has a great variety of suitable bull and tapered barrels for about $300 each.

I've shot it in both a 14" pistol and 23" rifle.

If you can handle a 44 magnum (pistol) or 308 (rifle) it's a non event.

I went 30-30, 21" factory taper for that roll. Looked at a 7-30, but 30-30 with 125 BT/accubond seemed to do the same with cheap and plentiful componets.

I didn't reply before but was thinking 30-30 with 130 gr Barnes X. It shouldn't be necessary to use 150 or greater in the single shot. Spitzer bullets are fine in the single shot. That said, I have a 308 barrel in the Encore in pistol and rifle. I plan to use the same Barnes X for the pistol and try the load in the 26" fast twist rifle barrel for grins. It has a 1/8 twist. I want to chrono the load in both to see the velocity gain in the long barrel.

309JDJ is outstanding. I had my 14" TC barrel in 30-30 rechamberd by SSK many years ago. It's a killing machine with 165gr Ballistic Tips, shoots MOA, and is easily my favorite barrel. I took a mountain goat in Alaska at 200 yards, and he dropped like a stone.

If you're reloading, why not the 30-30? Brass everywhere, lots of bullet choice, easy to find barrels, plus you can shoot factory ammo in a pinch. The .35 Rem would be worth a look too.

I did a 16"30-30 to .309JDJ and it would shoot groups so small most people wouldn't believe me. Only ever took a running coyote with it at 200 yards. The next year the state changed the zones and I could finally hunt with my safe full of rifles.

I shot more deer with the .358JDJ than anything else. It's a hammer and a handful though and not for everyone.

300blk looks like a good hunting round. Plenty of brass available, 30 Cal bullets of all shapes and weights. Worth a look. Personally I'll be packing a 357Mag 10". Not a 200 yard burner but at half that range or a little more (about all I'm 100% confident at with field positions anyway) it will do the job just fine.

30-30 with either a 130 Accubond, 150 Ballistic Tip or a 150 SP of some flavor.

If you want to piddle around forming brass snd such (not that there's anything wrong with that) get one of the wildcats. If you just want to hunt and shoot, get a .30/30 or a 6.5 Grendel (which matches original .250 ballistics, with better bullets). A 7-30 might just be perfect, but you'll have a little more trouble getting brass and ammo; not impossible, but just harder.

If I were going to play with a G2, I'd buy one from EABCO on sale, then have them do a trigger job before sending it to me. Last review I read of a newer one said the trigger was pretty stiff. Other places will do the job too, of course, but EABCO often has the frames on sale. They make barrels too.

I had 7x30 Waters carbine barrel at one time. Probably shouldn't have let it go.
What I would really really like is a Contender barrel in 250 Savage. I have a Savage 99 in .250 and a bunch of brass. It would be great to have a single shot too.
I don't particularly want to go the proprietary route (JDJ) or get into wildcats (.25x30-30 probably wouldn't be too awful), nor take on yet another caliber.
Am I going to be able to talk MGM, Bellmstc, Bullberry, EABCO or ????? into making me a carbine barrel?
thanks,
Lou

I don’t recall the .250 being on EABCO’s list. Probably a stretch, literally, for that frame, not to say it hasn’t been done. Check the others’ sites or call them about what they’ll do.

Lou: Take a look at Mike Bellm's website. His line of wildcat cartridges do not require expensive custom dies. I have a 308 Bellm carbine barrel he chambered. Shoots great, easy reloaded with standard dies. If I recall he has discussed the 250 Savage at one time on his website.

Lou.....i have owned Contender barrels by SSK in both .250savage & 300Savage; due to pressure constraints, cartridges with .473 case heads such as those must be loaded to less than their full potential, or there will
be frame stretch issues. I've also had Contender barrels in 6mmBR, 7mmBR, and a few others.

cartridges of that case head size generally cause no issues in the contender when loaded at about 40K PSI or lower, or thereabouts.

the .various wildcats on the 30/30 case work fine, i've had 3 rifles & 1 pistol length barrel in .25x30/30Ackley, it wasnt hard to get 80/85/87grain bullets to around 3000fps....and, the 80gr TTSX is a killer at those speeds.
Cases are also pretty easy to form, and Ch4D has dies.

biggest issue for the barrel makers is likely the fear than some stooge will order a .250/3000 barrel, then hot-rod the hell out of it, and then scream liability when they tear up a frame.

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Nice looking carbine.
If I personally were looking to hunting whitetails around here with a Contender I would look at a 6.5 something.
I like the Grendel and the 6.5/30-30, would most likely be one of those or even the 6.5 TCU.

Out to 150 I'd go w .35 rem.
But OP said 200 so that proly kills that.
I'd have kept my .35 rem carbine if it was 18.5" instead of 16.25".
Neat little rig. Only shot two deer with it. Shoulder hit.......both down in reasonable distance.
Expected better, but thought it good enough.
200gr Hornady.

Done a lot of killing with the .357 max both in carbine and handgun (super 14)
Very impressed with it too.
Farthest shot was 130 yds and it still smashed him.