Home Forums Lever Action Central Cowboy Levers 7x30 Waters??

Is there a company currently making levers chambered for the 7x30?? I'm thinking maybe with the resurgence of "retro" chamberings for CAS, etc maybe some company I'm not familiar with is making them???

It would be pretty strange for the cwboy crowd to shoot the Waters, cuz its a modern round.
Ken Waters is probably the most well known of any of the great Handloaders an wildcatters still kickin, an his idea was to neck down the 30WCF to 7mm.
To the best of my knowledge, Winchester was the only company to ever chamber the Waters, an that was for a very short time. I don know of any company havin any plans to reintroduce this round, tho you could pretty easily get you a new bbl. for that 94, an run Federal ammo.
Truth is, the 7-30 really doesn't offer much flatter trajectory than the 30WCF, doesn't kill deer any better, and while recoil is less, the 30WCF wont break you shoulder in the first place.
My guess is this is why its pretty much forgotten today.

No one is currently making the 7x30.

Winchester did, for a good while, chamber the 94 XTR for the 7x30; and Marlin did make a very limited run of 336s in 7x30. Both versions fetch collectors prices now.

this cartride doesn't make sense to me. Why try to flatten out the trajectory of a cartridge and rifle made for close ranges and quick shooting on deer? I would understand necking down the 444 Marlin for a 30 or 338 caliber bullet, but not the 30-30 to 7mm.

I thought Ken explained it best: 20% less recoil with 20% more velocity and almost another 100 yards of effective range. Made sense to me then, and still does.

As it turned out, though, his logic was lost on most, including those of you responding here so far. The cartridge may be the finest deer round ever made for the Contender. Those who pooh-pooh it for use in rifles have simply never used one. It's a great round.

But it's not a Cowboy round.

In a contender, it would make sense, but 20% less recoil than a 30-30 wouldn't be that much of a benefit in a rifle that is about the lightest recoiling deer round suitable for deer. Also out of a tube magazine rifle you would have to use flat or round nose bullets and doubt you would turn that Winchester 94 into a 200-250 yard deer rifle. I wouldn't doubt the trajectory and energy would work, but the rifle wouldn't be up to the job accuracy wise.

I'd love to see someone else besides TC carry the Water's. Sadly if you think the TC is as ugly as I do you are stuck with the custom route.

If you'd try one, instead of guessing, Rocky's observations would be clear.

I have nothing but respect for Mr. Waters, still I don't find that the 7-30 is the answer to any question anyone ever asked.
If you like the round, then go ahead an use it. There is certainly nothing wrong with reducing recoil. However, it is important to note that necking our favourite 30WCF down and reducing bullet weight also tends to reduce the cartridges versatility.
A big part of the reason the 30WCF is so popular is because it can do so many things. Too many on this forum and others have the privelage of owning a whole stack of guns, and dont really appreciate what versatility means.
The 7-30 is a specialty cartridge. If you own 60-70 guns, then specialty cartridges will have more appeal than to someone whose arsenal is considerably smaller.
If you like it, use it. I'm stickin with my 30WCF.

The 7-30 does have a legitimate niche and I would buy one in a second if I could afford one and actually justify another lever. Look at the one on Gunbroker, #82349204. Tell me you wouldn't like to have that puppy!!

you could look for a chambering in 219 Zipper if you are looking for a lighter recoiling rifle, that has a flatter trajectory, and doesn't change the limitations of the rifle it is chambered in. Most little variations of a cartridge don't take off, as far as a marketing boom because, they don't change the application much. A 30-30 will kill a deer or whatever just as well as a 7-30 and you can get shells at a hardware store. Your effective range will not change much in the real world, and no deer will be shot by a 7-30 and think "what just happened" and drop, just because it was the Waters round. I agree that different cartridges can be fun, I am a 348 Winchester fan, and reload, but the 7-30 will not turn your world upsidedown. Alot of the fun of buying a new rifle in a new chambering, is guessing, you have done your research, and decided that this will walk the dog, and get excited about it. The real factor is shot placement, reguardless of chambering. I have a friend that kills hogs every week with a 22 magnum, and these are considered a big game animal. These are the big, mean 300 pound range wild hogs in Florida. None are wounded, his dogs take care of that, but they are consistantly killed by a 22 magnum, because the bullet is placed in a place that will kill them.

Maybe he can bring his Pits down here and catch the deer so we can walk up and shoot them in the ear..

Okay, what limitations are you talking about? Last I checked a 94/336 was more than accurate enough for 200yds (sub 3" at 100 with open sights). The FACTORY 7-30 shoots flat enough for 250yds if the shooter can manage it. If they weren't so expensive the 7-30's would be great little guns.

Dittos. It is the bees' knees in the Contender, 14" or longer barrel.

Sometimes, I post while drinking beers, and talk trash. I understand peoples facination with cartridges that are a little different, and can be beneficial. That is what keeps things interesting. Otherwise everybody would have a .22, a 30-06 and a 12 gauge.

Agreed.

Except, there'd be a .223 and a .375H&H in the mix, too..... and a .357.....

If one is looking for a light recoiling lever round, how about the 25-35. I susupect one could form brass out of 30-30, but I am unsure. Is anyone currently making a gun in this round, I doubt it.

Just a thought....

IIRC, the 7-30 waters was a target (steel pigs and chickens, etc) round The reduced recoil matters a lot when a guy shoot 100 rounds a day.

BMT

The 25-35 is a nice cartridge. Certainly works just fine when kept within its limitations. The last guns chambered for it were the last run of 94s' out of Conn.
The 25-35 does offer less recoil than the 30WCF, and a somewhat flatter trajectory, but it suffers from the same problem as the waters, it just aint as versatile as the 30WCF.
Are there better elk cartrides than the 30WCF? Sure are, but the lil 30 will put em down. Are there better personal defense rounds? Sure are, but the 30 will put the brakes on the bad guy. For sure, we have real lazer beams in the deer woods, yet the 30 is all you need if you like to hunt, rather than sit back and blast away from a few hundred yards.
While I can't recall ever shooting 100 rounds out of any one rifle that was chambered for a real rifle cartridge, I have sat down for a couple days and shot over 200 combined rounds, and I still think the 30WCF is about the best blend of recoil/muzzle blast/effectiveness available.
Good luck an Good shootin

I can't think of a '94 chambering that I don't like or couldn't find some use for. Having said that you can bet your bottom dollar that if I could find a '94 in decent condition at a fair price chambered for the 7x30 it would be headed to my collection toot sweet!

hey,,,got one 24" 94 7x30 waters for sale ,,,ammo to go with it ,,no pics tho,,,,334-830-1829-after 6:00 central time,,,will talk $$$$$$$$$$$$

BMT, nope. Ken Waters developed the round specifically as a hunting cartridge. It was quickly adopted by handgun silhouette shooters, however. Don't know if it's still popular with that crowd (they tend to be fickle) but when I went to the IHMSA Championships a few years back, there were quite a few guys using it - and vendors selling bullets and such for it, too.

On another forum, I just heard of a guy who recently bought a NIB unfired M-94 in 7-30 at a gunshop's Going Out of Business sale - for cheap. Lucky booger!

What's the best current source for 7-30W brass?

Commercial?

or homemade?

Federal factory loads. Or EaBrown company for 7x30 formed from 30-30.

Just buy a bunch of 30-30 brass and make your own.It's a piece of cake.