24hourcampfire.com
24hourcampfire.com
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Hop To
Page 2 of 3 1 2 3
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 15,793
O
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
O
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 15,793
Originally Posted by Lucas1
If you were going to start a new Contender rifle, what caliber would you consider for whitetail deer and hogs?

If you are looking for lots of factory ammo offerings then something in the 6mm, 6.5mm or 7mm area will work very well. I'm a big fan of the 7mm-08 and it will work on everything you might want to shoot.

If you're loading your own ammo then you can go all sorts of directions. You've been given some good advice on caliber selection.


There are 2 rules to success:

1. Never tell everything that you know.
BP-B2

Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 958
E
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
E
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 958
The 308 based cartridges are not an option for the Contender but are great in the Encore. There are good 6.5 and 7mm options for the Contender, as mentioned in preceding posts.

Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 17,807
H
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
H
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 17,807
I find the Encore too big and not as nice in the hand.
MGM makes 6.5 Grendel bbls for the G2 Contender.
The G2 feels different than the original Contender, but isn't bad like an Encore.
Just my 02.

Joined: May 2011
Posts: 15,793
O
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
O
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 15,793
Originally Posted by eblake
The 308 based cartridges are not an option for the Contender but are great in the Encore. There are good 6.5 and 7mm options for the Contender, as mentioned in preceding posts.

You're right, I completely whiffed on the Contender frame and 308 based cartridges. Good catch.


There are 2 rules to success:

1. Never tell everything that you know.
Joined: Mar 2020
Posts: 570
O
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
O
Joined: Mar 2020
Posts: 570
7-30 with 120 grain Nosler Bil. Tips really hammers Deer !!!


"not too grumpy"
IC B2

Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 6,964
P
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
P
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 6,964
I have a hankering to try a 6.5 BRM in a pistol. I imagine it would do very well in a rifle


Guns don't kill people, it's mostly the bullets
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 13,292
R
Campfire Outfitter
Offline
Campfire Outfitter
R
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 13,292
Originally Posted by DigitalDan
They do OK with pointy bullets.

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

Or even flat nose bullets.
[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]


How fast are those cast bullets going with the Blue Dot load? Nice shooting too. A the bullets wearing gas checks?


[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]



Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 13,292
R
Campfire Outfitter
Offline
Campfire Outfitter
R
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 13,292
After fooling with many different rounds in my Contenders I sort of settled on the 30-30AI. A bit more zip than the regular 30-30 and it does seem to reduce backthrust. Big plus is virtually no trimming.


[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]



Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 6,964
P
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
P
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 6,964
The 6.5 JDJ is highly recommended for deer size game


Guns don't kill people, it's mostly the bullets
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 340
Y
Campfire Member
Offline
Campfire Member
Y
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 340
I've killed a pile of deer with the 14'' 30-30 and 125 grain Ballistic Tips. Would group in a quarter at 100 yds. Deer would make a little semi circle about 15-20 yds and stop and be looking back till they fell over. Shoot em the same place with the 300RUM and they run flat out till they pile up. Seemed so sweet to shoot em with the 30-30.

God Bless, Louis

IC B3

Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 998
S
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
S
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 998
Just a thought, rimmed cartridges ala. 30-30 are always a better choice in a Contender. .35 Remington barrels have a tendency to have misfires for some reason. 6.5 JDJ based on the .225 Winchester is a marvel in a contender package if you reload. The 7-30 Waters is your Huckleberry if you are stuck with factory ammunition.


Experience is what you get, when you don't get what you want!
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 6,522
L
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
L
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 6,522
The reason 35 Remington misfires occur is because of oversizing the brass and creating a headspace issue. Lots of Contender shooters have a hard time adjusting dies for minimum headspace. My favorite deer cartridge in a Contender is the 7-30 with 120 grain pointed bullets.

Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 17,807
H
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
H
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 17,807
Ran factory in a couple 35 rem bbls. Was fine.
Did have misfires on one old frame but that was weak spring issue.

Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 10,180
M
Campfire Outfitter
Online Content
Campfire Outfitter
M
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 10,180
Be careful, it's a disease:

BTW, I could use 'Stockings' for the third one!!!

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]


"...A man's rights rest in three boxes: the ballot box, the jury box and the cartridge box..." Frederick Douglass, 1867

( . Y . )
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 210
M
Campfire Member
Online Content
Campfire Member
M
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 210
7/30 at 20" with rynite stocks and a 2-7 balances just right, is easy to shoot well, and dynamite on deer with the 120gr ballistic tip.

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

Joined: Mar 2022
Posts: 240
R
Campfire Member
Offline
Campfire Member
R
Joined: Mar 2022
Posts: 240
I have a 375 win carbine barrel. Handy to carry and deer don’t like it. Also have 357 and 30 herret barrels. Haven’t shot the 357 but the 30 is crazy accurate.

Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 715
M
Campfire Regular
Online Content
Campfire Regular
M
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 715
300 Whisper…SBR'd...fantastic platform for this !

Attached Images
Last edited by Malaga; 04/14/22.

Irish... by the Grace of God.
Joined: Mar 2020
Posts: 570
O
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
O
Joined: Mar 2020
Posts: 570
Originally Posted by dale06
If your shots are 100 yards or less, take a look at the 357 Maximum. If longer, I’d do 7-30 waters.

Amen on these choices. They both will hammer deer !!!


"not too grumpy"
Joined: Jan 2022
Posts: 63
C
Campfire Greenhorn
Offline
Campfire Greenhorn
C
Joined: Jan 2022
Posts: 63
The 30 Herrett is my favorite deer pistol. With a 4x scope I have taken deer out to 250 yards.

Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 220
B
Campfire Member
Offline
Campfire Member
B
Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 220
I would probably build a 6.5 grendel. I have a stainless in a 16 inch 7-30


Robert
Page 2 of 3 1 2 3

Moderated by  RickBin 

Link Copied to Clipboard
YB23

Who's Online Now
640 members (1badf350, 09wingates, 219 Wasp, 2003and2013, 007FJ, 160user, 65 invisible), 2,566 guests, and 1,183 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Forum Statistics
Forums81
Topics1,187,601
Posts18,398,282
Members73,817
Most Online11,491
Jul 7th, 2023


 







Fish & Game Departments | Solunar Tables | Mission Statement | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | DMCA
Hunting | Fishing | Camping | Backpacking | Reloading | Campfire Forums | Gear Shop
Copyright © 2000-2024 24hourcampfire.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5
(Release build 20201027)
Responsive Width:

PHP: 7.3.33 Page Time: 0.142s Queries: 16 (0.005s) Memory: 0.8943 MB (Peak: 1.0594 MB) Data Comp: Zlib Server Time: 2024-03-28 13:21:38 UTC
Valid HTML 5 and Valid CSS