I am specifically looking to hear from those who have hunted Deer and Antelope size game with low pressure cartridges suitable for the T/C Contender Carbine.

Within the allowable working pressures allowed by the Contender, what would be your one cartridge choice for the aforementioned game, and what would be your bullet of choice.

I'd be interested in hearing about the cartridge's ballistics, both External and Terminal.

I'd also like to know what length and contour carry/balance the best...and with which optics.

Thank you

Here's my setup

7-30 Waters
24" MGM Barrel Heavy Taper
120gr Nosler BT @ 2700+FPS
Leupy 2x7

Under an inch at 100 and an inch and a half at 200.

To me, this is about as good as it gets. I couldn't be happier with it.

I think just about anything based on the 30-30 case will do wonders on deer and antelope.

Yep, 7-30 Waters unless you want to slum a .223.

stainless 23" standard contour MGM barrel in 30-30AI would be my choice.

I have it in .223 and it will kill deer, but, IMHO, It is not enough gun. I think the 7 Waters would be the cream of the crop, followed by the .30-30 Improved, then the standard version. As I see it, the Herretts and other shorties are too much trouble for the small gains. YMMV. I have not checked lately to see if TC's new owners have reopened their Custom Shop. SSK and others are willing. jack

.357 Max with Hornady 180 Grain Single Shot Pistol spitzers.

I thought about trying an MGM 1/8 twist in .223AI. Could be a fun little gun...

My son has taken a couple of deer with a 7-30 waters Super 16, 120 Hornady SSP bullet (discontinued)........I'd use a 120 grain Nosler BT now.

If I had a contender I'd give the .25-35 WCF loaded with spitzers a try.

.30-30, standard contour, 22". 150 grain spitzers work, pick your brand.

Don't be thinking you can hot rod the Contender 'cause you can't.

i like the feel of tapered carbines personally over the straight bulls, except when calibers go .40 and up, then i can live with bulls, depending on length. have had a few 24" barrels, but i like 21-22" tapers better.

depending on caliber, its pretty easy to keep it 6#-ish or a bit over ready with tupperware stock and the a decent scope.

if i had to pick a do-all caliber, i'd also lean to 7x30 or 30/30AI. that being said, one of the fun about 'tenders is all the caliber options so as not to have to pick just one. lot of good 7mm and .30 bullets that work at contender speeds.

pretty happy with 1.75-6's and 2x7's on my carbines.

If you have not problem with wildcats , look into the Bellm Triad by Mike Bellm .... 7mm ....30cal..358 cal based on the 444 win cartridge

I own the 358 bellm and basically it is pretty close to to the 358 win at the bear stand ranges I use it for .... deer and antelope I would envision the 7mm bellm to be the ticket .

If you locate Mike's web site you will note he is very specific with the limitations of the cartridges and the contender frame .... these were designed to get the most from the contender without destroying it .

good hunting .

I had a T/C Contender in 25-35 Win. It had an 18" barrel with a short 20mm objective scope. It was awsome to carry and hunt with out of a climbing portable deer stand. The rifle was almost to light, it handled like a Red Ryder BB gun.

I killed a few deer with it. I would like to try another one seeing how Winchester and Marlin could care less about the 25-35 Win.

The new Barnes 80 grain TTSX along with the Hodgdon LVR should easily hit 2,850 fps out of a 20" tube.

Chrome, That is a thing of beauty right there. I ran the calculations on that bullet .319 B.C. at 2850 fps. The impact velocity at 100 yards would be 2563 fps and at 200 yards it would be 2293 fps.

FyrepowrX has been running the 25-30AI with some 87 grain loads that also make one sit up and take notice.


I see lots of love for the 7mm and 30 calibers based of the 30-30 improved, either the Waters or the Ackely.

And, I can see great Deer hunting potential off this T/C platform with everything from the 223 Remington all the way up to the 375 Winchester all by way of choosing the right bullet for expansion and penetration.

When I hunt with my contender carbine I use a 7-30 waters or a 375 winchester both with 21" barrels. Where I use a contender a long shot is 50 yds.

I have a Contender G2 carbine with a 21 1/2" barrel, wooden stock and Leupold 2x7 compact scope that weighs 5 1/2 lbs. The barel is a 30/30 rechambered to 308 Bellm by Mike Bellm. It shoots 150 gr. Nozzler ballistic tip with IMR 4064 powder at 2608 fps into 3/4" 3 shot groups.
Mike told me to use 300 Savage reloading data at 46,000 CUP so as to not stretch the frame. There is plenty of 300 Savage loading data with pressure information from powder mfg. and I used Hornady data.
I just weighed a factory Contender carbine forearm in synthetic and wood. Both weighed 5 oz. The factory synthetic buttstock weighs 18 oz. My conclusion is the weight of plastic and wood stocks are the same. The plastic stock has too low of a comb for use with a scope but the wood stock has a high enough comb for scope use. I have split 2 factory G2 wooden stocks in exactly the same place in the wrist area and I am considering an aftermarket thumbhole stock for better strength.
I shot a Tahr in New Zealand. The takedown feature was real convenient for traveling and the lightweight was a blessing in the mountains.

I hunted for several seasons with a 21" barrel synthetic stocked carbine in 7-30 waters shooting 120 nosler. Scoped with a Leupold 1.5-5 I was very pleased with the rifle and the performance of the cartridge.

I've got two Carbine barrels, both Fox Ridge tapered: .25/35 Win - 20 1/2" & 6.8mm Rem -22 1/4". Haven't shot anything with the 6.8 yet but the .25/35 works fine with the 117 gr factory load. Haven't gotten around to handloading it yet but when I do, I'll likely stick with the 117 gr RN, as I see no advantage in a spitzer at the ranges I'd use it at. Still, might be interesting to try an 87 gr PSP. Both my barrels wear the Burris 4x20 Mini scopes.

A friend dropped two nice antelope with his 14" 7mm Waters. The doe was just over 100 yards but the buck was a lasered 250...both were drop at the shot kills.

I had a .309 JDJ for several years but never hunted with it. Check out the velocities in the Hornady reloading manual....very impressive.

These Contender Carbines are light. I have one right now in .41 Mag./16.5", .223/16.5", .22 Magnum/16.5", .22LR/18" Custom Shop and .410 18.5" Custom Shop. Also had a .17 Remington for a long time but sold it a few years ago. This one has a composite thumbhole stock and forend. Now that I have a .257 Weatherby I need to look at that .25-35 for a small, light low recoiling round for the Contender.

Bob

when i was a kid there was a local parts store that run a tinjks deer pool. 1st place for the juniors was a t/c carbine and i had it planned out to win it and get it in the 375 win.

i did not win the deer pool.

This one has a Bullberry custom .357 Mag barrel with match chamber. I haven't had a chance to hunt with it yet, but it shoots well. These 3, 3 shot groups were shot at 100 yards. All loads used 2400 powder. The top one was with FXT 140 Hornadys, next down was XTP Hornadys and the bottom, tightest group was Speer Gold Dot 125 grains, (surprised me).

I've killed several Mississippi deer with a 7TCU carbine. One ran about 30yds, The rest were DRT...

There's a 25 TCU on eBay right now for $295 if someone's interested. A 6 or 6.5 TCU would be pretty cool too.

I run a .30-30 @ 20" and a .35 Remmy at 16.5". Ditched the patridge style sights on the .35 and put on an arperature / gold bead setup. Have a 221 FB @ 20" for small game.

Thanks for the heads up, MuskegMan..!

I just made a deal for a 21" bull barrel 6mmTCU for my Contender. I plan on shooting 80 gr. Noslers in it. Would love to draw an antelope tag and knock one over with it.

I'm running a. 35 remington, 21" tapered. Would prefer a 21" tapered 30-30 but the. 35 came cheap.

... about seven years later now, and the 7-30 waters would still be my go-to with the contender carbine. I'd probably opt for a 120 grain bullet.
I did just roll a nice gobbler last Saturday on the last day of Spring season with the 250 savage barrel mounted up.
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carbines are mo betta

Those or some hawk or other 180 spitzers can be pushed well past 2300 in a 16” contender 357 max, and make it legit to at least 250. If I was hunting open country for small/med deer and antelope and smaller, I’d probably also look to the 7-30, 25-35, or other smaller bores and longer barrels to help. However, the max is likely the most efficient and loadable/versatile in a single shot action, when long throated and considering bullets.

My son turned his very old Contender .30 Herrett pistol into a 16-in. threaded .300 Blackout a couple seasons ago and stocked it with youth size synthetics.

It's a wand in the woods and probably the wieldiest treestand/truck gun around. All subs and supersonic roads have grouped 1-in. or a bit less, and the subsonics are stupid quiet with the Harvester screwed on.

I took it out a time or two a couple seasons back but didn't see a deer to shoot. He's in a too lazy to go deer hunt mood these days but now refuses to let me kill anything first with it.

My son started out with a 18” bbl .357 max contender.
Had a youth stock and was so small I could put it in my backpack.
He has since grown up to almost my height and asked to get an adult sized stock so it ain’t as short anymore but it’s still fun to shoot.
Don’t get used much these days now that we can use regular rifles in Indiana.

6.5x30-30AI (or Bulberry) with 20inch barrel. Very handy and light.

I think the 30 Belm is the ultimate but personally the best I used was a 7MM TCU in a pistol barrel. Get the Belm in about a 18" barrel. You will find it to be like a magic wand. It won't be boring except in the way animals drop. Be Well. Rusty

Thinking about this further if you prefer factory stuff the ultimate would be the 30-30 or 35 Remington. For a wildcat the 375 JDJ. I think they still sell dies, ammo, cases, and all. Go to SSK industries. Rusty

I've shot a lot of varmints, but no game. I used Bullberry barrels. I started out with the 17/K-Hornet, then a 6x47 ( 6mm/222 Magnum) 6mm Bullberry ( 6mm/30-30 Improved) shot the .375 Win too. I used the bull barrels as I wanted a bit of heft out front, seeing as they are shot short! I had a TC Contender carbine set up with a TC 7-30 Waters for my Godson, but he preferred the 223 barrel. The 7x30 Waters kicked him a bit. A 30-30 in that light of a rifle is a pretty heavy kicker, not for the average kid and some "men". ( the ones I saw had "man buns") ugh. And I gre up with long hair! Let your "Freak Flag fly"!

I'm surprised no one mentioned the 45/70. They're a hoot in the contender carbine. Just be sure to find one with a "muzzle tamer". They stop whitetails in their tracks 😁

Yeah, but they beat the heck outta ya unless you can use your wrists and elbows as a fulcrum

Look up Bobby Tomek. He's killed many animals with the 6.5 Bullberry.

I got a friend who has a contender in 35 REM and loves it. These rifles seem to be hard to find in this caliber for some reason.

Ya gotta modify what you can find