10" barrel 7-30

[Buster]

I traded for this Contender.  Seems like most folks shooting a 7-30 shoot the 14" barrel.  Anyone shoot a 10"?
I like the gun a great deal, it has a Redfield 2-6X in Redfield triple ring mounts.  What sort of velocity does the
Federal 120 grn factory load get in this barrel length?  How does it drop over 200 yards?  Haven't shot the pistol yet.

[Pinkerton]

Check www.handgunhunt.com and look under feature articles for one by Larry Sands titled
"The Perfect cartridge for whitetails in the 10" contender" He tried it and liked it alot, and has good load data.

[Lloyd Smale]

I would think youd have no problem getting 2000 out of a 10 inch barrel. Mines a hunter with a 14 but actually 2 inches is the port so in all actuality its only a 12 inch barrel and it sure drops whitetail.

[chris s]

I got better results with 140 gr bullets

[Buster]

Thanks for the info folks.   I shot the pistol on Sun., only had 6 rounds to try.  To be quite honest I was all over the paper with it rested at 50 yards.  I'm sure it is the shooter!  My reloading dies came this evening.  Gonna get back out there with it as soon as possible.
The recoil was surprising to me, haven't shot anything heavier than a .357 Blackhawk in a while.  Not punishing but it did get my attention.  THANKS FOR THE LINK TO THE ARTICLE!  I printed it out and will try those powders.

[DRM]

I really like my 10" Contender in 7-30 Waters. I have spent some time working up my deer load using Nosler 120 BT and W-748. I finally landed on 38gns of W-748 which gives me a .63" group @ 100 yrds, 2140 fps @ the muzzle with a SD=13 fps, and ES=31.  You will need to work this up for your T/C. I started at 36.0 gns and went as high as 38.5gns. Above 38grns my SD and ES started falling apart.

[Lloyd Smale]

exact same load i use except i use 37 grains.

I really like my 10" Contender in 7-30 Waters. I have spent some time working up my deer load using Nosler 120 BT and W-748. I finally landed on 38gns of W-748 which gives me a .63" group @ 100 yrds, 2140 fps @ the muzzle with a SD=13 fps, and ES=31.  You will need to work this up for your T/C. I started at 36.0 gns and went as high as 38.5gns. Above 38grns my SD and ES started falling apart.

[DRM]

exact same load i use except i use 37 grains.

It's interesting....37grns in my 10" spread the group all over the paper and had a SD=48 and ES=117.  Example of why we should start low and work up.   What works in my 10" will likely not perform the same in yours.

[Buster]

I got in some 100 grain Sierra hollow point varminters....think they would work well on a coyote?  Also got 100 Nosler 120 bt's.
Only powder I have is AA2520 right now.   I did shoot the gun today and did somewhat better.   Eye position w/ the scope on 7X is extremely critical though.  Thanks for all the help folks.

[Lloyd Smale]

like you said every guns different. I didnt get as involved as you did but that load shoots 3/4 of an inch at 100 yards all day long in my gun

exact same load i use except i use 37 grains.

It's interesting....37grns in my 10" spread the group all over the paper and had a SD=48 and ES=117.  Example of why we should start low and work up.   What works in my 10" will likely not perform the same in yours.

[DRM]

I got in some 100 grain Sierra hollow point varminters....

Buster...are you able to tell me what velocity you are getting with the 100grn Sierra, how is the group and what load are you using?

[Buster]

just got them in; haven't tried them.  My neighbor has a chrono though, so a full report will be forthcoming.

[hoser1268]

I have the 7-30 in a 10" and it just loves 120 gr nosler BT with H414 powder.  less than an inch at 100 yards.  Shot a few deer with this load and it worked very well.