Author Topic: 7-30 Waters or .30 Herrett in a Contender? (Read 2793 times)

cutter44 · « **on:** June 19, 2008, 05:07:02 AM »

Which one would you guys get in a Contender barrel for a medium game animal and why? Seems they are close.

Rog · « **Reply #1 on:** June 19, 2008, 05:45:46 AM »

In a Contender, I would opt for the 7-30 Waters in a 14" bbl. In a 10" barrel, I would opt for the 30 Herrett.

Reason being, is that the 7-30 Waters performs better in the 14" tube than it does in a 10", while the 30 Herrett works real well in a 10" bbl. While you can still gain some ballistics in a longer tube with the 30 Herrett, it was designed and developed for 10" bbls by Bob Milek and Steve Herrett back in the day.

Both are good rounds and in all reality, your kinda splitting hairs on which one is better. The 7-30 Waters may offer a bit more range, at least in a longer 14" barrel, but both are quite capable of taking deer size game out to 200 yards or so.

WayneS · « **Reply #2 on:** June 19, 2008, 11:12:03 AM »

What Rog said;
Now, you might be able to find a used Herrett bbl for less $$ [see T/C classifieds] you are limited to hand loading your own for the Herrett, plus making Herrett cases , no biggie, just something you have to do but once done you're done IF done correctly .There are slightly heavier bullets designed for pistols in 30 Cal.

SLAVAGE · « **Reply #3 on:** June 19, 2008, 03:07:36 PM »

i own a 14 inch hunter in 7-30 love it to death.. groups grate better than i ever can
i all so own a 10 inch 30 herrett and 357 herrett.. they both shoot very good it depends on what you want.. if im in a stand or have sticks and its open land i use the waters.. in pa in the thicket i use the 10 inch herrett easyer to tote around and to carry around in the bush

now rounds is a question.... you can get federal 7-30 rounds still prob expensive is all heck...
reloading is easy for both its just the herrett has 3 extra fast steps.. and that is making the brass...
i take a trim die ive been usen one for a 357 herrett till i find a 30 for its own box...
but run the die in to the trim die.. take the sawzall to the brass 2 sec later the brass is cut off... then just prep the case the rest of the way and run though the sizing die trim if needed and seat bullet.

but if you want to not reload get your self a 30-30 barrell an call it a day i started off with a 30-30 and its still gets out every once in a while

irold · « **Reply #4 on:** June 19, 2008, 03:26:33 PM »

What the previous posters say is pretty much correct.....my only exception is , they left out the fire-forming step....maybe they don't do that now , when I was making my own 30 Herrets, I had to use a 100 grain bullet with a light load to fire-form the first loading of that particular piece of brass........as stated before, if that's what you want , fine. Like SALVAGE said , think I'd now buy a 30/30 or a 35 Rem and go shoot something. The Waters is probably fine , your kinda limited to your own loads....you can go to any corner store and find 30/30 or 35 ammo...........OMO , IROLD

DonL100 · « **Reply #5 on:** June 20, 2008, 05:58:16 AM »

FYI, 30 and 357 Herrett brass can be had (though pricey) through Midway USA. DonL

jhalcott · « **Reply #6 on:** June 20, 2008, 06:14:26 PM »

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=571610
$36.99 /20 +s+h
If you are using a 14" barrel the 7-30 has got to get the nod.Factory available ammo. Better ballistics from the 7mm bullets. Cheaper dies.
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=883790&t=11082005
RCBS dies are about $27.00

Graycg · « **Reply #7 on:** June 21, 2008, 03:56:38 PM »

I strongly recommend which ever on makes you happy, but I consider the 7x30 a better choice in the contender, regardless of barrel length. As noted above, factory ammo, factory brass, better bullets in 7mm for this type of hunting gun, more up to date loading data as newer powders come out and finally, with proper loading, the 7x30 will give you about the most you can get out of a contender without using a 444 case.

regards,
Graycg

ted · « **Reply #8 on:** June 22, 2008, 12:00:54 AM »

EABCO has brass for 30 herrett for $50/100. I have bought 200 rounds from them and enjoy it. Here's the site http://www.eabco.com/brass01.html

I love the wildcats and have a 7 tcu, 357 Bain and Davis and 30 herret. The first two are very easy to case form. Buying the brass from EABCO makes case forming very easy for the 30 herrett. . Just make sure you adjust die to headspace correctly. If you like to play around with reloading then go with the herrett. If you don't have the time or desire then go with the 7-30 waters. I just chronied my 30 herrett and with 26.5 grains of IMR 4198 and the sierra 135 ssp I am getting 2279 fps out of my 14 factory barrel.

WayneS · « **Reply #9 on:** June 22, 2008, 01:21:47 AM »

I found this, http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,146420.0.html

sigbbred · « **Reply #10 on:** June 27, 2008, 12:51:39 PM »

I just love the .30 Herrett. Just come back from South Africa, and it did the job very well. Once you have made the brass, it last for many reloads with the right headspacing. Used 150gr Nbt at 2000 f/s for springbuck, Impala and Blesbok with no trouble at all.

BillinOregon · « **Reply #11 on:** June 28, 2008, 04:42:14 AM »

Sig: Good lord, man! Tell us more, much more about your South African hunting trip with a .30 Herrett. Share photos, please.

sigbbred · « **Reply #12 on:** June 28, 2008, 09:13:01 AM »

Like this

??

Davemuzz · « **Reply #13 on:** June 30, 2008, 09:19:34 AM »

Nice photos! Congrats on a job well done!

BTW, my $.02 on this is i have a 14" 7-30 Waters barrel that is incredibly accurate. I can't compare it to the .30 Herrett, but all i can say is when I put the cross hairs on the bull at 100 yards and pull the trigger, there will be a hole directly in the bull every time. It is one amazing round.

Dave

handi243 · « **Reply #14 on:** June 30, 2008, 11:23:50 AM »

7 30 has my vote!!!! 120gr barnes triple shok 4" 200 yds off the hood of my truck

Steve P · « **Reply #15 on:** July 01, 2008, 08:53:15 AM »

I have both. Both work equally well on deer sized game to 200+. The 7-30W is a little easier to load and fireform. The 30 Herrett takes the same brass, but is a little more work. Bullets are about equal in price for either, as is the powder charge. If you can only get one, go economic (lower priced one) that way you can have more $$ left over to shoot it!!

Steve

Lone Star · « **Reply #16 on:** July 01, 2008, 12:17:10 PM »

Quote

...The 30 Herrett takes the same brass, but is a little more work....

A little more work? I've used the .30 Herrett since 1975 and it is not easy to make cases from .30-30 brass. First you resize it by pushing the shoulder back, then trim it off by almost half an inch, then you need to turn the necks since they have become too thick for most chambers. I reload for a number of wildcats, and the .30 Herrett is among the most tedious and time consuming to form. Years ago you could get .375 SuperMag brass which was easy to form to .30 Herrett (although you had to be careful with published data due to the reduced case volume) but today it is a major pain.

The 7-30 OTOH just needs a neck-down and fireforming. That said, I still prefer the Herrett.

.

Davemuzz · « **Reply #17 on:** July 02, 2008, 02:01:14 AM »

Lone Star....so...if I buy a Herret....will you GIVE me....oh say 50 pieces of brass just to get started?

Lone Star · « **Reply #18 on:** July 02, 2008, 10:12:40 AM »

Dave......uh.........

No.

.

BillinOregon · « **Reply #19 on:** July 04, 2008, 06:08:16 AM »

Sig: Thanks for sharing photos from Africa. How about starting a separate thread with a hunt narrative and load/bullet performance details?

Lone Star: The .30 Herrett was my first experience with a wildcat and case-forming circa 1980 or so, and while forming the cases is a chore, I agree the round is worth it. I'm putting together what I consider the Milek Classic rig: 10-inch barrel in .30 Herrett with Leupold 2X carried in leather shoulder holster.

Bill

Lone Star · « **Reply #20 on:** July 05, 2008, 03:41:30 AM »

Bill: For years I used 14" .30 Herrett barrels for IHMSA silhouette shooting but all I have left now is my original 1975-vintage 10" with the tapered, slow twist bull barrel. I used to have it set up with the 2X Leupold and Conetrol rings in the leather shoulder holster, but it now wears a 4X Leupold and an Uncle Mike's rig. It really likes the Hornady 110 V-Max bullets over H110 - this bullet works pretty well on deer with good expansion past 100 yards. It flys flatter than the 110 RN bullets Milek used, and accuracy with this bullet is very good too.

.

BillinOregon · « **Reply #21 on:** July 05, 2008, 06:34:30 AM »

Lone Star: I was thinking of using the 125 Nosler BT, but for the blacktails here in Oregon, I'll just bet that Hornady V-Max 110 would be the bee's knees. You must be getting close to 2500 fps even out of the 10-inch barrel with it.

Lone Star · « **Reply #22 on:** July 05, 2008, 12:15:55 PM »

The 125 BTip is probably a better all-around bullet, particularly out of a 14" .30H. It was my favorite in the Herrett and it killed deer well out to 100 yards. Once I tried the 110 V-Max I preferred it over the 125 for small Texas deer. The 110 chronographed at 2423fps over a max charge of H110 in my 10".