250 vs 30-30 vs 7-30W

[markc]

Ok, here goes, for whitetail deer, handloaded ammo or factory, which is the most effective 150 yd max range?   Already read what "Cartridges of the World" says, now what do you guys who hunt with these say?
markc

[jelting]

i like the 7-30 with 120 v-max. JE

[Graycg]

Key word here is "Out of a contender"....  given that caveat, I'll go with 7x30 waters, but frankly all are good.  There are loads available that will make the 250 really cook, but they aren't safe in a contender.

regards,
 Graycg

[flatlander]

Handloading at 150? 7x30 or 3030 should give very similar results with similar bullet weights. I would probably pick the 7x30 just because I like it.  I wouldn't pick a .25 caliber because I don't like using less than 120 grn bullet and that is just about the max a .25 offers. I'm sure it would work just fine in most cases, but I would still stick with the larger rounds. JMHO.

[jamie]

I would go with the 45-70 and not worry if I had enough uummph! to get the job done.

[wheelgun]

I have the 30-30 and 7-30 both are shooters but I think the Waters may be alittle flatter shooting.My .02.

[KYODE]

if i had those to pick from, i'd take the 250 savage. i don't believe you limited it to contenders? so, i'd go with the 250savage in the encore.
now, if you limit me to contenders, i'd pick the 7-30. i'd also take a 30-30 ackley over it, if i were allowed :roll:
i really doubt a deer would know the difference. i'll never argue the old .270 vs 30-06 thing. when you start looking up balistics, they are so close it's not funny. a man just needs to know his gun(whichever it is) and have the confidence in using it.

[Quadzillabill]

Who is making factory .250 savage ammo these days?  Anything available with a premium bullet?

Thx

[Hawkeye]

I have two, 12" and 14". Use them both to take deer and varmints. Learn your gun, scope and loads. I handload all of my loads. Both of the barrels like the 120grn Hornady V-Max. I took a deer last year with the 12" brl and the Hornady 139grn SST. The factory Federal 120grn flat point will shoot 2" groups at 100 yds just a little high and right of my handloads. I limit my shots w/the 7-30 to around 150yds. It will do more but that's what I used to. My shooting range is 180yds long.

My hunting partner has the 30-30 14" Contender. It shoots the Nosler 125grn BT flat and hard. He took a deer last year and it practically fell on the spot. The 30-30 barrel will also shoot the 150 grn Federal Factory loads good enough to hunt deer out to 150 yds with it.

Don't know anything about the .250 but have heard it is a flat shooter and I know of one guy that took an antelope with one from a custom barrel on his Encore.

Yes, you can buy Thurdy-Thurdy ammo just about anywhere but hell, if you are going on a hunt you have been planning, and you leave your ammo, you deserve to not have ammo and maybe borrow the guides old lever action. If it's lost, that another story. You just have to plan ahead. Take two batches of ammo, in separate bags or shipped ahead of time.
I used to shoot Bulleye competition. When we fly to some of the matches, I shipped enough ammo to compete to someone I knew there or to a gun shop. I would take enough with me on the flight or trip. My pistol might have shot another ammo someone loaded but why take a chance.
I'm rambling now. Get one of the three calibers metioned, if that is what you want, practice, reload if possible and get to know your weapon of choice and shoot straight. Good luck.

Mike

[Crayfish]

Quadzilla - The only factory load I know of for the 250Sav is the Remington 100gr Core-lokt loaded to about 2800fps.  "Premium" ammo isn't needed in this caliber, in my opinion, since the velocities aren't that high.  I've taken deer with the 100gr Corelokt in this caliber before and they did a great job.

If I were reloading this for deer, I would probably look into a 100gr Ballistic Tip or maybe just a plain ol' 100gr Hornady or Speer SP.  Cheap and will definitely do the job.

 :money: ... Crayfish

[Quadzillabill]

Thanks Crayfish - that's the only factory load I could find as well.  Lot's of .25 bullets out there for homebrew if I go that way.

is the factory .250 Savage ammo safe in a Contender?  i had always thought that it was on the borderline with the Contender and was just wondering from some people that have more experience with that caliber...

Never thought of this.  The reason I asked the question, is that I ran across an SSK custom barrelled contender in this caliber for a fair price.  Would you be more confident in a custom barrel, or is it the action itself that worries you?

[Questor]

Don't forget the 6.5JDJ. That's specifically what it was designed for, and it works exceptionally well by all accounts.

[SD Handgunner]

If shooting Factory Ammo I would opt for the .250 Savage. When I aquired my Super 14 SSK Industries .250 Savage Contender Barrel, JD stated that it was perfectly safe in the Contender with either Factory Ammo or Handloads that did not exceed Factory Ammo pressures. I found that the .250 Savage was an excellent Cartridge and quite easy to load for. While I did not take a Whitetail with Factory Ammo with this cartridge the Remington 100gr. Factory PSP Ammo shot quite well, and had the needed ballistic performance for the task. I did however take a single Whitetail Buck with a handloaded 100gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip with excellent results.

For the record the buddy that bought my barrel is still using it with the same load I worked up all those years ago.

Larry

[markc]

Winchester loads a 100 gr silver tip for the 250 Savage.  That pretty much limits it to two factory loads, which is one more than the 7-30 Waters.  Might give 250 Savage a try since I already have a 7-30 barrell.    Thanks for all the responses.
markc     :-)

[Quadzillabill]

Never thought of this.  The reason I asked the question, is that I ran across an SSK custom barrelled contender in this caliber for a fair price.  Would you be more confident in a custom barrel, or is it the action itself that worries you?

i would be more worried about the action than the barrel.  there isnt any strength difference between a custom and a factory barrel IMHO...

Well, I shot off an email to SSK asking about proper loads for the 250 and strength/safety issues.  JD replied as follows:

Savage 99 loads are OK--Not +P loads or bolt gun loads.  The 257 JDJ was developed to duplicate or surpass 250 Savage ballistics with stronger cases and better efficiency.  250 Savage brass sucks if you are a handloader.  JD

Rather eye opening for me.[/i]