7X 30 waters

[grumps]

I am shooting a 7x30 with a 16.25" barrel with a regular rifle stock on it.  I need some loads for this rig.  Prefer bullets that are either ballistic tips or pointed lead.  It looks like the preferred powder is 4895 or 748 in the sierra manual.  Anybody got some good ones for me.

[Elwood]

Hey Grumps,
I suppose that this subject belongs in the T/C rifle forum but Ill tell you what I know. Keep in mind that every barrel is a individual and what works in mine may not work in yours. I have tested in my 21" carbine H322, IMR4350, IMR4895 and AA2520. The AA2520 bested all of them in accuracy and allegedly in velocity(I dont have a chronograph so I have to believe what I read). I have used the Sierra 120 grn spitzer and the 120 grn ballistic tip both are beautifully accurate. My son killed a mulie spike with it two years ago and my brother is using it for deer in another week. 7-30 Waters in the contender carbine is a awesome combo!

Elwood

[Reed1911]

We are now manufacturing the 7-30 Waters in a pretty wide selection of bullets, ballistic tip and similar included. They are posted on the website.

[jeff]

Grumps

You might have a problem similar to what I experienced recently.  I bought a new Bullberry 223 carbine barrel for my 20+ year old contender.  The barrel seemed to be loose with mostly lateral play and the groups were pretty bad.

You might want to visit the Contender carbine forum and read the results of my quest for reasonable accuracy.  

good luck

[Graycg]

Check out your scope mounts, rings or sights, ammo grouping 9 inches sounds more like a sighting or mechanical problem than the ammo.  You might want to check with federal to make sure there is no recall on that ammo.  You might also want to inspect the crown of the muzzle and see if you have a ding or blemish on it.  Another idea is to clean the bore real well if it hasn't been done in a while.
   I don't think that you have an ammo problem.

regards,
 graycg

[wheelgun]

I agree with Grayco a 9" group at 100 is pretty severe.I would check everything else before looking at ammo.I have a 13" barrel that will do 1" easy at a 100 yards.AA-2230 with a 130 grain Sierra ssp bullet  have taken muledeer and whitetail with no problems.AA-2230 work best in my barrel W-748 was alittle faster not as accurate.The AA-2230 will push the bullet to 2250 fps.

[C A Plater]

A nine inch group with factory ammunition indicates there is something wrong with the barrel.  I would check the chamber to barrel alignment.  I had one that you could easily see by looking down the barrel and rotating.   If that is the case, T/C will replace the barrel.

[jhalcott]

9" at 100???
  what did it do before? Check the crown for dings,etc..Put another scope on it to be sure of the scope.While the scope is off make certain the bases are tight.  The last thing I'd suspect is the load,but it wouldn't hurt to check the components to be sure they are correct. If the brass is old and hard,it may not be loading properly.Make sure it isn't bulging at the shoulder /body juncture.Let us know what happens.

[grumps]

I want to try a 30-30 with handloads and see what that will do.

[jeff]

Grumps

Your problem sounds just like the one I had going from pistol to carbine.  I was getting 5-6" groups.

Give your T/C a little test.   Sit in a hard seat chair, put the butt on the seat between your legs and squeeze tight.  Take one hand and grab the muzzle, the other hand grabs the action.  Now, push and pull in opposite directions at the same time.  You might find a bit of play where the barrel connects at the hinge pin.  If you can wiggle it, that's probably the cause of your large groups.

[grumps]

It just has the stndard hinge pin that came in it.  I see where bellm sells accurizing hinge pins for the T/C, can a hinge pin cause that kind of accuracy problems.

[Elwood]

can a hinge pin cause that kind of accuracy problems? Not likley. This "fix" has been talked about , kicked around, discussed, cussed forever on this forum but Jeff is the only one who has found it helpfull for as long as I can remember. Nothing against Jeff or his results. Think about this, what are the odds of your pin suddenly becoming undersized? You said that your rifle had been shooting accurate before. What are the odds of your frame pin holes suddenly becoming oversized?
On the contender and encore our sights or scopes are mounted on the barrel so slack in the action has a minimal at best, effect on our accuracy. Next concider the source of these pins and the theory behind them. The fellow with the banned name that rymes with sell-em also advocates that our firing pins hitting the primer is forcing back the shoulders on our bottlenecked cartidges. Concider that one!  Could it be that some of his theories are flawed? Many of our friends here have tried his oversized hinge pins without effect this is not a new concept for accurizing our contenders and encores. Try searching Graybeard Outdoors for threads talking about oversized hinge pins. There is one heck of a lot of experts among our members.
Elwood

[jeff]

Grumps

What do your groups look like?  How many shots do you shoot for a group?
Are you doing anything different?  Can you have someone else test your contender?

[breeze]

I would look at the bases and rings for a problem like that.  Your barrel may also need recrowning.

[grumps]

The 30-30 is a sweetheart.  Love it.