Being a rimmed round it naturally found it's way into the Contender, but from a practical standpoint, it no longer serves any usefull purpose. It seems to me to be a bad choice for a first gun, with so many other light kickers out there. A .243 would be much better, for example.
No offence, Ramrod, but I reckon if a cartridge can take game cleanly and effectively from most standpoints, especially a practical one, it definitely serves a useful purpose.
IMO it doesn't do young hunters any harm to use a cartridge that's a little more unusual and may involve more stalking.
I began using 303/25, learnt to handload and enjoyed every step.
It made shooting cheaper and also meant I knew exactly what my rifle could do.
303/25 is a rimmed cartridge too that was also effectively shelved by the .243 when it first came out in Australia.
The game doesn't know the difference though and if nixsrs93 buys his son a T/C rifle then they can quite easily buy another barrel for it in any chambering they like.
I guess I'm tired of being told that a cartridge need to be fast, flashy and the same as almost everybody else is using.
Go ahead and try the 7-30.
You'll probably find yourself nicking it now and again. :wink: