which cartridge for g2 deer hunting?

[mjbgalt]

i have a .204 barrel but am looking for a cartridge that can take deer out to 300 yards, give or take. the .30-30 ackley improved looks good, as does the 7-30 waters. however the waters runs out of steam pretty fast- sheds 700 fps in the first 100 yards or so, according to the tables.

6mm-30/30? 309 JDJ? not sure what i wanna do. thought i would get some opinions of people who have been doing this a long time.

-Matt

[BobT]

Matt,
I don't have any experience with either one in carbine form, I have used the .30-30 imp. extensively in the Contender pistol in an S14 barrel. I never shot a deer much past 100 yards with it but I could ring the 300 yard gong every shot off the bench once I got the hold over figured out. I think if I were looking for a deer cartridge for 300 yards I would probably go with the .309 JDJ or something similar. I have a .308 Predator that is very much like the JDJ but the shoulder is a bit farther forward to keep pressures a little lower I use .309 JDJ data for it. I don't have any experience with the Waters so I can't comment on it. Hope this helps.

Bob

[skb2706]

First use data for the Waters based on SP bullets and not factory FN bullets. You'll find it will 'git ur done' at 300 yds. I have a 6mm 30/30AI and I love the gun and it shoots great but it is not a 300 yd. deer gun not matter what you load in it. If it were me and I wasn't going to hunt anything bigger than deer I would go with either the 30-30 AI or the Waters.

[Graybeard]

I really like the Waters but the 7 JDJ #2 based on the .307 Winchester case beats it by about 200 fps and is really about the best 7MM there is for the G2. The .309 JDJ would be the way to go if a .30 is what you want. Don't over look the 6.5 JDJ tho and I think it is also offered in the .307 Win case which would be a wee bit more than the standard round.

[R.W.Dale]

 The little 6.8 SPC should fit the bill rather nicely. Much more readily purchased components and dies than some of the cartridges mentioned. A 130grn Hornady SST will retain over 1100 FT lbs of energy at 300yds if launched at 2500 FPS

 I've been having a world of fun with this little round shooting it in my 26" Encore barrel

[mjbgalt]

where can i find good info on the JDJ rounds?

-Matt

[Chris Potts]

http://www.sskindustries.com/cartridges.htm

http://www.sskindustries.com/contender.htm

http://www.reloadbench.com/cartridges/p65jdj.html

[mjbgalt]

ok... .30/30 Ackley Improved, 7-30 Waters, or 6.8 SPC? Which one holds energy better, more efficient, most delivered punch?

-Matt

[mjbgalt]

how about .300 savage? the ballistics and pressure data indicates that it might be ok to use. perhaps loading it down? it throws a 150 grain bullet at 2600...a little faster than .30-30 ackley, and better ballistics overall.

-Matt

[skb2706]

None of the custom shops I am aware of will chamber a Contender in .300 Savage.....or anything else with a .473" head size.

In order of energy potential for hunting - 30-30 AI, 7-30 Waters and the 6.8 SPC. The 6.5 JDJ would be nearly equal to the Waters but with slightly higher BC bullets it may have a little bit more reach.....but if you consider the cost of dies and the case forming involved there is no doubt I would go with the 7-30.

[ourway77]

I second the 7-30 Waters, I took 2 Large doe with it last pistol season. Case forming is a snap using 30-30 Brass

[Dwarfmiester]

 

[Dwarfmiester]

Matt,

    The last post vanished!  I third the 7-30 don't look at factory ballistics for the 7-30.  Flat point bullets are only for tube magazines.  I have a 12" pistol barrel, 4 deer in 4 years of hunting, all but 1 were 1 shot kills, and that was my fault.  I use the same load in both it and a 24" TCR barrel, afraid of having the wrong ammo.  A 120 gr. Nosler Big Game BT at 2700 (very easy to do in a 23" or 24" barrel) sighted 2" high at 100 (1942 ft. lbs.) is 8" low at 300 (1165 ft. lbs).  Brass & dies are easy to get, new 30-30 brass sized full length and then fire formed should be ready to load for hunting.  The pistol barrel has the same energy at the muzzle as the rifle at 250 yards.  The 120 gr. bullet left a 2 inch exit and the deer dropped in her tracks, i love it when a plan comes together.  If I were to hunting game bigger than 160 to 175 Lbs I'd go to the 140 gr. Accubond, 2500 FPS should be easy to do.  The TCR can group into .850" at 100 yards and a buddies Contender Carbine is as good.

[mjbgalt]

the only thing holding me back on the waters is that the factory ballistics show it sheds a LOT of velocity in that first 100 yards. the 6.8 SPC seems to hang onto it longer. It's down to those two for now and I am leaning toward the 6.8...

-Matt

[mjbgalt]

where did you get the ballistics on the 7-30 waters?

-Matt

[Heavy C]

+1 for the 7-30 Waters.  Ballistic tips make all the difference with this cartridge.  I bought a reloading manual for Contender cartridges a while back.  If you subscribe to loaddata.com there is a lot of information there too.

[Dwarfmiester]

The ballistics come form the RCBS Load ballistics program.  Chronographing the load ishows 2150 fps out of the 12" pistol, and 2694 out of the 24" rifle.  The Nosler 120 gr. Flat Point bullet which is used in the Federal 7-30 Waters load has a ballistic coefficent of .195, the Ballistic tip is .409. more than twice the factory load.  If you can get a Hornady 4th edition manual, you can see the data for a rifle and a Contender, the rifle data is only with the flat points because they are necessary in the Winchester 94 rifle.  The contender data can be used in anything that will accept pointed bullets.  Take the Contender data and add 25 fps for each inch of barrel and (24"-14"=10 inches difference, 10x25=250fps, 2500+250=2750 fps.) now that is not quite exact because the chronogramp only shows 2694 fps average.  If you don't reload than you are stuck with the factory bullet, or getting someone to load them for you.  I hope this helps, but flat points are the pits ballisticly.  The only place that will show this is a loading manual, Ballistic program or the deer in the field.

Len

[mjbgalt]

awesome. that's what i wanted to know...how much of an increase you get from the spitzer.

-Matt

[Dwarfmiester]

Matt,

     The 6.8 looked interesting to me too, but I really don't need to get set up for another caliber at the loading bench.  The 7-30 has more case capacity and uses heavier bullets so it to is a good choice.  Now there is a lot of overlap in the caliber lists that you make your choice and pays your money.  The 7-30 is the same as the .357 Max out of a Contender, those that have them love them and a lot of others can't understand what we are so enthusistic about.  Did I say that the 7-30 shot a group of .463" at 50 yards the one flier was not in the same hole as all  the others.  A friend has a 23" Contender that will shoot into just over an inch at 100, I have not shot the TRC at 100  with this load so No data.  Good luck and Good hunting.

Len

[mjbgalt]

when i looked into the stats, the 7-30 waters seems to approximate the 6.5x55...definitely not underpowered.

-Matt

[mjbgalt]

i have had four encores and three g2 contenders and onlyone had a problem staying under an inch at 100 yards. that was a .223 barrel that didn't like ANYTHING i fed it. the others were .204, and would all stay under a half inch almost every time i went to the range, with my handloads.

-Matt

[sportsman223]

 You might look at the 357 Max but have it built with the 358 bore to shoot the 180gr hornady SSP bullet.
  I had the same ? and then called MGM this was there answer so its getting built as I am writing this.

[Clodhopper]

None of the custom shops I am aware of will chamber a Contender in .300 Savage.....or anything else with a .473" head size.

Bullberry used to, I have one.  You have to be really careful with your loads though!  It is extremely accurate!