1:20 twist rate on my 10" 30-30?

[kraky]

Sorry if this has been covered before.   I picked up a beautiful but used 10" bull barrel.  I was doing a little research and found a site that said early ones were 1:20 and the newer ones were 1:10.
 
I just checked mine via the cleaning rod rotation idea and only get 1/2 rotation through the barrel so it must be a 1:20.
 
So..what is the future of this sucker.....will I be limited to very short light bullets.
 
Any feedback from 1:20 shooters appreciated.
 
Thanks Don

[Ladobe]

All of TC's Contender and Encore production 30 caliber barrels only came in 1:10 twist regardless of their length or cartridge chamberd for.   So it only leaves the possiblilities that it is a custom barrel made by who knows, or a TC "lunch time barrel", or you need to try checking it again several times to confirm your findings.    That method works, but not always if you don't hold your tongue just right. 
 
Custom is possible; a lunch time barrel highly unlikely as 30 caliber 1:20 barrel blanks probably would not have ever been in stock at TC; leaving IF it IS a TC barrel that your findings are in error.
 
 

[kraky]

Man I feel like an idiot.  It doesn't make sense that they'd make a 10" barrel in 1:20.  I must have needed a tighter patch on the cleaning rod.  Heck....it's morning now and I just "eyeballed" the rifling out the window and can see it makes a complete revolution.
Thanks for "kickin" me into reality thinking with your post!!!!!
 
Does anyone know a website that might dote on some good plinking and hunting loads for this sucker?
Going to the inlaws tommorrow and they live in the country.  Would like to throw together a few loads for entertainment of the guests tommorrow.
 

[Junior1942]

Mine likes the store-bought Meister and LaserCast at 1,000 to 1,100 fps.  The Meister is a 118 gr 32-20 .312" bullet I bathed with LLA and ran through a .309" Lee push-through sizer.   With it, I used .7cc Unique for one ragged hole @ 25 yards.  With the 165 gr LaserCast, I used the #14 RCBS rotor 7.2 grs Unique for another one ragged hole.  Both are great and cheap plinking/beer can loads.
For hunting loads, use whatever your 30-30 rifle likes.  Estimate 250 fps less velocity from 20" down to 10".

[kraky]

thanks for the reply.  Haven't tinkered with lead bullets in anything yet and am a bit hesitant.
Gonna start tommorrow with starter loads of re7 under a 110vmax and a 150sst and see how much this kicks.
Will also for fun try some trailboss under some 110 vmaxs....should make it a little more fun for anyone in our group that hasn't shot much.
 
Anybody here necksize for this gun?  I'm thinking I can use my 308 lee collet die to make loading fast.  I'm sure I can get away with the trailboss loads.....but might get in trouble with anything much stouter??

[Lonegun1894]

Mine is a .30 Herrett instead of the .30-30, but mine LOVES cast.  I size mine .311" and shoot bullets ranging from 90-185grs at various velocities, and I get no leading whatsoever and accuracy I never thought I could get from a handgun.  On a good day when I hold my tongue just right, 2" at 100yds is possible, but 3-4" is on demand for me with this gun/barrel combo.  I assume the .30-30 and .30 Herrett started as the same barrel with twist and everything else equal, so I think you will like yours.  Just experiment with it and play some with different combinations.  I cant say I have tried any factory stuff out of mine because I dont think anyone makes any, but the .30-30 has many options and some have to work well.  I use handloads almost exclusively because I like some odd calibers and refuse to pay factory ammo prices if I can help it.

[Slowpoke Slim]

Mine shoots factory ammo poorly. I chalk it up to having a very long throat in mine. Yours may differ of course.

I don't have any "plinking" loads, but I do have some good hunting loads.

Sierra 150 gr game kings and IMR 3031. The OAL measurement is listed too.




This one is a 125 gr Sierra game king and W-748 powder.




The horizontal stringing was a puzzle I solved when I noticed both of my top hats were loose in my barrel, allowing the fore end to walk back and forth on the rest. Tightening the dovetails solved that issue.


Oh, and that's 5 shots each, from a rest, at 100 yards.

[BCB]

 The Complete Reloading Manual for the Thompson/Center Contender (1993 Ed.) shows barrels with 1-14” twists in the 30-30 Winchester cartridge…
 
I suspect a tighter patch on the cleaning rod and a good solid hold (gun vise or such) on the Contender and you might find the twist to be between 1-10” and 1-20”.  Probably 1-14” I would say…
 
I have never heard of a 1-20” twist in a 30-30 barrel…

By the way, the 30 Herrett barrel is a 1-14" twist also...


Good-luck...BCB

[Keith L]

Ladobe ha forgotten more about Contenders than most people will ever know.  I would trust his comments.
The only way for you to know what your barrel will do is to shoot it with different loads.  Fortunately that is fun.

[Lonegun1894]

BCB,
I thought I remembered that the Herrett was a 1 in 14" as per my loading manuals, but wasn't 100% sure and didn't go check it.  Thank you.

[BCB]

Ladobe ha forgotten more about Contenders than most people will ever know.  I would trust his comments.
The only way for you to know what your barrel will do is to shoot it with different loads.  Fortunately that is fun.

 
I am going to disagree with that for sure…

I just checked mine and it is a 1-12” twist.  It is a barrel that is at least 30 years old, without checking my records and sales slips which I probably can’t find anyhow…

And I assure you that I know how to determine the twist of a barrel…
 
I think that .308 barrels from T/C came in twists from 1-10" to 1-14"...

So if mine is not a 1-12” and the manual I referenced in my previous post is absolutely incorrect with the data they list, then Ladobe could be 100% correct…

But then again, the 30 Herrett is a 1-14” twist and it is a .308 caliber…
(Although I am uncertain that T/C offered this barrel as a "factory" barrel)

I don’t think T/C knows what they made in many cases…
(Check the crowns on barrels of the same caliber--they can be different)

All .308 caliber T/C barrels are NOT 1-10” twist…

BCB
 
 
 

[Ladobe]

Well, for starters I go by and advise from what I had and saw from very early 1968 until I bought my last barrels a few years ago, hundreds of barrels, not some manual.   And with Encore's from having them from the start for 3-4 years until I got back out of them and sold them all.   That's why you seldom see me comment on Encore's with short personal experience with them, nor G2's with none except seeing and handling the prototype in very early 2K before they became available.   I never bought any new G2 Contender era barrels, nor any for Encore's for around the last 10 years.
 
This thread is about a Contender 10" 30-30 Win barrel assumed to be a standard factory bull.
 
Most Contender 8 groove 30 caliber barrels were all as I said, 1:10, including the 30 Herrett (the 357 Herrett has the 1:14).   The older and very rare for many years now 14" 6 grove barrels are the only difference, and they were 1:14 if I remember.   I had one many years ago I had rechambered for the 30 Alaskan, as did other IMSHA friends I shot with.    I didn't mention them because they would have just confused the OP even more, and few people here have probably even heard of them except the other old TC geezers like me.     
 
As for the Encore's, their 30's were also all 1:10, including the Herrett and 308 as I said, at least the first years... I have no idea after that.
 
Take it or leave it, matter's not, that's what I remember.
 
 

[BCB]

 Well, there you go kraky…
 
Your concern has been answered…


No if's, and's or but's about it...

 
And so it goes…

[30HERRETT]

TC made allot of the early first barrels(octagon) in a strange twist ,don't remember what but they had allot of trouble with them and changed to what Larry was talking about .

[BCB]

TC made allot of the early first barrels(octagon) in a strange twist ,don't remember what but they had allot of trouble with them and changed to what Larry was talking about .

I agree with that…

I know at one time, the years I can’t remember, there was a disproportional quantity of used 30-30 Winchester barrels in most gun stores—the reason, they didn’t shoot well for whatever cause…

By the way, Hornady 3^rd Edition also lists the barrel they used as a 10” with a 1-14” twist…

Now there are two (2) manuals that indicate other than 1-10” twist for a 10-inch barrel…

BCB
 

[shot1]

Get you some IMR 4198 powder for that 10" 30-30. THe 10" 30-30 Win barrel was the first barrel I ever had and did a lot of fooling around with loads and IMR 4198 gave the best accuracy and velocity with 110 to 150 gr bullets. 125 Nosler ballistic tips are super accurate and they really do a good job on deer size game. I have a 14" 30-30AI barrel that I use most of all now days. It is a BIG improvement over the 30-30 Win. It likes IMR 4198 the best also.

[Richard P]

My first 30-30 barrel was a 14'' bought in Dec 1979 and it was a 14'' twist.  There certainly was nothing wrong with that unless you wanted a 180gr or heavier bullet.  For most purposes a 125, 150, or 165 was quite sufficient.  Later barrels were twist rate 1;10.  My 10'' 30-30 was of that breed in the early 1990s. 
Once a friend bought a 32-20 10'' expecting a 1;10 twist barrel and after a few shots using a 180gr cast bullet it was quite evident that the twist was 1;20. Profiled bullets at 50 yds are hard to miss as evidence.   Someone had picked up a .30 Carbine blank, chambered it 32-20 and marked it such.  It made a return trip to New Hampshire.  rp

[BCB]

Well, I am sure glad that other people know of 0.308” barrels as being other than 1-10” twist…

I was beginning to think that I might not have known what I was talking about…
(Even though I speak from actual experience with 30 caliber barrels and manuals)

Never saw a 1-20”, but I’ll bet they do exist and I’ll bet some of them are factory barrels…

Isn’t that T/C company something?...

One just never knows what they actually did do…
(I don’t know if they know what they did either)

Good-luck…BCB