300 whisper vs 30 herrett

[Nathan Bowen]

I am new to hand gun hunting. I am interested in a deer caliber for a 10" contender. I called J.D. Jones about his 300 whisper and he tells me it will beat the 30 herrett. That is not what I have red in this forum! So my question is are there new loads for the 300 whisper or does he just love his own work? Which is best from a 10" - or is there still a better choice? Thats more than one question, but I have a feeling I will get more info here than I could get with ten more phone calls!
 Thanks  Nathan Bowen

[Brian T]

I have an 18" carbine in 300 whisper.  I get 2300 fps with the 125 grain ballistic tip bullet.  I buy the brass from JD, ready to prime and load for $17.00 a hundred.  It is very easy to load for and fun to shoot.  CORBON makes loaded ammo for it.

I do not have any experience with the Herrett but I think that the brass forming is more complicated.  Not sure of the ballistics either.

I swap e-mails with JD just about every week and in my opinion you can take what he says to the bank, he has killed more game with a handgun then just about anyone else I can think of (except for maybe Doc Rodgers)  my .02

the great thing is we can get what we want!!

[Brian T]

For a real blast buy a 41GNR barrel from Gary Reeder.  Shoots a 170 grain 41 cal bullet @2000+ fps, easy to form the brass and a great shooter.

[BCB]

How is the 300 Whisper brass formed...BCB

[Brian T]

I have only bought ready to load brass from JD.  If you can find .221 fireball brass you only have to lube and neck up to .308.  The brass JD sells is .223 brass that has been shortened and formed.   I am sure he  has some automated process to make it, but for me it was too easy just to buy it ready to load.

[JD HHI 6092®]

Forming the 300 Whisper brass for me takes an extra step.  I use Redding dies.  They come with 2 sizing buttons, 7mm and 30 cal.  I lube the 221 Fireball case then run it into the die with the 7mm button.  After that I swap out buttons and the use the 30 cal.  It really simple and cases seem to last a long time.  I have yet to lose a case.  

You can also purchase dies from SSK that are made by Hornady.  I've heard they only require just one step, run the 221 Fireball case in to the sizing die and your ready to go.

[Racepres]

I have been wrong before but a simple look at case capacity will tell ya that the whisper is more efficient but at equal pressures the herrett should out-perform it due to a bit more capacity. All moot if yer using a 14 in or longer bbl as a large number of even larger capacity cases is available in this caliber. For an easily formed and efficient  ctg it is still hard to beat the whisper . but many ctg.s are faster. Just tell JD ya want a 309 JDJ and get the very best.... $0.02     Marty   BTW for that matter the 7TCU is a ballistic twin that is even easier to make and absolutely will shoot well...

[karbo]

My Sierra reloading software shows a max velocity with a 125 grain bullet as 2250 fps for the 30 Herrett, and 2000 fps for the 300 Whisper.  These are supposedly both from a 10" barrel.  The 2000 fps from a 10" compares fairly well with the 2300 from an 18" that was previously reported in this thread.  I'm interested in one of these chamberings as well, but am not sure what I can realistically expect from a 30 Herrett or 300 Whisper from a 10" barrel.

[Johnly]

Just for comparison purposes, the here are the case capacities(H-380) of some small 30 caliber cases:

30-20            21.1 grains
300 Whisper  24.5 grains
30 Herrett     35.0 grains


One might conclude that for the 300 Whisper to get within 250 fps of a 30 Herrett that was has ~50% larger case capacity, that the operating pressure of the Whisper is significantly higher.

[casper_zip]

:grin:  :grin:  :grin:

On the subject of 300 Whisper Vs 30 Herrett, the Whisper don't come close to the Herrett. I have shot the 30 Herrett since 1974, and have shot the 300 Whisper as soon as they came available.

I have killed many deer one shot with my 30 Herrett, haven't used the Whisper on deer yet. Don't get me wrong I love the Whisper, my barrel came from Fox Ridge. I make my own cases from 223 cases, take them down to 221 Fireball and back to 308 caliber.

The 30 Herrett cases are very easy to make. I use a Dremel tool to cut the 30-30 case down, trim, and neck back to 308. I don't lose any cases, that I am aware of. With full throttle loads, and chrono testing, the 30 Herrett is way ahead.

There is one 223 cased 308 that will equal the 30 Herrett, but also much more pressure. That is the 30/223. I love that one, too, and still am developing loads. I have 2 full sheets in my notebook on Excel on this one.

All this is my 2 cents worth. Get either one, when used in any sensible and sane load in the Contender, you'll have nothing but fun.

Casper_Zip :grin:  :grin:  :grin:

[Lone Star]

My experience mirrors Casper's.  It is true that the .30 Herrett is loaded to lower pressures than the .300 is, about 42,000 cup vs 52,000 cup respectively.  This is not enough to make up for the 40% difference in case capacity.  The Nosler 125 BTip bullet is, IMO, the best game bullet in either cartridge...the .30 Herrett has about a 50-75 yard advantage over the .300 due to its higher muzzle velocity.  I originally used the Speer 110 RN bullet in the "old days" (1975) based on Milek's recommendations, but its poor shape hurt the long range performance.  It did expand decently though.  The Speer 130HP worked better - until the advent of the Ballistic Tip bullets.

I made all my .300 cases by running the .221 brass through the RCBS expanding die, zero case loss.  An interesting side note - my first set of RCBS dies in this cartridge was warped, and the cases made in it would not chamber in the T/C!  Sent the dies back to RCBS and the replacements work great.  RCBS has a great customer service policy - that's the good news.  The bad news is I have sent 'way too many products back to RCBS for replacement.  

[casper_zip]

Hey there  :grin:  :grin:  :grin:

Lone Star, I agree with you on bullet consideration. Like you, I followed Bob Milek's work, his loads, etc. Then over the years, I have done considerable work with other bullets,  powders. Both these rounds really shine using the cheap AA-2200 powder. I have some "awesome" loads using this powder.

It's no longer for sale, but I bought some of the 8# jusgs for about $40 bucks. Glad I stocked up, for now, I use it in about everything. The Nosler BT in 125 grain is really something.

I love to experminent, and shoot lots of other loads, for everyday practice and playing around, I shoot the cheapest "bulk" bullets I can find. I also cast my bullets, and use the cast bullet loading techniques, and have had great success with them, too.

Sure glad people have not forgetten the great 30 Herrett and the 357 Herrett. For those who are not aware, the first perfect score of "40" in a  IHMSA contest was fired with a T/C 14" Contender in 357 Herrett. I still have all my IHMSA books, and this shooter used mixed ammon. Several different case makes, and several different primers.

Better close, done wrote a book. Shoot often, and keep good notes.

Best to all,

Casper_Zip  :grin:  :grin:  :grin:

[Moe]

Casper_Zip: Ah notes, that is where I am grossly lacking. I have a hard time keeping accurate records of all my calibers and variations. Gets pretty confusing if you have a number of calibers!

[casper_zip]

Moe:

Go to Wal-Marts, and go to the isle that is stocked with envelopes, notebooks, writing supplies, paper, etc. Get you a cheap plastic, 3 ring locking ring notebook.

Look around the same place, and get you several packages of the plastic or vinyl sheet protectors. Then, come home, put your data on Excel spread sheet, or whatever program you wish to use. Send this data to the printer, and insert the sheets into the protective covers and now they are safe, clean and will be in your notebook.

I spend many happy hours researching my data, and then, pick new loads and load up, go shoot, and see what I have. If you want to read an amazing article about the 30 Herrett, go to Rocky's Reloading Room, and pull up the 30 Herrett Contender. He killed a deer at 425 of his paces with his 30 Herrett Pistol.

His site: http://www.reloadingroom.com/page31.html

Thought you may enjoy this. My longest one shot kill up to this date has been about 170 yards. Haven't had a chance on anything longer, and I very seldom shoot that range, but I will if all looks o.k.

Best to all,

Casper_Zip