30-30 Advice for Contender - Which barrel?

[Scout]

Hi Folks, I want to make the move for nect season into a TC Contender 30-30 barrel.. Been looking at them on Ebay etc.. What is the normal accuracy with these barrels?  FYI I will hand load my own.  

Is the older octagonal better than the newer Bull barrel?  Should I step away from TC and just get a barrel from one of the custom makers?

 What's the improvement in accuracy for the extra $$??

Also I want to stick to a 10" barrel to keep it somewhat handy ..

Any advice or experienc es shared would be greatly appreciated..

Scout

[w4dsb]

i cant comment on the 10" barrel but i shoot a 14" bull barel without muzzle brake and can get sub 1" groups at 100 yards all day long
with handloaded ammo. I can also get right at 1" groups with factory remington core lokt 150 grain ammo.

[Jim S]

I you want to get a 10" by all means get the 10" bull. The old 10" octgon 30/30 barrels were pretty stout in recoil with a full load. The 14" gets more velocity out of the 30/30 and you may , if you want to  stick to a 10" barrel , look at a 30 Herrett. I know it is a little trouble to make the brass but properly made and reloaded the brass will last at least 10 firings. I had a 10" 30/30 that I shot in long range silhoutte with a 150 gr bullet and it was accurate so there is no problem with the barrels being accurate just a 30 Herrett is more efficient and often gives more velocity out of a 10" barrel than a full length 30/30.  Your choice . For my .02 I would get a 14" 30/30 or a 10" 30 Herrett. I have both and the full 30/30 out of a 10" barrel will work fine , a 14" will work better.

[Huntyeraws]

Just a head's up, In Ed's Contenders listing for 2/23/05, he has a blue 10" bull 30/30 NIB for $165 and a 14" bull for $195 NIB.
You can catch his ad here on this forum.

[Tad Houston]

I already offered it to thompsonjoe, but if he doesnt want it, i have a 10" octagon 30-30 i'm selling for $140 shipped. Let me know if your interested.

Tad

[wheelgun]

I have the 30-30 in 10" and 14" barrels.Both barrels shoot well the 10" is just not long enough to burn all  that powder. If you are not set on the 30-30 the 357 max is great in a 10" tube.

[Mayor of Hobbs Knob]

An octagonal 30-30 barrel taught me how to hold a Contender without drawing new blood every time, how to wear hearing protection every round, how not to shoot prone on dusty ground, and how to enjoy the thrill of a handful of power.  An old Super 14 barrel with one of T/C's godawful Lobo three power scopes, the old six groove configuration,  and homegrown ballistic tip bullets showed me how fantastically accurate a thitry-thirty can be.

[Racepres]

I had an experience w/ a octagon 30/30 much like the mayors.... The recoil to me was not as bad as an octagon 44Mag, but the noise of the thing!!!! of course in the 70's we all did not know better!! and wow what a fireball!!    Wish I had it back tho cause some of my friends (w/ear protection) have reported phenominal results w/ cast bullets, and I prefer cast these days.    Marty

[fyrepowrx]

I shoot the 30/30 in a couple of variations.

my 14" barrel is great with about everything i used in it. Even does pretty fair with factory loads for that matter. Handloads with the Hornady Single Shot Pistol bullets run about 1.5" with a couple of powders. have never gotten it to break the 1" barrier yet, but i'm still trying...

My 14" 30/30 Ackley Improved is perhaps a bit more of a good thing...better accuracy, better performance, etc. Plus you can still shoot factory loads if you want to.

I used to have a 10", but found it lacking compared to the .30 Herrett in a 10" tube. Accuracy was not so great,  & fireball/blast was pretty bad... like Jim S. said, i also think your better off with a herrett in a 10 incher.