7-30 Waters...'lil cannon

[Kivaari]

I recently took possesion of a friend's 7-30 Waters to make ammo for him to hunt ...I'd never fired a Contender a lot before.

I used some .375 Winchester brass I acquired from Mr. Reed sized for 7-30 Waters. I annealed them and then turned down the necks  to a nominal .0085 thickness in order to allow about .004 for bullet release in the .305-.306 chamber neck. After full length sizing w/o an expander, I used a mandrel to size the necks.

I used Fed GM210M primers , Sierra #7250s (OAL 2.815), and Varget powder ranging 33 to 34.8 grains.  

A 2x Leupold was mounted after lapping the rings and shimming the rear with a .020 shim. I also added a couple of 6mm washers to float the forend; I set the screws with blue Loctite.

All I can say is WOW. I was setting off my car alarm about 30' behind me. Warm but safe pressures..no egregious head expansion...and no primer cratering. 10 shot groups at 50 yards were variously sized ragged holes around 34 grains or so.There is some real whitetail fetcher loads coming up..A lot of folks were asking "What is that?"....

Impressed with the 7-30 and the Contender...

[mkee]

i've had a number of contender barrels, and the 7-30 is my favorite to shoot and also the most accurate of my barrels.  130 gr Sierra SSPs shoot wonderfully, but most of the bullets I've tried in this barrel have worked very well.  You'll probably need to get a Contender of your own to try out now.

[JD338]

kivaari,

I have a Contender in 7x30 Waters with a Nikon 2.5X8 scope. I developed a load using the 120 gr Nosler BT is 34.5 grs Varget, Fed Case, and Fed GM210M primer. COL is 2.864"
My best 3 shot group at 100 yds is .225".
This load produces excessive muzzel blast. It can be seen on a bright summer day. The cases and primers show no signs of excessive pressure in my gun.

I have setteled on RL15 as my hunting/target load. It shoots .75 MOA but is much more plesant to shoot than the Varget loads with its excessive muzzel flash.

Regards,

JD338

[Reed1911]

Kivaari, too bad we didn't get the equipment in sooner, all out 7-30 Waters brass is now annealed.

As for loading, I have found a winner with AA2460. It's quite a bit faster than Varget so you will get significantly more velocity and less flame. With the 120g Nosler BT 35.2g shoots the eyes out of a prarie dog target all day.

[Kivaari]

Well, I've some RL15 around somewhere and a few remnant cans of this and that...

Oh well..I reckon' I should take the Oehler out with me next time and see if it's as much WOW as POW...

I've a keg of H4350 so maybe I'll try one those.....6.5 JDJs.. :eek:  :grin:

[Reed1911]

If you are using a 10, 12 or 14" barrel: Accuracy wise you might be able to achieve it, but both RL15 and H4350 are WAY too slow. Try in the area of H4895, H335, W748, BLC-2

[jhalcott]

I have both a 6.5jdj and a 7x30 in 14" barrels.I can get half inch groups with the 6.5 and 120 gr bullets. The 7x30 is another story. My reloads have never been as accurate as factory. Not inaccurate,as groups run under an inch(IF I do my part) and factory is about 50-75 fps quicker. I have some older Federal Premium using Sierra gamekings and some Vital Shocks.Same bullets ,but not as accurate as the Premiums. My loads use the 130SSP and 748 powder, also not as accurate. I'm working on loads with 4064 which shows promise and h335. I have several cans of powder on hand and don't want to buy more if I can help it. I know the load I have now will kill any deer,but IF more accuracy is available I want it!

[Kivaari]

No, I understand that Varget is about as slow as you can go with the case volume and overbore size of the 7-30 Waters....essentially an easier to meter, double based 4064.

I personally think that to a point, or when you've found an acceptable "burn range" , that case preparation, concentricity, and assembly are more of a factor than the powder itself...just my 'pinion.

However, the overbore of the 6.5 JDJ and its creator both indicate a "4350" range powder.