Your thoughts on 30 30 Contender

[44 AMP]

I have a Marlin 336 and that is one of the punchier cartridges out of all the rifles I own. I just find it to be a damn uncomfortable round to fire. I'd rather shoot .30-06 from a Garand all day. Something about the .30-30 just beats the crap out of you.

Its not the cartridge that makes it a "puncher" for you, its how the rifle fits you. I found this out a long tome ago, with a Winchester 94. That 30-30 beat me up worse than a Remington 600 in .308! The Marlin, on the other hand, fit me better, has a larger butt, weighs a bit more, and is just a pussycat to shoot, for me, compared to a Win 94 with a steel but plate!

Add a slip on recoil plad to your 336, and see if that doesn't make a world of difference.

I have a 14" .30-30 barrel for mY Contender, but alas, haven't shot it yet. I can't see any real good reason to get the 10", if you are going to use a scope, the shorter barrel doesn't really make it much more packable, and you lose a fair bit of speed. And recoil goes up! My 10" .44Mag recoils worse than any of my 6.5 or 7.5" revolvers, because even with the longer barrel, its still lighter. If you are going to stick with iron sights, the 10" makes a better carry rig, but won't get you nearly as much velocity from rifle cartridges as a longer barrel will.

Go for the Pachmyr rubber grip, and keep a grip on it. You don't have to hold on to a Contender like a regular pistol, as there is no second shot to line up for as quick as you can, Just hang on well enough to keep from getting hurt!

I saw a friend wack himself in the nose with my 14" .45-70 Contender, (and not shooting hot 300gr loads either!). After the bleeding stopped, he shot it some more!

[flattop44sc]

only have 2 barrels now, a .44mag 6 inch and a custom .444. the 444 does kick alot but accuracy and power is worth it. Breaking clays at 100 yds with factory ammo is the norm. Plus the looks you get when it goes off is priceless.

[Edward429451]

Oh I shot a 30/30 and a 44 contender. You wouldn't like them...Boringly accurate. No challenge at all.

[Sam06]

Oh I shot a 30/30 and a 44 contender. You wouldn't like them...Boringly accurate. No challenge at all

That says it all

The 30-30 recoil is not all that bad. It is a sharp recoil and about 75rds of full power ammo is about all I can stand. On the the other side I can shoot and have shot 300 rds of 44 mag in one outing, all full power rounds.

The real fun starts when I put the 22lr barrel on it and go squirrel hunting.

44 AMP is correct about the barrel length. The 14" will get you a large improvement in velocity. The 10" does pack around better. I have a 10" in 22LR and all the other barrels I have are Super 14"

[aaalaska]

I've had a 30-30 bbl for quite a few years, don't use it much but since brass for the 30-30 is everywhere I keep it just in case.mine is a 14 in blue barrel no brake, and as stated most contender barrels are accurate. Don't know your part of the country, but the 30-30 should preform well as long as you don't expect to much,think of it as a short rifle not a pistol. I had knee surgery several years ago , and my wife bought me a walking stick,one of those Cabelas models adjustable height, a round head or a shooting y that mounts on top,Best hunting tool anyone has given me in years,you always have a rest with you an for me that really stretches the distance I can shoot with confidence. As for recoil I find it only a little more than my RH 44mag with factory loads, and less than the heavy bear loads common here.But with the contender package there are so many choices, picking one barrel would be like pulling teeth,just not something I could handle.I wopuld say if you want the 30-30 barrel or any other go for it but don't think of it as your only barrel insted it's your first barrel. Hay we all gotta start somewhere,ab if you go for it, welcome to the addiction.
Alex

[culleniii3]

I think a 44 Mag barrel has much more options and power levels.

[kraigwy]

I have TC barrels in both 30 Herrit and 30-30. I seem to get as much velocity out of the 30 H as I do the 30-30, using the same bullet. The Herrit, at least in my barrels is a lot more accurate. Something about being a more effecient case for the same bullet in a pistol (both my barrels are 10 inch)

FOR WHAT ITS WORTH

[jglsprings]

Since you hand load you can pick your power level. The 44 mag contender nearly beat me out of the pistol game. It sure hammered me hard. I shoot Model 29's and a Dan Wesson 44 and sure like those better in the 44.... YMMV I seem to be a minority on this one.

Instead of the 30-30 I went with the 7 MM TCU and it was a breeze to shoot. The 7-30 Waters and a couple of other 7 MM wildcats are good options too. Better performance than the TCU. (I was always fascinated by the 6.5s but never got around to one)

My buddy had the 30-30. But, he had downloaded the rounds to practice with. It is all in what you want to load to. It will certainly take deer.


BTW

You WILL need to get a varmint barrel too. Something to fling prairie dogs around with. 223, 221 Fireball. You get the idea

[darkgael]

The 44 mag contender nearly beat me out of the pistol game. It sure hammered me hard.

I can understand that. While I like the .44 Mag on the Contender, it sure does come back a lot harder (or so it feels) than my Blackhawk.
I tried to put a red dot sight on the .44 barrel - tried two "recoil proof" dots - they both broke within three shots. I ended up with a Trijicon reflex which then got swapped onto the .30-30 barrel.
Pete

[OkieCruffler]

I've shot 14"30-30 and 44mag and I'd much rather shoot the 30-30 recoil wise. However, if you reload I'd go the 30-30 AI over the standard. 7-30 is also a great cartridge. You may want to take a look at the 357 max. Out of a 14" barrel it's very impressive. Love mine but it's only a 10 inch.

[awaveritt]

Love mine but it's only a 10 inch.

OkieCruffler: Love those grips! What caliber is your 10"?

[OkieCruffler]

Thanks, I'm kinda fond of that set myself. That barrel is an OTT in 357 max with a brass brake by Ross. Wood was made by John Cook. I also have a 10 inch in 30 herrett, another great choice but I'd still go 30-30AI in a longer barrel. I've shot most rounds safe in a contender (and a few that were questionable) but now I'm down to 10 barrels that I can't part with.

Also I have to say whatever you decide I would go with a custom barrel from MGM. At $250 it's not much more coin than a TC factory and definately worth the extra.

[Stevie-Ray]

I can understand that. While I like the .44 Mag on the Contender, it sure does come back a lot harder (or so it feels) than my Blackhawk.

Makes sense. The .44 in the revolver is spitting a lot of potential recoil out the cylinder/forcing cone gap. The Contender is blowing it all straight down the barrel. And in a Contender, the bigger the bore, the lighter the barrel, with barrel configurations being equal. All this makes for a hearty handshake.

[OkieCruffler]

Another thing effecting recoil is your grip. Dad had an old 10 inch 44 mag rechambered into a 444 with the traditional splinter type grip on it. With out a doubt the most brutal thing I've ever pulled the trigger on. I have a Pachy gripper on my big bore frame and it tames even my 358 Super Bower.

[JJE]

I'm right in the middle of sighting in loads for a new 12" 357 magnum barrel for my G2 Contender. I'm using a Nikon 2x pistol scope. I also have a 22LR match barrel with iron sights that I'm going to shoot after I get the 357 sorted. I got the 357 barrel because I can carry light loads with non-expanding 125 gr bullets for small game and 140 or 158 gr hollow-points for small pigs, and hunt both at the same time with one barrel. I'm not going to shoot at anything heavier than about 30 lbs and I'm not going to shoot past 50 yards so the 357 will do everything I need. If I was interested in the little deer we have in coastal CA or medium-sized pigs, I might consider a 44 magnum barrel, but to tell you the truth, for medium and large game out to 100 yards I would probably stick with a 30-30 rifle with a 2-7x scope.

Basically, I don't want any more recoil or blast than necessary to get the job done. I really like how handy the 12" Contender is. But even though it's super-accurate for a pistol, it's still just a pistol - if I need to shoot something big or far away, I'll use a rifle.

[Magnum Wheel Man]

I currently have 4 older Contender actions, & 23 barrels ranging from a 10" - 17 K Hornet through 14" - 45-70 to a 21" - 6.8 SPC... & including a 10" - 30-30 barrel...

I agree the Encore is likely a better platform to get started on if you haven't bought anything yet...

I think my most versitile "deer" hunting barrel, is either my custom 10" 45 Colt barrel, 14" - 7-30 Waters, 14" - 357 Max, or my 14" ported 35 Remington barrel...but as far as boomers go, the 14" unported 375 Winchester, or ported 45-70 always seem to put a big smile on my face ( the 375 Winchester is a brute )

but I also really enjoy shooting my 10" - 5.7 X 28, 10" - 17 K Hornet, or 10" - 22 Hornet, so picking one favorite would be very tough...

there is alot to be said for factory cartridges, the 17 K Hornet is a pain to load, as are the 30 & 357 Herrets, & the 6 & 7mm TCU's, though these cartridges often exhibit extreme accuracy, making them worth while to play with... however the ease of just dropping a factory cartridge in, even though it may not be at maximum potential adds alot to the fun factor...

all said & done, I like the 30-30 barrel, & have hunted with it, but deer can be on the large side around here, & generally I like a bigger projectile... in 10", it's hard to beat the effectiveness of a +P 45 Colt

picking a barrel length can even be difficult at times, for years I hunted excusively with my 14" - 45-70 with a 2-7 power Burris posi lock on it, but the last couple years I started hunting on my wife's cousins place, & it has public hunting on 3 sides, & is in the bluffs, so often, the deer are moving too quickly, & are too close to swing the long black gun out without being seen, so I switched to the 10" - 30-30 which had a 2-7 Burris on it, but found I couldn't always get the trotting deer in the scope in time, so I switched to the 45 Colt that I put Williams fire sights on, & that set up seems to work best, where I'm currently hunting... just developing the +P loads was tough, while I handle the brisk recoil well, I often ended up with a bloody knuckle after 20 rounds or so...

[OkieCruffler]

I think the Contender has alot better trigger than the Encore, and isn't as ugly to boot. The TCU's aren't that hard to form, just run them up in the dies. The Herretts are kinda a PITA, in fact I have a blister on my finger this morning from forming some 30 herrett cases last night. Still alot of fun tho'.

[Magnum Wheel Man]

BTW... OKIE, I meant to mention, that your pictured gun is very interesting...

very nice, both metal & wood detailing...I have a machinist buddy that likes working on my stuff, but as of yet, haven't found a "wood butcher", or the spare time or money to get anything fancy in the wood department yet... he has built me my 10" - 5.7 X 28 barrel, & my 16" fast twist 223 barrel, along with several other custom metal working projects... you may be interested in our last compensator ( it went on a custom gun, with a Dan Wesson style barrel & shroud ) the holes are all in the muzzle end, & it's designed not to kick up dust, or burn holes in my sand bags

it looks like this from the inside, with a small expansion chamber, the outer holes are at the very edge of the expansion chamber, & angled slightly outwards... it is not quite as effective at reducing recoil as the holes on the sides, but it's designed to direct the muzzle blast away from the shooter, & as a side effect, we found out later, it's an effective flash hider as well... but in shooting this revolver, it does keep the muzzle from rising off my shooting blocks, with the comp, while the gun does rise off the blocks with out it... we plan on adding one to my Dan Wesson 44 mag snubbie, & if the results are as good with the bigger bore, a couple of Contenders may have to get fitted with them, that painfull 375 Winchester may be a good starting cantidate



...do you spend a fair amount of time keeping the brass polished ??? even though my buddy hates working with stainless, he tolorates it for me, for small projects

BTW #2... one of my most often shot barrels is my 16" Vent Rib 45 Colt / .410... I usually like to keep that one set up with a lamo camo thumbhole butt stock & fore end... the gun is legal with the 16" barrel, because it's rifled for the 45 Colt, but has a shot straightening choke that screws in for use with the shot shells... it's my pesky wabbit slayer

[OkieCruffler]

Now that is an interesting brake. Are you running a switch barrel on that Hornet?
I wish I could take some of the credit for that rig, but the only thing I did was write checks for the pieces. The brass brake is mostly for show since the jury is out on wiether or not the brass would gauld to the steel under the pressure of being fired thru and I do run that max just stupid hot at times.

[mikejonestkd]

OkieCruffler: I think the Contender has alot better trigger than the Encore,

When comparing an older contender with a brand new encore you are absolutely correct. However, when comparing a new G2 to an Encore the triggers are essentially the same mechanism so there is no advantage to the G2.

Nice grips on your contender, very classy BTW

As great as the contender/ G2 is, if a person is starting with a brand new gun the encore is more versatile and has a wider range of calibers to choose from.

[Magnum Wheel Man]

... yes, that Hornet is now set up just like a Dan Wesson switch barrel ( in fact uses a 6" Dan wesson 357 max barrel shroud... I had an extra for my Dan Wesson 357 max revolver )... more on that topic here...

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/...d.php?t=360182

& I pretty much agree, the older Contenders have "target grade / match" triggers, while IMO, the G-2's & Encores have "target / hunting" grade triggers

... still for most shooters, the G-2 & Encore will more than get the job done... & while I like the "mountain Lion scene" on the older Contenders, it can be very difficult to keep rust from forming in the engraving with the blued actions, if used in wet hunting conditions ( I had a pair of them out last deer season, & it sleeted for the whole week ) the "uglier" smooth sided Encore is probably more practical as a hunting weapon... ( I'd still like to get one of the stainless engraved pre G-2 Contenders, but just haven't found the extra money yet... )

[ELK4101]

Just got a used TC with two 10 " barrels 44 mag and 22 match. I am looking for a 30-30 barrel, I seen them on Gun Broker 12" 14" will those fit on my frame? Any help out there
Eric

[OkieCruffler]

If it's a contender frame, and with those barrels I'm sure it is, then any Contender or G2 barrel will fit except the BP barrel (kinda sorta).

[BIG P]

14'' 30-30 is a blast to shoot recoil aint that bad, love to shoot deer with it.
put it on a sandbag and you can drive the guys with lever guns crazy i've out shot a few all in fun. it doesnt recoil as bad as a 454.

[CarbineCaleb]

Your thoughts on 30 30 Contender

I don't get the lure of firing rifle rounds from a handgun. They're not designed for short barrels (blast, flame, reduced velocity) or for lightweight guns (kick).

But I guess some people like something different - whatever floats your boat...