7-30 waters vs 30-30 win.

[bwhtrscott]

can someone tell me if there are any real advantages the 7-30 has over the 30-30? i own a tc contender and i need some insight on which barrel to buy. i will be hunting whitetails and where i live shots are under 200 yards.
thanks

 

[bobbo]

I'm sure 7mm-30 Waters is a great cartridge, with a better sectional density than a .30-30. Then again, I've never seen a 7mm Waters cartridge or gun in person ever. .30-30, however... well, you know. A short trip to Wal-Mart for both.

 

[northwoods99]

I have a 7-30 Waters. Because of the 30-30 cartridge is being blow out to form the 7-30 water brass it allows more powder. My 7-30 Waters is a Savage Model 99 that was rebarreled to this caliber. I find that using the spitzer bullets in the 120 and 139 gr I have better accurracy than the 30-30 at 200 yards. My brother has the Contender in 7-30 and it is a tack shooter. If you reload for this I recommend the IMR 4895 32 gr with a 120 Hornaday V-Max. I have been going with a overall lenght of 2.60 and have had great luck.

 

[DAP90]

From a ballistics standpoint the 7-30 will be a bit flatter shooting; not that it will likely matter much inside of 200 yards. More importantly for me at least is the 30-30 is commonly available everywhere and the 7-30 isn't.

With the availability of calibers via the internet, your specific hunting area and whether or not you reload that may not matter to you at all.

I have no actual experience with the 7-30 other than what I've read online (makes this whole post seem kind of useless when I put it that way) but the 7-30 is supposed to be appropriate for deer.

Personally, I wouldn't get one because of ammo availability and selection unless I just had to have something a little different.

 

[hoghunting]

Welcome to the forum.

Been using my 14" Contender 7-30 Waters barrel for a few years and it is perfect for 200 yd deer, hogs, and coyotes. I get 0.5 MOA groups with the Hornady 120 gr SP, and nothing I've hit has traveled more than 30 yds. I reload and highly recommend the 7-30 only if you plan on reloading. If you're using factory ammo, stay with the 30/30.

 

[DANGERRUSS]

I had a TC contender carbine in 7-30 waters and it was a great little deer rifle. I agree that one should be a handloader for this round as the factory fodder choices are limited.