"best" 300 yard target cartridge for Contender carbine ???

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Magnum Wheel Man

New member
your guys thoughts on the subject... only cartridges safe in the Contender actions, commonly available barrels... handloads... oh, yes definately...

I'm thinking...

204 Ruger
222
223
6mm TCU
6.5mm TCU
6.8mm Rem
7mm TCU
7-30 Waters

any other suggestions ??? anyone regularly shoot 300 yards with a Contender carbine ???
 
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darkgael

New member
target

Interesting question. I haven't shot any of my Contenders at 300 yards. If I were to buy a barrel, though, I believe that I'd pick up the 6.8 Rem. The 130 grain bullets have a BC up at .460. Should shoot nicely at 300 yards.
Pete
 
S

sadsack

New member
Magwheel: I haven't shot the .204, 6.8 or the 7X30 in a contender, but I have all of the others you listed. All of them are capable at 300 yds. I've either witnessed or made kills (varmints) at 300+ with all of them. My personal favorite from the list would be the 7 TCU, with the 6.5 TCU a really close second. You might also consider the 30Her or the 30-30, both are good in the contender. The 30Her can be a pain to form and reload but its worth the effort.
 
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Magnum Wheel Man

New member
Thanks for the replys guys...

I've been kind of wanting something in 204, but am currently playing with a few 17 calibers for shorter distances, I also didn't realize that 204 Ruger barrels were commonly available for the Contenders... but I have always been a slower heavier bullet kind of guy, not normally the light bullet hyper velocity type... anyone shoot much 204 out to 300 yards enough to know how it bucks the breeze consistantly at that distance ???

I'm currently building a faster twist 223 barrel ( 1 in 8 twist )... it ended up being a heavy bull barrel 17" long... so I'll be able to shoot 68 grainish bullets in the 223... I also already have a 222 barrel in carbine length, but while it's extremely accurate at 100 yards, its a slower twist barrel, & will likely lose a bit of that accuracy to the wind at 300 yards...

I have a 14" 7-30 Waters barrel, & like that cartridge... so I'm thinking of a carbine length barrel...

part of the trouble ( for me anyway ) with the TCU cartridges, is getting enough cartridges to shoot through out the summer... sizing the 223 brass is kind of a pain ( I think I have only about 40 sized 7mm TCU cases )... but feel the 6mm or 6.5mm might be slightly better at the 300 yard distances... a little more mustard ??? ( my TCU barrels are all either 10" or 14", so I'd still have to buy a carbine length barrel for the 300 yard distances )

the 6.8 Rem ( SPC ) seems like an interesting cartridge, which at 1st I had no need for... ( being it was designed for the AR platform ??? ) & I had gotten rid of my AR, long before the cartridges developement... however I only receintly learned they were making barrels for the Contenders in 6.8... I also have alot of 270 bullets, though maybe not the ideal to use in the 6.8 for 300 yards... bt I'd need dies & brass & a barrel to shoot that cartridge... I'm looking at component & loading tool availability right now...

appreciate any other comments...
 
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bobn

New member
along with the 7 30 the 30 30 and 38 55 are very accurate at thoose distances. proper match quality bullets are a must in any gun. one plus is brass is ready availible too. another cartridge i would look at is 32 40. e arthur brown would be the source for my contender barrel iffen i had money. lol also a minnesota company too. bobn
 
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Magnum Wheel Man

New member
While I get great accuracy with my 10" 30-30... even in a long barrel rifle, it's not typically considered a 300 yard cartridge ??? granted more aerodynamic bullets could help a lot..

I have E.A. Brown bookmarked but see Midway has most of the barrels in stock, which are all actual TC barrels... one advantage of E.A. Brown, is they often offer faster twist barrels, than TC offers... ( edit... I see they are cheaper, & likely less shipping to boot... I don't know if they keep everything in stock or the turn around time though )

I'dbeen wanting a 300 Whisper for a long time, but wonder about it's actual accuracy at 300 yards ???

hmmm... 38-55 might be interesting, though more of an old school lob them in there like the 375 Winchester, & 45-70...

I'm actually looking at cost to shoot as well, as I plan on doing quite a bit of shooting next summer...

thanks for the suggestions...
 
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azsixshooter

New member
What about 7-08? You won't have any trouble making cases from .308 brass and it should be pretty good out to 300 yards, even out of the 15" barrel. I think they are becoming pretty common now, though it might be ballistically too close to your 7-30 Waters. I think there's at least a slight edge with the 7-08 though. In any case, brass is more common.

EDIT: Whoops, just noticed you said only safe in Contender actions. I think 7-08 might be only available to the Encore. Not sure, but if so sorry to waste your time.
 
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azsixshooter

New member
Slightly off-topic, but I have heard that some guys prefer the Contender frame over the Encore frame. Do you just happen to have a Contender or is there something more desireable about them? Lighter weight maybe? Faster hammer?

I don't have a single shot, but if I buy any gun this year it'll probably be an Encore pistol so I'm curious why some guys prefer the Contender.
 
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darkgael

New member
choices

a 300 Whisper for a long time, but wonder about it's actual accuracy at 300 yards ???
Click to expand...
I don't have the 300 Whisper. I do have it's little brother the 7.62 Micro Whisper. If the 300 is as accurate at 300 yards as the Micro is at 100, then you might go that way. Remember, too, that the 300 Wh. doesn't have to be loaded subsonically. That gives you more wiggle room for load development.
I also have a larger cal. version that I use on the Encore frame - 50 BMG bullets loaded into 50-70 cases. That is still under development for me but initial results were ok. Recoil is a problem there. I wonder if the barrel profile would fit the Contender - though recoil (the pulse is VERY fast) would be even more of an issue. Easy to load for, though.

AZsix: About the frames - Contender and Encore. They are just different. The Encore is larger and can handle the pressures of high intensity cartridges. The Contender came first and a lot of us acquired them a while ago. IMHO - the Contender has a better trigger.
Pete
 
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ken22250

New member
i say go 6.5mm/.264", the ballsitic coeficent is very high, so it will perform well at long range, i would go with the 6.5 bench rest magnum, made for the contender, it is supposed to be good to 300 yards, and will take down deer at that range( or so the add says)
ken
 
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Magnum Wheel Man

New member
SIX... my father in law started the collection... I have 4 of the older ( pre G2 ) actions... I have not shot a G2 or the Encores...

so, lots I don't know...

... I do know the original Contenders have adjustable triggers, & can be tuned to almost ounce pull rates... but if you click the trigger without the hammer back, or let the hammer down, you must break open the action to get the hammer / action to reset, or the hammer won't stay back... the G2's & Encores were changed so you don't need to break the action open again...

the pre G2's have a nice mountain lion jumping off a rock pile engraved into the sides of the action, & are blued quite nicely... however the engraving is prone to rusting ( as I get reminded if each year I take mine deer hunting )... the G2's & Encores have smooth sides, & likely the blued ones don't rust as easily as the engraved ones... I like my "old antiques" better than the new ones... but it would be nice to have a stainless action, or the heavier cartridge capability... ( BTW... they did make some stainless pre G2 Contenders with the Mountain Lion, but they are much rarer than the blued models... )
 
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azsixshooter

New member
Thanks for the info Mag Wheel Man. That engraving sounds really cool, I can see why you would like those, especially since your father-in-law started the collection. That's just cool in itself to have something handed down to you like that. I gotta find a cute girl with a dad that has a nice gun collection!
 
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jrothWA

New member
Original Contenders do not have the metal ..

in the action face to withstand the calibers used in the Encore action.
The originals are rated for the lower pressure cartridges with the 45-70 being the maximum.

the 21" barreled 30/30 should be good for 300, as you are not limited to the flat nosed bullet, the "Leverlution ammo from Hornady should be great in the original Contenders.

Contavt Ed Bellm's website to review so info and maybe talk with him directly??
 
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gemihur

New member
My recommendation would be one of Mike's favorites 222 Rem Mag Imp
https://www.bellmtcs.com/blog/222-rem-mag-improved/
Especially since 204 Ruger brass is readily available.
 
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HiBC

New member
Adjustable sights make the 300 yard thing not such a big deal regarding cartridge selection.
While your 8 in twist 223 bbl should work great,
How about adding another dimension to the game?

What about a cast bullet 30-30?
 
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