I am building a single shot break action rifle, and am still in a bit of a quandry as to what to chamber it for. I want a good, useable cartridge that is available over the counter and not $40+ per box. I would like it to have a lower chamber pressure, a rimmed cartridge to make extraction reliable and light recoil.

From reading a coupel of articles recently, it sounds like the 7-30 waters might be just the trick. I will be hunting ferral hogs and deer in the piney woods of East Texas primarily. I don't plan on scoping the rifle....at least not at first, so long range performance isn't a major issue.

What do you think of this cartridge? Could it be my answer??? BTW, there are pictures of my rifle in progress on the single shot forum under the thread "ejector or extractor".

9,3x74R maybe?

Rich
DRSS

PS: the first rifle you build should be something special...something memorable...something with a "Cool Factor" of at least 8 on a 1-10 scale. The rimmed 9,3x74R certainly would be a real hammer on those big ugly hogs that might just want a piece of you, and that do travel in groups.

My summer carry rifle is a 7-30 contender carbine. It makes a light well balanced rifle that is capable of killing anything in the south. In the summer i shoot 100 gr sierra hpts & in the winter 140 sierra flat bases. I have used the 100's to kill many feral cats & dogs but no deer or hogs have come by when it was loaded with 140's.

I wouldn't overlook the old 32 WCF either. .037" difference in bullet diameter offers substantially more frontal area.

Are we assuming you don't handload? The old 30-30 opened up to ackley is a good one that you can use std ammo in, or handload to its potential.

Excellent choice the 7-30 Waters is. Plenty of punch for suthern hunting but very limited factory ammo. A far better handloading round than any factory ammo I have ever found. I have or have had 3 7-30s and all were very accurate and easy to work with. A 32 Sp. is so limited on available ammo and components that you better have your own supply of them. I have a 32 sp. Model 64 but only shoot it sparingly.
If the Waters isn't your cup of tea then consider a 30-30 or a 30-30 AI ...if you handload you can easily extended the range by simply loading spitzers or pointed bullets.

I have a T/C Contender with a 14" pistol barrel in 7-30 Waters and it has performed very well. I handload so I use spitzer bullets. I've taken hogs out to 200 yards, and I've never had one run over 40 yds after being hit. It has worked very well for me.

I also have a 7-30 waters but I hand load. If I didn't handload and couldn't make the ammo the way I want it I wouldn't own it.
If you handload I think you'll like it alot....if not I would go to something like a 30-30 or 308.

I've had 7-30 Waters Contender Carbines since they first came out. Each grandchild, as they get old enough to hunt gets one with that barrel and a .22LR barrel. So far, they've loved them. Deer and antelope fall to this cartridge every year. I normally load the 120 gr Nosler ballistic tip for them, but have also loaded 140gr Nosler partitions. One of these latter rounds took a cow elk.
From what I hear, the kids have taken a little ribbing from school chums about this "Old Time" caliber, but they get the best of it when they tell about the game they've taken.
(Don't tell anyone, but I use it quite a bit myself!)

quote:

Originally posted by Bailey Bradshaw:
... From reading a coupel of articles recently, it sounds like the 7-30 waters might be just the trick. I will be hunting ferral hogs and deer in the piney woods of East Texas primarily. I don't plan on scoping the rifle....at least not at first, so long range performance isn't a major issue. ...

Though I've never owned one, the 7-30 Waters seems like a good choice. (I've read a couple of articles by Ken Waters about the cartridge.)

You might also want to give some thought to the .30-40 Krag.

Just my two cents....
-Bob F.

quote:

Originally posted by Bailey Bradshaw:
I am building a single shot break action rifle, and am still in a bit of a quandry as to what to chamber it for. I want a good, useable cartridge that is available over the counter and not $40+ per box. I would like it to have a lower chamber pressure, a rimmed cartridge to make extraction reliable and light recoil.

long range performance isn't a major issue.

Bailey,
Actually this is a tall order, but at the same time it may be easy too. It's the rimmed, no handloading, over-the-counter, under $40 a box, for use in East Texas, hogs, etc, that make it difficult. That actually leaves basically one or two choices. The 30-30 or perhaps the new 308 rimmed Marlin cartridge Hornady is supposed to be making.

Personally, I am not limited by some of your criteria, so I can consider the metric cartridges too, such as 6.5x57R, 7x57R, 7x65R, 7.62x53R, 7.62x54R. 8x57R, 9.3x74R.

Among these, my top choices would be 7x65R, 7.62x53R (Lapua 185gr/.308 ammo), and top of the list is the elegant 9.3x74R.

For more thump, with US cartridges, there's the 38-55, or 405 Winchester, but why??? when you can get the 9.3x74R. And the 30-40 Kraig is deader than a road kill snake in August in East Texas.

Personally, I'm not impressed with the 7-30 Waters. Over the counter ammo is very limited, and the 30-30 is better all around.

If you insist on mild recoil, then I would look at toward the new 308 rimmed Marlin cartridge, but I find the 9.3x74R very tolerable to shoot. My favorite in .308 bullets was also invented a long time ago, and ammo is available from Lapua - namely the 7.62x53R. It would be difficult to beat the 8x57R as all-around good.

Rimless cartridges are so boring.

KB

quote:

Originally posted by Bailey Bradshaw:
...useable cartridge that is available over the counter...

Yeah, I forgot about that part. IMHO, the .30-40 Krag really only makes sense if you handload. But, like Kabluewy said, over the counter ammo is pretty limited for the 7-30 Waters too.

I think I'd just do a .30-30, go hunt, and be happy. Naturally, you'll be able to find ammo just about anywhere.

-Bob F.

I appreciate all the comments.

The recoil issue isn't so much because I don't shoot well with some recoil, but that I am chambering for an untested action. I don't want to load it up only to have it fail. If it works out and proves to be as strong as I hope, I will certainly go up to something like the 9.3X74r. Just not on the first barrel. It will be a two barrel set..again providing it proves itself.

I don't handload, but can always have someone like Superior ammunition work up loads for me.

The 7-30 just seemed to fit the criteria I am looking for. Respecatble velocity in bullet weights that will certainly work for the game I have on my farm, while allowing me to put the new action through it's paces in a useable hunting caliber.

The 30-30 would be OK too, I just like the little extra velocity the 7-30 has.

it would seem that 7x57 would be a great choice the range at which you can load up or down in tremendous.

What action do you want to use by the way? What ranges max? Factory built i.e. TC or another? Custom rebarrel?

quote:

Originally posted by 6.5BR:
What action do you want to use by the way? What ranges max? Factory built i.e. TC or another? Custom rebarrel?

quote:

Originally posted by Bailey Bradshaw:
... BTW, there are pictures of my rifle in progress on the single shot forum under the thread "ejector or extractor". ...

Link to that thread:
https://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/9421043/m/749107446

One photo from the thread:


Just trying to be helpful...
-Bob F.

I'd second the 30/30, great availability of ammo and a bunch of different loads for it. Walk into any backwoods store that sells ammunition and 30/30 will be there.

everybody's missed the .303 british.... you can load it for less recoil, or soup it up... lots of milsurp ammo floating sround, really cheap to shoot...

A 7-30 Waters would be just fine for our area.

And fwiw, I've also seen ammunition on the shelf at Academy.

There are also no flies on the 30-30. That cartridge has probably killed more deer in East Texas any anything else.

quote:

Originally posted by jimatcat:
everybody's missed the .303 british.... you can load it for less recoil, or soup it up... lots of milsurp ammo floating sround, really cheap to shoot...

I agree - it would be great in an Encore barrel. Likewise for the Russian 7.62x54. I think they are the same grove diameter (.311?). I'm pretty sure SSK will make either.

KB