Hey guys, nice forum I read everyday. Does anyone know what is the most powerful round ou can shoot in a Contender. I mean Handloaded(custom barrel if necssary but not preferred) I am a country boy without a lot of money. I want something that will kill deer at 225 yards and do it humanely. I already own a .35 Remington but past about 175 I feel like it is iffy. I know there a lot of opinons out there and I may have to go an Encore or boltgun, but does anyone here a Contender that will deliver 1000 ftlbs energy at 225 yards?

try a 375jdj

If you are looking for "the most powerful round" in a Contender to kill a deer, you may be too preoccupied with energy. A 6.5mm JDJ with a 120 grain Nosler BT at 2400 fps MV will give you the "over 1000 ft./lbs" at your specified 225 yards, but it is not "the most powerful." It is, nevertheless, quite efficient and extremely lethal on deer-sized game out to 250 yards or even a bit more in experienced hands. If "biggest" and "most powerful" are what runs your clock, then you should go to the Encore. But all the energy in a big, wrist-rocking Encore caliber won't kill a deer any deader than a 6.5 JDJ, 7-30 Waters, etc.

[ 02-23-2003, 07:31: Message edited by: Bobby Tomek ]

My .30 Bellm has almost 1000 ft lbs at 225 yards with 130gr SSPBs. But it kicks less than a 44 mag does. All things are relative...decide what you want to do first. Kill a deer at 225 yards requires a flat shooting round with good retained energy. Ballistic coefficient comes into play for longer ranges. From a pistol in close, big heavy bullets pack a wallop, but after 150 yards they become more akin to cannonballs. Using factory loads, a 44 mag with 250gr partition golds only has 840 ft lbs at the muzzle and 711 ft lbs of energy at 50 yards. I KNOW a 44 mag at 50 yards will kill a deer VERY dead with this particular Factory Winchester load. Never seen one get up and walk away from it either. Want to shoot something that kicks like a mule, just cause you can? Get an unbraked 45/70 or one of the big bore wildcats. But if you want to kill deer at long range with a pistol, look for retained energy, most of the wildcats were built with this in mind (with the exception of some for extreme accuracy in silouette shooting).
Helicopter Bill

I my opinion, the 375GNR.
It's parent case is the 405 Win.
A little more umpf than the 375JDJ and less expensive. Gary Reader will re-chamber a T/C 375 barrel whereas JDJ will not. (Mike Bellm will rechamber to 375/444 which is the same thing as the JDJ.)
I get about 100-200 fps more than the 375JDJ. Which doesn't sound like much ...and it really isn't BUT at 225 yds the GNR has 1500+ftlbs and the JDJ has 1300+ftlbs of energy.
The 405 Win case are available from Midway and maybe others now. (it's seems to be becoming popular)
Bill

http://www.reedercustomguns.com/index.html

[ 02-23-2003, 16:57: Message edited by: pahandgunhunter ]

I'd recommend a 308 Bellm, It's primo for long range and carries lots of energy way out there.
If you already have a 30-30 or 30 Herrett barrel, you can get there cheaply with rechambering. The other choice would be 309 JDJ. Both are based on 444 Marlin brass necked down to shot 30 cal bullets. Neither of these rounds kick anywhere near the elephant thumping 375s that are out there...Much easier too shoot.

regards,
Graycg

THe "most powerful" (45-70)Contender round I have a barrel for is NOT a 250 yard gun even on my best day, now I have a 7X30Waters that is a 250 yard gun and then some BUT those kinds of shots are reserved for steel and paper, 150 yards MAX on meat for me and mostly well below that (just my limits imposed by me on me). My perfect shot is the same kind of setup that bow hunters strive for closer the better. Why shoot at 100 when to wait to shoot at 10 or less is soooooo much better. My way not the only way or best, just mine.

You will want (IMHO) a cartridge in the 6.5-30 caliber range with a case design that is at the upper end of what the Contender can safely achieve. That class of case designs would include wildcats from Mike Bellm, J.D. Jones, and Don Bower. From what I know you can get into one of Mike's cheaper because of not going into a custom dies.
On the factory arena the 7x30 Waters with a 120 grain pill may be the choice. One concern for some of these cartridges is having enough impact velocity for the given bullet to perform well so as to have a humane kill. Since I have not used any of these cartridges for deer sized game out to 225 yards I cannot comment from experience.
I hunt deer sized game with 6.5's, 7mm's, and 30 caliber, but my cartridge selection is different since I am using stronger actions.
xphunter

As the others have stated, what you are looking for is a 6.5mm, 7mm or 30 cal, that will drive a 120-130 gr bullet 2400-2500 fps. There are several rounds that can achieve that level of performance, based on various cases, such as the 5.56X50R, 30/30, 225 Win, 307 Win, 405 Win and 444 Marlin.

Since you already have the 35 rem, you might want to consider having it re-chambered to a 35X444, it would definately provide more thump past 200 yds.