Rocky’s

                 Reloading

                                        Room

Home

Note:  Due to a lack of digitized photos, this article is presented as text only.  I’ll search the files for the original pictures, however, and insert them if found and scanned.

The .30 Herrett Contender:  A Great Combination For Deer

 

 While an orange-clad hunter disappeared up the draw to my left, a dozen winter-gray mules stole silently around the brushy point ahead of me.  Dropping to a sitting position, I raised my gun just as a plump doe stopped broadside to me, her attention focused on my host's son. 

 Even through the 4x scope she looked far off, but there wasn't a breath of wind, and the crosshairs hung motionless above her shoulder.  It was the last afternoon of the season and I hadn't yet filled my doe tag, so I had decided back in camp to take any reasonable shot.  Easing the crosshairs up just over her back, I squeezed.  With the sharp report, the other deer bolted, but the doe just stood still a moment, then turned back the way she'd come.  As I closed the gun on another round, however, I saw her hooves cartwheel above the sage brush.  Only then did I start to really take notice of things.  The more landmarks I noted, the more I became conscious of how far away the deer had been standing.  It couldn't be as far as it looks, I thought.  Marking the spot where I'd last seen her, I started counting as I paced a straight line to the deer.  When my count hit 200 paces not quite halfway to the spot, I doubted myself even more.  When it reached 400 paces, I began cursing myself for even attempting the shot. 

 "I don't believe it.  It couldn't be this far.  And if it was," I said to myself, "surely I missed and just imagined seeing the deer tumble."  Then I came to the shrub I'd memorized as the place to start looking for signs of a hit.  And a few steps beyond, there she was.  Cleanly dead and laying a total of 425 of my paces from the shot; some 350 yards.  Plainly visible on her left side was a quarter-sized exit wound, a third of the way down her side and just behind the shoulder.  Mostly luck?  Yes, I fully admit that.  But it was the greatest shot I'd ever made on a game animal.  I'm prouder of that doe than of a 6x6 buck because I'd gotten it not with a super-tuned rifle but with a pistol: the single shot Thompson Center Contender chambered in the amazing .30 Herrett cartridge.  Once again, the .30 Herrett had filled my wildest expectations...and my freezer. 

Whence Cometh the Wildcat

 Originally developed in 1972 by Wyoming pistolero Steve Herrett and Bob Milek, the .30 Herrett was designed specifically to be a highly effective big game cartridge in the 10" barrel of a Thompson Center Contender pistol.  After 20+ years, the Contender is still the only firearm chambered for the .30 Herrett (available as a regular chambering or from Fox Ridge Outfitters, the T/C Custom outlet), but the combination is still a good one.  Small enough to have excellent loading density yet large enough to give good velocity, the .30 Herrett is to the .30-30 what the .308 is to the .30-06.  In other words, nearly indistinguishable results from a smaller, more efficient package.  For the past few years I've used it for most of my deer hunting, and I consider it to be just about ideal for most pistol hunting applications.

 If you doubt that, compare the .30 Herrett and the .30-30 calibers in the Contender.  The Hornady Handbook, Fourth Edition lists both in their section of reloading data for the Contender.  With the same 110, 130 and 150-grain bullets, the Herrett delivers up to 400 fps more than the .30-30 when both are shot in 10" barrels.  Lighter bullets show the most added velocity.  In a 14" barrel, the larger .30-30 case regains a small velocity advantage, especially with heavier bullets, but the difference is negligible.  From a 20" carbine, the .30-30 launches a 110-grain bullet at 2,600 fps, only 200 fps more than .30 Herrett wrings from a tube only half that length.  From my 14" T/C barrel, the stubby Herrett round gets 2575 fps, virtually identical to .30-30 carbine performance.  The increased loading density of the smaller round when using faster powders gives the Herrett an efficiency edge.  Plus, the Contender can use sleek, pointed bullets with high ballistic coefficients, a distinct advantage over most .30-30 rifles.

 For Reloaders Only

 A pure wildcat, there are no factory loads available for the .30 Herrett.  It is formed simply by setting the shoulder back on standard .30-30 brass, then trimming to an overall length of 1.60 inches.  Even though forming the round is straightforward, however, there are critical aspects to the process.  Where to put the shoulder is the most critical of these. 

 Even though it is a rimmed cartridge, the .30 Herrett must headspace on the shoulder.  If the shoulder is set back too far, cases invariably suffer head separations, sometimes as soon as the second firing.  Shoulders set too far forward will not allow the  Contender action to lock up properly.  This can result in poor accuracy, no ignition or inability to close the action at all.  Decent accuracy and case life is obtained only when the cartridge fully and snugly fits the chamber.  Typically, best accuracy comes with fully fire-formed cases and neck sizing.

 The correct case-forming techniques are carefully spelled out in several places, including the Hornady Reloading Handbook, the free load data brochure put out by Thompson Center and elsewhere.  That being the case, I won't go into extreme detail here, but the basic process is to very gradually adjust your sizing die downwards during the forming operation until the gun just barely closes on a sized case.  Because no two chambers are alike, especially for wildcat calibers, you should never use ammo that was loaded for other .30 Herrett barrels.  If you own more than one Herrett barrel, you should size, load and mark ammo specifically for each.  Even a separate set of dies for each barrel wouldn't be out of line.

 Once sized to the right length, the cases are trimmed to 1.60", chamfered and deburred.  With nearly a half-inch of brass to trim, a regular case trimmer just won't do.  Instead, I use a standard plumber's tubing cutter to rough trim each case.  Then I finish with the case trimmer.  I've never had to ream necks because of too-thick brass, but some makes of brass might require it.    After chamfering, the cases are ready for their initial loading.

 Speaking of reloading, dies for the .30 Herrett aren't on the shelves of every gun store, but are available from RCBS, Lee, Redding, Hornady and others or directly from Thompson Center.  Mine are from T/C, and were made by Pacific.  Special forming dies are also available from RCBS, but since case making with regular dies is not particularly difficult, I can't justify the $80 cost of a forming set for myself.  Naturally, a regular .30-30 shell holder is correct for your trimmer, priming tool and press. 

 Once the sizing die is set, I have found the .30 Herrett to be "reloader-friendly", with no idiosyncrasies or touchy tendencies.  Cases expand in a smooth progression with increased powder charges, with no sudden jumps in apparent pressure.  This despite the fact that relatively rapid-burning powders suit this small case best. 

Of the powders I've tried, my gun purely dotes on Accurate Arms 1680 and Winchester 296.  Hodgdon 4227 and AA2015BR have also given me good results.  According to Wayne Blackwell's "Load From A Disk" software, other good choices include AA2230, H110,  H4198, Scot Brigadier 4197, IMR 4227, and Hercules RL-7 and 2400.  I use standard-brisance Large Rifle primers for all loads.  Ignition is positive even with ball powders.

 A 7.62x39mm Clone

 It should come as no surprise that AA1680 fits the .30 Herrett like Cindy Crawford fits a swimsuit.  The powder was designed specifically for the 7.62x39mm Soviet round that's now so popular, and the .30 Herrett has nearly identical case capacity and shoots the same weight and caliber bullets.  Weighing fired, unsized cases, I found that the .30 Herrett case holds 37.6 grains of water and the 7.62x39 case holds 36.0 grains.  You could almost think of the Herrett as a rimmed version of the 7.62x39.  But don't swap loading data.  The Herrett's parent .30-30 case was designed a century ago, and simply isn't as inherently strong as that of the Soviet-designed round.  The Herrett can't be loaded to equal pressures.  In practical terms, however, the two are ballistic twins.  In retrospect, I doubt Herrett and Milek would have developed their little wildcat at all if 7.62x39 ammo and reloadable brass had been available in 1972.  But I'm glad they did.

 Because cases must fit the gun perfectly, it is important to fireform cases before using them in full-power loads.  For fireforming new cases, and for subsequent informal shooting, I use either 100-grain cast bullets or Speer Plinkers.  Seat either bullet over 8.0-grain of Unique or 5.0-grain of Bullseye.  This fire forms cases beautifully.  For plinking, small game and even as a coup-de-gras load, they are superb.  If you don't need such loads, just assemble regular hunting loads with the powder charge reduced by 10 percent.  Use these for off-season practice and then load the brass with full-power hunting loads.  Once fireformed, size carefully, insuring that the shoulder isn't altered.

 Best hunting bullets for the .30 Herrett are jacketed soft points of 110 to 135 grains.  I've had good results with 110-grain softpoint designs intended for the .30 M-1 carbine, Remington's 125-grain Pointed Soft Point, the Hornady 130-grain spitzer and the Sierra 135-grain single shot pistol bullet.  All are available over the counter or from mail-order outlets like Midway.  In general, .30-caliber bullets designed for varminting in rifles often perform like big game bullets at .30 Herrett speeds.

 On varmints such as prairie dogs, rockchucks, jack rabbits and coyotes, 110-grain roundnose softpoints are devastating.  For deer, I prefer 125 through 135-grain styles.  I'd prefer a bigger caliber for elk, but if the .30 Herrett was all I had, I'd stoke it with 135-grain Sierras and pass up all but close broadsides.  Bullets heavier than 135 grains can't be driven fast enough to give flat trajectories or to expand reliably.  Silhouette shooters use the .30 Herrett with bullets of up to 150 grains to flatten steel rams, but they deal with known distances and humane expansion isn't a concern. 

 I think that 125-grain bullets offer the best balance of velocity, energy and ballistic efficiency in the .30 Herrett.  And my favorite 125-grain bullet is the Nosler Ballistic Tip.  It's the bullet I used on the hunt at the beginning of the article, and its performance has to be seen to be believed.  Seated ahead of 25.0 grains of AA1680, the Nosler leaves the muzzle of my 14" Contender barrel at 2375 fps and gives consistent 1" to 1.25" three-shot groups.  Incidentally, the standard deviation over ten rounds runs only about 12 fps for this load in my gun, which makes it a highly uniform combination.  All of my range testing is done from a custom rest and over an Oehler Model 35P chronograph.

 I don't think I'll ever re-accumulate enough luck to try another 350-yard shot with my Contender, but it's comforting to know that the Nosler Ballistic Tip performs perfectly even at  extreme range.  The green-tipped missile hit no ribs whatever, yet apparently expanded.  Field dressing showed a thumb-sized passage through both lungs.  The bullet exited the deer and caused a quick, humane kill.

 Because my family eats only one deer per year, I've so far "Contenderized" only one deer each with the 135-grain Sierra and the 125-grain Nosler.  Both were clean one-shot kills.  Although I've had excellent results with Hornady bullets in general, one batch of 110-grain Spire Point bullets didn't do as well.  My one deer with them needed two lung shots plus a finisher behind the ear.  None gave any evidence of expansion.  The particular bullets used, however, were at least 25 years old, judging from the packaging style.  The boxes themselves were water-stained and a few bullets in each box had some green corrosion.  I strongly suspect that those bullets became hardened through age or corrosion.  I had purchased them at a gun show for a give-away price.  Lesson learned.  Now I shoot only fresh, new bullets at game and use older ones for range practice.

 Gun Draws Attention, Praise

 At the range, the Herrett is a pleasure to shoot.  Recoil, even with hot loads, is comfortable and controllable with the 14" bull barrel.  I've never shot one, but the 10" barrel undoubtedly gives more blast and recoil.  Subjectively, I rank the Herrett as being noticeably milder to shoot than my .357 Magnum Blackhawk.  The gun and load invariably draw curious comments from other shooters, and I almost always offer them a pop or two.  Their reactions have been similar to mine, and I've never had a volunteer decline a second shot due to discomfort.  Even youngsters like it.

 In the field, my Contender tips the scales at a feathery four pounds, 12 ounces complete with Leupold 4X scope, Burris mounts and nylon sling.  It rides on my shoulder virtually unnoticed, and has been the source of many envious looks from tired riflemen who'd spent their day scrambling over northern Utah's craggy ridges.  An Uncle Mike's Sidekick elastic holder carries six extra rounds on my wrist for rapid reloading.

 The only disadvantage to hunting with a Contender is not its single shot capacity, as some might suspect, but the necessity for a good rest when shooting.  It is nearly impossible to shoot the gun accurately from offhand, and difficult to shoot it well except from a solid rest.  Running shots are out.  For that reason, I usually adopt a sit-and-wait hunting technique.  I simply find a spot overlooking good deer trails and sit there until a deer walks calmly by within range.  By scrunching around, leaning back and resting the gun atop one or both knees, I can generally get a fairly solid rest.  Best is when a boulder, fence post or limb crotch is conveniently located.  At a fence line, I usually set up with the fence in front of me.  That way, I can brace the gun against the post, or on the wire for a secure shooting position.  In all cases, of course, I pad the support with something soft.  I use my glove, water bota, or a small square of foam carried for the purpose.  Where terrain permits, a clip-on bipod works great.

 Sighted to hit 2 1/2 to 3" above point of aim at 100 yards, a hot, accurate .30 Herrett load will still be on an average deer at 200 yards or a bit more without holding over.  Except for freak situations like my recent hunt, that's about as far as a skilled pistol shot should stretch it.  And even at that, the use of a single-shot pistol requires not only lots of shooting practice but the determination to pass up all but an ideal shot. 

 The .30 Herrett/Contender package is not for everyone.  It's a highly specialized tool best suited for a specialized user.  Further, with ballistics in the .30-30/7.62x39 class, it's no laser-trajectory, across-the-bean-field elephant-zapper.  Today, there may be even better choices for the Contender-toter. But for the dedicated reloader and the careful, ethical and experienced pistol hunter, it is an effective, versatile and thoroughly delightful tool.

 

Loads Tested by Author

Notes:  WW brass reformed per T/C instructions.  WW WLR primers.  Velocity and Group are average of five shot strings at 100 yards.  Loads were safe in author’s gun. 

 

HDY=Hornady; NSL=Nosler; SRA=Sierra; REM=Remington; SP = Spire (soft) Point; JRN=Jacketed Round Nose; BT=Ballistic Tip; SSP= Single Shot Pistol

Home

Back To Articles Index Page