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The 7-30 Waters: Unknown Gem

 

 Developed in 1978 by longtime gun guru Ken Waters as a better round for lever guns like the Model 94 Winchester, the 7-30 Waters offers higher velocity, greater energy, flatter trajectory and less recoil than its .30-30 parent.  On top of that, it does all those things using bullets with better ballistic properties than the .30-30.  In addition, it is one of the premier chamberings for the Thompson Center Contender. 

 

 Never heard of it, you say?  That's just exactly the problem.   I, for one, simply cannot understand why the shooting world hasn't taken this beautifully balanced cartridge to its heart, but Western hunters at least seem largely unaware of its existence.  Long-range Contender shooters, however, are another story.  Fred Smith of Bullberry Barrel Works, a maker of custom Contender barrels, tells me it's one of their hottest sellers here in the West.  And when you consider its record, that's not hard to understand.  According to Smith, a shooter named Robert Campbell won the Colorado Long Range Competition three times with a Bullberry 7-30 Waters barrel, most recently with a 3-shot group of 31/32" - fired from 500 meters! 

 

 Despite these impressive credentials, there's been hardly any hoopla in the gun media about the 7-30 Waters.  Perhaps that's because at the moment it is chambered only in the Winchester Model 94 Angle Eject and in the T/C Contender.  Lever guns are an action type that usually draws yawns from most of the shooting press.  Then too, the cartridge wears a rim instead of a belt; and the word "magnum" is nowhere to be heard in its neighborhood.

 

 I view the 7-30 as a superb deer round for both lever rifles and the Contender.  It is ideal for youths, women and men who don't like recoil.  It is eminently useful for antelope, black bear, wild boar, caribou and possibly even smallish elk.  Although available in only a single factory loading, the Federal (P730A) ammo carries the excellent 120-grain Nosler flat tip boat tail. 

 

 For Model 94 owners who handload, either that bullet (catalog number 41722) or the 139-grain flat point from Hornady will have to do.  Those are the only flat tip bullets in 7mm listed by bullet makers that I could locate.  Such a lack of bullets compatible with tubular magazines makes the 7-30's anonymity a Catch-22 scenario.  If there were more Model 94/7-30 Waters shooters, there'd be a broader selection of bullets; but shooters won't be attracted unless there are more bullets.  Contender shooters (and Model 94 owners who load their guns as two-shooters only), however, aren't limited to flat point bullet designs.  Such shooters are free to use any of the great bullets available in 7mm diameter.  Virtually every bullet manufacturer makes several choices from 100 to 140 grains, the 7-30's useful range.  A quick scan of catalogs on my shelf shows four each from Sierra, Speer and Nosler, plus seven from Hornady and two from Barnes.  Of special note is the Hornady 120-grain spitzer (#2811), which is expressly designed for big game use in single-shot pistols. 

 

 Created by necking down the .30-30 case and moving the shoulder forward, 7-30 Waters brass has an average water capacity of 40 grains.  In addition to virgin brass from Federal, reloaders can get cases by shooting factory ammo or reforming .30-30 brass.  To do the latter, just run unfired or once-fired .30-30 cases through your regular 7-30 sizing die.  This will reduce the case neck to 7mm, and also will leave a funny-looking double shoulder.  Now select nearly any starting load from a current loading manual, preferably using one of the faster powders.  Starting loads will give good loading density in the reduced capacity cases, yet will give sufficient pressure to fireform the brass.  After firing, the case that comes out of the chamber will be a fully formed 7-30 Waters.  From here on, work up your load as usual.  But be sure to keep reformed cases separate from those with original 7-30 Waters headstamps.  Reformed cases can vary in capacity, which can sometimes change pressures drastically.

 

 Powder choices for the 7-30 Waters include medium-fast to medium-slow burners, a very large range indeed.  Proven choices for the 7-30 Waters include Reloder 7 and 12, IMR 4320,  and 4064, H335 and 414, both of the 4895's, W748 and 760, AA 2015BR and 2520, plus Hodgdon’s new Benchmark and Ramshot’s TAC.  Some slightly slower powders also give good results, but at the expense of added muzzle flash and blast, especially in short barrels.  Standard primers are sufficient.  I used CCI Bench Rest or Federal 210 primers for all loads.

 

 Guns for the 7-30

 

 Although Ken Waters began developing his 7mm wildcat since 1977 using a rebarreled Marlin Model 336A, no gun manufacturer seemed interested in the round until 1982.  At that time, the folks at U.S. Repeating Arms announced that they would manufacture rifles for a slightly altered version of the round.  In 1984, U.S.R.A. fulfilled their promise and listed the 7-30 Waters as an option for the Winchester Model 94.  The offering was initially available only with a 24-inch barrel.  Since then, U.S.R.A. has widened the choices and the 7-30 Waters Model 94 now wears the handier 20-inch barrel.  To date, Marlin hasn't offered their strong and popular Model 336 in 7-30, but I'd be willing to bet it would be a good seller if they did.

 

 But if Marlin hasn't yet seen the light at the end of the 7mm tunnel, Thompson Center has.    T/C offers 7-30 barrels for their extremely popular Contender in both 10- and 14-inch lengths.  In addition, they also offer 20-inch barrels for the Contender carbine.  Other lengths, plus a variety of barrel contours, finishes and options are available from Fox Ridge Outfitters, T/C's official custom house.

 

 Several independent custom houses also produce drop-in barrels for the Contender pistol and carbine.  The better of these outfits, like SSK Industries, Virgin River and Bullberry, offer match-grade barrel blanks, custom chambering, muzzle brakes, replacement stocks and more.  As mentioned above, the 7-30 Waters is one of the more popular calibers requested from these custom shops.

 

 To review the 7-30 Waters, I obtained a Winchester Model 94 Angle Eject as well as a Contender barrel from Thompson-Center.  The Model 94 hardly needs a lengthy description for most readers, as it is one of the most popular firearms ever produced.  Mine has the 20" barrel.  Angle Eject models are drilled and tapped for scope bases on the receiver.  Taking advantage of this, I mounted a venerable Weaver K4 scope on the rifle using Millett bases and rings.  The rifle comes with a hammer extension that simply screws into the hammer.  The extension makes both manual cocking and uncocking easier and safer, and Winchester deserves credit for supplying it at no charge.

 

 For the Contender, I obtained a regular Super 14 model barrel from T/C, of bull contour.  Such a short, fat barrel is conducive to accuracy, and its weight aids in recoil reduction.  Because the 7-30 Contender is ideal for heavy varminting as well as deer hunting, I fitted it with a Burris 2½-7X variable scope using Burris base and rings. 

 

 Range Results

 

 To test factory ammo in both guns, and to obtain brass for reloading, I obtained five boxes of Federal Premium 7-30 ammo.  My first shots with both guns verified what I'd read and heard about the 7-30: it's a very pleasant round to shoot.  Mild of both shout and shove, it just begs to be shot again and again.  This project was already fun.  After initial sight-in, I tacked up targets at the 100-yard line and got serious. 

 

 I started with my favorite firearm, the Contender.  From the 14-inch barrel, the 120-grain Noslers delivered an average of 2415 fps with a standard deviation of only 18 - very consistent.  Cases expanded to .4208-inch after firing, measured just ahead of the base web.  This measurement established the "standard" pressure in this barrel, for later reloading work. 

 

 And this load proved to be highly accurate in the Contender, producing the second-best average groups of all loads tested.  Five-shot groups averaged 0.88 inches, well under MOA.  The cartridge is obviously capable of fine accuracy, certainly good enough for deer hunting out to 200 yards.  The drop and energy numbers bear this out, too. 

 

 With a ballistic coefficient of .217 and sighted two inches high at 100 yards, the Nosler will strike at 2078/1151, the numbers referring to velocity/energy.  Dead on target will be at 168 yards and our max point blank range is 194 yards.  At 175 yards it's still doing 1820/883 and is .46 inches low.  At 200 yards, we're still getting 1740/807 and the bullet is only 2.55 inches below line of sight.  Way out at 225, we still get 1663/737 with only 5.37 inches of drop.  This is more velocity and nearly the same energy as the .41 Magnum gives at the muzzle.  And the .41 Magnum is certainly an effective deer cartridge.

 

 Next, I fired the factory load from the Model 94.  As expected, the gun functioned perfectly and ammo fed smoothly from the magazine.  I experienced no malfunctions of any kind.  As expected, the longer barrel produced higher velocity, with my Oehler 35P chronograph reporting an average of 2611 fps with a standard deviation of only 16.  This translates to a muzzle energy of 1802 ft lbs.  If we again sight in two inches high at 100, we'll get 2215/1307 at that range.  At 150, the numbers are 2035/1103 and 1.24 inches high.  The zeroed range is 177 yards.  At 200, we'll get 1862/924 at 1.56 inches low; max point blank is 205.  At 225, it's 1781/845 at -3.91 inches.  Even at 250 yards, we're still getting 1702/772 with a drop of -6.97. Again, it's .41 Magnum muzzle performance, but out at 250 yards. 

 

 Loads from the bench

 

 But, as with many cartridges, it's with reloads that the true potential comes out.  I did test some 139-grain loads with the Hornady flat point for the M94, which I'll describe later on.  But because the Contender's single shot action offers the most leeway in bullet type and overall cartridge length, I concentrated my reloading efforts there. 

 

 By the way, the 7-30 Waters has a normal case length of 2.030.  Cases grow fast to the maximum of 2.040.  Some of the factory loads I fired reached this length on their first firing!  Trim to 2.020 and you should get three or four firings before they hit 2.040 again.  Case stretching is definitely slowed if you lubricate the insides of case necks during resizing.  Use a dry lube like mica or graphite.  Better yet, treat your sizer die and expander button with Fastex., the new anti-friction treatment. The elliptical expander in my Hornady New Dimension dies also helped reduce drag considerably.

 

 Lightest and first to be tested was the Speer 115-grain hollow point.  Loaded over 32.0 grains of Reloder 7, this load averaged an even 2500 fps with an s.d. of 36 from the Contender.  Groups ran 1.43 inches, and were very consistent.  Recoil with this load was light, and expansion of the fired cases was well under that of factory loads at .4205 inch.  I was limited by time from doing any additional work up with this bullet and powder, but I believe some improvement is possible.

 

 With the Hornady 120-grain Single Shot Pistol bullet and 36.5 grains of A2520, velocity ran 2503 with an s.d. of 15.  Muzzle blast and fireball were significantly greater with this slow powder, and case expansion was .4210, some .0002 greater than factory ammo.  This indicates a maximum load in this gun, because factory ammo is already loaded to near-maximum pressures.  Indeed, some cases were slightly sticky to extract with this load.  Groups ran 1.77 inch on average, with some evidence of vertical stringing, another indication that this load was at maximum.

 

 The Nosler Ballistic Tip in 120-grain was the next bullet to be tested.  I loaded it over 34.5 gr of H335, a load Ken Waters himself developed.  From the Contender, this load churns up 2445 with an s.d. of 16.  Groups ran around 1.8 inches.  Both muzzle blast and fireball are large, which is normal with H335.  Case expansion ran .4206, making it a moderate pressure loading.  This would be a good load for deer if you wear electronic ear protection to cope with the heavy blast.

 

 Venturing above factory bullet weight, the Speer 130-grain spitzer was next.  The Hercules data book suggested 34.0 grains of Reloder 12, and this turned out to be a conservative load.  Velocity ran only 2192 with a 37 s.d., and cases expanded to only .4195.  Groups ran almost exactly 2.00 inches, but usually had four in about an inch plus a flyer.  I intend to work this load up a bit in my Contender to see if that flyer will join the crowd.  I think the velocity could possibly be upped by another 100 fps, as well.

 

 The final combination tested in the Contender was the Nosler 140-grain Ballistic Tip.  With it I tried 33.0 grains of a powder that’s unfortunately now discontinued: Scot 4065.  Said to burn one to two grains faster than the venerable IMR 4064, this coarse, extruded powder is a very consistent and clean burner.  Boy, is it.  The largest group I fired with this recipe was 0.74 inch; the smallest went into 0.68, the tiniest group of the series.  Velocity ran 2125 with a 22 s.d. and cases dropped out of the barrel with moderate expansion of .4206.  Would I mess with this load?  I'd sooner send donations to Sarah Brady and Chuck Schumer.

 

 For the Contender, then, I'd not hesitate to use the Federal factory ammo for deer out to 200 yards if I didn't reload.  But to take advantage of a bullet with much better ballistics, I'd load the Nosler 140 Ballistic Tip over Scot 4065.  When my last ounce of that powder is gone, I’ll try RL-15, IMR 4895 or 4064.  If I wanted to use but a single load for varmints as well as deer, I'd work with either the Hornady 120 Single Shot Pistol bullet or the Nosler 120 Ballistic Tip.  And I'd try both of them over 4064 and RL-12 until I found a recipe my barrel would like.  Based on my first efforts, I think that would be a short search. 

 

 Lever Loads

 

 Based on the excellent results I'd obtained with Scot 4065 under the 140-grain Nosler, I began with exactly the same 33.0-grain charge under the Hornady 139-grain flat tip.  I also wanted to see if A2520 might boom a little less in the Winchester's longer barrel, so I also decanted 33.0 grains of it.  Along with those medium and slow burners, respectively, I tried one fast powder that I've had good luck with in a variety of calibers: A2015BR.  According to Accurate Arms data, 31.0 grains of this fine-grained tubular powder is maximum in the 7-30 Waters, so I tried 30.0 even.

 

  The only change in loading procedure was to crimp the case lightly into the cannelure.  Such a crimp is necessary in lever action rifles to keep the magazine spring tension and recoil from driving the bullet deeper into the case.  Don't try for a hard crimp.  The shoulder will distort, making it impossible to chamber that cartridge.  I know.  The first case I ran into the die did just that because I'd turned the seating die down an eighth of a turn too far.  Once corrected, loading was normal.

 

 The Scot 4065 load clocked only 2290 with an s.d. of 26.  That's only 165 fps faster from a barrel a full six inches longer than the Contender's.  The difference is probably due to the significantly longer bearing surface on the Hornady bullet.  This 33.0-grain load expanded cases to .4208, the same reading I got with factory ammo in the M94.  So this load delivers factory-equivalent pressures even though velocities are lower than expected.  Accuracy was fine though, with groups that ran about 1.70-inch.   

 

 With 30.0 grains of A2015BR, the Model 94 achieved 2416 fps with an s.d. of just 14.  Accuracy also improved, with groups averaging 1.10 inch.  On one target, three shots went into an incredible 0.31-inch cloverleaf.  The remaining two shots took the group out to 0.94-inch.  That would be outstanding for a bolt action.  From an out-of-the-box lever action with only a 4X scope, it's phenomenal.  This load was maximum in this rifle, though.  Cases miked an average of .4212-inch and extraction was a little bit sticky.  This is yet another instance where a published load exceeds what is prudent in a given firearm, and illustrates why reloaders should always start out with the starting load. 

 

 Incidentally, I have found Accurate Arms published maximum loads to be very "hot" in several calibers and with numerous powder and bullet combinations.  In a few cases, even the starting loads turned out to be warm, especially if bullets were seated out to touch the lands.  With normal bullet seating, pressures are distinctly lower.  In all cases, the published starting loads have been safe.  But it certainly wouldn't pay to ignore those loads and jump right in at the maximum listed charge. 

 

 That left 33.0 grains of A2520.  As I suspected, muzzle blast was distinctly less from the longer barrel.  This powder produced the highest velocity with the 139-grain bullet, a respectable 2470 with an s.d. of 16.  That's only 140 fps less than the factory load delivers with a 120-grain bullet.  It also just about duplicates what Ken Waters achieved with a 139-grain bullet during his initial load development work.  Groups averaged 1.75 inch with a few called flyers marked and discounted, still less than two MOA.  Once again, cases were expanded to .4212-inch, making this another maximum load.  I range tested this load at about 80^°F.  For hunting in really cold conditions, I'd use this load just as is.  But if I thought I'd be out on a warm-weather hunt, I'd back the charge down about a grain just to be sure of easy extraction.

 

 Unfortunately, the seasons didn't cooperate with me for this review as my deadline fell about a month before the opening of deer season here in Utah.  But when the third Saturday in October rolls around, you can bet the barrel on my Contender will carry the 7-30 Waters roll mark.  And you can also bet that if the occasion arises, this wonderfully balanced cartridge will get the job done efficiently and humanely.  Fast and accurate yet mild of recoil, ballistically superior and with a wide range of truly excellent bullets, Ken Water's creation just might be the very best choice yet for the Model 94 or the Contender. 

 

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.

Loads for T/C Contender

Loads for Win M-94

Note:  All loads in Contender used CCI BR-2 primers, those in M94 used Fed 210. 

NSL=Nosler; SPR=Speer; HDY=Hornady; BT=boattail; SP=spitzer; SSP=Single Shot Pistol; FP=flat point.  Velocity and standard deviation taken with an Oehler 35P chronograph.  Groups are average of five shots at 100 yards.

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