Westwindmike

Hi Sean. Welcome from the 'Boro!   I shoot at the Ok Corral in Woodbury. Usually no one there during the week.

Didn't Hodgden used to sell small sampler cans of powder? I know I have seen them, maybe 10 years back.

Contender barrels will not fit an Encore. Apples and oranges.   http://www.bellmtcs.com/store/index.php?cid=110   Basic Differences Frame Sizes: Encore is bigger than G2 or Contender, Barrel diameters where they seat in the frame: Contender/G2 13/16," Encore 1" so they do not interchange, thus, Scope Bases: Encores have the larger radius on the bottom, Internal mechanism: Contender has a hammer block, Encore and G2 sears lock the hammer at half cock, Trigger Mechanisms: Two different types of Contender trigger groups both of which are removeable while Encore and G2 trigger mechanisms are not removeable, Firing Pins: Encore is center fire only, Contender and G2 have a selector on the hammer to fire either centerfire or rimfire, Hinge Pin Hole Diameters: Encore is 7/16" (.4375"), and Contender and G2 are 3/8" (.375"), Internal Frame Mechanism Springs: No Springs in the Contender frame interchange with Encores & G2s, Forend Screws: Contenders & G2s use No. 10x32, and Encores use No. 8x40 screws, Hammer Extensions: Two different sizes for Contenders--vintage with the selector lever on top of the hammer is the same size as on Encore and G2, Dry Firing: Encores and G2s should not be dry fired unless the firing pin bushing is removed and the fall of the hammer cushioned while Contenders can be dry fired continuously with no harm at all to the frame SO LONG AS THE HAMMER IS NOT COCKED (Dry firing simply releases the striker in the trigger group and gives the full effect of the trigger pull, independent of the hammer being cocked. Opening and closing the barrel resets the striker), Forend Screw Hole Spacing: Hole spacings for handgun barrels is different carbine hole spacings in both Contender/G2 barrels and Encore barrels. Grips/Buttstocks: Contenders, G2s, and Encores all take different grips, buttstocks, and forends.  

Welcome from the 'Boro, Russ!

Load it light and work up, watching for pressure signs or max velocity on the chronograph. I've loaded many 7.62 cases in the last 30 years. LC, IMI, TW, Winchester. I don't attempt to load max loads anymore, so all these cases are safely reloadable if you use moderate loads.

Red333, You found info on the net to support your side, so here is what I found to support mine.     Winchester introduced the .308 cartridge to the sporting world in 1952, and was adopted as the official U.S. Military cartridge in 1954, even though there were, at that time, no suitable military weapon adopted nor chambered for the round. The early military nomenclature was T-65, which was still technically an ‘experimental’ cartridge and rifle, having not yet been adopted.   When the trials finally came to a halt, the .308 Winchester was adopted into the  U.S. Military as the 7.62x51mm, later accepted by NATO, and known as the 7.62x51mm NATO.   The external dimensions of the .308 Winchester and the 7.60x51 NATO cartridge are identical in every way, and completely interchangeable, the differences being the web of the military cartridge is thicker near the base, creating a lower internal capacity, thus necessitating a smaller powder charge to achieve identical ballistics, and a slightly larger chamber dimension, due to the nature of military use; dirt, dust, mud, and sand inevitably being ever-present on the battlefield.

Your drawing seems to show that chambers for each could be different. What I'm asking is for you to show me the dimensional difference between 2 cartridges sitting side by side. I don't think that 7.62 NATO is made to a different size than commercial .308. I know about the pressure difference, I'm just talking physical dimension of the cartridge itself.

Can you show us a line drawing of both cartridges to back this up? I've been shooting 7.62 NATO in .308 chambers for over 30 years.

Here is another option. Take the locking lugs off a barrel that works every time and put them on the 30-30 and see if that corrects the problem. If so just stone your non-working lugs till they fit. Use the Sharpie to check your progress.   Hope you get it working as the 30-30 should be a great shooter, especially with cast boolits. :up:

Sidewinder, sounds like the locking lugs are not going in far enough to activate the action. Try the "Sharpie" method to see how it is engaging. More than likely, just a little buffing on the top of the locking lug will let it slide under and push the actuator.   Check out this thread on Greybeard: http://www.go2gbo.com/forums/thompson-center-handguns-sponsored-by-ed%27s-tcs/contender-barrel-on-g2-frame-includes-locking-bolt-issues-and-fixes/   With the barrel off the frame, look inside the frame below the firing pin hole and you will see what it has to push to make it all work.   If all else fails, our friend Grady is an old Contender guy.

I wanted an AR pistol until I got one. Too much noise, blast and flame for me. Sold it.

Ya know, I got nothing against Yankees that move to the South. As long as they assimilate into the society.   What I hate is the first thing out of their mouths is "We didn't do it like that back in (pick a state)". They just need to learn what sweet tea is and you use a hose pipe to water your garden.

I used to form 243's from .308 and I don't remember having to turn the necks. Probably should have, but was mostly just trying to see if it worked. It shot fine with cast boolits.

Welcome from the 'Boro!

Walk into the Murfreesboro PD at shift change time with the Glock in your hand and be sure to wave it around while asking them to run it for stolen.                           Just kidding! Better not do that.

Here is my take on the 7-TCU vs 7-30 Waters.   In a single shot Contender, the Waters has a rimmed cartridge which seems to work better in this type of action . The max loads on the TCU(from the Hodgdon website) are about where the starting loads are in the Waters. The Waters gets another 200 fps out of the same bullet and powder. The Waters can be loaded down to subsonic velocities and use cast boolits. The TCU probably can too. I shoot a 135 gr cast boolit at 1300 fps without a gas check for my 50-100 yard plinking load. I use Trail Boss for that and it mostly fills the case. No chance of a double charge. Waters brass is super easy to make too. Just run your 30-30 case through the Waters die, load, and shoot. The fireform loads are just as accurate as the others.   So, if you want a TCU, I think you should get one. But, the Waters covers the same spectrum of bullets and velocity.   Kinda like the reason I never got a Hornet barrel. My 223 loads cover that from low to high(and higher) too.   Best of luck with your TCU project!

Are you talking about primer pockets with military crimp? If so, you could use countersink in a drill to cut the crimp out. I used to do this till I got the RCBS primer pocket swager. I us it in a single stage press though. This is what I used to use.

Glock 19.

Probably never get the spring back in right.

They just took the price off the ad! And they now say there is no limits! Buy as many as you want!

Watched a video of a Glock that melted it's rod in a 1000 round torture test. Firing as fast as mags could be inserted. Rod melted at around 800 rounds with the gun too hot to touch with bare hands. The gun did not malfunction and ran the rest of the test with no guide rod.

I just posted again. Lets see how long it stays up.

They have taken down all the comments on Facebook. Time to write some more!

Looks like there are plenty of bad comments, including mine. They must not monitor their FB page during business hours.

I've caught a lot of Stingrays off of the piers in FL. I always stand on their tail and stinger while we unhook them. Then just push them back off in the water. No need to kill them needlessly.