Dballard, I think you "settled" for a pretty good choice! Please keep us posted on how it shoots.

If it doesn't work out for you, it can be reamed to an AI round or the next size case. It should be a decent round and as accurate as any other.

Ah Dballard,
The 30-30 in a contender is not even close to the same cartridge as the 30-30 in a 94 carbine. I campaigned a 10 inch 30-30 for about 20 years shooting steel. I bought a Merrill also in 30-30 for a standing gun. With a 10 inch you can exceed the 94's factory velocity by 200 fps and the 14 inch will get 400 fps faster numbers. With the rifle barrel you should be able to make the 30-30 walk and talk. Just put a good recoil pad on the gun, cause Mr Newton is still correct.....

By the by, on the 7.62x39 question, the issue is not really pressure, it is practice. Aparently TC does not consider running .311-.312 bullets down a .308 barrel to be good practice. Every barrel chambered for the 7.62x39 in the US is .308 not .312, including the Mini 30.

But in the TC there is no comparison between the 7.62x39 and the 30-30. The 30-30 is a far superior cartridge in a single shot configuration.

If you can find a copy, get the book Shooting Steel. There is an article about the 30-30 as used in a TC by JD Jones that is worth the price of admission.
Best,
Ed

I'm having a 30-30 AI barrel made up for my Contender...carbine length. With spitzer type bullets it will give up little to a same length .308 Win.

Thanks Swapfox for the info on the 7.62x39. That makes much better sense that the round appears to be "hot" because of an oversized bullet than just the powder load.

Strange that a bullet the size of a .303 British would be loaded and called 7.62 and our side would use a .308 and call it 7.62. Must have a throughback to 30-06 sizing.

Anyway, I plan to get the 30-30 G2 rifle barrel later this year. Gotta stock up first with LTS and then ammo preps.

skb2706 - look forward to hearing about your barrel's performance.

I am a huge fan of Contender carbines and have a few of them. The 30-30 AI will compliment a collection that includes varmint, medium and big game with several inbetweens.
You'll have to let us know how you like the 30-30.

Basicly, the Russians, bless their little hearts, measure the land diameter, we measure the diameter of the groove. Thus you have a .311-.312 at 7.62 and a .308 at 7.62
Ed

its sound good to me