7-30 Waters

Last updated
7-30 Waters
TypeRifle and single shot handgun
Place of origin United States
Production history
DesignerKen Waters
Designed1976
Produced1984–present
Specifications
Parent case.30-30 Winchester
Case typeRimmed, bottleneck
Bullet diameter.284 in (7.2 mm) [1]
Land diameter.277 in (7.0 mm) [1]
Neck diameter.306 in (7.8 mm)
Base diameter.422 in (10.7 mm)
Rim diameter.506 in (12.9 mm)
Rim thickness.058 in (1.5 mm)
Case length2.04 in (52 mm)
Overall length2.52 in (64 mm)
Primer typeLarge rifle
Maximum pressure45,000 psi (310 MPa)
Maximum CUP40,000 CUP
Ballistic performance
Bullet mass/typeVelocityEnergy
120 gr (8 g) Nosler Partition FP2,700 ft/s (820 m/s)1,940 ft⋅lbf (2,630 J)
139 gr (9 g) Flat point2,540 ft/s (770 m/s)1,990 ft⋅lbf (2,700 J)
154 gr (10 g) Round nose2,347 ft/s (715 m/s)1,835 ft⋅lbf (2,488 J)
Test barrel length: 24"
Source(s): Cartridges of the World, 10th Ed., Barnes

The 7-30 Waters cartridge was originally a wildcat cartridge developed by author Ken Waters in 1976 to give better performance to lever-action rifle shooters than the parent .30-30 Winchester cartridge, by providing a higher velocity and flatter trajectory with a smaller, lighter bullet. By 1984, Winchester introduced a Model 94 rifle chambered for the 7-30 Waters, establishing it as a commercial cartridge. In 1986, Thompson/Center began chambering 10-inch, 14-inch, and 20-inch Contender barrels for the cartridge. [2]

Contents

Development

A review of the 7-08 Rem. (a .308 Win. case necked down to 7 mm), explains the design of the cartridge with the following:

Anything a 7 mm can do, a .30 caliber of comparable sectional density and ballistic coefficient can also do. The catch is, in order to send a .30-caliber slug over a trajectory as flat as that 7 mm bullet, about 20 percent more recoil is going to be generated. . . . [A bullet in] 7 mm produces clearly superior downrange performance in terms of delivered energy and trajectory at any given recoil level [compared to a bullet in .30 caliber]. [3]

There are two primary reasons a 7 mm recoils less than an comparably effective .30 cal. cartridge: To match the 7 mm's ballistic coefficient requires a significantly heavier .30 cal bullet; and to drive that heavier .30 cal bullet at similar velocities (for kinetic energy and wind resistance ("time-to-target")), requires more powder. This combination of heavier bullets with heavier powder charges significantly increases the recoil of the .30 caliber.[ citation needed ]

The .30-30 Winchester is typically limited to short ranges, primarily because of the relatively small case capacity and the 150-grain and 170-grain bullet weights. To compensate for this, Waters necked the cartridge down to use a 7 mm bullet (.284 inches), rather than the original .308 caliber (7.62 mm) bullet. Because it was designed to function in lever-action rifles, the 7-30 maintained the same low working pressure, yet Waters' original design fired a lighter bullet (139 grains) at a higher velocity (2600 ft/s). [4] A typical .30-30 factory load fires a 150-grain bullet at 2390 ft/s, while the current 7-30 factory load fires a 120-grain bullet at 2700 ft/s. Muzzle energy is just over 1900 ft-lbs for both of these loads, but the lighter weight 7 mm bullet has a higher velocity and flatter trajectory.

Ammunition

Lever-action rifles with tubular magazines can only safely use spitzer bullets as the first cartridge in the chamber with only flat-pointed bullets in the magazine, or if the rifle is used as a 2-shot (1 cartridge in the chamber and only 1 in the magazine).

Handloaders for single-shot 7-30 Waters rifles or pistols are not limited to flat-nosed bullets and thus have a wide range manufacturers and weights of 7mm pointed bullets from which to choose.

Manufactured ammunition

Federal Cartridge offers manufactured 7-30 Waters cartridges—the Federal Premium Vital-Shok firing a 120-grain (7.78 g) Sierra GameKing boat-tail soft-point flat-nose bullet at 2700 ft/s with 1940 ft-lbs of energy. [5] It has a sectional density of 0.213

Hornady Manufacturing Company's 2020 new products catalog does show 7-30 Waters LEVERevolution ammunition which would allow the safe use of pointed, ballistically efficient spitzer bullets in tubular magazines. [6]

Handloading

Speer Bullets offers a 130 gr (8.42 gr), copper-jacketed soft-point flat-nosed bullet for use in lever-action rifles. It has a sectional density of 0.23 and a ballistic coefficient of 0.257 [7]

Hornady Manufacturing Company now offers a 120 grain FTX bullet in 7mm/.284" caliber. [8] [9] This allows the safe use of pointed, ballistically efficient spitzer bullets in tubular magazines.


Firearms

Rifles

[T]he 7-30 Waters cartridge, with its flatter trajectory and higher velocity, have made [the Winchester Model 94] what many consider to be an ideal mountain rifle: lightweight, but capable of reaching out for the longer shots. [10]

By 1982, Waters had perfected his new cartridge, firing a 139-grain flat-point bullet at a muzzle velocity of 2600 ft/s from a lever-action rifle with a 24" barrel. By 1983, he had managed to attract the attention of Winchester, which led to the introduction of the Model 94 angle eject 20" barreled carbine and Model 94XTR angle eject 24" barreled rifle in the new caliber in 1984. [2] After 13 years, production ceased in 1997.

Thompson Center Arms' single-shot Contender and Encore rifles are both offered in 7-30 Waters in either stainless steel or blued steel through their custom shop. [11]

Handguns

Thompson Center Arms began to chamber the 7-30 Waters in their Contender single shot pistol starting in 1986. Factory loads are capable of velocities of 2400 ft/s from the 14" pistol barrel, making the 7-30 Waters one of the fastest commercial rounds available for the pistol. In addition, the single shot Contender and Encore pistols can safely use pointed bullets, which allows the handloader to gain additional retained velocity at long ranges for uses such as handgun hunting and metallic silhouette shooting.[ citation needed ]

Usage

Paco Kelly, of leverguns.com:

I like the model 94 Winchesters....and the 7 Waters fits the standard 94 action very well. It is exactly what it was designed for...a light, handy, and fairly powerful round and rifle for deer and black bear. [12]

Bullets in the 110- to 120-grain range are suitable for small game and varmints (handloads with 110s can nearly achieve 3000 ft/s); 120- to 154-grain range for deer; and 154 to 168 gr range are adequate for larger game at closer ranges. [13] "The 7-30 Waters has proven its capabilities in the field on big game weighing up to 300 pounds at woods ranges. As this is written, two bullets of flat nose form are available to handloaders for use in rifles with tubular magazines. For whitetails, the 120-grain Nosler is an excellent performer, but when greater penetration is needed for Mule Deer and Black Bear, the 139-grain Hornady is a better choice." [14] Nosler and Hornady no longer offer flat nose bullets in 7mm. [15] [16]

Best performance is had with the rifle barrel; with the shorter carbine barrels the .30-30 is a better choice.[ citation needed ] With the long barrel, however, the 7-30 provides flatter trajectory, and a longer effective range, as well as reduced recoil from the lighter bullets. Despite the advantages, the 7-30 still lags far behind the venerable .30-30 in popularity, however. [2]

Where the 7-30 has gained a strong foothold is in handguns. In the field of handgun metallic silhouette shooting, a suitably loaded 7-30 Waters provides performance equal to other 7mm wildcats, such as the 7mm International Rimmed, but without the work of forming cases. It also adds the bonus of being able to shoot commercial ammunition, with some performance loss. [17] [18]

Related Research Articles

The .30-06 Springfield cartridge, 7.62×63mm in metric notation, and called the .30 Gov't '06 by Winchester, was introduced to the United States Army in 1906 and later standardized; it remained in military use until the late 1970s. The ".30" refers to the caliber of the bullet in inches, .300 and the "06" refers to the year the cartridge was adopted, 1906. It replaced the .30-03, 6mm Lee Navy, and .30-40 Krag cartridges. The .30-06 remained the U.S. Army's primary rifle and machine gun cartridge for nearly 50 years before being replaced by the 7.62×51mm NATO and 5.56×45mm NATO, both of which remain in current U.S. and NATO service. It remains a very popular sporting round, with ammunition produced by all major manufacturers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.460 Weatherby Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The .460 Weatherby Magnum is a belted, bottlenecked rifle cartridge, developed by Roy Weatherby in 1957. The cartridge is based on the .378 Weatherby Magnum necked up to accept the .458-inch (11.6 mm) bullet. The original .378 Weatherby Magnum parent case was inspired by the .416 Rigby. The .460 Weatherby Magnum was designed as an African dangerous game rifle cartridge for the hunting of heavy, thick skinned dangerous game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildcat cartridge</span> Custom cartridge for firearms

A wildcat cartridge, often shortened to wildcat, is a custom cartridge for which ammunition and/or firearms are not mass-produced. These cartridges are often created in order to optimize a certain performance characteristic of an existing commercial cartridge, or may merely be intended as novelty items.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.270 Winchester</span> Rifle cartridge

The .270 Winchester is a rifle cartridge developed by Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1923 and it was unveiled in 1925 as a chambering for their bolt-action Model 54 to become arguably the flattest shooting cartridge of its day, only competing with the .300 Holland & Holland Magnum, also introduced in the same year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.25-06 Remington</span> US hunting rifle cartridge

Considered by many as the most balanced of the "quarter bores" for hunting medium-sized game, the .25-06 Remington remained in obscurity as a wildcat cartridge for nearly half a century before being standardized by Remington in 1969.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.17 HMR</span> Rifle cartridge

.17 Hornady Magnum Rimfire, commonly known as the .17 HMR, is a rimfire rifle cartridge developed by Hornady in 2002. It was developed by necking down a .22 Magnum case to take a .17 caliber (4.5 mm) projectile. Commonly loaded with a 17 grain projectile, it can deliver muzzle velocities in excess of 775 m/s (2,650 ft/s).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">7mm-08 Remington</span> Necked down .308Win

The 7mm-08 Remington is a rifle cartridge that is almost a direct copy of a wildcat cartridge developed around 1958 known as the 7mm/308. As these names would suggest, it is the .308 Winchester case necked down to accept 7 mm (.284) bullets with a small increase in case length. Of cartridges based upon the .308, it is the second most popular behind only the .243 Winchester. However, the .308 is more popular than both. In 1980, the Remington Arms company popularized the cartridge by applying its own name and offering it as a chambering for their Model 788 and Model 700 rifles, along with a limited-run series within their Model 7600 pump-action rifles during the early 2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.30-30 Winchester</span> Rifle cartridge designed by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company

The .30-30 Winchester cartridge was first marketed for the Winchester Model 1894 lever-action rifle in 1895. The .30-30, as it is most commonly known, along with the .25-35 Winchester were offered that year as the United States' first small-bore sporting rifle cartridges designed for smokeless powder. Since its introduction, it has been surpassed by many cartridges in the long-range shooting attributes of speed, energy, and trajectory, yet remains in widespread use because of its practical effectiveness in forested hunting situations.

The .204 Ruger is a centerfire rifle cartridge developed by Hornady and Ruger. At the time of its introduction in 2004, the .204 Ruger was the second-highest velocity commercially produced ammunition and the only centerfire cartridge produced commercially for bullets of .204 inch/5 mm caliber.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.300 Winchester Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The .300 Winchester Magnum is a belted, bottlenecked Magnum rifle cartridge that was introduced by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1963. The .300 Winchester Magnum is a magnum cartridge designed to fit in a standard rifle action. It is based on the .375 H&H Magnum, which has been blown out, shortened, and necked down to accept a .30 caliber (7.62 mm) bullet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.444 Marlin</span> Rifle cartridge

The .444 Marlin (10.9×57mmR) is a rifle cartridge designed in 1964 by Marlin Firearms and Remington Arms. It was designed to fill in a gap left by the older .45-70 when that cartridge was not available in any new lever-action rifles; at the time it was the largest lever-action cartridge available. The .444 resembles a lengthened .44 Magnum and provides a significant increase in velocity. It is usually used in the Marlin 444 lever-action rifle. Currently, Marlin, who is now owned by Ruger Firearms, does not offer the .444 chambering in any of their rifles. It remains to be seen when or if they will bring the chambering back into production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.338 Winchester Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The .338 Winchester Magnum is a .338 in (8.6 mm) caliber, belted, rimless, bottlenecked cartridge introduced in 1958 by Winchester Repeating Arms. It is based on the blown-out, shortened .375 H&H Magnum. The .338 in (8.6 mm) is the caliber at which medium-bore cartridges are considered to begin. The .338 Winchester Magnum is the first choice among professional brown bear guides in Alaska to back up clients where a powerful stopping caliber is required on charging bears. It is also the most popular medium-bore cartridge in North America and has the most widely available choice in rifles among medium bore rifles. The action length is the same as a .30-06, and most major rifle manufacturers in the United States chamber rifles for the cartridge including the semi-automatic Browning BAR Mk II Safari, making it a very powerful combination against charging dangerous game. The cartridge was intended for larger North American big-game species and has found use as for the hunting of thin-skinned African plains-game species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">7mm Remington Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The 7mm Remington Magnum rifle cartridge was introduced as a commercially available round in 1962, along with the new Remington Model 700 bolt-action rifle. It is a member of the belted magnum family that is directly derived from the venerable .375 H&H Magnum. The original purpose of the belted magnum concept taken from the .300 H&H Magnum and .375 H&H Magnum, was to provide precise headspace control, since the sloping shoulders, while easing cartridge extraction, were unsuitable for this purpose. Improved cartridge extraction reliability is desirable while hunting dangerous game, in particular when a fast follow-up shot is required. The 7mm Remington Magnum is based on the commercial .264 Winchester Magnum, .338 Winchester Magnum, and .458 Winchester Magnum, which were based on the same belted .300 H&H Magnum and .375 H&H Magnum cases, trimmed to nearly the same length as the .270 Weatherby Magnum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">6mm Remington</span> Rifle cartridge

The 6mm Remington rifle cartridge, originally introduced in 1955 by Remington Arms Company as the .244 Remington, is based on a necked down .257 Roberts cartridge using a .24/6mm bullet. Known for a combination of high velocity, long range, flat trajectory, and accuracy, it is suitable as a dual use hunting cartridge for both medium-sized big game and varmints. When used in the less common earlier slow twist barrels, it offers exceptional range for varmint applications. While not as commercially popular today as the .243 Winchester, the 6mm Remington enjoys a slight ballistic advantage and continues to be popular with handloaders and custom rifle builders.

The .264 Winchester Magnum is a belted, bottlenecked rifle cartridge. Except for the .244 H&H Magnum and .257 Weatherby Magnum, it is the smallest caliber factory cartridge derived from the 2.85 in (72 mm) Holland & Holland belted magnum case. It was introduced in the late 1950s and early 1960s with the .338 Winchester Magnum and the .458 Winchester Magnum as one of a family of short-cased 2.5 in (64 mm) belted magnum cartridges developed by Winchester based on the .375 Holland & Holland parent case. It was officially introduced to the public by Winchester in 1959. After many years of dwindling use it began enjoying a mild resurgence in popularity in the mid-2000s among long range rifle enthusiasts and reloaders due to the high ballistic coefficient of the heavier 6.5mm bullets and increasing popularity of cartridges such as 6.5mm Creedmoor, .260 Remington, 6.5 Grendel, benchrest and wildcat cartridges in 6.5mm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.325 Winchester Short Magnum</span>

The .325 Winchester Short Magnum, commonly known as the 325 WSM is an 8mm caliber rebated rim bottlenecked centerfire short magnum medium bore cartridge. The cartridge was introduced by Winchester Ammunition in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">6.5mm Creedmoor</span> Centerfire rifle cartridge

The 6.5mm Creedmoor (6.5×48 mm), designated 6.5 Creedmoor by SAAMI, 6.5 Creedmoor by the C.I.P. or 6.5 CM or 6.5 CRDMR for short, is a centerfire rifle cartridge introduced by Hornady in 2007. It was developed by Hornady senior ballistics scientist Dave Emary in partnership with Dennis DeMille, the vice-president of product development at Creedmoor Sports, hence the name. The cartridge is a necked-down modification of the .30 Thompson Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.338 Marlin Express</span>

The .338 Marlin Express is a cartridge developed by Marlin Firearms and Hornady. It is based on the .376 Steyr with a goal to duplicate the venerable .30-06 Springfield's performance in a cartridge compatible with lever-action firearms. The cartridge uses a slightly shorter, rimmed case to function in lever-action rifles with tubular magazines. As introduced in Hornady's LEVERevolution line of cartridges, it follows the design logic of the .308 Marlin Express which preceded it. The .338MX fires heavier .338 caliber bullets than the .308 Marlin Express at roughly the same velocity. It is chambered in Marlin's Model 338MX and 338MXLR rifles using the Marlin Model 336 action.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Varmint rifle</span>

Varmint rifle is an English term for a small-caliber precision firearm or high-powered airgun primarily used for both varmint hunting and pest control. These tasks include killing three types of pests or nuisance animals that spread diseases or destroy crops or livestock:

The 6.8 Western is a centerfire rifle cartridge designed by Winchester Repeating Arms Company and Browning Arms Company. Introduced to the market in 2021 as a big game hunting cartridge that may be also used for long range target shooting.

References

  1. 1 2 "C.I.P. TDCC datasheet 7-30 Waters" (PDF). CIP. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2023-04-30.
  2. 1 2 3 Frank C. Barnes, ed. Stan Skinner (2003). Cartridges of the World, 10th Ed. Krause Publications. ISBN   0-87349-605-1.
  3. "Petersen's RifleShooter magazine, "The Saga of Seven"". Archived from the original on 2010-02-15. Retrieved 2011-11-04.
  4. "7-30 Waters", retrieved 2013 May 04
  5. Federal Premium Ammunition, retrieved 2012 May 15
  6. Hornady LEVERevolution, retrieved 2012 May 15
  7. "Speer Bullets, #1625 Hot-Cor, retrieved 2012 May 15". Archived from the original on 2011-11-10. Retrieved 2012-05-16.
  8. "Hornady FTX, retrieved 2012 May 15". Archived from the original on 2012-06-14. Retrieved 2012-05-16.
  9. "Hornady MonoFlex, retrieved 2012 May 15". Archived from the original on 2012-04-30. Retrieved 2012-05-16.
  10. "Winchester's Timeless Classic".
  11. "Custom Shop, retrieved 2012 May 12". Archived from the original on 2012-05-10. Retrieved 2012-05-16.
  12. "Gone But Not Forgotten".
  13. The Sectional Density of Rifle Bullets, retrieved 2012 May 18
  14. Hodgdon Data Manual, 26th Ed.
  15. "Nosler, Bullets, retrieved 2012 May 18". Archived from the original on 2010-06-29. Retrieved 2012-05-19.
  16. "Hornady, .284 7mm Products, retrieved 2012 May 18". Archived from the original on 2012-04-30. Retrieved 2012-05-19.
  17. "7mm International Rimmed". Archived from the original on 2008-12-12.
  18. "7-30 Waters" (PDF). Accurate Arms. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-11-20. Retrieved 2011-10-27.