This barrel features my very effective machined in muzzle break and EGW rail installed with 8 screws and plenty of room for
3 or 4 scope rings and versatile eye relief.
Custom order price, $909.
Made by MGM using the 1-10 twist CUT RIFLED blank I supplied.
NOTE: .300 Savage Ackley Improved is intended for factory ammo only. No common reloading dies are available.
A few comments about .30 cals. in Contenders:
There is a place for the .309 JDJ level of performance from Contenders and there are many shooters that want .309 JDJ performance levels but, alas, do not reload.
In my early Contender years, I chambered quite a few .300 Savage Contender barrels, but always had difficulties with extraction.
.300 Savage factory ammo velocities were pretty much on par with JD's published data.
In those days, I simply failed to realize just how much the thin slab sides of Contender frames flexed under the pressure load.
Doing some testing, rounds this diameter at pressures around the 45,000 psi pressure level flex the frame and lower lip of the barrel lug about .012", then spring back
cramming the fired case back into the chamber, making extraction more difficult.
Doing the same testing, the G2 version with its reinforced sides flexes about half that amount, making .300 Savage a little more friendly to G2 frames.
Years went by and on a lark chambered a barrel in .300 Savage Ackley Improved and found that between less body taper and a bit more case volume that drops pressures a little, factory .300 Savage factory ammo not only was in league with .309 JDJ but gave nice, reliable extraction.
If you have always wanted a .309 JD Contender barrel, but do not reload, .300 Savage Ackley Improved is for you!
Just shoot factory .300 Savage ammo in the Improved chamber!
SIDE NOTES ON .30 CAL CONTENDERS IF YOU DO RELOAD:
Compared to other choices of .30 cal. Contender barrels, I've always, let's say, had a jaundiced eye view
of .309 JDJ's case capacity vs. the moderate pressures the Contender or G2 should be subjected to.
In spite of expressing my opinion, .309 JDJ has gotten a lot of attention.
Comments on .309 JDJ:
Compared to other choices of .30 cal. Contender barrels, I've always, let's say, had a jaundiced eye view
of .309 JDJ's case capacity vs. the moderate pressures the Contender or G2 should be subjected to.
In spite of expressing my opinion, .309 JDJ has gotten a lot of attention.
JD's view leaned toward 165 gr. bullets and a bigger scoop of slow powders. OK, but for most handgun shooting, 150 gr. at higher velocity gives better expansion. 165's with a higher sectional density give more penetration on bigger game like elk and tough hogs.
My benchmark for .300 Savage has always focused on 150 gr. bullets, but "....your mileage may vary" applies.
.30/30 ACKLEY IMPROVED is more versatile and a better choice with lighter bullets through 150 gr. but a bit
short of .300 Savage (standard) potentials with 165 gr. bullets. For many applications, higher velocity with lighter bullets trumps
the 165's. .30/30 Ackley Improved is a good staple round for Contenders & G2'.
Don Bower's .30 Alaskan:
is the best all around .30 cal. for Contenders and G2's. It is basically a .307 Win. Ackley Improved that
takes less powder for lighter bullets but ample room for enough slow powder with heavier bullets. Use .308 Win. Ackley Improved dies.
Point of fact, Don's favorite load for long range target and big game was with WW-760 powder, magnum rifle primers, and 165 gr. bullets.
Another point of fact: Don contrived his cartridge for a customer going on a caribou hunt, thus the .30 Alaskan nomenclature he gave it.
.307 Winchester brass is about double the thickness of .444 Marlin brass at the case web, soft brass that expands more readily than .444 Marlin
brass, and as Winchester appears to have acknowledged, contains most of the pressure acting like a cork in a champagne bottle.
.307 Winchester brass is not to be found anywhere I know of, but in my experience and Don Shearers testing, the harder .444 Marlin brass is
pretty much equal in strength & function compared to .307 Win. brass.
Of course .30 Alaskan brass can be easily formed from .444 Marlin brass.
My .308 Bellm, featured in the blog section, is on par with all the above while I reserve it primarily for straightening misaligned .30/30 factory chambers and throats.
Back to .309 JDJ, as a suggestion:
.309 JDJ, realistically, makes a far better alternative to .30/06.
Case capacity is nearly the same as .30/06 ample for most powders used in .30/06 loads.
Soooo..... if you have the .309 JDJ dies and an Encore frame, I suggest it as the better, rimmed, .30/06 but more user friendly with no extractor spring to fight.
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