go with the 309, I have a 375 JDJ, really limited in what bullets you can successfully use, where in the 309, any bullet 150 gr or less works great, you get almost no expansion in the 375 unless you use the flat point bullets intended for the 375 win. in the 358 your once again limited to flat points intended for the 35 rem.
RR
Ridgerunner,
Thanks for the reply. I have the 7-30 waters and a .223 as of now. They both shoot great but I get skeptical of lite bullets for deer. I dont think I need the .375 jdj but the .309 ballistically looks awesome. I think a ported 14" barrel would work nicely in that. Also, is it recommended to use the JDJ series on an older style contender (not G2). I thought I had heard that somewhere.
__________________
05' Bowtech Allegiance
.450 Marlin Guide gun
Rem 700 LSS 7mm Rem Mag
Rem 700 .30-06
Rem 7600 .35 Whelen
T/C Contender 7-30 Waters
duramax, one of the things about hunting with a pistol is you can go down a bulletweight class or 2 for hunting big game with a rifle caliber in a pistol. I have a 7mm JDJ, I tried the hornady ssp 120's in it, way to fragile. But the 120 gr ballistic tip is a great whitetail bullet at pistol velocities, acts like a premieum controlled expansion bullet at 2500 fps.
well the only difference in the contendor and the G2, is the hammer will cock after decocking on the G2, and the trigger can't be adjusted like the old ones, mine is an older armour alloy frame, and it'll take the 375 JDJ just fine, its 12 3/4" unported and 300 gr do recoil some but strength of the frame with these cartridges isn't an issue.
RR
RR,
This AA frames and barrels are kind of rare aren't they? Mine is an older stainless frame. Someone had told me that the JDJ series pressure is more than the old frames can handle, but thats just hear say. The 7mm JDJ sounds interesting. Is that on the .444 or a different parent? I love my 7mm rem mag.
__________________
05' Bowtech Allegiance
.450 Marlin Guide gun
Rem 700 LSS 7mm Rem Mag
Rem 700 .30-06
Rem 7600 .35 Whelen
T/C Contender 7-30 Waters
You cannot go wrong with any of the JDJ calibers. I have the 257 JDJ based on the 225 case, a 7-30 JDJ based on the 7-30 Waters, and a 375 JDJ based on the 444 Marlin case. I use all of these calibers in my non-G2 Contenders. You do need to load properly for the 375 and avoid going over maximum because of possible frame stretch because the do pack a wallop.
I prefer the 375 JDJ as you can load it up with 270 grain bullets for moose which is why I bought the gun but still have not drawn a permit. I load with 220 gr Hornadys and they hammer deer
The 309 JDJ should be a great deer caliber and it has the edge over the 30-30 AI, which is the way I might go, when using bullets over 150 gr.
I am really looking at the 338 JDJ#2 as my next barrel. I thing that on would be a real winner with 225 gr bullets.
I'm torn between what to do. I could buy a 30-30 barrel and have it rechambered, I think I found a 309 jdj barrel for 325.00 or just buy the Encore in .308 win. Not sure what to do. Also is a 2-7 power scope enough for this caliber?
__________________
05' Bowtech Allegiance
.450 Marlin Guide gun
Rem 700 LSS 7mm Rem Mag
Rem 700 .30-06
Rem 7600 .35 Whelen
T/C Contender 7-30 Waters
.309 JDJ
