7-30 Waters

The 7-30 Waters cartridge was a wildcat cartridge developed by Ken Waters in the 1970s to give better performance to lever-action rifle shooters than the parent .30-30 Winchester cartridge. This is accomplished by using a smaller 7mm bullet pushed by a more generous charge of propellant. More gunpowder can be used because the parent cartridge dimensions have been increased slightly, resulting in more case capacity. This also prevents a 7-30 Waters cartridge from being chambered in a .30-30 Winchester firearm.

Winchester (U. S. Repeating Arms) began production of their Model 94 rifles chambered for the 7-30 Waters in 1983. Thompson/Center chambers this round in their Contender single shot pistol, and reloaders can use pointed 7mm bullets for better down-range performance in the Contender. Factory loaded ammunition is currently available from major manufacturers such as Federal.

This caliber is suitable for hunting game up to and including deer sized animals. The 7-30 Waters does not have a large following, based on scarcity of ammunition found in stores, and reloading die sales from the major reloading supply manufacturers (RCBS, Lyman, and others).