Old style Contender

[MT Gianni]

I am looking hard at an older octagonal 222 bbl in a contender. I can get it with a tc scope for a little more than a new G2 frame. I have read a few threads on this and due to noise and powder am I better off shooting boolits at Hornet and Bee velocities?

[Westwindmike]

I shoot a .223 Contender and I went down to Hornet and Bee velocities because of the blast and noise. Look at Blue dot and the lighter bullets. I think you will like them.

[lathesmith]

I hate to say this, but apparently the ol' 222 can be kinda fickle when fired from a 10" barreled contender. I saw an article once by the late Bob Milek, and IIRC he summed up his experience with this caliber by saying that "an accurate load or two...can be found, if the shooter is willing to work hard at it..."
Though I haven't personally owned one of these, a friend of mine had a 10"scoped 222 octagon barrel, and that thing shot patterns, not groups. I ain't saying these won't shoot at all, but...be prepared to work at it, and it will take more than standard rifle recipes to get groups where you would like them. I'd say your expectations of lower velocity will probably help too, my guess is a decently accurate mid-range load will be easier to come up with than a full-velocity one.
Good luck,
lathesmith

[uscra112]

Personally I'm very fond of my old Gen 1 Contender because of its' set trigger. But old Gen 1's tend to be worn if previous owners shot heavy loads in large cartridges. I think .357 Magnum is about the upper limit for a Gen 1, and although I do have a .357 Max barrel for mine, I don't shoot it any more than is necessary to assure that's "minute of deer" at the start of the season. Otherwise I use it with a 14" K-Hornet barrel for chucks.

Yes, the .222 case is too big to do any good in a 10" barrel.

But I'd still buy that thing if it's not been beat-up, and trade the .222 barrel for a Hornet or Bee. The set trigger feature alone is worth having.

[Olevern]

I have a .222 barrel (14 inch bull) that shoots right up there with most small caliber rifles from a rest (accuracy wise). No set trigger on the contenders (any version) but the old model triggers are adjustable and have it all over the G2 models.

Saw a 256 mag oct bbl in a local shop the other day, might have to have it to play with.

'tenders are addictive!

[Groo]

Groo here
I have a number of older tc frames and never had a problem with the trigger.
The smallest is a 223 , then 309JDJ, 411JDJ, and 45-70 .
One thing is that the locking bolt spring needs to be replaced on the hard kickers with a heaver one that is on the old frames.[ JD did mine.]
After that , opening is best done with a sharp "pop" with the heel of the off hand....
After that , replace the wood with Packs.[ Decelerators]
Don't put your off hand under the trigger guard spur and the loads that can be shot will be
impressive.

[ratboy]

"Don't put your off hand under the trigger guard spur and the loads that can be shot will be
impressive. "

i forget that once in a while but the tender is nice enough to remind me.

[lathesmith]

The larger .22's--222,223, etc.--can shoot amazingly well in a Contender with a 14 inch tube. When you cut the barrel down to 10 inches though, the picture changes considerably, and the consensus seems to be that the Fireball, Jet, and Hornet works quite a bit better.

lathesmith

[williamwaco]

Groo here
I have a number of older tc frames and never had a problem with the trigger.
The smallest is a 223 , then 309JDJ, 411JDJ, and 45-70 .
One thing is that the locking bolt spring needs to be replaced on the hard kickers with a heaver one that is on the old frames.[ JD did mine.]
After that , opening is best done with a sharp "pop" with the heel of the off hand....
After that , replace the wood with Packs.[ Decelerators]
Don't put your off hand under the trigger guard spur and the loads that can be shot will be
impressive.


Do you know a good source to get one repaired? I have one that will not fire. The hammer falls but will not dent the primer. It is like the interlock stops it when the action is not completely closed. ( but it is completely closed.)

[Beerd]

I did a lot of head scratching one afternoon when my Contender wouldn't fire. I had changed from .22 RF to a .357 Max and forgot to switch the hammer over from rimfire to centerfire mode.
..

[MT Gianni]

Belmtc or search for Mike Belm has some tips on misfires. A new firing spring is not very expensive.

[Got-R-Did]

The spring that drops the hammer block in the Gen 1 Contenders are known to break. My first of five Contenders had this problem three times over 15 yrs of shooting. It stays in the safe these days and the others take over the bulk of the shooting.
I, too, have a Super 14 in .222 Rem and it is fully the equal of my very accurate bolt rifles. Not much velocity lost, even compared to a true 14.5" barreled M4 in 5.56MM.
The 10" bbls in .222 and .223 are not optimal in my experience, and likewise the .22 Hornet was an effort in futility for me to develope loads for. Traded my Hornet bbl for the .222 mentioned above and never looked back.
Got-R-Did.