What's your favorite Contender cartridge?

[Tatume]

Hi Folks,

There are some really good ones out there. My favorites are the 10" 357 Maximum and 14" 309 JDJ. My Maximum is a rechambered 357 Magnum barrel that Mike Bellm made up for me. Mike does really nice throats, which contributes bunches to accuracy. Mine has the T/C Silhouette rear sight, which is very nice. My 14" 309 JDJ barrel sports a 2x Burris Posi-Loc scope, which does a great job. The 309 JDJ is my only 14" barrel, the rest are 10".

I like the 30 Herrett and 30 Bellm too, but don't use mine very much. I also have 7mm TCU and 223 Remington, but also rarely use them.

I've always been intrigued by the 6.5mm JDJ. It looks like a super deer and hog cartridge, with less recoil than the 309. Do any of you shoot this one?

So what are your favorite Contender cartridges, and why?

Take care, Tom

[jimb16]

7TCU and .44 mag for me. I've also got .222 Rem, .223 and .410. Got rid of the other barrels since I just didn't use them.

Update: added a .30-30 barrel to the group!

[John Allen]

I like the 44mag and the 221 fireball.

[dragonrider]

I have two favorites, a 14" 30-30 w/muzzle tamer, and 12" 7-30 Waters. Also have 44 mag, 223, 357 max (former mag), 7mm super mag (sucks), 30 Herrett, all are 10" and all are ok but they don't match the fun I have with the first two.

[LUCKYDAWG13]

did the 357 max just a PITA looking for brass i know it will work for deer
hunting but i know a 44mag is just a better round sold my 14" 357max
and got a 14" 44 mag barrel and a 14" 22LR i will get a 30/30 AE when
money permits

[**oneshot**]

22hornet!

[WALLNUTT]

10" 357 Max and 14"430JDJ(rechambered from old 6 groove barrel)

[Doc Highwall]

I have a 375 Winchester 10" barrel.

[TCFAN]

I like the 22LR, 32-20 and the 22Hornet. It is hard to pick a favorite from those three.........Terry

[Guesser]

221 FB and 41 Magnum. Both are 10 Bull Barrels with the old style silver soldered front sight. My favorite frame is a first generation, 5 digit SN.

[pupsdad]

second the 22 hornet

[Westwindmike]

My favorite is the 14", 7-30 Waters.

[dougader]

Used to have a Super 14" in 30/30 and it was scary accurate. I've thought about getting another one and adding a 223 barrel, too.

[kenyerian]

22 hornet, 44 mag, 45 colt, 7 tcu, Barrels come and barrels go but I'll never get rid of my 22 hornet.

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

.30 ...

[gandydancer]

218 Bee. 21" bbl 45/70 16" bbl with Brake & 45 Colt 14"bbl GD

[fcvan]

I don't own one but my brother has 3 barrels, each 10", .223, 357, and .41 mag. I really like the .223 barrel. I went shooting with my dad and he set up a soda can at 50 yards. One handed, he shoots and said 'I can't believe I missed.' I said I don't think so and we checked the can. PCM ball ammo (2 bucks a box at the time) punched a perfect round hole through and through. Dead center in the "O" in Coke. Those contenders are wicked accurate.

When I started working up loads for the 225-415 boolit my brother and I proof fired them in the contender first as it is a very strong action. Single shot loads with Unique were zippy and tight, but of course they won't cycle a Mini 14 or an AR rifle. For that we used 4227 and those loads cycle the semi autos at half pressure. It's very hard to beat a contender for fun and accurate shooting.

[stubshaft]

My .17 Ackley Bee and 6mm TCU for j-words and the venerable .30 Herrett for cast.

[Forrest r]

It's a toss up between the 22 match bbl & the 9mm bbl. both are excellent 50/100yd plinking rounds.

[ubetcha]

14" 30-30 bbl with scope. Use it for IHMSA silhouettes. RCBS 165gr sil and 18gr SR4759. Very fun to shoot

[Doc Highwall]

I have a 14" Super Match in 22Lr but I cannot remember the last time I shot it.

[Shuz]

7MM TCU. It is the caliber most used by the winning competitors in IHMSA Production competition. At least it used to have that claim back when I was active in IHMSA in the 80's and 90's.

[Rick Hodges]

My favorite is 7x30 Waters in a 22" Bullberry barrelled carbine. Yeah I know it is cheating...:razz:

[missionary5155]

Good afternoon
Caliber .414 Supermag followed by the caliber .41 Mag which used to be in first place till I rechamberd a 14" barrel.
Mike in Peru

[lbaize3]

7-30 Waters 14" and 32-20 26". Both accurate and fun.

[jsheyn]

14" 22lr

[Lonegun1894]

I have .22LR, .357, .30 Herrett, and .44 Mag. The .22 gets by far the most use, and .357 has always been one of my favorite calibers, but I have been working up .44 Mag loads recently. Then there's the .30 Herrett that is great for longer range use with cast, and I have been thinking I should get something else when funds allow just to have something to play with. So what if I can't decide and just say ly favorite is whatever is a suitable caliber for whatever task I am trying to accomplish with my Contender at the time? I know, I'm no help.

[HighHook]

44 mag is my favorite. The 14" 223 with a 6x scope gets all the attention when hitting a 10" steel plate at 500 yrds

[MT Gianni]

In the early 80's I had a 7 tcu and 45/410. I traded it for a PPC gun and recently bought a 222 Rem and traded into a 7 tcu bbl. I am enjoying them both but also looking for a 357 max or a rechamberable 357 as I shoot that in a Handi rifle. .

[wallenba]

When it's a handgun, 357 magnum. When it's a rifle, 7-30 Waters.

[Aunegl]

I started with a 14" 44 mag. As with any addiction, I added a 10" 32-20 and .22lr. As for which barrel is my favorite, tough choice. I'd say maybe the 32-20. Next week will probably be the 44.

[Moonie]

I've only had one, 7-30 Waters in Super 14". Yet another firearm I regret selling.

[dale2242]

22 Hornet, 223 and 30-30 for cast.
I love them all. hard to choose....dale

[Coonazz]

14" 223 and 6mm JDJ are my favorites. 45-70 and 30-30 for cast and hunting

[Quigley]

I'm up to 5 frames and 2 dozen barrels. I love them all and have a weakness for the wildcats (375 JDJ, both herrets) but the one that gets the most use is the 10mm (can also use 40 sw in it)

[Cheap Trick]

My favorite Contender handgun barrel is the 7-TCU. It is versatile and shoots Lee 130 cast boolets quite accurately.

[gofastman]

Id sure like a 15" pistol chambered in .460 s&w

[marshall623]

I shoot a scoped 14" 7-30 and a 10" 7 TCU with factory irons for IHMSA both shoot cast very well , another favorite is a 10 3/4" 30 herrett that shoots cast very well and is going to a match as soon as I get some feed loaded up for it . I cant forget the 14" 22LR for Small Bore IHMSA & death to squirrels and ground hogs

[wch]

My favorite is the 14", 7-30 Waters.

Plus 1

[tg32-20]

masrshall623

I am sorry to hijack this thread but what loads are you shooting with cast in your 7 TCU and 30 Herrett.
I have both and love the barrels but can not get either to shoot what I would expect out of them.

Thanks

[marshall623]

PM sent tg

[contender1]

I own 3 frames, and 18 barrels.
One of my frames never gets swapped around. It sports my 14" 7x30 Waters. I've taken almost 100 whitetails, an elk & numerous other critters with it.

[flipajig]

Lets see 7-30,3030,44mag,7TCU,223,Match 22 LR all in a contender
30-06,7-08 209X50 Encore
I love them all depending on what I'm wanting to do with them.
Flip

[marshall623]

I forgot about the deadly accurate 223. Is safe to say I can't pick just 1

[Larry Gibson]

I currently have 3 carbine barrels (22Hornet, .223 and 30-30) and 6 pistol barrels (32 H&R, 357 Magnum, 44 Magnum, 45 ACP, 45 Colt and 45 Colt/.410). I have had numerous others over the years. I have to say my most shot Contender barrel is the old octagon 45 ACP barrel with original sights. Easy to carry, light weight and very accurate. It's amazing how much ammo I can shoot in short order. Good thing I've a 6 cavity mould, lots of brass and a Dillon SDB to crank out the ammo. The 32 H&R and 357 Mag barrels are scoped and are probably shot a lot too. Again, thank goodness for 6 cavity moulds, progressive presses and lot's of brass........

Larry Gibson

[fivegunner]

The one I like the best is my 12inch JDJ.375 :)

[marlin39a]

45/70 is the one I like best.

[6.5 mike]

22lr, 22 hornet, 6m/m tcu, 6.5m/m tcu, 6.5 jdj, 7m/m tcu, & 30 herret. And yes the 6.5 jdj is scary accurate, IMR 4320 under a Nosler 120 gr bt will stay under 1 inch at 100 easy. The 6m/m & 7m/m are both very good shooters, the 7 being very cast friendly. Getting ready to start working with the 6m/m & NOE 75 gr boolits next. I use pp'ed cast & starting loads to fireform 6.5 & 7m/m tcu's, works great.

[daniel lawecki]

My fav 22k Hornet 2nd 30 Herret my 100yrd shooters

[Tatume]

And yes the 6.5 jdj is scary accurate, IMR 4320 under a Nosler 120 gr bt will stay under 1 inch at 100 easy.

Hi Mike,

What velocity are you getting with the 120 gr bullet in the 6.5 JDJ? What length barrel are you using?

Take care, Tom

[riorider]

22 Hornet Scoped super accurate and fun as get out!!!!!!!

[Groo]

Groo here
The question is favorite and that is hard.
As most of mine are SSK 's that will have to do.
300 w,, 309JDJ,,411JDJ,, and my 45-70 cut for 500gr jacket loads.
Of those the sweetest is the 411...

[Viper225]

Super 14 in 22 LR
Super 14 in 223
Super 14 in 7 X 30 Waters
Super 14 in 30-30 AI
Super 14 in 35 Bullberry or some other variation of 35 Remington Rimmed

Everyone needs a 22 LR barrel.

The 223 is about as good as it gets for a Varmint/LR Plinker.

The 7 X 30 has proved it's self as a deer round.

The 30-30 AI is a very good deer round. If I were to start over looking for a Deer Barrel in 2013, this would be my first choice. No problem finding cases. It has a Rim. Plenty of case capacity. Cast bullet friendly. Whats not to love.

I have had my 35 Bullberry for years. Very accurate, plenty of power, and manageable recoil. The only bad point in 2013 is finding the parent case to fire form, The 375 Winchester. I happen to have plenty of 375 Winchester brass on hand, so I am good to go for this life time. I finally got a set of C&H dies for mine, a must have. Originally told to use 35 Remington seater dies. Only works for a couple reloads before a full length sizer was needed. With a real die set reloading is a piece of cake for the 35 Bullberry.

I would be racking up the deer with the old 35 Bullberry, EXCEPT I discovered the 480 Ruger Super RedHawk. I like the revolver for woods deer hunting.

Bob

[gemihur]

The 7-30 Waters is one that is dang hard to improve upon but my favorite shooter is a 17" 6.5 Grendel barrel by Coyote Arms & Accessories.
My contender is the only gun I need.

[Murphy]

Back in the mid 90's the Contender bug bit me. I began with a 22 Hornet 14" barrel. After a few reloads, I found the Hornet brass (in my case anyway) seemed to have a short case life. I of course added a Super 14" in .22 LR and began the search for another for whitetails. I couldn't get the hang of 30 Herrett loading (misfires), so I picked up a 7-30 Waters Super 14". I only had the one frame and two barrels. The accuracy with those two barrels never ceased to amaze me. After taking a few deer, I tired of it and sent it down the road. Which, I still regret but finances back played a major role in my gun inventory.

Murphy

[Beerd]

The 7-30 Waters is one that is dang hard to improve upon but my favorite shooter is a 17" 6.5 Grendel barrel by Coyote Arms & Accessories.
My contender is the only gun I need.

What does need have to do with anything :bigsmyl2:
..

[3leggedturtle]

Everyone needs a 22 LR barrel.



Bob

Everyone needs two 22LR barrels! 1 scoped and 1 iron sighted. Favorite is 30/30 or 45/410. Todd/3leg

[tward]

I'm up to 3 frames, 1 G1 and 2 G2. Barrels I have, 22 Hornet, 22 lr, 22 lr match, 221fb, 222, 223, 256 win, 6.5 tcu, 30-30, 357 mag, 357 max, 44 mag and 45 colt, 45 colt/410. Most fun for me is the 256 win. You have to do it all with this puppy, form cases, fire form and reload. Tim :bigsmyl2:

[dhom]

I have been shooting Contenders since 70's and they are worth the money. I have a 30-30 14", 45-70 SSK 14", and a 6.5X220 14" [my own making before SSK came out with the 6.5 barrel] They all are geared for hunting and are extremely accurate and effective. Encore barrels are 45-70 24" and 50 cal muzzleloader. Contenders are addictive!!!

[dhom]

To answer the question "which is my favorite" I would have to say the one in my hand at the time.

[RJM52]

Used to be big into Contenders and being from where they were made it was easy to find used barrels floating around all the gun shops and gun shows.

Had a bunch of carbine barrels but down to two at this point....a 18" Custom Shop .22 Long Rifle and a 16.5" .41 Magnum that was one of the last offereings of the Collectors Association.

Pistol length barrels:
.22 LR 10" Bull
.22 Magnum 10" Bull
.22 Jet 10" Octagon
.30 Carbine 10" Bull
.38 Super 10" Octagon, one open sights one scoped
.41 Magnum 10" Bull
.45 Colt/.410 Bull VR w/adjustable post front sight

One other barrel I have is a 14" .41 Magnum barrel that Mike Bellm rechambered to .41/.445 Super Mag... Story is that a customer in Alaska wanted this round and asked Bellm for a barrel. Bellm contacted a reamer company who just happened to have what he was looking for...unfortunately the reamer was the propitiatory property of Gary Reeder who already had it trademarked as the .41 GNR #2. After the barrel was made and shipped Reeder found out about the barrel and advised Bellm to cease making said chambering... The barrel was sold to Kelly Broast who owned Cast Performance Bullet Company which is how I got it in a trade for a .35 Remington he wanted. I later confirmed the story with Gary when I bought a set of his .41 GNR #2 dies to reload with. The barrel will run a 255 CP hard cast bullet at 2000 fps with AAC-1680 powder...and is a handfull in a Contender.

My favorite...I guess the ones I have left...

Bob

[RJM52]

What I have left...except one that is on another frame.

216306

The TC Custom Shop at Fox Ridge Outfitters had these for sale before the company was bought by S&W and moved to Springfiend...

216307

216308

[contender1]

Well,,,, I'm gonna list the least favorite,,,, according to the 100 plus deer I've killed. The 7x30 Waters. The deer, as well as many other critters hate it. It's accurate, easy to shoot, easy to load, and is an excellent killer. Me? I happen to use it more than my others.

[EMC45]

Lately I have been shooting the 10in octagon .38 special barrel a lot. It is accurate.

[str8wal]

7-30 Waters. I have bought and sold many others but always kept the Waters.

[RJM52]

Have to agree the 7x30 is probably one of the best deer rounds for the Contender. A friend shot an antelope at 250 yards with his...went right down. And factory ammo is at least somewhat available..

One of the barrels I sold was a .309 JDJ...THAT was a big game round... Accurate and powerful and the recoil not bad...

[Ramjet-SS]

I have several Encore frames and bbl.

375 GNR
475 Linebaugh
460 S&W
338 Federal
6.8 SPC

rifle encore Bbl.
44 mag
45-70
ML 50 cal

G2 Frame with collapsible stock 10MM carbine (This is my favorite)

[jdt81]

Over the years I’ve owned a few.
45 Colt, 223, 17 hmr
And have shot a lot with 22lr, 44 mag, and 30-30 (didn’t shoot that one a lot, a little too painful at the time).

The 14” 223 has the most accurate gun I’ve ever shot. Period. It could make 1-1 1/4 inch groups at 100 yards all day. The limiting factors were me (of course) and my 4 power scope. I sold it and got the 17 hmr because reloading shouldered cartridges wasn’t fun.

The 22 Hornet is on my short list for wants/needs.

On a more personal note, I attribute my happy marriage to the TC Contender. I was visiting my future wife one year at thanksgiving and woke up to the happy sound of gunfire. All 5 of her brothers were out back shooting whatever they had. One showed up with the most amazing gun I had ever seen. I was young and inexperienced, but I was in awe at how accurate and practical it was. I decided two things that day. One, I needed to be a part of that family! Two, I needed a Contender. Took care of both in short order.

Love, love love my Contender! ( and the family that came with it)

[Loiterer]

Guess I am one of very few shooting a 14" 45 Win. Mag.
It is fun to shoot but little reloading information is available but enough to put some lead down range.

[white eagle]

not contender but encore
my favorite is a 220 swift 27"rifle barrel made by MGM
Favorite pistol cal is a 9" 475 Linebaugh made by MGM
those are all I have at the moment
but another was a 6.5 Creedmoor that was a tack driver
made by MGM sold it to build a ar-10 in 6.5 CM

[curioushooter]

Part of the problem with Contenders is that you can't have a FAVORITE.

I can tell you all about my favorite features of a certain cartridge in a Contender, and I can tell you which shoot the best for me, but FAVORITE?

It really depends what you want to do with it...

I have found the 32-20 to be an outstanding cartridge in a Contender, and, for whatever reason, I shoot it well. It will bring down anything smaller than a deer easily and quickly. I've clocked 130 grainers going 1800 FPS out of my 10" barrel, and this is with a sub 357 magnum recoil level. It is very cast-bullet friendly, too. Up to 150 grains you can get your lube grooves in the neck. It is incredibly efficient and flat-shooting, too. I has become my woods gun, having retired a 357 Magnum revolver. My effective range is just so much better, and in a contender making use of a log or tree branch as a rest is a huge advantage. Of course, the reason why I am carrying it at all is to plug Coyotes. If I lived in bear country, it would be a different story.

357 Herrett is pretty hard to beat as an all-around Hunting-Competition-Impress Friends cartridge, but I have lately found that 357 Maximum with do almost the same thing, and the Starline brass is available. No lubrication, much longer useful case life, and straightforward sizing are definite advantages to the Max. The Max can't really demonstrate its potential in anything besides a sealed breech handgun like a Contender.

If you really want some wallop there is 45-70/444 Marlin. But to me they are excessive and unpleasant, and so are the myriad of necked down versions of the 44 that find their way into Contenders.

The 375 Winchester is about all I can take in the high power territory, but it is an outstanding big-game cartridge for a handgun, and is very friendly to cast bullets.

[JSH]

An interesting and good thread. Four pages and only one reference to the Contender as a G1. I want to vomit when I see that generic reference. Simply never was a G1.

As to favorites. Mine have switched around some over the years. Mostly because I went from jacketed to cast. I won't pin point an exact favorite, but what I shoot the most all cast. 14" 30-30, 14"35 Remington rimmed, 10"30-20,10" 357 magnum.
I do play with others and cast, all with good end results as well.
Quite a few years back I shot 3 deer, maximum you could shoot during firearm season at the time, with three different Contender chamberings.
After casting, I shot five deer with five different rifles in five different calibers with cast. I have plans on doing the same with pistol barrels and cast bullets at some point.

[45workhorse]

To answer the question "which is my favorite" I would have to say the one in my hand at the time.

I second this one!!!:bigsmyl2:

[Rick Hodges]

I only own one Contender and its a carbine....my favorite caliber is the 7x30 Waters with a 22" Bullberry barrel.. It makes a beautiful little deer rifle. I also have a 22lr and 22Hornet barrel for it, but the Waters is my favorite.

[mew]

I have three.

14 inch 7-30 Waters
14 inch .35 Rem
10 inch .44 Mag

Currently looking for a 14 inch 7mm TCU.

All wear 2x pistol scopes and all are very accurate. The Contender will teach you a lot about load development and being a single shot, do so economically. Really enjoy them.

[evoevil]

7mm TCU 222 and 223. The 22 Hornet is a 18" barrel. cant hold it steady ........ LOL

[Preacher Jim]

Favorite had to choose. 14" match 22lr, 15" 221 fireball, 38 match, 30 herret. 357 herret,
223, 22k hornet, my main ones several I don't shoot much.