Help me decide on a Contender rifle barrel...

[mattw]

I have **** loads of 22lr shells and guns, do not want another. I want to put a Contender rifle together in something 22 centerfire, reloadable and castable! I have not paid attention to how common the cases are and how expensive and how well they are suited to cast bullets.

I have been thinking... maybe a 22 Hornet or 221 Fireball. I have a 40XBR in 221 Fireball, so I have weighed cases that do not fit my groups that I could use if I went that way. I really do not want to go as big as 222, 222 mag or 223 eventhough I do have brass in each. I am going to use it to teach my kids more marksmanship than they gain with the rapid fire 10/22, maybe shoot a few ground hogs and tree rats along the way.

What would you all recommend?

Thanks Matt

[Artful]

sounds to me like 221 fireball it would be. myself I would be looking at casting and I like 30 and larger sizes
so 300 blackout/whisper (same 221 cases just necked up) or 38 special load in 357 magnum cases.

[M-Tecs]

22 Hornet or 221 Fireball? I have both. I started with the 22 Hornet but I never liked it as much as I thought I would. Switched to K Hornet and I like that better but not as much as the 221 Fireball.

[FLHTC]

If you're going to cast for it, buy a custom barrel. The factory T/C barrels have fairly long throats and they aren't as cast bullet friendly as a custom barrel. I would go with MGM and get a Hornet if you really need a 22 but if you don't, you might consider the 257TCU. The round is 25 caliber in the 223 case. One pass into the sizing die and the case is formed. It's manageable for young shooters, accuracy is on par with the best and CH4D has the dies. I wouldn't hesitate to use mine deer hunting.

[paul h]

If you're looking for a 22 centerfire, hard to beat the 221 for accuracy. That said, the 22 caliber can be challenging for cast and you might want to consider a 7mm or 30 cal. The old 30-30 is a fine choice for shooting cast and with mild loads the recoil is kid friendly.

[leadman]

I have a rechambered 22lr barrel to 22K Hornet that shoots jacketed and cast very well. Can go from 22 short velocities to almost 221 Fireball. I have gotten 3,000 fps with the 35gr jacketed bullets. 2,500 fps is easy to do with cast. This is a tapered 21" barrel that makes a nice light gun. Brass cases are hit or miss right now.
I did have a Hornet also but just did not like it. Too much case stretch and not as accurate as the K-Hornet.
I also have a 223 Rem 23" bull barrel. This shoots one of the most available cases in the country and free most of the time. It works well with cast with low velocity of around 1,200 fps. Lower velocities are possible but accuracy was not as good. It shoots jacketed 55gr bullets into 1/2" groups most of the time.

The 221 Fireball can be made from the free 223 Rem is needed and it should do everything the 22K Hornet can do and a little more.

I also have a custom 18" 300 Whisper barrel that also utilizes the free 223 Rem or 221 Fireball case. If I had to have one rifle for everything except game larger than deer this would be it. Can shoot 30 cal pistol bullets to 240gr bullets. I do shoot 93gr boolits to 200gr in it regularly. Have taken deer, javelina, coyotes, rabbits, squirrels, milk jugs, etc with it.
30 caliber boolits are so much easier to make than 22 cal boolits.