10 inch contender barrels-why all the hate?

[nagantguy]

Getting deep into the contender pistol game; on my forth barrel; another on the way. Anyhow most of what I read seem folks don’t like the original 10 inch barrels ; I’ve had 2 t/c factory ten inch barrels and they both shoot very well; the 357 Maximum shoots very well out to 200 yards. I don’t see any problems with them I’m sure individual barrels had problems but this particular 10 incher shoots as well of better than any handgun I’ve ever owned; and I like being able to use 357 mag on occasion in it. I just got my first super 14 barrel and it shoots well, but doesn’t seem to balance as well or look sharp as my 10 inch.
Any of you had or know of reasons why the 10 inchers seem to be so lamented?

[mattw]

I am not sure... I have 10" 41 mag, 30 carbine and 10mm. I like them all, now the 30 is really loud and the flash is something else. My frame is a gen 1 very 2 with an amazing trigger.

[dannyd]

10 inch barrels work great shot 27,000 round of 30/20 and probably 10,000 rounds 38 and 357 magnum also 7TCU and 223.

[megasupermagnum]

This is just my personal opinion, and I never got in the Encore/Contenders anyway, so take it for what it is worth.

A scoped encore is not a wearable handgun, it's not something you will put in a holster and forget about. An iron sighted model with a short barrel maybe, but that isn't what most hunters use. They are more or less just a legal rifle for "shotgun" only deer hunting areas. Since it's just a pistol grip rifle for deer hunting, shooting off of sandbags, why not give it more oomph. Balance is not a consideration for 95% of encore/contender owners. The 10" barrels are fine, I've shot them, and they were every bit as accurate as can be expected.

[tctender]

I have barrels in pistol version from a little over 7'' to 15''. the shorter barrels are easier to shoot off hand and the longer is better with a rest. I like the 10'' and have no problem with them as they are especially good with pistol calibers.

[Leadmelter]

I have the early octogon, 10" bull and Super 14s and I have to say I prefer the 10" Bull in any caliber. I use Pachmayer grips.
Leadmelter
MI

[rking22]

I like the 10inches also, but I don't scope them. Had a 10" 3030 that was the definition of LOUD! But it really shot well and took down rams with athority.First barrel I ever had was an octagon 44mag with the 76 winter grips, oh man did that thing recoil! A 22hornet I wish I had back, and 22lr , 357 and 256 win mag that will never leave. Oops there's a 30herrett too. Anybody got any 10inch barrels to unload, I might can help:)

[kir_kenix]

10" is my personal favorite. Better balance and much easier to shoot offhand if necessary. I have several 14" barrels in varmint calibers and they are ok. Basically a short rifle at that length.

8" is alright, but honestly for any of the straightwall pistol cartridges I'd rather fire them out of a revolver at that point.

[contender1]

I've never experienced any of the "hate" you've mentioned about 10" Contender barrels. I have had folks dislike the octagon ones,,, as odd shaped, can't use Pachmyer forends, more felt recoil, etc. But the 10" bulls,, no complaints here,, as I have 'several."

[NSB]

I have no idea who you've been talking to about "all the hate", but it doesn't appear too many people "hate" them on here. Maybe you're just trying to strike up a conversation? You might have gotten some more interesting responses by asking who likes the 10" barrels and in what calibers? I've owned several Contenders over the last thirty years and I've had lots of barrels for them. For hunting purposes and shooting Production Class IHMSA Silhouette I've used 10" and they shot very, very well. I only used the 14" for Unlimited Class in IHMSA and those barrels didn't actually shoot any better than the 10". If you're hearing people say that they "hate" the shorter barrels you might start hanging around with a more knowledgeable crowd.

[Guesser]

I like the 10"ers. The 221 FB is a very useable varmint small game fixture and the 41, 44, 45 all reach out past revolver range easily. I only own 1 14" and it is a custom, probably one of a kind.

[ShooterAZ]

I've had a number of 10" barrels over the years. The only one that was unsatisfactory to me was a 7x30 Waters, it just wouldn't shoot anything worth a darn. Not sure why... T/C ended up replacing it with a Super 14 at no charge. Currently I have only one 10" barrel, in 357 Mag and it's just fine. All the rest are all 14", mostly in rifle calibers, and scoped. There's no hate here for 10" barrels, I just prefer the 14" for my use. I mainly shoot silhouette, varmints, and long range target with them.

[kenyerian]

I've got several different sizes and love my 10" 22 mag and 10" hornet. I like my 14" 44 Mag for Deer hunting. I guess I'm fine with my 10" 7tcu also. These are my core four. I've had several others and these are the ones I have kept while others come and go. I do like the longer barrels for the larger calibers.

[LUCKYDAWG13]

If you shoot a10inc 44 magnum the
Octagon barrel with a full house load you will hate it

[nagantguy]

I have no idea who you've been talking to about "all the hate", but it doesn't appear too many people "hate" them on here. Maybe you're just trying to strike up a conversation? You might have gotten some more interesting responses by asking who likes the 10" barrels and in what calibers? I've owned several Contenders over the last thirty years and I've had lots of barrels for them. For hunting purposes and shooting Production Class IHMSA Silhouette I've used 10" and they shot very, very well. I only used the 14" for Unlimited Class in IHMSA and those barrels didn't actually shoot any better than the 10". If you're hearing people say that they "hate" the shorter barrels you might start hanging around with a more knowledgeable crowd.

I have read on this site about it some folks not liking the 10’s; had a hard time selling or trading my 10 inch 44 mag. Mike Bellum say something on his site that the original 10 inch T/C barrels were a bad joke and that has not been my experience. I will that 44 mag did have more felt recoil to me than any other barrel I’ve yet shot; don’t know why the 10 inch 357 max is tame by comparison.

[Moonie]

I have a 7 1/2" Encore barrel. It's in 300 BO, threaded and I do use a suppressor with it. It is a full 1" bull, feels like shooting a 22 with subs in it. Very fun to shoot. Many years ago I had a 10" 357 Max Contender barrel that I quite enjoyed, but the blast from it was pretty horrendous with 125gr XTP's loaded to the gills.

[shorty500]

Having had everything from the early 8+ inch octogans to the super 16, will admit my preference is 10”, much longer and its seriously a sandbag/rest style gun for most people, but 5he 10” or shorter can handle excellently offhand.

[MT Gianni]

Look up Junior1942's old site and see his sling system if you want a better carry. I have 10". 12" 14" and 23" contender bbls and they all do fine.
http://www.castbullet.com/index.htm

[Walks]

I have shoulder holster for a 10" iron sight rig.
A chest rig for a scoped 10" setup.
And a sling for a 14" scoped rig.
I used a 6ft walking staff with a lanyard at the 5ft point, to use as a standing rest.

I have scoped 14" bbl's in .35REM & 7mmTCU.
A 10"bbl in .357MAXIMUM with a Red Dot.
And 2 iron sighted 10"bbl's in .44MAG & .22HORNET.

What the heck is wrong with a 10" bbl ? As long as the caliber is efficient enough. I mean that's why STEVE HERRETT & BOB MILEK developed the .30Herrett & .357Herrett. Besides a 10" bbl with iron sights is the only setup you can still shoot off hand. Add a scope or some more bbl length and you'll need arms like Dwayne Johnson to hold it steady.

I shoot my 10" bbl's more then 4 or 5 times as much as the scoped 14" bbl's.

If ya look down on 10" bbl's, then you're too dumb to know what you're missing.

As far as an ENCORE go's, just be honest and but a buttstock and longer bbl on it.

[Three44s]

The issue that gets over looked is how a particular cartridge is suited to a given barrel length in my opinion.

Smaller cartridges in relation to bore size are better suited to shorter barrel lengths than more voluminous cases.

This is in general because the other 1000 pound gorilla in the equation is how well a particular barrel is made and how well it and your frame “agree” with one another.

With handguns in general, I like balance and packability. Long barrels don’t fit that but they offer other advantages. This why choice is good. Something for everybody!

Three44s

[str8wal]

I love 10" barrels for handling, but 10" just too short to get decent performance out of some chamberings. Straightwall pistol cartridges perform well, but bottle necked cases like 30-30 or 7-30 Waters for instance really suffer with the short tube. I chrono'd the same load in 7-30 from a 16" barrel @ 2560 fps, and from a 10" barrel @ 2050 fps. The shorter barrel also was significantly LOUDER and had a lot more muzzle flash. I went with 13" for my MGM barrel as a compromise and am happy with it. The 223 is another that really gets starved in a short tube. One needs to match length with the case capacity and bore size.

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

from me!

[charlie b]

They all have their place. Yep, 10" is about as much as I would want for shooting off hand. But, most of my shooting was laying down and laying the barrel against my leg. The scoped, 14" barrel (.30 Herrett) was very accurate out to 300m. If it was benched steady it would do MOA. I was not that good :)

I also had 10" .357Mag and .223 barrels with open sights. I did not shoot them much.

[lightman]

I'm not sure where the hate comes from but the 10 inch is all that I have or ever wanted. I would even go for a shorter custom barrel. I also favor the heavier barrels. Right now I'm down to 45 Colt, 357 Herrett and 22 Hornet. Have had 22LR, 30-30 and 44 mag.

[TCLouis]

Love all my 10" barrels excep the 30 Herrett.
Nick is so over size that it really works the brass. Sent it in and TC said it was "within specs"
So I just don't shoot it.
My 10" octagon 22 LR is the most accurate 22 at 50 yards that I own.
I bought the gun to get the frame and was going to sell the barrel.
So glad I shot it first.
Unfortunately I have a very limited supply of ammo it likes best and there is no replacement so I'm going to have to find what it likes again in the future.

10" 7 mm TCU is a barrel of fun with Soup Can and something close to JR's WC 820 load . . . . If I could just remember what I had worked up. Dang why did't I write that down?

[charlie b]

On my Herrett I did two things. I opened up the sizing die a bit and then did not ream the case as much. Bonus was the case in the neck and shoulder area was thicker and seemed to work well. I only had one case fail, after about 20 reloads at max.

[mozeppa]

i guess you either love or hate thompson contenders ....

i'd shoot one for the experience....but...they are so darned ugly ...i'd never pay money for one.

[high standard 40]

On my Herrett I did two things. I opened up the sizing die a bit and then did not ream the case as much. Bonus was the case in the neck and shoulder area was thicker and seemed to work well. I only had one case fail, after about 20 reloads at max.

I used a 10" 30 Herrett for many years in IHMSA silhouette. I never reamed a case neck on any of the brass I used in that barrel. It fit my chamber just fine without doing that step. Case life was excellent.

In regards to the original intent of this thread, I can only guess, but 10" barrels have probably lost favor with most shooters who still shoot Contenders. Back in the early days of handgun silhouette, 10" barrels were the longest length allowed for Production category and the 14" barrels were used for Unlimited category. T/C sold many, many barrels of both lengths during the silhouette golden years. As popularity of silhouette faded, most Contenders were used for hunting and most people opted for the longer barrels. 10" sales suffered to the point that T/C could no longer justify cataloging them.

My opinion only because I have no hard facts to back this up. It's just what I consider to be the most logical explanation for the lack of popularity of 10" barrels.

[TCLouis]

Charlieb
I do NOT ream my brass.
The chambers neck is so oversized that one day I short cyled for some reason and there was a noticeable difference where I stopped.
I would guess it is 3-5 thousandths, maybe more.

Dang 10' 30 Herrett is the cats meow too.

[arlon]

Only barrels I really like are the 10" barrels. I have a few heavy and a few octagon barrels. I like the heavy in heavy recoiling calibers and the octagons in lighter calibers. I shoot mostly off hand and favor the old octagon barrels have them in .22, .222, .357 and .44 mag (shoot specials). Have heavies in .222, .357, .41 mag, 45 LC, 30/357 Herrets and 7mm TCU. Sold a few longer barrels, only long barrel I still have is super 14 in .223 that I never shoot.

[charlie b]

Charlieb
I do NOT ream my brass.
The chambers neck is so oversized that one day I short cyled for some reason and there was a noticeable difference where I stopped.
I would guess it is 3-5 thousandths, maybe more.

Dang 10' 30 Herrett is the cats meow too.

Sorry. Bad of me to make assumptions.

[Texas by God]

One of the most unpleasant handguns I ever fired was a Contender 10" octagon 30-30 Win with 170gr CoreLokts. That handgun was trying it's best to hit me in the head on recoil. That said, I'd love one in something tamer.

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[rking22]

Texas, I fully understand. I was sbooting a IMSA match back in the day, 44mag standing production. Guy beside me creedmore with a 10 in Contender. Once time started, I was on turkeys, when he touched that thing off I flinched so hard dang near hit the pig berm! Felt the shockwave, layed down the SBH and got head phonez to go over the plugs. I still waited till he shot before I even lifted the gun. Afterwards found out it was 30-30, and for sale. I shot it on rams after the match and bought it ,50$! Was worth 50$ to me to not shoot beside it again, but it really took down the rams! Got home and found he was shooting 10% over max of 4895!!!!!! Even loaded to spec it was stout, but much worse to the side than behind it :)
Recoil didn't hold a candle to the octagon 44mag. But I now have 14inch 30-30 and 10 inch 30Herrett! Seems more fitting. Always seemed like the bullet on that 30-30 was gonna be pooking out the muzzle on the shorty!
All this talk of the 10 inch guns,,, I got my 30 Herrett on the bench to shoot tomorrow, may hunt with it this year.

[Hamish]

Shot thousands of rounds of 7TCU and 30 WCF through 10" barrels. The only thing I didn't like about the 10's was I couldn't shoot them "dead frog" like I could the 14'ers.

[Three44s]

That’s my situation as well, a ten in the 30 Herret and 14 in the 30-30. My 7mm TCU’s are 14 and 21”.

I have a ten octagon in 222 that I have not had much luck with yet but have not spent enough time with it yet but a ten in 22 Hornet seems to hold promise.

A Custom SS 22 Hornet improved to a “K” in 14” Bull is a show stopper!

Addicting these Contenders!

Three44s

[marshall623]

I have 10's and 14's and all mine shoot great . I think 7-30's , 30-30's and similar capacity round's make better use of the extra powder in the 14's

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[TCLouis]

Charlieb
I think that is a reasonable assumption.
It is also why I thought it was far too big to be in spec, but obviously TC disagreed.
A boolit would drop in the case without sizing the neck down
Maybe I should have looked at .321 -.314 boolits.

Did you ever notice how they don't crowd up on ya at the range when you are shooting 10" 30 Herrett with ball powder? [smilie=l:

TbG
Back when Contenders were still growing in popularity a guy came to the range with a TC 10" Octagon pistol roll.
One assembled gun and several octagon barrels.
He explained that he had just bought it and wanted to test it out.
This is back in the all wood handgrip days too.
He set up his bags on a bench, grabbed the assembled gun (30-30), loaded er up, settled into the bag, pulled the trigger . . .
Got up, placed the gun in the roll, rolled her up, gathered up his bag and left for the day.
Guess it hit where he wanted

[marshall623]

I have had people laugh when your setting up targets at a 100 . After they see a T/C shooting MOA or better they usually want to know what you have and how can it shoot like that.
==TClouis , that fellow you seen with the contender roll probably thought a few fire crackers went off in his hand when he squeezed the trigger on 30-30 on those old wooden grips .

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