Contenders Get No Respect

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  • Last Post 13 September 2020
R. Dupraz posted this 13 March 2018

Checking loads for a 218 B in a new G-2 frame at 50 yds.

1" black pasters were aim points, 30 cal. hole in right one. These two, I think made the cut.  Incidentally, these bullets were weight sorted

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OU812 posted this 13 March 2018

I have one chambered in 300 Whisper (.309 diameter,.200 long freebore, 10 groove). Should be a good cast bullet shooter, but very difficult to hold and shoot. Eye relief on scope is not long enough to really stretch out and shoot in comfort.

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BigMan54 posted this 13 March 2018

I have Leupold or Burris pistol scopes on all my Contender bbl's. The 14" 7MM/TCU & .35REM  wear Leupold 2.5X8. The 10" .357MAX & .44mag wear 2X Leupold & Burris, respectfully. The .22Hornet  had a 4X Leupold on it, but the scope went bad. i sent it back to Leupold for replacement. They sent me a cheap "***" replacement that isn't half as good as the one that went bust. I put it up against all the other pistol scopes and it isn't half as clear as the old ones.  That's the third time they've ripped me off. I'll never buy another Leupold as long as I live. And most of the optic's I own are Leupold, Because of their vaunted lifetime guarantee.  

Blast it. I turned this into another rant.

But the old Scopes, now they are FINE. I once put 3rds into a 1" group with the 7MM/TCU. from the Creedmoor position. I think it was more luck than skill. My .22Hornet never shot that well, even from the bench.  

Long time Caster/Reloader, Getting back into it after almost 10yrs. Life Member NRA 40+yrs, Life S.A.S.S. #375. Does this mean a description of me as a fumble-fingered knuckle-draggin' baboon. I also drool in my sleep. I firmly believe that true happiness is a warm gun. Did I mention how much I HATE auto-correct on this blasted tablet.

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tlkeizer posted this 13 March 2018

Greetings,

A couple clicks up depending on which group you use and a couple clicks right and that is ready for prairie dogs out by Okaton.

TK

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R. Dupraz posted this 14 March 2018

Yep TK, Would be a "hoot" again, wouldn't it. Been over 20 yrs. since the last time. Don't know if there are any places left anymore. 

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RicinYakima posted this 14 March 2018

Sorry, it is all trailer houses and rural slums now.

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shootcast posted this 15 March 2018

Very nice shooting Richard. 

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R. Dupraz posted this 15 March 2018

Thanks for the compliment shootcast. It was one of those days when everything seemed easy. "In the zone", some label it. Have been dinging around with the Bee for some time and it seems that it might shoot OK. Finally, learned that most of the problems, not all, but most have been me with these bloody Contenders and those miniscule .22 castings. Either love em or hate em. But too hard headed to give up.

Yesterday I fired two more five shot groups of the Lee 225-55  and 2400 to verify. Both went 1" center to center. So I am going to quit and just shoot the Pistol with some degree of confidence that it has the capability. From now on it's all on me I think. No shortcuts with those dang little .22 pills.

The header for this topic explains my real reason for posting.

Small groups do wonders for the attitude!  

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Ross Smith posted this 17 March 2018

I see your pistol is an encore, mine is a contender. Is your hinge pin a little sloppy or is that a contender trait?

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OU812 posted this 17 March 2018

My Contender feels very tight with no loose fit 

One thing I really disliked about my contender is the huge factory grip. I changed it out for the smaller rubber Pachmayr grip. The new grip fits and feels more comfortable now.

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BigMan54 posted this 17 March 2018

I've owned three different Contender frames. Not a one had a loose hinge pin. Not even the 2nd one that had 3000+ rds of .35REM & 7mm TC/U.

I like the "new" Contender grip with the rubber backstrap. The old Pachmayr grip is too narrow at the web.

Long time Caster/Reloader, Getting back into it after almost 10yrs. Life Member NRA 40+yrs, Life S.A.S.S. #375. Does this mean a description of me as a fumble-fingered knuckle-draggin' baboon. I also drool in my sleep. I firmly believe that true happiness is a warm gun. Did I mention how much I HATE auto-correct on this blasted tablet.

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R. Dupraz posted this 17 March 2018

 

 

Ross Smith posted this 7 hours ago

 

"I see your pistol is an encore, mine is a contender. Is your hinge pin a little sloppy or is that a contender trait"

 

It's a Contender G-2 not an Encore

The hinge pin is a snug friction fit.

 

R.

 

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Ross Smith posted this 17 March 2018

Thanks all, maybe I do need to install one of those Bellm pins.

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OU812 posted this 17 March 2018

Mounting the scope closer to the eye helps also. Every little bit helps.

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R. Dupraz posted this 17 March 2018

Nice photo 0U812

I have made oversized hinge pins and used some of Bellm's as well and can't really say whether they help the accuracy or not. That has been a long time heated conversation over on the specialty pistols forum. So much so that the thread was finally locked. 

I do think though from what experience that I have had with these beasts that consistent and solid lock up is critical. And, any play between the barrel and frame when locked is not good. Pretty much a no brainer I guess. If an oversized pin can eliminate this, they are probably a good thing. 

The frame in my photo is a re-introduced new G-2 mated to the B barrel that was  from a late seventies Contender frame. while that older 10" octagon barrel and frame shot some nice groups in the past at 50 yds., the lockup with this new frame seems more solid and consistent. Also, I am using the new hinge pin that came with the G-2 as well, which is a perfect snug fit in frame and barrel lug. I believe that the recent groups that I have shot with the "new" combination demonstrate this.

One thing that I can say without reservation is that these guns are not easy to shoot and that consistent hold, rest and bench technique is critical. It has taken me quite a while to begin to master and understand that. But once that happens, these guns will shoot very well for what they are.

 

R. 

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OU812 posted this 18 March 2018

Pistol is very difficult to shoot as in picture, so maybe a longer,wider and flatter forearm would help rest better inside bags. I have also seen bipods attached to these pistols. Bipods are great for load development.

I know very very little about these guns.

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Ross Smith posted this 18 March 2018

oughta get one, they're a hoot. Mine with the 22 match barrel is the most accurate 22 I have.

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R. Dupraz posted this 19 March 2018

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JeffinNZ posted this 19 March 2018

I have often thought that given my time again I would have fewer long arms and a Contender based rifle with multiple barrels. 

Cheers from New Zealand

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OU812 posted this 19 March 2018

My lower powered 2-7 Burris scope is the biggest problem. I find it too difficult to pin point target @ 100 yards.

The latest Fouling Shot shows a BR pistol on front cover using a short eye relief high powered scope. Pistol looks like it would weigh 10 lbs.... ridiculous . Is this a pistol or rifle? 

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RicinYakima posted this 19 March 2018

It is a competition firearm; built, modified and fired in sporting events. That is its only function, to have fun with.

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joeb33050 posted this 19 March 2018

My lower powered 2-7 Burris scope is the biggest problem. I find it too difficult to pin point target @ 100 yards.

The latest Fouling Shot shows a BR pistol on front cover using a short eye relief high powered scope. Pistol looks like it would weigh 10 lbs.... ridiculous . Is this a pistol or rifle? 

 

I shoot the Savage Striker with Weaver T36 scope, in 223 and 22-250 mostly now, in 308, 25-06, 7-08, 243 and others in the past. I find that single power good scopes allow me to capture the aim point/cross hair and then move back to comfortable eye relief. I went through the pistol scope low power business, no workee for me.

I put handgrip no-tip adapters on, adjust bbl length and wt as available, modify rests as needed, and 200 yards works.

joe b.

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BigMan54 posted this 19 March 2018

R-D,

After seeing that FINE FOREND  you made.  That is a thing of beauty. I think even I could make a nice FLAT Forend like that. 

Maybe not as nice but serviceable. I've used the Pachmayr  forend for so long, I've never thought of using anything else.

Long time Caster/Reloader, Getting back into it after almost 10yrs. Life Member NRA 40+yrs, Life S.A.S.S. #375. Does this mean a description of me as a fumble-fingered knuckle-draggin' baboon. I also drool in my sleep. I firmly believe that true happiness is a warm gun. Did I mention how much I HATE auto-correct on this blasted tablet.

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R. Dupraz posted this 19 March 2018

Online CBA Member

 

BigMan54 posted this 22 minutes ago

 

R-D,

"After seeing that FINE FOREND  you made.  That is a thing of beauty. I think even I could make a nice FLAT Forend like that". 

Well BigMan, I think you're a tad over the top with that comment, It's just a simple fore end made from a chunk of walnut. And then  pillar bedded to float the barrel. No part of the fore end touches the barrel or action. No doubt that you could duplicate it. Just takes a little time and a piece of wood.

Those pistol scopes are 2 1/2 -8 power Weavers. And I  use 1" black target pasters  for aiming points, both at 50 and 100 yds.

Works fine for me.

R. 

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gemihur posted this 06 August 2018

Give 'er some legs and she'll really impress ya'

7-30 Waters

I shoot, therefore I am

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 06 August 2018

following joeb's adventures, i had to notice that his * pistol * seems to outshoot his * rifles * ... same savage actions, same class of barrels ...

and so i looked at the past several years of CBA  matches ... HOLY SMOKES, .....  the pistols tend to outshoot the rifles !!! ... say it isn't so ...

...   maybe a bit of apples and oranges ?? ... or ... ok, short stiff barrels might well be more accurate ....  

****************

kinda along those lines, it would be interesting if some shooters used " pistols " in the current  fall groundhog shoot .... be embarrassing to find out they worked well for that ....

ken  

 

 

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gemihur posted this 08 September 2020

Creative wood gives 'em have character.

I shoot, therefore I am

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Bud Hyett posted this 08 September 2020

You're right, I thought they were never to be accurate. Until I shot one in .30 Herrett and cast bullets. The one secret I found is being sure the action was fully closed the same for each shot. 

The SAECO #315 and RCBS 30-165-SIL in a Bullberry 10 twist barrel shot a 200-yard National Record in 2006. Unfortunately, Jesse Miller beat that record on the next relay by .058, more power to him.

Farm boy from Illinois, living in the magical Pacific Northwest

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Tom Acheson posted this 08 September 2020

For quite a few years, in the early and formative days of IHMSA, a 10 1/2" Contender chambered in 7 tcu ruled the roost in the Production category! Using jackted bullets.

Tom

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RicinYakima posted this 09 September 2020

It was fun shooting in a new game! Enjoyed those times 30 years ago.

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Larry Gibson posted this 09 September 2020

My Contender.  I have numerous pistol barrels and 2 21" rifle barrels of various cartridges.  This my 22 Hornet suppressed used for hunting small game/vermin up through coyote in size.  Jacketed load is Hornady 45 Hornet SP over 12.5 gr Lil'gun, runs right at 2500 fps.  Cast bullet is a soft cast 225415 over 2.0 gr BE for 1100 fps....quieter than my 22 cal pellet rifle.....

LMG

Concealment is not cover.........

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max503 posted this 09 September 2020

oughta get one, they're a hoot. Mine with the 22 match barrel is the most accurate 22 I have.

 

Same here.  My 22 LR match barrel is super accurate.  Been wanting a Short Match barrel for 22 CB's but the prices turn me off.  

Ever since Illinois has legalized handguns for hunting all my deer have fallen to my 44 Mag Contender.  Going to try a 357 this year.

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Tom Acheson posted this 09 September 2020

.357 for deer...


Odd how states have varying handgun hunting firearm requirements.

In about 1982 Wyoming had a requirement that the round being shot had to have 500 remaining foot pounds of energy at 100-yards. It had to be a factory loading with published ballistic info. At the time .357 factory loads did not meet the minimum energy requirement. That requirement eventually went away. 

But I’ve never ran into a game warden where we go Mule deer hunting. I’ve always used CB handloads so it would have been an interesting conversation if I did bump into one. My first trip was 1977 with a 1903 Springfield with a low power Redfield scope. That resulted in (7) MN and WY deer.

In 1982 I switched to iron sighted handguns, a S&W Model 57 .41 Mag. Took (6) deer with that gun. Bullets were 220 and 295-grain, H-110, WW680, WW 296. In 1987 I started using a .41 Wyoming (shortened 200 Swift case, and 325-grain Hoch bullet and 4227. That gun got me (13) Mule Deer and (2) Minnesota Whitetails. So (21) total deer. While in Wyoming several coyotes were in the wrong place at the wrong time with the latter revolver above.

Historically 4227 with cast bullets in a .41 revolver have been the most accurate, at least in my two revolvers.

Will be going to Wyoming this Oct. but no hunting. I go to be with my son, besides, I’ve killed enough deer....and.....they get close to $400 for a non resident license!

Tom

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 09 September 2020

max503 ... i collect match takeoff barrels .. maybe one could help you ... i think i have some 224 match barrels left ... shilen or hart ... these are 14 twist, so 55 gr bullets are about the limit in these.  pm me if .  

ken

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mashburn posted this 10 September 2020

The .22 Hornet was the worse Contender barrel that I ever owned and I owned a heck of a lot of them .At least you could say, it shot cast as well as jackets, both were horrible. All of the other barrels that I owned were very acceptable.

Mashburn

David a. Cogburn

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mashburn posted this 10 September 2020

Hello all of you Contender shooters,

Here is  how I made one of the most useful and handy walk about firearms I ever owned. I took a .22 RF Contender with a 10 inch barrel and installed a 1X4 compact rifle scope on it. That way you could lean up against a tree or take all kinds of weird hunting type rests and put your eye up close to the scope. I developed an arms crossed position with the shooting hand right up in my left armpit. It is unreal how accurate you can be with this position, even more so if you can lean your back against a tree or lean against anything practically. I installed a sling attached to the bottom of the grip and attached to the barrel. You could sling this thing over your shoulder airborne style and never have it get in your way. My brother-in-law and I used to set our shooting bench up on a high bluff over looking Glover River and shoot turtles. It didn't take long to shoot out all of the turtles with our centerfire contenders. We would then sling our little .22 RF contenders over our shoulder and start walking down the river bank stalking turtles. We would also enjoy some squirrel hunting along the way. If you have every hunted wild gray squirrels with a scoped contender you know what a bind you can get in trying to find a rest and then getting your head back far enough to use the scope. After I used this setup for a while, I felt just as confident as I did when carrying a .22 RF rifle out in the squirrel woods. If you hadn't thought of it, give it a try, you will be impressed

Mashburn

David a. Cogburn

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gemihur posted this 10 September 2020

Thanks for the recommendation. Sage advice is hard to come by these days!

Your description of pistol as rifle brings to mind a 22 Hornet setup I use

Thanks,

Jimmy

I shoot, therefore I am

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max503 posted this 10 September 2020

Difficulty holding crosshairs still is one reason I'm using iron sights on my 357 barrel for deer. I'll only take short range shots. Heck. I don't even care if I get a deer. Last two years I passed up easy shots just because..... The gun is so much handier without the glass on top.

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mashburn posted this 13 September 2020

Hello gemihur,

I do really like the looks of your contender rig. That one looks like it would shoot itself. My contenders have been laying idle for several years, but am getting the bug to put them back too work. I used to collect all of the contender barrels in all of the different calibers that Thompson Center produced. I had all of them, at one time, but have sold most of them off over the years .I still have all of the grips and forearms that they produced from the late sixties, when they started, up until they started the G2.I'm glad to see that you are shooting a Real Contender other than a G2.

Mashburn

David a. Cogburn

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Tom Acheson posted this 13 September 2020

Shooting a revolver off hand, as in hunting, is something that I’ve had poor success with. For deer hunting, iron sights works best for me. I can see the entire deer, I can where he is going, including the terrain he must traverse and I can see what is behind him. Where the bullet goes after exiting or missing the deer is very important.

 

If David can post the photo I send him, you’ll see the two revolvers I’ve taken my deer with.

The one bellow is a S&W Model 57 Mag with 8 3/8” barrel and  Bomar rear sight. The top one is a customized Dan Wesson 357 Super Mag, modified with a Douglas 1:14 twist barrel and chambered in .41 “Super Mag” (almost). It weighs 4.5 pounds and is a real pain to disassemble and clean.

At one time I owned a 10 1/2” TC, chambered in .32-20. And I also owned an MOA chambered in 7.62x39. These were used in IHMSA’s Production category. The MOA  is a lot “busier” to shoot than a Contender.

Tom  

                                   

 

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Tom Acheson posted this 13 September 2020

Oooooops......Meant to say poor success offhand with a scope

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gemihur posted this 13 September 2020

G2's are for guys who either cock it prematurely, or can't remember to recock it after putting the hammer down, the trigger is better on the original.

I was out today with my 30 Herrett and decided my 'light' loads were enough to do what I might need.

Sorry, the lighting of this one doesn't show the cougar embossed, but she's original. Thanks, Mashburn, that rig was recommended by the late Junior Doughty! "The frugal Outdoorsman"

I shoot, therefore I am

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