Most Useful Contender Barrel

[GarrettJ]

Most practical overall? 45/410. Take deer or quail with the same gun.

Possibly the most practical in theory. In practice, not so much.

Even with the choke installed, I get donut patterns at 25 yards. Accuracy is mediocre at best when shooting .45 Colt. This is a common complaint with this caliber. I can literally shoot better groups at 50 yards with an iron sighted 4-5/8” revolver. Maybe an aftermarket .45/.410 barrel could be made to shoot better.

 

[robhof]

Back in the day I had a super 14 in 30-30 and you can load it from mild to wild just switching bullets and loads. 125 ballistic tips extend the range, and 180 flat points knock deer over hard. You can shoot bunnies up to small bear if you are up to the task. Or going the other direction a 17 Rem. Amazingly accurate and an eyeball shot will drop just about anything with no skin damage.

Totally agree, I've loaded 110gr spire tips for prairie dogs and 160 gr for deer, with anything in between being fair game. My super 14" has gotten more deer than any other gun of mine.

 

[Bob Meyer]

I've got several barrels:44 hotshot,256 mag, 223,17 Rem, 32-20,45 Colt/410, 22 lr,30-30. I also had a 35 Rem.My favorite was always the 256 mag. You could load it down to be good for squirrels, or boost it up for woodchucks or coyotes. I always thought it was what the 25-20 should have been but wasn't.

 

[Meeks36]

357 max. Or 41 mag.

 

[gnappi]

I used to have two frames and well over a dozen barrels (long story) and the one I thought most practical was the 10" .44 mag.

 

[cfullgraf]

I really do not think there is a "most useful" for a Contender just as you cannot have just one firearm to do it all.

My first Contender was a 10" 357 Magnum for IHMSA handgun silhouette, production class. It was a compromise of sorts as I already reloaded 357 Magnum and I felt the Contender would be useful for other things.

I upgraded to unlimited class with a Super 14 chambered in 7mm International Rimmed. I used 139 grain FMJ military pulled bullets for competition that a friend was using in his 7 TCU Contender to good effect. Once I stopped shooting silhouette, I dabbled with some light weight bullets and a scope for shooting at varmints. I guess with the appropriate load/bullets, the 7mm Int Rimmed could be a good deer sized game rifle at appropriate ranges.

Continuing with the varmint theme, I added another frame and made a 22 Hornet 21" Contender carbine. Great around our hobby horse farm dealing with little varmints.

I've been interested in 221 Remington Fireball, so, adding a third frame, I built another carbine with a 22" Bullberry barrel and stock. This has proven itself to be one of my more accurate rifles.

All of these barrels are good at what they are designed for but none of them are a "be all to end all".

I like my Contenders but I have not shot them much in the past couple decades. No way I'll part with them though.

 

[EMC45]

One choice only?
I'd have to choose the Super 14 in .35 Remington.
All the power I would need with lots of impact energy, and the 14" barrel would carry in a chest rig to stay hands free.
Stealing a quote here, 'It hits above it's weight'.



Yeah, I remember watching a pal with a plumb worn out .44 that had been through the wringer with
wound out 265 grainers.
Fall open described the gun better than break open.

JT

This was happening to my ollllld Contender with my 10in 44 mag barrel. I called it my TC "Auto-Ejector". I called TC and they had me send it in. They sent me a G2 Gratis... Can't complain. I did like the original trigger better though.

 

[zdc1775]

The only contender I have ever owned was a 14" 7-30 Waters. It was amazingly accurate with Hornady 120 and 139 grain bullets. If I were to get another one it would likely be the 14" in 30-30.

 

[Gordon]

I have two older Contender frames, one with a rifle stock for the 16"+ barrels = a red dotted .45-70 and .17 KHornet with 2-10 scope and .25-35 Winchester with a Leupold 3x with heavy post all super 16"
The other pistol frame I have many, but favorites are : 14" .35 Remington with a 2x Leupold LER scope with three rings, a 10" bull .357 Rem Max which can take from .38 special up , an Octagon .45Colt/.410 with external choke that has no accuracy or pattern problems and a 14" 30-30 with a 2x Leupold LER scope. .
All around versatile : probably the 10" .357 Max . with 180 grain Speer bullets at 1600+fps it is ferocious , it has the "long range" open bladed T/C rear sight that is mounted on the side of barrel to the rear and easy to adjust elevation for different loads. I think it was for IMSA competition .

 

[Keyfer 55]

I think the most useful barrel is the one you like the most.

 

[Engineer1911]

I shot the rifleing out of a Super 14 222 Remington barrel and stretched the barrel lug on a 10" 30 Herrett barrel killing prairie dogs. In no particular order fired 2 shots in a 44 mag super 14 (never again), watched someone shoot a 45-70 Super 14 barrel (Why ? ? ?), bought a 357 mag, 223 Rem, 30 Herrett Super 14 barrels. I think the best TC barrel is 10" 30 Herrett with 5X or 7X pistol scope or 30 Herrett Super 14 barrel with iron sights.

30 Herrett loads from 100 gr M1 carbine bullets to 165 gr or 180 gr large game bullets. I have killed prairie dogs at 250 yards with 10" scoped 30 Herrett using a Burris 7X long eye relief pistol scope, also had a few close misses with Speer 125 gr TNT bullets.

 

[Keyfer 55]

I would like to have a 45/70 to 22 hornet adapter.

Dose anybody make adapter for 45/70

 

[jmorris]

I have had contender pistols for decades but use them much more in rifle configuration. The XP-100 in 7 BR is likely the most used pistol I use for hunting.

The 16” .22 LR barrel I made gets used a lot. The van horn 22 hornet rifle barrel is the most accurate at 100 yds one I have. My 16” 45-70 is OK for trapdoor loads, a lot less power than my Marlin with action appropriate loads but all I like to shoot with such a light rifle.

I have never seen a regular contender with 12 or 20 ga barrels.

 

[JT-AR-MG42]

.25-35 Winchester with a Leupold 3x with heavy post

Maybe not the 'most useful', but that set up would be my new favorite!

JT

 

[Gordon]

I HAD a 1894 Winchester 25-35 carbine since early 70s , sold it a couple years ago. I have the brass and a mold , the Contender barrel stays, for a while. Yes a 117 Lyman flat point with gas check over Reloader 7 powder gets 2000+ FPS in the Contender 16" very easily with low pressure signs. It will kill deer well to 200 yards, at least the small California Blacktail I shot over the years with it.

 

[Ks5shooter]

14in 7-30 Waters ported my favorite.

 

[CraigC]

Y'all are gonna fart around and talk me into a .25-35 barrel.

 

[Gordon]

There was a release of new .25-35 ammo a few years ago and I believe Marlin made a small run of them in 336 then. Maybe Hornady Leverlution ammo , like I said I make my own Boolits for my 25-35 and my relationship with them goes back 50 years when I was given a 94 carbine as a ranch foreman in Big Sur Ca. After returning from Vietnam.
added:
https://www.hornady.com/ammunition/rifle/25-35-win-110-gr-ftx-leverevolution#!/

 

[Pete D.]

Most useful....tough to decide. For myself, it would be a Super 14 in either .30 Herrett or .30-30 Winchester.

 

[Llew Taranau]

I have a 14” .45-70 barrel. In pistol form, it’s downright unpleasant to shoot.

Also, $3 per round is pretty unpleasant as well.

 

[GarrettJ]

Also, $3 per round is pretty unpleasant as well.

I haven’t bought factory ammo for it in ages, but it was priced well below that when I did. Now I just shoot reloads. And since I’m not buying components at today’s at panic prices, it’s still affordable, should I feel the need to punish my hand.

 

[Pete D.]

Is a box of factory .45/70s really $60?

 

[entropy]

10" 30-30 if you handload, 14" .223 if you don't.

There was a release of new .25-35 ammo a few years ago and I believe Marlin made a small run of them in 336 then. Maybe Hornady Leverlution ammo , like I said I make my own Boolits for my 25-35 and my relationship with them goes back 50 years when I was given a 94 carbine as a ranch foreman in Big Sur Ca. After returning from Vietnam.
added:
https://www.hornady.com/ammunition/rifle/25-35-win-110-gr-ftx-leverevolution#!/

The .25 levergun rounds always intrigued me, ,25-20 especially, because of the record typical buck taken in 1914 by James Jordan in Danbury, WI.

 

[Pivot Dr]

Useful for what?
Probably not my .17 Mach IV?
7 TCU is good.
As is the 35 Remington.
.223 has it’s uses.
All 14” barrels.
Does everything I want my Contender to do.

 

[WestKentucky]

Possibly the most practical in theory. In practice, not so much.

Even with the choke installed, I get donut patterns at 25 yards. Accuracy is mediocre at best when shooting .45 Colt. This is a common complaint with this caliber. I can literally shoot better groups at 50 yards with an iron sighted 4-5/8” revolver. Maybe an aftermarket .45/.410 barrel could be made to shoot better.

That’s strange, but true, and a very common complaint. I have seen it on a coworkers barrel years ago and I have seen it on other 45/410 guns. My .357 hotshot is a very similar concept and that barrel is a FINE shooter. Perhaps the extremely long leade is doing something funky, and I haven’t really done much with the choke installed. The 45/410 is one barrel I really want to get and I think as much as anything I want one to see if I can sort out the issues that everybody else seems to have.