The same loads that work in rifles work in T/C barrels. Velocity will be lower, and trajectory not quite as flat as with a rifle, but more than adequate for varminting.

George

I think, but I'm not 100% certain, that some newer loading manuals list loads specifically tailored for T/C Contenders, Encores, and other high-performance handguns. I would imagine that the faster-burning powders would give the best results.

They may use newer powders, but loads with H322, H335, and Varget work just as well in my T/C 14" Hunter as they do in my Savage 10FLP, Remton 700VS, and Bushmaster V-Match.

The load manuals sold 'for the Contender' are merely comppliations from other loading manuals. I had one of those little yellow spiral-bound books, and it contained loads from Speer, Nosler, Hodgdon, and Sierra manuals.

George

The 223 14" contender is without a doubt my favorite varmint gun. I have had mine since 1990. Do yourself a favor and save yourself some money and get the 3x12PA/Bal Plex burris right off the bat as that is what you'll end up with any way. The smaller scopes just don't do justice. That said mine has been wonderfully accurate. I have 3 pages of test loads on an Excel spread sheet. I have tried H4198sc/H335/H4895/Benchmark/TAC/H380/H414/RL 15/Varget/2230/2460/BL-C2/2200/W748/2520/800X and Bluedot.

H4895/Benchmark/Bluedot are by far my favorites all will provide exceptional accuracy with the right combination. Rem 7 1/2br primers are a good start. For bullets I like the 55 gr Sierra Blitz, 45 gr Hornady SP and for the ultimate in accuracy 53 gr Sierra HP matchking. That said I shoot many more Rem 55 sp's than anything since they come cheap at $50/1000.

Benchmark will provide the highest velocities and bluedot is the funnest by far. The bluedot loads will provide about 3/4 -7/8 of the velocity of full loads but they do it with less than half of the recoil. Plus I can shoot 3-4 times the shots at PD's before the barrel begins to heat up. The contender is not at all hard to load for. I have found mine to be more accurate with full length resizing than with neck sizing.

I load 25grn of W748 with a 55 grn Hornady SP or the Midway Dogtown 55 grn soft point. I will shoot about 200-300 rounds in a setting at a Prairie Dog town. This load works the best in my 14" Contender that I have found. Very accurate, and doesn't heat up the barrel like some other powders. I'm getting very good groups out to 300 yds with this load. I full length re-size my cases and this seems to stop any misfire problems I had when neck sizing. This is not a max load according to my Hornady manual. I'm getting ready to try some 50 grn Hollow points I got from Barnes.

Bigchast1, Congrats on your new barrel! I have two, 14" Contender barrels in 223 Rem and both have proven to be real good shooters! I did extensive load development w/ the first barrel, incl H4895, H335, H322, WW748, VarGet, RL12, RL15, VV130, AA2015BR, AA2230, and AA2460. My main use w/ the 223 is prairie dog hunts so muzzle blast is a legitimate concern for me. I settled initially on H322 as it gave a good combo of performance and muzzle blast. At least in my gun, AA2015BR and H322 behaved quite similar w/ similar load data as well. I understand the load data for these two may differ some now. In my barrel, H4895 and H335 had a great deal more muzzle blast w/ similar performance, compared to H322. RL12 was ok, but of course it's since been discontinued.... The others had subpar performance. So what load(s) do I use? Initially (both Rem brass, Rem 7 1/2 primers, and H322), Speer 50 gr TNT/24.7 gr powder/OAL 2.330"; Nosler 50 BT/24.5 gr powder/2.335" OAL. Both loads generate about 2950-3000 fps w/ sub-MOA accuracy. But, the 40 gr "plastic tipped" bullets were NOT available when I first got my 223 barrel. Since the 40's are now available, looks like I'll change to 40 gr Hornady V-Max/25.5 gr Vihtavuori 130/2.350" OAL/3300 fps (also sub-MOA). I particularly like the VV powder as it's muzzle blast is even less than H322. The worst things about the VV powders is the availability (limited) and smallest container size (TWO pounds). It's a small grained, extruded powder, similar to H322, that meters quite well. I've not tried BenchMark in my 223, but in my 15" 22 BR XP-100, it's muzzle blast was moreso than that of VV 130. Hope to play w/ some RL 10X at some point, as well. I can't comment on Blue Dot from personal experience, but the articles I've seen about it's use have been very intriguing. I agree w/ the earlier poster re: the Burris 3-12X handgun scope: it's much superior to all others for varminting purposes; I highly recommend it! Gary T.

I have always had the best luck with the bluedot loads in teh contender. I used a 50gr SP and bluedot at a velosity of 2550fps. It was a great load out of the contender, no recoil, little muzzle blast, and very accurate. I used it for a lot of predator hunting. It worked very well with minimal pelt damage. You have to be careful with the bluedot loads because pressure will increase so quickly. Only use bullets of 50gr and less and start with 10grs and work up to 13, after 13grs work your way up in .5gr increments until you make out.