Well, the brown truck made a stop today and delivered the 24" Contender barrel in 25 x 30-30 Improved. Everything looks good, and I can't wait to get the dies and fireform some brass.

I ordered the barrel Friday morning, and MGM shipped it the very same day -- a definite plus in my books. I ordered the dies a day earlier than the barrel and can only hope they still make it here this week.

I realize this is the single shot pistols forum and that this is not a pistol barrel, but this forum is my "home" and the place most likely to feature topics that are dear to my heart...

I will share results as soon as I have some.

Bobby,

No problem posting it here. I figure there are more contender shooters here than on the ss rifle forum. The same reason I posted my 6.5 30-30 question here, even though I plan to have a rifle barrel so chambered.

Let us know how it shoots!

Hi Bobby,

Where did you find the dies?

CH-4D had them for $72, and they were in stock. My other option would have been Redding, but those were nearly double the price & with an undetermined waiting period.

Actually, these dies will be 25-35 Ackley Improved, but other than .02 in the neck length, everything else is identical to the 25 x 30-30 Improved. And there will be no problem dealing with the .02.

Damn........mine is still a couple weeks away. (yep mine is a carbine too) Bobby once you get some brass formed up would you post a picture of the finished product.

No problem...

It just may be a couple of weeks because I don't do digital. I'll shoot it on film and then have the negative scanned.

CH shipped the dies last Friday, but Fed Ex has not delivered them yet. According to the tracking, they've been in Texas a couple of days now, so I am hoping they get delivered today.

I ordered a 13" 30 Herrett barrel from them Tuesday and can hardly wait to see it. What did you think of the quality?

I would have had one made, but I just hate waiting. I hope the chamber has a shorter throat than the 30 Herrett I have now.

jabradyjr,

I would be curious to see when you get your barrel or when it was shipped. I ordered one on Monday, they told me it would be sent that day, as of tonight, Thurs, it still has not been shipped. Hope they hurry up I put my old barrel on ebay when they told me I would get the other one right away, of course I have a planned hunting trip coming up. Starting to sweat a little.

Hi Mike,

I'll let you know. The tracking number I recieved isn't working on the UPS site, but I'm sure it was shipped.

MikeR-I just wanted to say I actually placed my order during the middle of the night Thursday (online).It went out Friday & was rec'd on Wednesday, so I am definitely pleased with the quick shipping -- not to mention the quality of the barrel. Of course, if I EVER get the dies CH4D sent to me, I'll be able to let you guys know how it shoots. But the package has apparently "fallen off the radar," as one FedEx person summed it up. They have no record of it past Monday, when it was in Fort Worth.

jabradyjr,

When I talked to them on Thurs morn they said they made a mistake and sent the tracking numbers out before the packages were sent. Then because of a mistake they had to open and repackage a bunch of barrels, my cell phone cut out a little so I did not get the full explaination. The tracking number I got will not work either and I have not received another so I doubt if they have been shipped yet. I was just curious if you were having the same problem.


Bobby,

Glad to hear you got your barrel quick and like the looks of it. I have actually had much better luck with FedEx than I have had with UPS. Hopefully they will find your package soon so you can go shoot and give us a range report.

I think rifle barrels are ok on this board for another reason: Both TC and Fox Rige offer chamberings in rifle length barrels that they don't offer in pistol length barrels. You can get the chambering of your choice already set up for the rifle forend and cut and recrown it to your length specifications. Mount it on your handgun frame, making a pretty specilized custom barrel for you at a reasonable cost. With the rifle forearm, you get a long wheel base bipod friendly package that's much steadier to hold and shoot than the pistol forearm package. You just have to invest in a rifle forend if you don't already have one...Rusty.

I'm glad you like the quality of the barrel Bobby. Hope your dies show up soon!

You make a good point there Rusty!

Mike R - our barrels were accidently shipped with some other barrels going to a gun show in Tulsa, OK. They are good tracking numbers, but until the big shipment is unboxed, and ours are actually individually shipped from there, the numbers will not show up on the UPS tracking site. Annette apologized for the error. I was sorta hoping to have mine today, but even if that mistake didn't happen, I probably wouldn't have had it today. Oh well...

jabradyjr

Thanks, guess we picked the wrong week to order barrels. I'm going to have to get out the rifle as it don't look promising to take the contender next weekend.
I ordered some stuff from Ed's Contenders a couple of hours after I ordered this barrel on Monday, he told me it would go out the next day priority mail, was on my door step Thurs morning. That is the kinda shipping/service I like. I guess all we can do is wait now.

Sorry guys, I've been at the Tulsa show for a week and was not around to make sure your orders were taken care of.

I'm back now and we'll be getting everything out immediately. Our office people are still new to the business, so when I leave things come to a stand still. Don't worry, though. I won't be leaving again until the April show.

no worries....they do a good job while you are gone.

I'm expecting my new 30 Herrett barrel to be waiting for me when I get home today. I sure hope this new barrel does not have a long throat! I'll be looking it over real good when I get it. I need to use 180 grain bullets to find the lands of my other 30 Herrett. It's a shooter though.

Jeff, I believe you had my barrel with you in Tulsa!

Won't get mine til after my week of elk hunting....and that starts tomorrow.

My new MGM barrel arrived yesterday. The finish is very nice. Looks like it has 4 lands and grooves, and 1 in 14" twist. The throat is pretty nice too. My dummy round that fits my other barrel was sticking out about 1/4"!

Can't wait to wring 'er out!