Went to the range yesterday and tried some different loads in the Competitor....

Nothing promising in the 250 savage barrel using 85 grain ballistic tips.....best group so far was .75" with the 75 grain V-Max and H414.....tried H414 and Varget with the ballistic tips but neither did very well.....

The 35 Rem barrel produced a .527" 3 shot group at 100 yards using the Hornady 180 SSP bullet and a healthy charge of AA2230 powder!!!!! Guess I know what load I'll be using for deer in the 35......

Excellent accuracy in the 35 there GH. Any idea of speed on that load?

No, I still don't have a chrony.....I'm running 5.5 grains over the max load listed in the Accurate Manual........primers are starting to flatten but extraction is fine....if the primer pockets don't loosen up I'll be good to go!

Before anyone flames me, remember, these loads are being used in a very strong action (chambered up to 458 win mag!)not in a weaker lever gun or contender.......

I agree. Some of the book loads for the 35 Rem can be quite anemic at or under the SAAMI pressure specs for the old semi-autos it was originally chambered for. To me, it's easily a 40,000 CUP cartridge even in a Contender.

You must get a chrony. It's a great eye opener for load development.

Have Fun

I tried the first Max loads with Remington bullets in my Competitor today. There was promise in both weights 158 & 180. I gotta load up some more now....

The 7tcu barrel should be in by mid week and cant wait to try it....

Mark,
Congrats on the load development. Maybe your experiences will encourage more to give the Competitor a try. I want one myself. When it comes to need, I need it like I need a hole in my head. I've got to many specialty handguns at moment to work with to have a reason fo ranother one.
xphunter

Well GH glad to see we have somemore people shooting the Competitor pistol. This is a strong action I have 4 of them a 20x223 16", 22 Hornet 14", 308 Win 16", and a 375 JRS 16" and the all shot great. Congrats on the load development.