Ok somebody please help me with my Contender. I just recently purchased it, my first. It originally came as a 30-30 barrel, that I shot about 10 times just to see what it was like. Occassionally the rounds wouldn't go off on the first shot, I had to open it and shoot again, and then sometimes it was tough to open.

So quickly I sold the 30-30 barrel and put on a 6.5 JDJ barrel that I had bought. Well with fireforming loads, or starting loads once formed, I can not get the pistol to open back up without taking the forearm off and knocking the pin and then I still have to fight with it.

So who should I look to fix it. Mike Bellam, JD Jones, or T/C. The serial number is very low 33k range so I think that might have something to do with it. I for some reason recall reading something about an upgrade, but I don't recall when that might have been.

Any suggestions or help is appreciated!

Are the cases sticking or is it just sticking shut empty? I wasn't sure from your post.

Once it is fired it will not open. Hammer can be dropped on a case, or on an empty chamber and it still opens fine. Just once it is actually fired, I have a heck of a time getting it back open.

It sounds to me like your cases are sticking in the chamber. If it will open until it starts hitting the extractor that is probably it. However, if it simply will not move at all it might be that something else with the action is amiss.

Will the barrel start to open and then stop short or will it not budge at all?

Along with what Jeff said, is it hard to pull the trigger guard back to release the barrel after firing or does it pull back fine, just can't get the action to break open? A "stuck" trigger guard would indicate a problem with getting the bolts to disengage. If that's the case, try "snapping" the barrel closed HARD, and see if it hangs up the same way as after being fired. And then try adding pressure to CLOSE the barrel while you pull the trigger guard back to release the barrel. I had this problem with one new barrel and old frame combination.
Helicopter Bill

It doesn't begin to open and stick, it feels like it won't unlock at all after firing. I'm applying as much force as I can, but nothing is happening.

Its not budging at all.

I had a similar problem with one of my frames and a .45/.410 barrel. Once fired it was extremely difficult to open and often had to remove the forend and push out the pin. With another barrel in the same frame, the barrel would wobble and not lock up solidly. Most barrels would fit fine however. It is an older "hard to open" frames but I think it is generally looser than my other frame. I think you may want to try new "over size" lugs I've heard you can get from T/C and see if it cures the problem. My other frame is much tighter and is more often not to fully lock up than the old frame. My solution was to buy more frames.

If the barrel unlocks ok with an unfired round in the chamber, and a fired round won't let it unlock and move at all, it sounds like too much pressure. Are you shooting handloads or factory ammo?

Hard unlocking of an empty barrel does not appear to apply to your situation, but the following is good to keep in mind.

Hard unlocking of an empty barrel is usually due to locking bolts being too high, and an UNDERSIZE set lets it unlock easier. Oversise locking bolts are higher and make the condition worse.

ALSO.... if the trigger over travel screw is set like it should be AND the sear has a bit too much metal where it contacts the striker, the trigger guard will not be allowed to travel upward into the frame far enough to unlock the locking bolts.

The cure for this is to spot the striker and its mating surface on the sear to see where the two contact each other when the trigger guard forces the two together to reset the striker, then grind away some material from the sear at this point. The alternative of course is to back off the over travel screw, but this defeats its purpose.

The sear, btw, is the part that holds the hammer back at cocked position. Do not confuse it with the striker or the "sear notch" on the trigger.

It is not very common to have the over travel screw interfere with unlocking, but it is worth noting.... just in case.

Mike

[ 03-12-2003, 11:16: Message edited by: Mike Bellm ]

Well I called up old T/C tomorrow and they told me to box it up and send it in. So today she will be off to the factory. I have yet to really dig into the internals of the Contender, so I'm not real fluent with the insides. I ordered a manual but it didn't offer any information on disassembly so I figured for once I would leave well enough alone.

My ultimate goal is to sell this frame and move up to a G2 when they come out. Just trying to get a head start on load development.

The loads I shot in the 30-30 barrel were factory Remington. 6.5 JDJ are handloads, at starting powder charge or below for fireform loads. Really don't think pressure is the culprit here, but I have been wrong before.

We'll see what T/C says!

Thanks for the help all.