I'm thinking I want to get a more compact barrel for my contender and am thinking of about a 10" barrel for 357 mag and then equipping with a red dot site of some sort for brush hunting in Wis.

Are there any good after market people to consider?

If I were to buy a custom barrel I would go with OTT or MGM. There should be alot of 10" 357 mag. factory barrels out there too. Other barrel makers that come to mind are SSK and Bullberry.

Greg

as mentioned
MGM
Bullberry
SSK
OTT
also
Van Horn
Bergara
Coyote
TCs Custom Shop

I have personally only ever had MGMs/VVCG and ?Bullberrys. Based on those experiences and the experiences of others these days mine will either be MGMs or OTTs.

You should know that ordering a custom TC barrel (no matter where it comes from) typically can include a very long wait. So if you want one order long before you actually need it.

I have a barrel from SSK in a 450 3.25 inch NE for a T/C Encore.

Excellent barrel and is good for a four inch group at 100 yds from the bench. SSK is the best that I know.

I bought a 12" MGM barrel in 7-30 Waters last summer, and used it to take an antelope and a mule deer in the fall. I am very pleased with the quality of the barrel and will probably buy more.

how bout mike bellam.

Gary Reeder makes an excellent product, too. I have three of his barrels, a couple SSK, a custom shop, and an OTT. They are all well finished and accurate.

matchgrademachine.com offers relatively quick turnaround and superb quality for a very reasonable price.

2 dogs-
Mike Bellm hasn't been in the actual barrel-making business for quite a while. He does, however, offer just about every service imaginable for the Contender and Encore crowd and on occasion does offer select re-chambered barrels (or factory barrels with custom alterations/upgrades) in smaller quantities.

Check out his site at www.bellmtcs.com

Aftermarket / custom barrels are excellent shooters but don't discount the quality of off the rack factory TC or Fox Ridge barrels.

Of my 12 pistol length and one rifle length Encore and Contender barrels only two come from somewhere other than TC or their custom shop Fox Ridge and all will shoot at or under 1" 100 yd. groups.

Ike

I agree with Ike. The last two barrels I bought came from TC and I am impressed. We are very demanding of our Contender barrels and use them almost exclusively for prairie dogs and long shots on prairie deer/antelope. They have to be accurate or we won't keep them. My sons .204 Ruger is a pd shooter out well beyond 300 yds and the new 7-30 Waters drops deer out well beyond what most consider its range.

ehg...if you can't get better...much better than 4" groups off the bench I would be sending that barrel back, right damned quick. That is not a good barrel if your doing your part.

Woodrow S: We are talking about a T/C pistol in the .450 3.25 inch NE caliber, with a 15 inch barrel.

2 dogs-
Mike Bellm hasn't been in the actual barrel-making business for quite a while. He does, however, offer just about every service imaginable for the Contender and Encore crowd and on occasion does offer select re-chambered barrels (or factory barrels with custom alterations/upgrades) in smaller quantities.

Check out his site at www.bellmtcs.com[/QUOTE]

I am not an Encore Guy, but Mike Bellm is a personal friend as we live in the same town..and I have taken him out varmint shooting as my guest..

when it comes to Encores, I can tell you this.. he lives and breathes this stuff... you couldn't trust your firearm to anyone whom was more focused on this than Mike is.. and he is a perfectionist.. I've watched him work on stuff, and he is microscopically ( if that is a word., ) focused on what he is doing.....

your Encore or Barrel couldn't be in better hands than his..

ehg, barrel length has nothing to do with accuracy potential. I have several very heavy hitters in a TC Encore with Reeder 15" bbls or less that do a lot better than that. One is a 500 S&W with a 10" bbl, a 378GNR with a 13" bbl and a 416GNR ( 50 Alaskan case necked down to 416 caliber) with a 14" bbl., shooting 400gr Partitions@ nearly 2000fps. A 4" group at 100yds off the bench is simply not acceptable accuracy to me, regardless the caliber. Perhaps it needs some fine tuning in the load to get to a sweet spot, as it might not be the bbl quality. I have a custom TC Contender built by SSK with an octagon bbl in 6.5JDJ and that thing is amazingly accurate, like 1/2" groups@ 100yds consistantly with my loads, so SSK can build them well.

I have Contender- and G2 frames. Barrels .22 Hornet 10", 9mm Luger 10", .357 Rem Maximum 14" and .223 Rem 22".
I am reloader. So can to reload for Maximum barrel .38 spl and .357 Mag too.
With Redfield Golden Five Srtar 4x pistolscope it is most accurate
Reduced loads I make with Archipelago copperplated resitzed cast bullest.
http://www.archipelagobullets.fi