I did get to shoot a new G-2 Contender today. I went over to my cousin's place today. Her husband Bob is a great friend of mine, and we do a lot of shooting together. Well a while back Bob picked up a used Super 14 .30-30 Ackley Improved Contender Barrel. Since that time Bob has been shooting his barrel on one of my Frames. Well Monday Bob picked up a new G-2 Contender Frame.
It looks like a mini Encore with a selector switch on top of the hammer. However I liked the Wood on this new G-2 Contender much better than any I have handled or seen on an Encore. The forend is a little wider and somewhat flat on the bottom, and it just looks right. At first I thought the grip felt odd in that the bottom was so much smaller than the top, but after handling it and shooting it for a while I really like the feel of the grip. Bob tried putting Pachmayr Grip and Forend on the G-2, and while he thought he could make it work, there would be a lot of carving involved to make the grip fit.
The Trigger is hard and heavy. While it had a lot of travel to it, it seemed fairly smooth. However I am willing to bet that buy the next time I shoot Bob's G-2 Contender the Trigger is much better. Bob is not the type to leave well enough alone and will get it tuned as soon as he gets time.
We shot Bob's Super 14 .30-30 AI Barrel (which is an older 6 Land & Groove, 1 in 14" Twist .30 Herrett that was rechambered to .30-30 AI) on the G-2. No problems with it locking up or unlocking. We were just shooting some fireform loads Bob threw together with 125gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips loaded with AA#2520. Accuracy could have been better, but then maybe I am spoiled with the way my Super 14 .30-30 AI shot my fireform loads.
All in all I am glad I had the opportunity to shoot the G-2 Contender. Will I buy one, well if I didn't already have 3 Contender Frames, probably. Will the G-2 handle more than the original Contender, time will tell the story I am sure, and I think that that is what it is going to take is time with shooters shooting them.
