I already have the 222 rem barrel,I might sell it and get 357 max barrel and 375 win barrel and .410 barrel.

I have a 21" 22lr carbine and a 14" 7TCU w/choate muzzle brake/ext. that I use as a carbine barrel. It works great on deer. I am trying out some 100gr HP's in it next. I may trade the 7TCU, I just don't shoot it much.

John

Hmmm, 10" 357 Herrett, 14" 7mm TCU, 7mm Int-R, 30-30, and 44 Mag. I haven't found any of them to be a problem, but the recoil levels aren't that high with these calibers. I used to shoot a 45-70, which was a handful, but had a buddy who was more into sado-masochism then I was. A friend of mine shot his loose twice with a 14" 357 Max barrel, but he was using it in silhouette competition. - Dan

I guess I am in the 375 JDJ bunch now I just bought a barrel in it today.I wanted a dang 375 win carbine barrel but there are none to be found.This $300 Contender is gonna cost be a bunch before I am through.I found a 10" 357 max barrel cheap too.I am getting a folding stock too.I should have just stuck with he Winchester Big bore I just bought we will see.I always wanted a Contender now I have one.I will probally sell the 222 super 14 barrel and get a 223 carbine barrel and a 204 Ruger when they come out.Dang this little this can get expensive fast!

dgr- tell me about it .....I have four large in TC related stuff. A couple of projects I still want to.

I found 357 max barrel in 10" but I wanted a super 14 or carbine barrel.I am trying to stick to calibers that I already reload for.Is it worth the difference in the 222 and 223 to get the 223 barrel?I already have 222 dies but brass is kinda a pain.The 223 brass is free!I hope I am not expecting too much out of this 375 jdj.I looked and they have a 416 jdj awesome but will the contender hold it?I think the 338 jdj would be awesome myself.I hope TC adds some more calibers.I know the encore has kinda taken away the flame from the contender.

Let me see. I originally wanted a Contender when I graduated high school. My Dad was dead set about me not getting a pistol until I was 18. So I waited, almost 20 years later I got my first contender. A 22LR carbine. Neat little gun. Kept the frame and stock set, but traded the barrel for a 357 Mag 10" bull. I like that one.

Then I sold a couple more safe queens and got a SS 223 S14 pistol that had a 45/410 barrel with it. Nice setup. Still have the Super 14 223. Traded the 45/410 SS for a Bullberry 22LR Match 18" barrel. Still have the best little 22LR carbine I've ever shot with that one.

Bought a 30/30 carbine barrel off Ebay. Never shot it and traded it for a like new 17HMR barrel. Still have the Hummer. Deadly on out to 125 yards. Shoots MOA all day long with Hornady ammo.

Bought a 223 pencil carbine barrel and then a 223 Bullberry SS carbine barrel. Even took a deer with the pencil barrel. I shoot the Bullberry now and kept the other for a possible trade one day.

Found a 22Magnum pistol barrel on ebay and won it. Neat shooter. 33gr remmy and 34 Winny ammo are fantastic in this one. Don't shoot it much anymore, but still have it.

Next was a 30/30 Hunter pistol barrel off ebay again. What a rush with that one. Only accuracy testing I had with it was a 5 gallon bucket at a 100 yards. Hit it every time with a red dot scope. That one is good for me now.

Then I found an Encore 7mm-08 pistol next. Barrel has never been shot. Owner bought it and test fired the 12" barrel, didn't like the muzzel blast and traded it for a 15" and never took it out again. I asked him what he wanted for it and he liked my 17HMRs. He took a new in the box Marlin 17V and scope for the Encore pistol. I even went and bought him a set of rings for that deal. Need to take him to lunch a few time too..... He knew what it was worth, but he like the 17 stuff so much and wanted it badly. I couldn't turn him down.

So, 22lr, 22 mag, .223 (x3), 30/30, 357 mag and 17HMR. Still looking for a 45/70 carbine to try in contender or Encore. It'll probably hurt a lot, but should be fun. Still need to trade the new 7mm-08 pistol off and get me a carbine setup for the Encore frame. Something in a .25-.30 caliber range for deer. Thinking about a 25-06, 308, or 30-06.

Oh yeah, ended up with two Bullberry carbine stocks also. One utility grade and one Walnut select.

Joe

I have 19 "long" barrels, hope I don't forget one...

.22 LR, .22 WMRF, .22 Hornet, .218 Bee, .223 Remington, .25-35 Winchester, 7mm TCU, 7-30 Waters, .30 Herrett, .30-30 Winchester, .357 Maximum, .35 Remington, .38-55 Winchester/Ballard, 10mm Auto, .41 Remington Magnum,
.410 Shotgun, .44 Remington Magnum, .45-70, 28 gauge.

The .30 Herrett and 10mm Auto barrels are 14" barrels which have the Choate extension permanently attached. Any extension must be permanently attached. Welding is a go, but epoxy and solder aren't.

My guns are set up with Rynite stocks and nothing special has been done to them. Most have 2�X scopes but a couple have aperture sights mounted. Across the board they average 1-1�" at 100 yards, from field positions. Some do a little better (like the .22s) and some do a bit worse (like the 10mm Auto which does about 1.75" at 100 with it's favorite ammo and has an aperture sight).

Did you get those carbines in 25-35 and 357 max made and by who?I want a dang 375 win carbine .I know they made them but I have seen none for sale.I hope this 375 jdj is all its supose to be.I heard its pretty good.I am going to try this super 14 in 222 tommorow .I got bunch of shells for $5 a box from a friend.I am thinking of 223 carbine barrel for varmits.If I hunt with the 375 jdj barel I will carry my 454 also for bears.I usually use 375 win big bore 94s love them.There are some 14 inch 375 win stainless barrels I found is it worth fooling with?The 28 ga will fit contenders that the first time I ever heard that.I also looked at the muzzleloading barrel today.The guy said it would work if you removed pin under lug.That would be cool.What kind of case do you use to carry extra barrels?

.17 Remington 15" BullBerry
.22 WMR 10" T/C
.45 Colt/.410 16.25" T/C

Have a 21" .14 Walker Hornet and a 21" .17 CCM which are lots of fun on all kinds of game.............have larger bores that don't get shot often ...just bought a 21" Custom Shop .22 LR Match that is getting the most use......always buy a different brand and weight when I go to the store,,,,,,,,fun tring different loads.....Hal

The .25-35 is a Custom Shop barrel which I bought used. Like most addicts, the original owner gave it up for something else. I bought it from Ron's TCs/RJs Guns.

The .357 Max I got direct from TC on the now defunct obsolete barrels list. $113.50, I think...

Thanks for the info on the ML barrel. Might actually buy one, then again...

My 28 ga. barrel was made by Dave Van Horn. He did a nice job, has fairly quick turn around and pretty good prices. The 28 ga. is about as big as you can get in the Contender's .815" OD barrel.

I don't carry extra barrels. I pick what I want to shoot and mount that barrel on the frame. I do have more than one frame...

I finally got 375 jdj barrel today in a 23" carbine.I hope it out does my 375 win for all the extra trouble it is.I just could not find a 375 win carbine barrel any where .The ones at Fox river had 4 month wait.Is the pressure the limit in the contender in the 375 jdj.I saw most loads were around 40,000 .The loads I used in my 375 win were around 48,000 .I will see .I ordered some hornady 225 gr 375 bullets for the jdj .What powder is best for it?

Have any of you tried the .300 Savage in a Contender Carbine? I am considering having my 21" 30-30 barrel reamed out to this round. Your thoughts and input would be appreciated.

The limit in the Contender is breach thrust. Because it is a function of pressure as spread over the interior base of the case, larger cases must be used at lower pressures than smaller cases (measured at the case head).

So, while case heads of the .223 Rem/.357 Max size can go to 50,000 CUP case heads the size of the .45-70 are limited to about 28,000 CUP (about trapdoor levels). Case heads the size of the .30-30 are limited to about 40-45,000 CUP and those the size of the .30-40/.444 Marlin/.405 Winchester are limited to about 40,000 CUP.

You do read many shooters who say that they've used such-and-such load for "years" with no problems but, TC exchanged so many frames which had been stretched (under their excellent warranty) that they finally felt they had to upgrade the Contender to the G2 and cease production of the Contender. The breach thrust limit for the Contender appears to be about 4500 psi (at the case head, also I'm not sure I remember the exact limit).

Mike Bellm feels that the .375 Winchester is an exception solely because of the construction of the brass which he feels mitigates the breach thrust enough to make it viable in the Contender. Many other shooters feel the same and that is why you will read of some who use the .375 Winchester brass to form 7-30 Waters, .30-30 AI, and .30 Herrett brass in their attempts to push the system to the max.

I want 250 savage barrel if I can find someone to make it.I saw a 356 Win 14" pistol barrel .It was a rechambered 35 rem barrel .He said it was a hand full.The 307 win might be better than the 300 savage just stock up on brass.The 307 necked down to 25 caliber might be interesting also.I dont know how long Winchester will keep making 307 brass.

Thats why I looked for 375 win carbine barrel it can be loaded right up there with the 375 jdj.I get 2400 fps with good old aa1680 powder in my winchester big bore barrel with 220 hornady bullets.I love the 235 gr speer for accuracy it has shot lots of 1" groups out of my 375 win.I found a stainless 375 win barrel in 14" I might have to get it or get custom barrel.The 375 win is a powerful little round .Its a shame it disapeared.I am stocking up on brass just in case it heads south.Here is a gun I should have gotten it was a savage over and under 20 ga and 375 max .It was the only one I ever saw.I heard they made a few in 375 20 ga.So the 375 win is the top of the heap as far as contender pressure goes.It works fine in the Win big bore 94 also.I run out of powder room before of any pressure signs.I got this 375 jdj barrel cheap so i hope it works out.The big pain was dies ,brass,shell plate for my dillion and forming brass.I guess the 375 jdj in another rifle like a ruger #3 or # 1 would be way more poweful than the contender?

I don't have one yet, but I know that one of the claims for the JDJ cartridge was that it would equal .375 Winchester rifle velocities in a 14" barrel. I have read Ken Waters' write up on his very similar to the .375 JDJ (and earlier) cartridge, the .375 Express (chambered in a Lee Enfield sporter) and he does not exceed 2350 fps or so (if memory serves).

You have to remember that every rifle is different and that there is enough leeway that it one pair of rifles chambered to these two cartridges you might have no difference in velocity and in another pair you might have 200-300 fps difference.

If you were able to load to another 15,000 CUP as you would probably be able to do in the Ruger #1 action, you might add 200-300 fps. Many people consider that significant.

i guess i just don't understand what value an extra 200 fps is with a 375 contender. i load my 375 winchester with hornady bullets and rl7 powder to 2250 fps and get good accuracy. i only carry it where a max shot is 100 yds and am content.. i really don't think i would use it past 150 yds, if i need 300 yds with a heavy bullet i carry my 700ks 35 whelen..my view is the contender carbine is a really neet tree stand rifle with 7-30 or 375 winchester and a good summer carry rifle with a 7-30 barrel.. i make my 7-30 loads out of 375 brass but can not see any difference between that and those made from 30-30 brass..my friend who has used contenders for mank years says there are normally no pressure signs you just notice 1 day you have an off face reciever..