I am look for a 22 inch rifle barrel for a early contender. Serial # 381xxx. Is this combination safe to fire and does anyone have a 243 contender? Thanks

If you mean a .243 Winchester, you're out of luck. That round generates more pressure than the Contender frame can handle with that case head size. You can get .243 caliber barrels for the Contender, but not a .243 Win. If you are a handloader, you might be well served with a 6mm TCU or the like.

I used to have a 6mm Bullberry for my Contender. Its a necked down 30-30 and Bullberry also has an improved version. If I recall it had slightly less capacity than a 22-250 case. It shot well was accurate. At that time I didn't have a chronograph but Bullberry has all the info on their web site including reloading data. DW

I shoot a 6mm 30-30 AI which is nearly identical to the 6mm BB Imp. There are some tricks to getting dies and cases but once you figure that part out its is an excellent shooter. Mine is a carbine length and I have been able to get better bullet speeds than BB has listed on their site.