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Thread: ?? on T/C Contender..

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    ?? on T/C Contender..

    Recently, in a buy from a private party, I picked up a T/C contender, it's an older one, but, it looks like new. It came with 2-16" barrels, one in .223, the other in 45/.410 it also came with the pistol grip on it. Shooting a 16"bbl .223 with the supplied pistol grip was more trouble that it's worth, so I got online and in short order, found a composite stock for it. While I know this set up is fine for the .223 barrel, what about the .45/.410 barrel? If I used it as a .410, would it be considered a short barreled shotgun? I will say, with the stock on it, it is really handy..

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    Site Supporter HeavyDuty's Avatar
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    I assume the .45/.410 barrel is fully rifled? I want to say that is the criteria.
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    Quote Originally Posted by HeavyDuty View Post
    I assume the .45/.410 barrel is fully rifled? I want to say that is the criteria.
    Yes, it is. also has a screw in choke type of thing, with straight grooves in it, I assume to stop the shot/wad from spinning..

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    Member Wheeler's Avatar
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    I'm just jealous you found a 16" .223 barrel. Want to trade it for a 10"?
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wheeler View Post
    I'm just jealous you found a 16" .223 barrel. Want to trade it for a 10"?
    I'll be honest..I don't know a whole lot about Contenders, are the 16" barrels hard to find? I do like how this thing handles with the stock on it, very light, almost toy like, yet it's in a rifle caliber.. Hmmmm, I wonder if they made a barrel in 6.5x55? That would be the cat's ass..

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    Site Supporter OlongJohnson's Avatar
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    "Super 16" barrels are in demand relative to supply.

    I'd be super-interested if anyone comes across one in .44 Magnum.

    Unlikely anyone's made one in 6.5x55, but there are several 6.5mm and 7mm wildcats designed around getting the most out of the shortish barrels of Contenders. Rifle cartridges tend to get blasty in a shorter barrel. .30-30 in particular is one that falls apart when short. Read about it in the Hornady manual.
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    Site Supporter Hambo's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ralph View Post
    I wonder if they made a barrel in 6.5x55? That would be the cat's ass..
    You're going to need an Encore for that. I've got a 6.5x.30-30 wildcat in a Contender barrel.
    "Gunfighting is a thinking man's game. So we might want to bring thinking back into it."-MDFA

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    Member Wheeler's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ralph View Post
    I'll be honest..I don't know a whole lot about Contenders, are the 16" barrels hard to find? I do like how this thing handles with the stock on it, very light, almost toy like, yet it's in a rifle caliber.. Hmmmm, I wonder if they made a barrel in 6.5x55? That would be the cat's ass..
    Like OlongJohnson said, they are hard to find relative to the region. I could have MGM make me one in whatever twist rate I wanted for $425. I might go that route eventually if I can't buy or trade for one locally.

    The 10" .223 barrel is a hoot to shoot. Felt recoil reminded me of running stout .357s through a K frame but with less wrist twisting, if that description makes any sense. It is however, obnoxiously loud. I doubled up with plugs and muffs. Fifty yard accuracy was much better than I expected. I ran twenty rounds through the gun getting a feel for it and figuring out the sights. The final seven were deer killers with just over a 3" group off a bench using iron sights.

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    Using a red dot or an optic would tighten that group up as would using a higher quality ammunition. Fifty yards is pretty much the max I'd care to use .223 from a 10" barrel to kill anything besides paper. The entire setup is pretty svelte for a rifle caliber pistol.

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    Men freely believe that which they desire.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wheeler View Post
    Like OlongJohnson said, they are hard to find relative to the region. I could have MGM make me one in whatever twist rate I wanted for $425. I might go that route eventually if I can't buy or trade for one locally.

    The 10" .223 barrel is a hoot to shoot. Felt recoil reminded me of running stout .357s through a K frame but with less wrist twisting, if that description makes any sense. It is however, obnoxiously loud. I doubled up with plugs and muffs. Fifty yard accuracy was much better than I expected. I ran twenty rounds through the gun getting a feel for it and figuring out the sights. The final seven were deer killers with just over a 3" group off a bench using iron sights.

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Size:  50.5 KB

    Using a red dot or an optic would tighten that group up as would using a higher quality ammunition. Fifty yards is pretty much the max I'd care to use .223 from a 10" barrel to kill anything besides paper. The entire setup is pretty svelte for a rifle caliber pistol.

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    One thing I noticed is that the .223 barrel I have, is drilled and tapped.. It wouldn't be too hard to put a piece of pic rail on and a cheap red dot, probably make for a slick little rifle... That's something to think about.

  10. #10
    Site Supporter farscott's Avatar
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    There is a lot of confusion around Contenders being switched from pistol to rifle; there is even a SCOTUS case that held that T/C was allowed to sell a carbine conversion kit (rifle-length barrel, forend, and buttstock) that allowed conversion from pistol to rifle. What generates the confusion is that once the pistol becomes a rifle, there is question about whether it may be put back in pistol form or whether doing so constitutes building a short-barreled rifle. There is enough confusion that to avoid legal issues I have pistol frames and carbine frames. I also insure that the rifle frames always have a rifle-length barrel and buttstock installed.

    As such, my recommendation is to never install the buttstock on a pistol frame if you ever intend to remove the buttstock and put the pistol stock back on the frame. Of course, you cannot use barrels less than 16.25" on the rifle frames and the OAL of the rifle must be greater than 26.25" to insure compliance with federal law.

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