Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Single Shots Newest Contender

My new little 223 Contender. Light OD green.
5.61lbs.......
What do y'all think of the color?

https://imgur.com/gallery/6UVwg

Excellent

Love the color. What did you use for paint?

Chip resistant, plastic compatible paint....

Thats Pretty Sweet Cuz! hows it shoot?

Where's the skull & cross bones?

Another tactical single shot! It's cherry.

I can dig it!

Nice!!!

That, my friend, is a sweet little bit of fun. Let us know how it shoots.

Paint looks nice. I just ordered a g2 contender 30-30 23 inch barrel wood stock. Please update on how yours shoots. I ordered a Bellm tc hinge pin and hd locking bolt spring just in case mine locks up a bit loose.

The stock is not my cup of tea, but; I always appreciate a chance to see what others are doing. There is another thread bashing the current TC offerings. I am sure there was a legit lemon complaint. I am glad to hear that many or I hope most are still having a positive experience.

I like the idea of a beefed up encore, but you cannot beat the contender for versatility. The 30/30 seems a better proportioned pistol round than the 308. My 30/30 did not require any upgrades. Mine is setup as a pistol, 30/30 included. I am sure 30/30 will will make an excellent rifle too. All these years and 30/30 contenders are still selling Wood stock no less

Anyone who buys a factory pistol contender can set that up as a rifle too.

As most will already know, MGM is a custom barrel house and you can have about any contender or Encore capable caliber you wish made to your specs.

maybe i'm missing the boat, but i've been surprised, and never really understood why there weren't more .22 magnum rimfire barrels available for TC Contenders.

lot's of std and match-grade .22 rimfires, but not very many .22 rf magnums, or i've just missed them. i'd like to have one.

my 14 super in .22 rf is very accurate, but find it a bit clumsy. imho. a very nice high gloss blue.

Agree on the 22mag.

I just see no reason for a 22 magnum. I go straight to the 223.
For 99% of my rifle shooting I use those two and a 308.....
When you're retired there isn't just a ton of money for a dozen different rifles......

I have the 223 and use ear plugs in the field. Its a great barrel and in 14" does not give up anything I can detect ballistically. it is a serious blaster. I never shoot up into the tree branches. In my situation, I do see a place for the 22mag. I am retired too.

my .22rf in super 14, and .223 in 21'' carbine barrel both work great.

would love to have a .22mag in 21 inch, or even in super 14 or super 16. don't see many for sale for whatever reason.

could have a .22rf gouged out for a .22 mag cartridge, but never did think that was kosher.

22 Mag barrels are available from MGM.

OSU, Yea, it was worth a look.

https://matchgrademachine.com/product/build-a-custom-barrel/

Checking out the MGM situation: You can go upto 13" barrel for $250 and get choice of almost any caliber
and barrel contour. It is a good deal given you can spec out exactly what is wanted. Longer barrel, more dollars.
That is a plain barrel, everything else is extra charge.

It can get a bit pricey when you figure good iron sights. Which I would like in some calibers such as rimfire. A weaver
style base is another $50 and should cover most applications.

On the extreme end you can push $700 for a 500 S&W class round with big bore muzzle brake and iron sights. (sights purchased and supplied by you) You can go higher with polished stainless. It all adds up fast.

The little extras you take for granted really run up the price on a custom.

Well that's true. Extras always cost more but it would cost more on any barrel from any maker.

If going synth I rather like the G2 forend on the old rigs.
This one was .35 rem Super 16...........which worked great (after weight added to forend hollows)..........but it just didn't look right.
Needs to be a 20-21"
I'd like to assemble another one............in .22 mag.

Like the factory rynite buttstock but def needs a riser if using a scope. Kydex/velcro.......worked great.

a 21 inch barrel chambered in .22 mag would be ideal. i have a .223 in the 21 inch, and a 23 inch bull barrel in 30-30. they both work.

have seen a bit of .22 mags as a conversion from .22 rf that have been re-chambered. i'm not sure that's the best answer, but they seem to work.

absolutely true. I was just thinking that makes the older used barrel from TC that have sights look more attractive than buying a custom. In my limited experience MGM seems very fair and certainly a good tip to share with the forum.



A concern I have is the 22LR is supposed to be .222 bore. The 22mag is a 224 bore. I dont know how guns like the convertible single six deal with that. It may well be 0.002 is not a big deal, it certainly not optimum. In fact maybe 002 is within spec. If so, then a rim fire could be .220. Basically the tolerances could stack up for or against you. I even wonder if the pilot a standard 22mag reamer will fit a LR bore. I might be tempted to try it at home. Tempted, but leary that it rat holes money in another failed DIY project.

i would not attempt such a solution myself. i'll leave it to someone who might be better at it than me.

The .22 long rifle to .22 magnum conversion is fine. My personal .22 magnum began life as a .22 long rifle "match" stainless 10" Contender barrel and was rechambered by my local gunsmith. It shoots very well and hasn't given me any problems. I suspect much of the accuracy comes from that tighter bore.

The convertible Single Sixes deal with it by using a .224 bore which is why a lot of them don't shoot for [bleep]. My first one was pretty good. I've had about a dozen since and not a one of them shot .22 long rifle ammo well enough to keep .. which is why I didn't. One among them shot .22 magnum ammo well. Given that track record I am truly regretful of selling that first one.

Tom

Contenders suck. You all should send me your worthless junk and move on to something useful. I have tried to make them shoot for decades and failed.

Take for example, the .30-30 barrel from Fox Ridge @ 100 yards:





Or the .22 short barrel, also from Fox Ridge at 25 yards:




Or the worthless Sneezer barrel from Bullberry @ 50 yds...yesterday:




Worse yet it the .22 LR barrel from Bullberry @ 50 yds a week back, 10 shots per target:



The dang things just simply can't make a symmetrical group. Nope, they are always a bit ragged one way or the other, and sometimes the holes don't even touch. Pure trash I say. About the only thing they are good for....

I notice some feel the 22 mag. is a lost cause ? well I don`t at my home if there is a critter bigger than a chipmunk we all pull out the old 22 mag contender ,I call it the killer gun,you shoot a woodchuck,fox or a raccoon with a 22 mag they stay dead better,including wild stray cats,which we have out here in the country. my friend the butcher who shoots a lot of cows and pigs prefer`s a 22 mag on a bigger cow too. 22 mag is the most overlooked rimfire ever made that little 22 mag makes a lot less noise too compared to a centerfire cartridge.

Contenders are great guns to build on. Majority of mind are pistols setups from over a 30 collection. Still fun to shoot.

Some places only allow rimfires for varmint hunting when it isn't modern gun deer season. A 22 mag is a better option than a 22 lr.