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My brother just bought a contender at an auction it appears to be an early one...3 barrels. Oct 22 Oct 22 k hornet and 44 mag wit a rifled choke....
We need to know about the choke...

If I'm remembering correctly, the choked TC barrels were called Hot-Shot barrels for using shot capsules with the choke attached and conventional loads with the choke removed.
A hunting buddy used his for grouse.

They were sold with a wrench to remove the choke but I don't remember if they had a thread protector included to spin on when the choke was removed.

Speer shot capsules might work but I've no experience with them.

Good luck!

Yea that's what I figured but it kind of doesn't make sense as the rifling is cut in the choke leading me to believe you can shoot bullets through it...I don't think I would shoot it without the choke might ruin the threads...

I read a long time ago that those rifled chokes had no twist rate. They were straight. The idea being to reduce spin on the shot and hold a better pattern. It was in an old reloading book I had in my teens by Dean Grennel, The ABC's of Reloading.

Take a close look and see if that choke has the straight rifling.

This and it also shreds the shot capsule on the TC Hotshot shell. I have or had a partial box of 357 and 44 Hotshots. They look funny with that big old blue capsule hanging out the end, like a 500gr 44 or something.

T/C made 44 in a couple of configurations . I think their first was an octagon , this had a couple of holes in the end of the barrel before the choke tube . This choke went on with a wrench that fit on the outside of the choke .
Then they made one with a round tube and a flat rib with a folding rear sight . The tube on this model used a wrench that looked like a big key and was inserted into the choke .
They also made a 45 long colt barrel that fired .410 shells .
The rifling on all theses barrels was required to keep then from being classified as NFA short barrel shotguns .
The .357 and .44 magnum used T/C shot capsules,available as loaded ammunition or just the used regula shotgun shells .

Take it from an idiot like me. TAKE OUT the choke !!! I damaged a perfectly good octagon 45 Colt/410 barrel when i put a 45 Colt round through it with the choke attached.

Shooting without the choke can not damage the threads. No thread protector can allow thread damage if the threads are bumped on a hard surface.

The threads are all internal and made like a normal shotgun choke...the bullet should not contact them...fouling however would build up pretty quickly I would think.......carbon buildup could gald those tiny threads I would think....
I kinda do remember reading the rifled choke was for ATF...

Krupp

What was the recoil like in that little live fire experiment?

They make bore cleaner every day as well as Bore brushes.

Definitely a learning experience. The choke(which looked like a muzzle brake) and front sight came off. It was akin to a firecracker going off.
I sold the barrel to Van Horn and he said it was merely cosmetic damage.

The barrels have conventional rifling, the choke has straight grooves, tapered down from back to front to stop the spin and choke the shot. I have had a dozen in various calibers since '67 and the only time I shot anything from them other than shot was with an original 45/410 and we tried a round ball, .452 dai. No problem but probably not smart.
45 Colts are notoriously inaccurate with anything but standard loads and they aren't too good, that is the ones with a choke. I bought some all brass .410 shells and loaded them with bullets seated out. Accuracy much improved without a couple inches of freebore. No choke, of course.