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Hello all!
Influenced by a post and picture of a rifle here, I think, I have an urge to buy or build a Contender rifle. 223 and/or 30-30. I cast my own bullets and can go as mild or as wild as a 30-30 can go. I've looked a bit on Bulberry's sight.
Do you recommend trying to buy a rifle already done with original barrel? Or would you buy and action and build with a Bulberry barrel? Please let me know your reasoning for each. I think I do want to go with an aperture sight so if you have any experience on a Contender with sights that are available please let me know. I like the looks of the New England Custon Gun rear sight.
Thanks for the help,
Rick

Last edited by RickinTN; 05/18/22.
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A tough time to get into Contenders. Factory is closed and used prices are through the roof. The new SSK 50 Contender frames will be affordable when they finally become available. Wood stocks and grips are very expensive currently. Used barrels are selling for more than TC's retail prices. Demand has outstripped supply.

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It is a disease.

There is no cure.

It can only be mitigated by buying more.

smile

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"...A man's rights rest in three boxes: the ballot box, the jury box and the cartridge box..." Frederick Douglass, 1867

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What muffin said. As stated above contender prices are bringing a premium now a days. You may be able to find a complete gun cheaper than piecing it together
MGM IMO is one of the best barrels out there for the contenders.

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Bullberrylegacy.com does a fine job IMHO with barrels:

They are not cheap compared to 'finding' a barrel, but I suspect nothing is.

they do shoot, 5 shots, 50 yards, a bit over .4" 300 blackout 210gr pb, 1150FPS [Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

Mostly, you will find pistol Barrels and EER Scopes, occasionally long tubes. In the pic above I found the 7-30Waters Bbl and 8 boxes of ammo at a GunShow, the long 223 Encore Bbl I bought here at the CF. The Encore frame I scavenged off a muzzle loader, sold the stock and bbl....

My advice, buy any Contender pistol combination and sell the pistol stock/forend/Bbl and Scope, keep the receiver and 'build' your own.... Non standard or wildcat chambers are obviously harder to get rid of.....sometimes...

Currently 'looking' for a Bbl for the naked frame, also have a frame that is boxed and ready to mail out to a CF member.........

As I said, it's disease........

Last edited by Muffin; 05/19/22.

"...A man's rights rest in three boxes: the ballot box, the jury box and the cartridge box..." Frederick Douglass, 1867

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Originally Posted by LeonHitchcox
A tough time to get into Contenders. Factory is closed and used prices are through the roof. The new SSK 50 Contender frames will be affordable when they finally become available. Wood stocks and grips are very expensive currently. Used barrels are selling for more than TC's retail prices. Demand has outstripped supply.

Originally Posted by kunas
What muffin said. As stated above contender prices are bringing a premium now a days. You may be able to find a complete gun cheaper than piecing it together
MGM IMO is one of the best barrels out there for the contenders.

I hear you - I just went down the rabbit hole on a Contender pistol piecing one together. 7-30 Waters barrel from ebay ($370), frame from Gunbroker ($500) and Bushnell Elite 2-6 EER scope (LNIB) from ebay ($300). The only bargain was the nice wood grip set from the 24Hour classifieds ($50) grin With dies and brass, I'm probably in just north of $1300 but am pretty happy with how it turned out and it was a fun project over several months trying to find just the right pieces:

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Originally Posted by LeonHitchcox
A tough time to get into Contenders. Factory is closed and used prices are through the roof. The new SSK 50 Contender frames will be affordable when they finally become available. Wood stocks and grips are very expensive currently. Used barrels are selling for more than TC's retail prices. Demand has outstripped supply.

That's for sure. I would like to get another Contender frame, so I check the “for sale” columns regularly. Anyone hoping to get a Contender frame will have to keep an eye peeled on want ads and gun shops.

I would take another Encore frame if I could get it as well. Prices for used are high.


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Wow. I had no idea that Contenders had appreciated in price so much. I have one, in pistol form, with 5 barrels (.22 octagon with iron sights, .22 octagon with scope, .22 Hornet, .256 Winchester and .30 Herret). I doubt I have $1,000 in the whole set-up. Maybe it's time to liquidate, although in truth I'd really like to locate a .357 or a .41 Magnum barrel to add to the set.

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Laffin’ I am.

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A few observations based on recent experience:

E-Bay prices seem to be very high. A seller wants $600 for a carbine barrel I just got on Gunbroker for $360. The E-Bay guy refused my offer of $450.

Deals can be found on Gunbroker. A recent sale for a .357 Contender pistol with a Leupold scope was $530 plus shipping, ffl and tax, if any. Sell the barrel, scope and Pachmayer stock and there's less than $300 invested in the frame.

The factory Contender (not G2) carbine stock is short with a low comb. It might work fine for open sights but does not work for me with a scope without modifications. A High Plains Gunstocks stock addresses those issues with class (at a cost, of course). Add-on parts are relatively cheap if you decide later that you want to use a scope.

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Kydex for cheekpiece, secured by Velcro.
No permanent mod to rynite stock.
Worked great and was cheap.

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My favorite rabbit rifle happens to be a rynite stocked Contender with a 22 rimfire, 23" bull barrel. Sig Whiskey 3x9. So dry this year already hard to say what the rabbit population will be like in the fall.


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I have a contender 30-30 pistol and I like it. Ditto for the 410/44 pistol bbl option. The rifles dont look or feel right to me. I think, back in the day, folks loved the pistol platform and made it into a rifle, shotgun or muzzle loader - just becasue they could. Today, for a 30-30 single shot rifle I would look at a Henry.

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My first was a 22lr…followed quickly by a Virgin Valley 300 Whisper…registered the frame as an SBR…my favorite package by far !


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Well,
I guess I'm hooked. I bought a complete rifle with G2 receiver, synthetic stock with high comb, 21" (I think) 17 HMR heavy barrel and a scope mount. Gonna try to find my 223 and/or 30-30 barrel. May have one of two manufacturers make one for me. At least I'm started. I've never had a 17 HMR so it will be a new experience. I'm guessing the grandkids will like it.
Thanks all,
Rick

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Welcome to the 'ward'................


"...A man's rights rest in three boxes: the ballot box, the jury box and the cartridge box..." Frederick Douglass, 1867

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I'm stocking up 6mmARC ammo before I order a barrel from SSK(hopefully next month, would like to have a least 500 rds before I get the barrel). Lucked into a G2 carbine receiver last May. But have two G1s with multiple barrels. Perfect blind guns.

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Originally Posted by Muffin
It is a disease.

There is no cure.
It can only be mitigated by buying more.

smile


definitely been the case for me, for 40+ years...i like the light weight of carbines, and enjoy working with assorted calibers; so they have become a favorite for hunting. Currently have barrels by SSK, Match Grade Machine, Bullberry, Dave Van Horn, T/C custom shop, Ingram, and some regular production stuff also. Pretty much all have shot quite well, and plenty have been exceptional.

The listed barrel makers will build you about anything you can think of as far as length, contour, caliber & chambering (within reason of course); 223 & 30/30 would be a nice combo. If you like playing with wildcats, there is a whole pile of chambering options...could always go with the ackley improved versions of both as well, if that is of interest. Most of the makers will offer varying twist rates as well, and will usually give you the option of throating to a specific length if you send them a dummy round.

If you get a chance to handle some, you may find you have a personal preference for balance in going bull vs tapered contour; with lightweight synthetic stocks i do like the lighter tapered profile. My 30/30 is a 20" MGM tapered stainless, though a 30/30 ackley fluted bull gets packed around too, as well as a bunch of oddball calibers.

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I got in and out of contenders multiple times. I’m out now and not going back.
They’re fun and versatile.
I liked the G2 best.
MGM barrels were accurate for me.


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I've had a few different Contender Carbines over the years. My first was a .17 Remington with the 21 inch factory barrel. Pretty accurate for 16-17 shots before fouling took over, then it had to be cleaned thoroughly. It lead me to switching to a 700 BDL for my .17 Remington use. At various times I had a .357 Max 20" and .32 Mag 16-1/4", both from the TC custom shop. Good shooters. If frames were readily available I might try again .. probably .30-30.

I currently have one Contender in handgun form, a G2 with a 1 pound trigger Bullberry did for me. The TC grip does not seem to handle recoil well at least not for my hands. One barrel is a 12" .44 magnum and frankly I can't handle it I keep it .. for now .. with intent to roll some .433 round balls in liquid alox and push 'em with 3F BP just for schitzngigglez. I also have a 14" .30-30 barrel and I have not fired it, after the .44 I'm a bit skeered of it. It may go away unfired. I like the .45/.410 barrel with .410 shells when I'm working my way through high grass under the alders trout fishing. .410s at short range fix rattlers properly. I wouldn't want to shoot it a whole lot in one sitting. The barrels I use most are a .22 LR match barrel punched to .22 magnum which is the most accurate .22 magnum handgun I've ever shot and likes the CCI +V ammo which I have a substantial amount of and an old 10" SS .357 barrel which seems to like anything I put through it from std .38 loads to "rocks 'n' dynamite" .357 silhouette loads. (Example: 17.5 grains of 296 under a 158 grain XTP .. definitely, definitely keep that one away from the J frame.)

When it comes to recoil, to me that TC with the .357 barrel kicks every bit as much as my 4-5/8" barreled Ruger .44 mag single action with max 240-250 grain loads. It's effective but not a lot of fun.

One of the negatives (for me) with the TC carbine is scope position and eye relief. With a standard Leupold mount, the scopes are too far back to get a good sight picture. Someone .. Virgin Valley maybe .. used to make a long spaced 4-hole mount from aluminum. This was very good for Contender Carbine use. I hate putting a heavy steel mount on such a light rig but right now I think probably a long, 6 hole base requiring 2 additional holes to be drilled and tapped would be the way to go.

Tom


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