Outstanding, I asked about a handgun hunting forum this morning and when I get home from work(3:00AM) here it is. Man what an outfit this is. I have been handgun hunting for about 20 years and I gues I am an addict. Started with a 22 revolver for small game and worked up to the lager stuff over the years. Presently one of my favorites is a T/C 14 inch contender in .309 JDJ. Running 165's at about 2400 fps and so far it has worked on everything. Shot my longest woodchuck with it a few years back at just a bit over 400 paces. Lots of prarie dogs out past 200 also. For them little fellows I use a 125 BT at 2700. Pretty versitle round in a contender. Got a 358 bullberry that is a thumper on deer also. My wife also hunts with a handgun in .357 MAX. Good Luck to all . Lonerider

I'm just starting out with the contender. I have barrels in .22lr.,.223, and 30-30. Think I'll stick with these for the time being. What is a .309 JDJ?

The 309 JDJ is a wildcat cartridge based on the 444 Marlin. The JDJ wildcats are produced by SSK Industries. They are fairly popular among the handgun hunting community. They basically offer improved performance over their factory counterparts (ie - 309 JDJ outperforms 30-30, 358 JDJ out performs 35 Remington, 375 JDJ outperforms 375 Winchester, etc.). Check out <A HREF="http://www.sskindustries.com" TARGET=_blank>http://www.sskindustries.com</A> for more info. You might also want to check out <A HREF="http://bellmtcs.tripod.com." TARGET=_blank>http://bellmtcs.tripod.com.</A> This is Mike Bellm's site. He offers some similar wildcat cartridges based on the 444 Marlin, but none of his chamberings require custom dies. Pretty cool idea. <P>------------------<BR>Stush

Stush,<P>Thanks for the web sites. I have to get used to this puppy before I get one of those big boomers.<P>------------------<BR>Rick

Lonerider, how long was that woodchuck?

Loneeagle He was "6 feet high and risin'" Biggest woodchuck ya ever saw!! I guess bifocals and brain don't work well at 3:00AM. But anyway you look at it a long distance chuck with a hand gun is a lot of fun. Lonerider