Trying to decide on which to buy . Shot a contender in 44mag. a few times and like it .My question I guess is can you get a caliber / barrel that will be effective out to 300+ yards for the Contender or will it be better to chose the larger frame Encore . I'm looking to have a full right shoulder replacement in the near future so a rifle won't work for me any more . Seems like recoil with these guns will be felt more in hands & wrist than the shoulder ?

Do the contender.

What caliber would you suggest ?

6x45 or 6tcu

It largely depends on whether or not you are going to be shooting factory ammo or handloads.

I went through the same thing only I had my right lung collapse twice in two years. In the end they glued my right lung to my chest wall and advised me too much recoil could irritate the bond (which I learned the hard way).

At any rate if you are a handloader then the Contender will do everything you ask. There are a couple of options that will reach out to 300 yards provided the shooter is capable of the task. In a Factory Contender Barrel there is the 7-30 Waters. With 120gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips I have stretched it out to almost 300 yards with good results. Then there is the .30-30 Ackley Improved which again I have stretched out to close to 300 yards. Lastly in a totally custom barrel I have used the .250 Savage. To my knowledge there is only one barrel maker that chambers for this round and you'd have to check to see if they still do chamber for this round.

In the Encore I have used both the .243 Winchester and .284 Winchester. Both have performed quite well with the right bullets. Then again there is a host of other cartridges for the Encore that will do the deed also.

Personally I prefer the Contender for it's more compact size and lighter weight but then that is just me.

Larry

I prefer the contender hands down to the encore however you are a bit more limited. If you reload then you will be fine. I also prefer the older contenders over the G2s, the older ones have a much better trigger.

7-30 waters is an awesome round that will take game 300+ I shoot one in pistol configuration with a 16.5" barrel no brake with a 4.5-14x40 nikon rifle scope on it. With 139 grain SSTs and my load it should have somewhere around 1750fps at 300 yards more than enough to anchor a whitetail.

More options are 6.8 SPC, 30-30 or if you reload 30-30AI 6mm/30-30

I also have taken a whitetail with a contender in .444 marlin at 317 yards but that probably wont help at all with the recoil issue.

The encore is just bigger and bulkier. I have three and I am going to get rid of one of them just because they are too big. I will keep the other two for my muzzle loader setups.

Adam

As much as I love Contenders, with the 300 yard requirement I would say Encore. I consider the Contender a medium range setup. I have rifle setups in 7-30 Waters and .30-30AI. For the places I use the Contenders those cartridges are fine. If I expected a 300 yard shot I would take a bolt action.

Gary Reeder makes a slew of wildcat contender barrels, including improved versions of the 7-30 and a .257 that is based on the .405 Winchester case. You might check his web site and see if he has what you want.

This is an easy decision. Get one of each.

It wasn't that easy for me. I now have three Contenders and six barrels while looking for more barrels.

I have 3 encores and 4 contenders, mine are all rifles except 1 contender pistol. If I could only have 1 it would be a contender.

Contender. Nice weight and the 30-30 I had was a good shooter.

you didn't say you we're trying to kill at the end of the 300 yds. I have an Encore pistol frame with a .243 barrel and it's as accurate as I can shoot it. .260 Rem would be another good choice for deer side game down or for paper. 7-30 Waters in either frame is good also. You might also try learning to shoot the rifle with the other hand. one of the nice features of the T/C's is they're ambidextrous if you can learn to be. I'm a righty that shots left handed.

I two contenders( both are G1's) and three barrels, 223, 7mm TCU, and 6.8 spc. I would stick with something you could reload or purchase the ammo. The TCU's are all good rounds, but makng the brass and fire forming is a pain in the azz. Also the dies are more expensive if you can find them. The 6.8 spc and 223 work well for me on yotes and hogs out to 150 yds with open sights.

TEXMAG

Duh!, Me too. They're addictive!


DMc

A rifle barrel in 7x30 with a 120 gr. BT would do just fine at 300 yards on deer and antelope (same with a 30-30 or 30-30AI). Heck, with a .338 JDJ barrel you could shoot elk at 300 yards.

While I have no desire to thus limit myself, I could do all of my hunting with a Contender platform.

MGM Made a 30/40 krag barrel for my G2. It shoots well.

I had my left shoulder replaced in November and my doctor allows me to shoot 22 caliber rifles with my right arm from a rest. He only allows me to hold 5 lbs in my left hand. The first two months the limit was 2 lbs. I am using 55gr GMX loads in a 20� 223 Contender and 64gr Nosler AB in a 223 AR-15 for deer hunting this season. It would be nice if they both liked the same load. I can only shoot from a stand using bags. No shooting offhand for another two months. Don�t sell the 223 short. With good bullets, it will take deer and hogs. So far I have only shot one doe and no hogs. The doe was taken with the AR. She was shot behind the shoulder at 85 yards. The Nosler went through and the doe ran 20 yards, stopped, staggered around then fell down kicking.

If you are concerned about recoil, shoot a heavy rifle. My 22-250 weighs more than the Contender or AR and it recoils less than either. BUT it weighs over 10 pounds. I also have a 7GNR (7x30 Improved) with a 25� bull barrel in a Contender. The 7GNR runs just below US factory 7x57 ammo. It seems to have a little more recoil than the 223s so I am sticking with them. Besides my doctor said 22 caliber only.

Say, you don�t think he meant 22LR, do you?

101857 Welcome to the Fire. If you want a 300 yard gun go for the Encore.

I am a Contender addict myself, but I am realistic about the limitations of the design.

The Encore has the strength to handle the high pressure rounds that have the trajectories that make longer range shooting viable.

You did not say if you were using it for hunting or not, but the Encore is available in the full range of chamberings suitable for every thing from varmints to the big five.

You won't go wrong with a contender. Pass on the G2 and find an old one, they have better triggers and that's half the game right there! Reeder will do you right, cheaper than MGM & SSK and better in my opinion. If your going wildcat might as well be creative. You not loading for anyone but yourself! Check out the potpourri:
http://www.reedercustomguns.com/information/GNR_cartridges.htm
Heck, some of 'em, I can't even figure out what parent case he used!
How'd he make that 284 GNR?
well peanut says: he uses .357max. case necked down to a 7mm
...sounds interesting, huh?