Guys,
I have a nice G2 Contender carbine with a High Plains laminate stock that is just begging to have a new MGM barrel mounted. I am still unsettled on what specific caliber and cartridge to get for it.

Possible winners include, but are not limited to, the following: 17 Fireball, 5.7x28, 22 Hornet, 221 Fireball, 222 Remington, 223 Remington, and some really odd ones, like 25-20, 327 Federal and 45 Colt.

What have I left out and is there a voice of experience out there who can chime in with some pearls of wisdom?

Many thanks.

Sig

What do you want to do with it?

Would help if we knew what you plan to use it for. Do you handload?

I have been thinking about the 327 FM myself for a walking rifle. My last barrel from MGM was a 18" in 218 Bee and it has been great on woodchucks. I also have one in 22K hornet but I like the 218 Bee the best. May want to consider the 357 Maximum if you plan on going after larger critters. MGM has so much to pick from makes it hard to decide, but they are all good.

I knew the question of "what am I going to do with it" would come up. I should have mentioned it. It's a critter gitter. Skunks, Armadillos, and the like, coyotes if in range and a general walk around fun rifle. Yes, I do handload.


I have a 357 Max for my CVA Apex. I want this rifle to be a small, lively and potent on smallish critters.

I've always though Contenders and Hornets were made for each other, but I bet you have that covered already. So why not .25-20? The blank stares from rubes at the range are always enjoyable.

My hornet itch has been scratched by a LH Browning A-Bolt and a LH Kimber 82.

.357 Max. Most versatile barrel they make. A 16 1/2 incher would be extremely portable, too. Sell the CVA to pay for it.

I also love my MGM .410 VR barrel for just walkin around in the boonies during quail/bunny season. I keep some Win 3" 000 buckshot in my vest for contingencies when I carry it, too.

.25-20, case closed. Bullet casting might be your friend.

I have a MGM barrel in .300 BO. Love it! Good for anything from mice to deer. Cheap to shoot. Mines threaded and is super fun to shoot when suppressed.

Would be awfully hard to give up my hornet barrel, but I’m also really digging my new 6.5 Grendel barrel.

.25/20
.25/35

A Blackout might be fun too, or one of the .30 cal Yurrupean pistol rounds.

Looks to me like there is no single good answer. May have to think more than one barrel..

You finally came up with the right answer. 😁😎

You can't go wrong with any of the choices above.

The "magic" of the Contender is simple. One frame, many barrels. They shoot well within their limitations. Damn well actually.

I’ve seen your handiwork before in photos and will agree with your assessment of working well within their limitations. Nice shooting.

Hornet and Max were my recommendations. But you have that covered. Mine are OTT barrels back from when Mike was doing that stuff. Only other thing I would suggest is a 41Mag barrel. Just because I'm warped that way.

I will vote for the 25-35 Winchester. 25-20 brass is so hard to find and you can always download the 25-35. Another vote for the 41 magnum and lastly the 30-30 Winchester necked down to 6mm.

Gun season here ends this evening.
Already took apart my Super 14 in .35 rem.
Thinking a .22 magnum rifle it will be.

Don't care for a break open deer rifle.
Tolerate in handgun, but while cool and fun on the range........a big scoped specialty pistol aint my thing anymore.

Thinking 20" .22 magnum be a dandy little fox gun, or maybe yote up close too.

OSU: It appears to me you are describing an English Rook Rifle. English gentry used them for strolling about the country estate shooting hares, crows and assorted varmints. After reading Ross Seyfried's article about rook rifles he once again convinced me of another firearm I just had to have. Since I do not have a country estate, am not gentry and do not have the deep pockets that Mr. Seyfried has a suitable substitute had to be found. I settled on a Contender carbine barrel in 357 mag. On the advice of C. E. Harris I used a Manson 1 1/2 degree throating reamer for accuracy. Mostly I shoot 148 grain hollow base wad cutters at 38 Special velocities in a 357 mag case for small game but I have available full power 357 mag loads if required. The 24" barrel and cat sneeze loads are quiet without the hassle of a suppressor. A 327 Federal Mag as previously suggested would be even closer to the original Rook Rifle caliber but i was all ready handloading the 38/357 cases.

6x45

Thanks. Dang thing about it now and then my buddies(?) will shoot them better than me. Take my friend Muffin for example.


Kinda rude.

That's a hell of a thing to do with another man's rifle...

Bob, I had not even given any thought of a Rook rifle and thank you for bringing it up. I do like the idea of a 327 Federal Mag in a carbine. At what distance are you comfortable with your 357 Mag?



That is a very good idea and one I had not thought of. You like this in lieu of the 6.5 Grendel?

Honestly zero experience with it but it fits the contender and gives you easy brass and good bullets

100 yard limit with 357 mag and 185 grain Beartooth FNGC. 50 yards with 148 grain HBWC at 800 fps. 25 yards 148 grain HBWC with just enough fast powder to not stick the bullet in the barrel with a safety margin.

If the Rook Rifle concept does not do it for you consider the 7mm TCU. Unlimited supply of cheap brass. All ready Ackley Improved. 120 grain bullet at 2600 fps from a rifle barrel. More case capacity then a 6.8 SPC.

After much thought and listening to the great advise offered here, I've decided, in spite that I have others, I'm going to have a 22 Hornet built for the Contender. Someone here said the Contender screams Hornet and I think that's right. 20'' in a medium contour with a 1-12'' twist for the 55 grain and under crowd. I'll have it threaded so my SilencerCo Sparrow will fit up and it should make a great little package.

I'm also likely to have a 350 Legend barrel built. I don't see much difference between this and the 357 Max but it wins here by virtue of the .355 bullets which will allow me to use a 9mm suppressor.

There will likely be something in the 6mm family that will fit in between these two at some point in time.

Good choices on your list. My first TC carbine was a .17 Remington and though it fouled badly, it shot very well up to the point where fouling took over. A good quality .17 Fireball barrel has much appeal. If you were going handgun rather than carbine, I'd suggest the .221 fireball over .223 and .222 which are viciously loud in a 14" barrel. I had a 16-1/4" barrel chambered for .32 H&R mag. It was good. It killed crap .. saved one varmint safari when a bolt action broke down on me. .327 would be real interesting. .25-20 is one of my favorite cartridges. Due to a deal that fell through I don't have a gun but I have a pile of components. I'm pondering a 10" pistol barrel for my Contender.

Couple others?

I'd look at the .357 Maximum. I've had it in both 14" handgun and 18" carbine barrels. Both did very well with a case full (31 grains, I think?) of H110 and 88 or 90 grain .355 bullets for the .380 ACP. Pretty well wrecked ground squirrels' days. I also got very good accuracy with the Speer 180 grain flat point and Hornady 180 grain single shot pistol bullets with AA 1680. I have a small batch of 180 grain handgun partitions left which I'd love to try in the maxi on deer. I think I saw Starline offering brass.

For deer, I'd look at .30-30 AI and .38-55. I haven't shot either in the carbine, might be getting into a little recoil. .25-35 reg'lar or AI could be good if you've got appropriate bullets. I think hornady discontinued the 117 grain round nose and I can't think of a replacement that'd work at the .25-35's speed. .30-30 reg'lar or AI could be fun. I've swaged a few 100 grain .312 XTPs down to .308 with a cheap Lee lube/size die. Speer's 110 grain flat HP could be good, too. Deer ... 125 grain b-tip or accubond. I've got a 14" TC .30-30 barrel still NIB that I really need to play with.

Of all, I think I'd favor the .357 maximum with .17 fireball second.

Tom

T_O_M,
Thanks for the post. As you likely read above, I've ordered a 22 Hornet for a 1st barrel. 2nd barrel will be a 350 Legend. I have a 17 Fireball and like it a lot so its not out of the picture. As I wrote, I chose the 350 Legend over the 357 Max due to the .355 diameter bullet which I can shoot suppressed.

Lots of fun to be had and as I get these going, I'll likely add another.

I think MGM uses a .358" diameter for their .350 Legend, not .355. https://matchgrademachine.com/chambers-list/

.22 Hornet would be fun. Especially with a relatively tight chamber. I had one in a TC pistol and 2 Ruger 77/22s .. sloppy / oversized, so brass life was nil. I had case head separations with factory ammo. Could not get a 2nd reload out of a case. The case heads were at the bottom end of SAAMI, chamber was at or above .. "no bueno."

That's interesting. I'll call to find out for sure but if that's the case, I'll not be able to shoot it suppressed.

Idle ramble about the Contender. All of mine have plastic stocks and barrel geometry that puts them in the 5.5# range. 22" barrel for the .30-30 and when I'm running near max loads the recoil is lively. I don't mind it but a few friends that have shot the gun aren't fond of it. The Devil would need an overcoat the day I decided to have one chambered in .38-55. Have a sorta normal Highwall with that chamber and my moulds cast 300-325 grains. I don't need another mould am not masochistic.

Somewhat comparable in weight my 77/44 throws 300-320 gr lead in the velocity range I'd expect for a .38-55. Rambunctious little fella it is.

My 12" Hornet pistol, besides being a loud SOB, also had a big chamber. I still have some brass set aside until (if ever) I get a FL die. JB mentions a similar issue with his in "Obsessions of a Rifle Loony".

After I placed my order, I decided to make it a K Hornet so an email to MGM was placed and confirmed by them later that day. My thoughts were that as light and flimsy as the hornet brass is, the less I have to mess with it, the better off I am. We'll see.

You will be pleased that you went with the K Hornet. I have one in a 20 inch custom shop bull barrel. Haven't had to trim my brass yet. I am not pushing it and still get 3000 fps with 34-40 grain bulllets. For general plinking I use the 34 grain Midsouth bulk bullets and for varmints I use the 40 V Max. One pound of powder goes a long way.

Thanks Leon. What powder have you landed on?

Powder choice for a K-Hornet is simple. Li'l Gun and done.

I bought a Custom Shop rifle barrel in 375 W awhile back. It has been fun to work with (G1 frame) and I plan to take it to Iowa for deer next week. Doesn't fit with OP's parameters, maybe, but does show how versatile these little rascals are. In fact, following this topic has me thinking about an order to MGM!

Agree with Dan. Lil Gun IS the powder for the Hornet

I use Lil Gun and A1680. Lil Gun seems to work better with 40 grains and up. I like A1680 with the 34 and 35 grains.

Thank you both, gentlemen.