New barrel...Contender

POU: varmint control and economical shooting. Shots under 100 yards 90% of the time. Get wife shooting something that is comfortable (lower noise, recoil, balance).

I recently traded for a Contender rifle barrel in .204 Ruger. This will primarily be for groundhogs in the summer and fur bearers in winter. I have yet to shoot it, but it may not even be what I am looking for as dual use for the wife and I. I also have a bolt gun in a 30 caliber more than capable for deer, and a lever 357. One is too front heavy for my petite wife, the other recoils too much for more than emergency use.

I have been thinking about getting a 32H&R or 30-20 (.308 groove 32-20) in a 12" bull barrel or a 20" tapered one. The 30-20 can be pushed more if it is needed, but the H&R will do most of what I want and be easier to reload due to being a straight wall. I just can't make up my mind between the two. I have also thought about just getting a 357 barrel since I already have everything needed to load for it. I could just load 38Spcl levels for her to shoot.

Of these 3 choices, please elaborate on which you would pick.

What about the 327 Magnum? More than the 32 H&R without the hassles of a bottleneck cartridge?

I have had problems finding lower pressure loads for that one. It seems the manuals want to keep it close to max and pressure equals noise.

Thompson center used to offer all kinds of different chamberings in the Contender. They had dozens of barrels listed and many were even chambered in wildcat rounds. Unfortunately those days are gone. There are many used pistol barrels on Ebay for reasonable prices and that is where I would look first. Carbine barrels are a lot harder to find. You can also get a custom made barrel from places like Eabco but they start around $350.

For rifle barrels your best bet is a .223 or 30-30 barrel, They are relatively common and you can buy ammo anywhere. If you reload and like tinkering a 7x30 or 6.5 BRM (custom barrel) are excellent choices.

As pistol barrels go there is not much with low recoil that your wife will like. Contenders can be very accurate and I have some pistol barrels that can shoot under an inch at 100 yards. But that is rested from a bench. Trying to hold a scoped 14 inch barrel offhand is challenging. Your wife might even have problems with a 10 inch bull barrel. Look for some early 10 inch octagon barrels in something other than the rifle calibers.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Delkal

As pistol barrels go there is not much with low recoil that your wife will like. Contenders can be very accurate and I have some pistol barrels that can shoot under an inch at 100 yards. But that is rested from a bench. Trying to hold a scoped 14 inch barrel offhand is challenging. Your wife might even have problems with a 10 inch bull barrel.

---

She will shoot my 357 revolver with 38's and 38+P. I was thinking these little rounds with a 12" barrel at moderate to lower speeds will work. I would keep the open sights on them and just load hotter stuff for me to shoot. I am still thinking a tapered carbine barrel, even with standard 357 loads, will not be too much for her. She shot and liked the scoped 7TCU carbine barrel I had, I just don't have a lot of time to reload. These smaller rounds can be loaded in bulk and don't take up a lot of room. They also have factory ammo available, which the TCU did not. They will also be less expensive to load for when I can.

A 357 pistol would be an good choice. The only reason I recommended the old 10 inch octagon barrels is that they are the least muzzle heavy and the easiest to shoot offhand. A 12 inch bull barrel starts to get muzzle heavy and by the time you get to 14 not everyone can pick it up and shoot it accurately (especially kids and women). A 45ACP barrel will work too. If you are interested in 30 cal look for a 30 carbine barrel. Not much of a kick but it has a sharper muzzle blast. Another option is a 22 Hornet barrel. Fun little round with minimal kick and good to 100+ yards. Your 50 yard group should be under an inch (rested).

That is what's fun about Contenders. You don't have to settle one one barrel. So start your collection and let your wife pick her favorite when you go out.

Piecing together what I need for a 32-20. Posted an ISO in the classifieds.

A 357 and a rimfire are still on the radar if the price is good enough. I do want to stick with the long gun for the CF stuff, but a 10"-12" LR would be fun for squirrel hunting.

Since this thread started, I have picked up a 360 Dan Wesson chambered rifle barrel, 16" 300 Whisper/Blk, another frame,, and traded into a 8" Bullberry 22LR Match barrel. I no longer have the 204, but do have a 10" 223 I load to about 2k fps. Much faster or with different powders and the blast is uncomfortable to bystanders. So for now, both of us have a good deer barrel, and some small game medicine.

6x223
Attachment 146889