Oh Lordy........what have I done?

[rkrcpa]

Stopped by the LGS on Saturday to pick up a few boxes of 22lr ammo and before I knew it I was the proud owner of a TC Contender. I've been thinking about one for years but had always resisted the urge.



$425 seemed like a decent deal so I gave in. I hear these things multiply faster than Ruger single actions.

[magnumwheelman]

I can't quite read the caliber on the barrel... what is your "1st" caliber... nice practical looking set up... the 14" barrels are my favorites

[Encore64]

Well, it's a Type 3. So, what caliber is the barrel in?

[rkrcpa]

44 Mag

[magnumwheelman]

yep... I was trying to make it out... 44 Rem Mag makes sense... so what are you thinking for a 2nd barrel

they do have a tendency to multiply

[squigz]

I'm always looking for deals on contenders, I only have three barrels but they're all fun to shoot!

Congrats on catching yet another gun bug!

[rkrcpa]

Sept 16, 2019 9:13:40 GMT -5 magnumwheelman said:

yep... I was trying to make it out... 44 Rem Mag makes sense... so what are you thinking for a 2nd barrel

they do have a tendency to multiply

22LR for sure, maybe .35 Rem? Never really thought too much about it, I guess I need to start doing some research.

[matt56]

That’s a good deal with those grips too. Pachmayr grippers get a little expensive. I have them on 2 of my contenders

[ezekiel38]

Do not shoot that Contender first time out with full house loads. I found Contenders alot to hang onto in heavy kickers. Superaccurate after you get beyond the recoil. Now you need a holster to pack that thing in the woods. Some kind of chest rig worked for me.

[buzz1761]

I'm sure you will enjoy it, I know I enjoy mine.

Buzz

[buttebob]

My first Contender was a 357 Herrett. It came with an TC scope, about 50 pieces of formed brass and a briefcase with a foam cutout interior. A fun gun. I learned not to shoot 146 grain half jacket bullets in it. They arrive at 100 yd in pieces.
My second was a 10" 223. Every time it was fired there would be about a 20" fireball at the end of the barrel. I was shooting it one day at the outdoor range that was 100 yds behind the gun shop where I worked. I was shooting at the rifle range and a guy was over at the pistol side with his daughter, she looked to be 4 or 5. They came down to where I was shooting and the father asked if they could watch, I said sure. I touched off a round with the ensuing fireball and turned to see what they thought of it. The little girl was running full tilt and was about half way to the shop.
After that I acquired a 44 Mag with the screw on choke, a 45 Colt/410, a 22 Hornet, a 7TCU, a 7-30 Waters, a 45-70 carbine and others that I don't remember.
I sold all of them, and 10 years ago started buying them again. It's a disease.

[rkrcpa]

Took a quick trip to the range today just to try it out. It shot well, all things considered but clearly I need to practice with it. Ignoring the fact that I was looking into a rising sun, I had a difficult time figuring out eye relief with this scope. This combined with a cramped seating arrangement caused more discomfort than I was anticipating.

I also need to figure out how to hold this thing as it is vastly different from anything I have shot before.

[contender]

As a long time Contender fan,, (see my handle here?) I can attest to the fact you have a GOOD one there & the price was very good.
I see you have the gripper set,, and those handle recoil quite well for me. I have them on all my frames. The scope is a good one,, and the caliber quite nice. As for carrying it,, you can add a sling to the swivel mounts,,, OR,, you can also get a barrel band & move the sling point out to the end of the barrel,, for better balance.
Shooting it offhand is hard. But if you learn to take a rest,, it will become like a laser.
Other calibers & barrels will make you enjoy it even more. My personal preference is the 7x30 Waters.

[JM]

Pick up a .22LR when you have a chance. Sitting in a lawn chair with a box of ammo on one side & transferring the brass to an empty box on the other side makes for a nice day.

I fired a 14" 35 Remington before. Think that is about as much as I'd want to Contend with.

[rkrcpa]

Sept 18, 2019 21:35:13 GMT -5 contender said:

As a long time Contender fan,, (see my handle here?) I can attest to the fact you have a GOOD one there & the price was very good.
I see you have the gripper set,, and those handle recoil quite well for me. I have them on all my frames. The scope is a good one,, and the caliber quite nice. As for carrying it,, you can add a sling to the swivel mounts,,, OR,, you can also get a barrel band & move the sling point out to the end of the barrel,, for better balance.
Shooting it offhand is hard. But if you learn to take a rest,, it will become like a laser.
Other calibers & barrels will make you enjoy it even more. My personal preference is the 7x30 Waters.

The grips do fit well, I think my discomfort was more a matter of my shooting position. The club I shoot at recently replaced the shooting benches and the new benches are not suited for someone my size.

As you suggest, I will be relocating the sling swivel to the barrel if I can locate a barrel band swivel. The swivel in the forend was interfering with using my rest. The scope will take some adjustment as well. It seems that the eye relief is less than I am accustomed to with my Leupold 2X. I may need to move the scope further forward in the mount.

I was pleased with the accuracy it showed, even though it was WWB ammo. I will be loading some ammo before the next trip to the range.