25 TCU Contender

[jdoc]

A long gone friend of mine had a contender with multiple barrels. He use to make us revolver shooters look like a bunch of drunks when we shot together. Then again we might have been squeezing a few. At any rate he always went home with all the loose change.

Dick thanks for the posts, always great to read.

[bigbore442001]

I read all of the posts. I never knew that the 25 TCU was quite that "zippy". I am impressed. I got the impression it wasn't all that hot. Almost makes me want to go order a custom 15 inch barrel like that.

[jsh]

H335 was always my go to powder in 6TCU and 6-223.

I was reading on H322 vs H335 just this past week. Working on 17Remington and 204 loads along with 223.
I saw comments from some squirrel shooters on H335 chasing "nodes". Stay with the upper mid range accuracy load in order to keep pressure up, H335 burned exceptionally clean. One gent said 500 rounds with no issue and no carbon, as long as pressures are kept up. And, staying at upper mid range caused no pressure issues during warmer weather.
H322 was said to carbon up way worse.

[sixshot]

One other thing, and I think I mentioned it before is different brands of brass. Yesterday I was reloading the Winchester brass I've been using & I had some mixed military & also some R-P factory brass. I loaded about 5 of each & the military looked to be about exactly the same capacity as my Winchester but the R-P brass had to be much lighter because it was much further down in the case. I didn't weigh the brass, just did a visual but there was a very noticeable difference with the R-P brass. I could have easily added another full grain, maybe more before equaling the other two. Just a reminder to stay with the same brass.
I'll chronograph the R-P brass just to see the difference, I know it's going to be much slower in velocity. You don't want to get a pressure spike with these small cases.
Also notice in the reloading data I supplied that when using H335 they were getting well over 2800 fps with a 75 gr bullet! I'm sure Bradshaw can back me up on this but you don't need expensive custom dies to load this case. If you have 7 TCU dies you're almost there. Remove the expander die & then size the body, now find a used 250 Savage sizer die & mill about 1/4" off the base of the die & use it for a sizer for the neck. Now the the 7 TCU seater for your seater die & you're done. More than one way to get there. You can also use 256 dies. David will jump in. Don't bump the shoulder!!

Dick

[bradshaw]

“.... Just a reminder to stay with the same brass.”

"Don't bump the shoulder!!”
----sixshot

*****

To put it another way, if you want trouble, mix brass. Especially for important ammunition.

As for that delicate little dynamo, the .223 Remington, to set back the shoulder invites a case separation above the web. Besides curtailing brass reloading life, high pressure without a head gasket is a bad deal, worse in a tip-open action than in, say, an XP-100. At the opposite extreme, insufficient sizing, DATUM LINE to long for the chamber. (The datum line is the distance from bolt face to midway on the shoulder.) Anyone who played the silhouette game watched shooters slam the T/C Contender shut in an effort to size a loaded round

The Contender is a most remarkable and durable single shot. Yet, a prime example of a firearm for which brass is tuned to the action.

FREEBORE is another Contender subject. Many Contender barrels were chambered with generous freebore. Roy Weatherby freed his rifles as a way to burn more powder and drive velocity. Warren Center freebore Contender barrels to reduce peak pressure. No bench rest shooter would be caught dead with a freebored barrel. I suspect Dick’s MGM .25 TCU barrel has little or no freebore, as the aftermarket makers were selling accuracy, first & foremost.

T/C introduced the 7mm Thompson/Center Ugalde (1979) with an improved extractor. Single shots were designed around rimmed cases. Special attention must be paid the extractor for a rimless case. It worked out fine, as the .223 Remington parent forms a very efficient case for milking performance from the Contender. While, at the same time, minimizing recoil. An added durability and safety factor comes with the .223 case in the Contender, as WATER TABLE----the lay of the barrel in the receiver----restricts barrel diameter to 0.8-inch. The narrow .223 case provides meat around the chamber.
David Bradshaw

[alanf]

Dick,

Can you please show more detail on the forend attachment your friend made for you? I would like to build my own for my Contender carbine in 257 Raptor (Reeder version). Thank you.

[sixshot]

Here are more photo's of the rest that fits onto Contender forends. My buddy has made these for years & they come with a longer bolt to thread into the forend & you just twist it into place when you're ready to shoot, makes for a very stable rest shooting off the bags of any type of flat rest. I used it all the time when shooting Rock Chucks. Just leave a little bit of slack so you can turn it when ready.



Dick

[alanf]

Thank you for showing us. Those look great.

[Ken O'Neill]

Apr 11, 2018 2:00:21 GMT -5 Encore64 said:

I have a Custom Shop Carbine in the 25 TCU with RCBS dies.

Bought it new and never really used it. Probably end up on the "For Sale" list.

Easily gets 2700 fps with a 100 grn and 2900 fps with an 85 grn.

Neat, but unused...

That's in .257 JDJ territory

[Encore64]

Dec 17, 2021 14:50:14 GMT -5 Ken O'Neill said:

Apr 11, 2018 2:00:21 GMT -5 Encore64 said:

I have a Custom Shop Carbine in the 25 TCU with RCBS dies.

Bought it new and never really used it. Probably end up on the "For Sale" list.

Easily gets 2700 fps with a 100 grn and 2900 fps with an 85 grn.

Neat, but unused...

That's in .257 JDJ territory

Ken, was a 21" Carbine Barrel...