Tc barrel fitting thread?

[cdf41]

Is there a thread some where on how to fit a TC barrel?

Didn't want to clog up the SSK 50 thread.

[jeffh]

When I can get a few minutes, I will try to dig up some links for you. Easier to let someone explain it who has already written it down.

Every time I go into my bookmarks folder, I find more which are no longer valid links, so cross your fingers.

[jeffh]

OK, I struck out on links, but I did some judicious stoning on the tops and sides of the bolts, where they slide under the "water table" or ledge to lock things up. There's a drawing floating around out there showing wher to do this, but I wouldn't do this if there is any reluctance or hesitation. Have someone else do it if you're not sure you can or want to.

DO NOT touch the action itself.

One other thing is that some bolt springs are WAY too stiff and too long. Mine, on a new MGM barrel is TOO LONG, and I will correct that. It buckles and drags on the inside of the bore it fits into. I'm not shooting any of the romper-stomper cartridges, so backing off the stiffness of that spring is OK for me. If I mess it up, I can get a new spring.

Mike Bellm, whether you like the guy or not, has SOME good info on his site and some of it was also on LASC, but I can't get there for some reason.

I feel compelled to share THIS link with anyone who is using an original Contender, of which the SSK-50 is a clone:
rvbprecision.com/firearms/mike-bellm/contender-hammer-safety-issues.html

One thing that I did note about the new SSK-50 action, which I do NOT like, and don't know what to do about is that the firing-pin selector is WAY too easy to rotate. I have significant misgivings about that and will keep an eye on it as I use it - whenever I get a chance to do that.  I'm so sick and tired of sending new guns back to manufacturers or fixing them myself that I just ain't doing it anymore.  This should be the last gun I buy, so so much for that aggravation.

SIDE NOTE:  The latest 4473 has some very convoluted questions regarding straw purchases, the second of which refers to the questions before and AFTER it, so you need to read the third question before answering the second question and maybe have a lawyer with you to figure out  just what the H*** they mean.  Bottom line - if you answer incorrectly to any of the three, put your wallet away and go home, because you're not taking the firearm home with you.  I'll forego further commentary on that issue, because I'll have to resort to profuse profanity regarding a particular political issue.

[jeffh]

I want to add another note here regarding NOT the SSK-50, but the Choate stock set I bought to put on it, because others may be looking at new stock sets and trying to install them as well.

The stainless fore-end screws which come with the Choate fore-end are junk. I'mnot mincing words here, a someone's expensive barrel is at stake. They are sheared off unevenly, roughly and the leading edge of the threads are ragged, making starting them into the "top-hats" on the (MGM) barrel impossible. DON'T FORCE THEM. To add to the trouble, the heads are so oversized that you almost need a small hammer to punch the screws out of the the counter-bore the heads fit into. This totally obscures the "feel" when starting a screw and will cause one to damage the threads in the top-hats.

The fore-end fits the frame so tightly that it has to be forced on, so aligning the screw holes with the top-hats, to ensure you're starting the screws straight, is also impossible. Again, DON'T FORCE THEM.

I keep spare screws from Ace Hardware in a kit and will either use those or turn down the heads of the ones that came with the fore-end, as well as dress the threaded ends with a file and stone. It does not hurt to put a very light taper on the major diameter of the first few threads as well.

All the Choate fore-ends I've bought have had to be fitted. All of them squeezed the action so tightly as to make the action harder to open, so the inside of the "ears" that cover the barrel pivot-pin holes must be relieved on the inside for clearance. The barrel channels also provide full contact on the surface of the barrel, which some may prefer, but I prefer a full float, so I end up doing a fair bit of sanding. I also drop a small brass washer into the holes in the barrel channel for the top-hats and one in each hole on the other side for the shoulder of the screw head to bear against. There are other ways to fit/bed a fore-end on Contenders, but this is just how I do it.

The junk screws are just another case of paying more to get less these days, so beware. The cap screws from the hardware store have not failed me in any way and they're inexpensive without being "cheap." If you have to trim them, file and stone the trimmed end perpendicular to its length and ensure the leading edge of the male thread is smooth and not bent. I also ensure that the screws are not so long that they bottom out on the barrel.

I like the plastic stocks mostly for their fit (tom me), light weight and trim profile, though the fore-end is pretty heavy for a piece of plastic, it's also not flimsy. The fit, for me, is perfect and I don't have to fuss over messing up nice wood or carry the excess mass of the bulky laminates as produced today. A walnut stock set costs almost as much as the action and I've not seen a set as slim and trim as the Choate plastic, for what it's worth.

[bigbore5]

A trick from 2dogs to be sure screw threaded ends are square:

Hold the screw with a pair of wire stripping pliers with just the out of square threads above it. File it flush with the pliers. Perfect every time.

I bought a cheapie pair that has the screw cutter holes in it. That way they thread in instead of just being held. It's much faster than any other way I have tried and perfect every time

[jeffh]

Sept 14, 2023 3:32:50 GMT -5 bigbore5 said:

A trick from 2dogs to be sure screw threaded ends are square:

Hold the screw with a pair of wire stripping pliers with just the out of square threads above it. File it flush with the pliers. Perfect every time.

I bought a cheapie pair that has the screw cutter holes in it. That way they thread in instead of just being held. It's much faster than any other way I have tried and perfect every time

That's a neat idea.  I use a small, hardened plate with pre-threaded holes, run the screw in with the out-of-square end sticking out and file.  Even eyeballing woud be way better than what was provided with the new fore-end.

[Encore64]

I was slow to post on this thread/topic. There's too many variations of problems and steel can be removed, but not replaced...

Approach with caution...

[jeffh]

Sept 15, 2023 8:02:19 GMT -5 Encore64 said:

I was slow to post on this thread/topic. There's too many variations of problems and steel can be removed, but not replaced...

Approach with caution...

ABSOLUTELY!

And I don't use that word freely.

I keep thinking of things which do not relate specifically to the SSK 50 frame that people might want to know (if they don't already), but it would be a LOT to write down.  I've looked for links as I've had a minute here and there and can't find much any more. 

One really cool thing about Contenders is that there's not a whole lot which can or NEEDS to be addressed in terms of tuning one up.  I think the bolts, maybe a spring and some very limited and very light work inside for the trigger is all one may ever need to addressed if it's not been abused or neglected.  Fore-ends and scope bases can often require some fiddling, but the rest usually poses few issues right out of the box.

The most work I'm getting into is deciding if I should put the scope on it that I bought for it several years ago (Japanese Weaver Classic V3), the Romeo 5 Red Dot I bought this summer or a Williams FP-TC-TK I bought several years ago.  With the red dot on it, it weighs about 5.5# (or less) and feels very handy.  With the peep, it would be five pounds, two and a quarter ounces - with a 20" non-tapered barrel.

[JM]

I have an MGM barrel that doesn't fit.

[junebug]

Need more information than it won't close or doesn't fit.

Does your barrel not close all the way or does it not lock? If it doesn't close all the way the back of the barrel lug may be contacting the safety interlock. Color the bottom of the barrel lug with a magic marker or inletting black and close several times ,it should leave a mark where it is making contact with the interlock. Radius and polish that corner of the lug to your mark, it shouldn't take much. If it will not lock it is probably a locking lug issue. Run your finger over the back edges and corners of the locking lug and you will find sharp corners and burrs. LIGHTLY STONE and break these corners and polish the rear face of the lugs where they contact the breech face on closing. This helps smooth out closing and opening as they have a STRONG spring . To make one lock I stone the top of the locking bolts, after first coloring them with a magic marker, making sure to keep them flat all the way across. Stone off all the marker and try the fit, then repeat as necessary. I use coarse and fine stones to do my barrels although a small sharp fine cut file will work. Just be careful to lightly file and polish and keep surfaces flat and true, not grind away. Hope this will help.

[jeffh]

"Need more information than it won't close or doesn't fit."

Right. "Didn't fit." like won't close? Won't open after it does close? Closes but won't cock, etc.

In my case, a brand new (5 years old but never mounted or shot), with split bolts would CLOSE alright! Then, it wouldn't open. If anyone can provide more detail about how/why it didn't do what it was supposed to, share that too so we'll have a database useful to US and others, and it will be good feedback for SSK if one of us shares it with them or Marty.


It also just occurred to me too that there may be some who are not already familiar with Contender anatomy, who are reading this. Maybe lurkers with a new SSK-50 or someone doing a general search for general Contender information.

For those folks:

The LUG, as pertains to Contenders is the thing welded onto the bottom of the barrel;

The BOLT(S), as pertains to Contenders is/are the spring-loaded things sticking out the back of the LUG, which slide under a ledge at the bottom of the breech face to lock the barrel closed.

I say "BOLT(S)" because earlier Contenders had a one-piece bolt and later Contenders have a SPLIT bolt, which is split right down the middle, parallel to the barrel's length.

[JM]

Thank you. Now I can describe the problem better. I will try mocking up the barrel again & report back.

[cdf41]

Mine will not close all the way, will close about 3/4 of the way. Both are Reeder barrels with the split bolts.

[junebug]

Black the bottom of the barrel lug with a magic marker or fingernail polish, not the whole lug but the chamber end. You can also black the locking bolts top and bottom. Don't bash it together but firmly close the action as far as posable several times. Remove the barrel and look for a mark on the bottom of the barrel lug. There should be a mark where it is contacting the safety interlock. Round the bottom corner of the barrel lug with file and stones to SLIGHTLY past your line and try the barrel again ,it should close now. The locking bolts benefit from rounding off square corners on the bottom and sides, not the top of the lugs . Leave that square unless it has a burr you can feel then LIGHTLY stone the top leaving it as flat as possible. Smooth the back of the locking lugs where they contact the frame on closing. Most [not all] of our barrels that won't close are hitting the top of the safety interlock and relieving the bottom corner of the barrel lug as explained has fixed them. I do not have the ability to post pictures, but my son has pictures and could email them to someone to post if wanted.

[jeffh]

UPDATE:

I stuck a new, 20", blued, MGM 357 Max barrel on mine and, as mentioned above, it closed up just find but had to be disassembled to open it.

I LIGHTLY stoned the sides of the locking bolts and the top surface thereof which slides under the "shelf" in breech face.  Just a few strokes on each surface on a soft Arkansas stone, which leaves a satiny sheen, just short of a polish.  I have not yet removed a coil form the locking bolt spring, but may, because the spring bends and binds in its bore,

With that minor attention, the action would open, albeit with an awkward maneuver and both thumbs on the trigger guard lever.

As I fitted the fore-end (which is twice the price they were a few years ago and POORLY made now), I had to open and close the action several times.  With ten or twelve closings/openings, it opens just fine.  Not as slick as with my other original Contenders, but acceptably and likely to improve with use.  The bolts seem to drag across a less smooth breech-face surface while closing as compared to the originals, but those interfacing surfaces will "wear in" in short order.

Five pounds, thirteen ounces complete, 33 7/16" long overall and balances just ahead of the trigger guard for nimble handling and easy carrying.  The 18" 357 MAGNUM barrel, which is otherwise identical, is slightly less convenient to carry.  20" seems to be the magic number for the non-tapered 35-caliber barrels for handling and ease of carry.  The scope is a brand new Weaver Classic V3 (last of the Japanese Weavers), 1-3x20, with no stupid tacticrap features to make it a pain in the neck and ugly.

Neat little package.