Think I made a good buy today !

[Ben]

I was in one of my favorite gun shops in Huntsville, AL today.
I found an old model T/C Contender bull barrel .357 Mag.
The store owner said the orig. owner had kept it in his safe and wasn't certain that he had ever fired a round out of it.It looks to be 99.9% pristine. No frame marks anywhere on the barrel.
I already had a 10" bull barrel in .357 Mag., but it is scoped.
One fore end fits both barrels.
I thought that it would be nice to keep one scoped and keep this one with open sights.
$120 + sales tax.
How did I do ? ?

Ben

 

[9.3X62AL]

I think you did very well! I've never been much of a hand-rifle enthusiast, whether that meant Contenders or XP-100s. My rationale has been that the hand-rifles begged for a carry strap when afield hunting, just like a rifle......so why not just grab a rifle? Of course, the weight of my Redhawk 5.5" argues in favor of carry strap over holster, too. Consistency--the final refuge of the unimaginative.

That is NOT to say that a Contender in 357 Magnum has no utility--far from it. A 357 load at Doug Wesson-era pressures with a 180 grain flatnose could really churn up some velocity, and both the scope and the GREAT OEM iron sights can extract all the accuracy any load combination has to offer. That is a whitetail machine, sir.

 

[Ben]

My scoped 10" , 357 mag. barrel can tear up a 1" square at 100 yards with the right loads.

I hope that this " fix sight version " will be equally accurate.

Your right, 10" barrel and no cylinder gap can really generate some power down range.

Thanks AL,
Ben

 

[smokeywolf]

I'd sure hate to have to make that in the machine shop for $130.00.

 

[Ben]

Now.....I never thought of it like that.
You're right, that would be tough.

Anyone want to recommend a nice cast bullet load for my 1st range trip with this one ?

Ben

 

[Rick]

RCBS 180 silhouette or RCBS 200 gr FP, 15.5 gr H-110, CCI 550. A hard crimp is not needed, in fact no crimp is needed in the single shot though I did. Very uniform neck tension is mandatory, all brass fired the same number of times and sized the same number of times. Check the freebore in your barrels, Contender barrels aren't known as Linda Lovelace barrels for nothing. Many of those 357 mags have been turned into 357 Max because of the amount of freebore.

Bear in mind that while the OEM T/C sights are repeatable they are also very course. It was their downfall in silhouette competition, shoot under a 200 meter ram & go up 1 click and shoot over the next ram.

Yes, you did excellent. I just sold two contender barrels, both in 6.5 TCU, one 10 inch and one 14 inch for $225 but I sold them to a friend so. One had OEM sights and the other had no sights.

 

[JWFilips]

Gee Ben, I say you should march right down there and give the guy $100 more to save having a guilty
conscience !

 

[35 shooter]

Great catch Ben. That's a pair of bbls. i would love to have. Both of them should be deer and hog killing machines!

 

[Ben]

I'm looking forward to playing with these two.

Ben

 

[Brad]

No wonder I can't find a 357 mag barrel for mine.
I need to do more work with my 7 TCU barrel. Nothing quite as fun as a Contender.

 

[Ben]

These things " grow on you ".
They just end up coming home with you.
Sometimes, I feel helpless..............

Ben

 

[Brad]

Athletes foot grows on you too........

I'm a bit odd in that I will spend a bunch of money on some items then get cheap when lookng at other items. I have seen many Contender barrels I wouldn't mind having but didn't buy because I just didn't know if I could get that much use from the barrel.

 

[Pistolero]

Smokeywolf - I literally had to laugh out loud at your comment! I have done enough machine work to
really appreciate what you mean. I am slow, so it would be even sadder, as far as the $ loss selling
at that bargain price.

What a deal, Ben.

 

[carpetman]

Ben, unlike the other posters, I'll not spare your feelings, and will be blunt. You got ripped off. I hate to see a nice guy get ripped off, so I'll give you your $120 back and I'll be the one ripped off, I'm not a nice guy.

 

[Ben]

I took the 357 Mag. barrel to the range and shot it some.
I'm a happy camper ! !

Ben

 

[carpetman]

Ben, forget my generous offer. You shot the barrel and ruined the value. Now if you had shot targets, instead of the barrel, my offer would still stand.

 

[Ben]

Ya, this barrel is full of holes now.
It has one on each end.
Doubt you'd want it now.

Ben

 

[minmax]

What a great find!!!! I wish I could find a nice specimen like, at that price.