Well anxious to see how 2.5 inches more barrel will help my 44 loads.
Will be more like 1" more barrel cause when you remove that choke you will effectively lose that last 1-1/2" of barrel as far as ballistics are concerned. Those Hotshot barrels often shoot bullets rather well, of course with the choke removed ;-)
The closed breech of the Contender itself will improve peformance over a revolver.