There was some discussion in another thread about the merits of a 223 barrel in a contender platform. I have enough questions that I thought a separate thread would be more appropriate.

I shoot a lot of 223 in a bolt action rifle and enjoy the low recoil, cheap shooting and accurate package it offers. It's a 1 in 9 twist and shoots 40gn - 77gn equally well. I routinely shoot paper out to 220 and pdogs out to much farther.

Some of my questions are
1) would you recommend a contender or encore barrel? If contender, I have heard from a barrel maker that they didn't recommend high twist barrels due to possibility of frame damage. Do others have experience with that or advice to offer?

2) Factory twist is 1 in 12. I'm thinking that a custom 1:9 or 1:8 barrel would be more to my liking. As Bob Roach wrote in the other thread

I'm interested in this topic as well. I've been thinking about getting either a 22 Hornet or 223 barrel for my Encore for cheap target practice.

I have an older Contender in 223 with a 14 inch barrel. I love it. It does not have much recoil, shoots very flat, factory ammo is cheap, is very accurate and is just fun to shoot.

I have some 55 grain Barnes ammo I plan to try on a whitetail and or coyote this season.

Can not wait to see what it can do in the field!

I also have a 14" barrel in .223 for my T/C Contender. Great, great shooter. I use 40gr Vmax bullets and the accuracy is awesome.

For me , Contender MGM 8T 14-15.75 barrel
I would throat it for the 75 grain Max and it would be a great short, med, and LR set-up.

My favorite long range rig is at Contender, 14" .223 with an old Bushnell ScopeChief IV, 4x -12x riflescope with a BDC turret and AO. Mounts are SSK T'SOB. I have taken several groundhogs in the 300-325yd range. I have head shot quite a few at around 200yd or so. Killed a fall turkey at 200yd that was walking in open timber. I shot 2 pronghorn antelope does with it back in the 80s. One was a full penetration broadside double lung shot at 400 yards or so (DRT). Measured (after the shot) with a state of the art Ranging 1000, split image rangefinder! Who else has one of these tucked away in the closet?
With the BDC you just dial the range, point and shoot. Although you must allow for angle and wind drift.
I use a Heavy load of IMR 4895 with a Hornady 55 gr spire point. I am no bench rest competitor but this gun gets it done for me in the hunting field.
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I have a 14 inch Contender. Very accurate. I shoot 55 grain NBT in mine. This makes it legal to deer hunt with here.

If it was me I would go 8 twist and put enough freebore in it to load 69 SMKs on out there. You might get by with a 9 twist but if you decide to use the bigger bullets the 8 will give you some margin.

I would not do 10 or 12 unless you plan to shoot 50 gr or less.

Encore will be almost zero recoil. The contender will be much easier to handle.

I have a 12" factory Encore barrel. Not sure what the twist is on it though. With Fiocchi factory ammo and 50 grain V-max bullets I get 1 to 1.5" at 100 yards with a 2x6 scope. The 40 grain V-max Fiocchi does about the same. I bought a lot of this ammo cheaper then the cost of brass.

I have a 223 super 14 with a 4x tasco and it'll do 3/8 inch at 100yds with imr 3031 and a 55 vmax and 1/4 inch groups with 3031 and a 40 vmax. Barrels about an inch in diameter. Wicked on squirrels out to 150 little bit much drop to get the head reliably past that.

Thanks for the feedback folks.
I'll put a 1 in 8 twist 15.875 contender barrel with a long throat on the short list.
karl