First post here, joining in from Missouri.

Anybody using an 8" barrel on a Contender in either 357 Maximum or 41 Mag?

I am thinking about adding a pistol barrel to my frame and maybe trying my hand at a handgun buck this fall. Had been thinking of something In the 12-14" range but starting to think shorter is better since ranges in the timber will never be over 50 yards and most likely half that distance 99% of the time.

If you have one of these how do you like it and would you go with a 10" or longer barrel if you were to do it again?

Welcome to the forum, I'm from MO also. I've always thought the 8" heavy Contender barrels were kind of funky looking, wish they still made the octagonal barrels. Out to 50 yards it should be more than adequate and also easy to carry. What kind of sight system are you planning on using.

Welcome! I think a 8" would work great in either cartridge. I would use a heavy barrel to help with balance and muzzle flip. Post some pics if you get one made.

For straightwall pistol cartridges I prefer a shorter barrel, 10" at the most. The bigger the bore, the better as you aren't penalized as much in terms of velocity. A 45 Colt in a shorty is about perfect, IMO, provided you handload. Otherwise a 41 would be nice as well. Recoil can get a bit snappy with higher end loads, the 44 mag one of the worst in that dep't.

Welcome to HHM, Mo

I don't have experience with an 8" tube, but I have taken a number of Texas White tail and hogs with my 10" .41 magnum. With sandbags on a blind window 100 yards isn't unreasonable. I find that any barrel longer than 10" feels unwieldy to me unless I have a really solid shooting platform. Be careful though, contender barrels have an odd way of multiplying. One day you'll open your safe and find half a dozen perfectly good deer hunting barrels and not be able to decide which one makes it to the blind.

Either red dot or a reflex sight if the reflex can handle the recoil.

Found some octagon barrels on Ebay. Maybe a light caliber in one would be nice. Little 222 or Hornet.

That's the plan!!!!

Are there other loads?!?!?!?!?!?

Welcome to the site! I don't have an 8" barrel but I have several 10" barrels. A Contender with a 10" barrel is pretty much the same length as a 7.5" Super Blackhawk. IMO a 10" barrel is well balanced. You also get higher velocities than the revolver which is a plus.

Hi and welcome. I recently ordered a 9" 357 Encore barrel from MGM. I went with 9" as it just protrudes past my Pachmayr forearm. I have an UltraDot red dot on it. So far I have only shot a few loads out to 50 yards. They all did about 1.5" at fifty so far. I think with more practice I can tighten those up.

I think you will be happy with an 8" in either 357 mag or max. Either will fine for deer as would the 41.

My shortest barrels are 10 in so cannot comment on the 8 in. With that said I have never felt hampered with a 10 in as it handles, carry's and shoots well. Above 10 in they start to get harder to hold and shoot off hand for me, off a rest they are great.We don't know your level of expertise with handguns or tolerance to recoil so I will add,[no offence intended] what ever you get do not over gun yourself and practice, practice, practice!Pachmeyr grips and fore end are always a good addition as they make the gun more shootable and comfortable .

Used to have a 10" Bull 44 mag. While I wasn't afraid of the recoil I always thought it was too much recoil for what it was. My Super Redhawk wasn't nearly as bad.

Kind of why I am leaning 357 Max, 41 or as mentioned above I may even consider a 45 Colt, minimum recoil for amount of killing power.

All loads will be home rolled.

Interesting topic!

I think my next barrel will be an 8-10" 10mm topped with an UltraDot.

I much prefer a rimmed case in the Contender. Cases normally drop right out when you tilt the gun back. With a rimless case you have to pull them over the extractor. With a closed system like the Contender you get all the horsepower the cartridge has with no cylinder gap to bleed off pressure.As with any gun when you go up in speed or bullet weight more recoil comes with it. Pachmayr tamer grips are a very worthwhile addition.

I've got a 10" Max and a 10" .22. I feel 10" barrels balance the best. It's very easy to shoot off hand, as well as an increase in velocity vs a 8" barrel.

I had an 8.5" barrel on an encore frame in 480. That sucker was nasty in the recoil department, and didn't balance worth a darn.

10" is the way to go, in my opinion. A 357 Max would be hard to beat for what you want.

My very first big bore handgun (1977) was a Contender 44Magnum octagon barrel with a Hot Shot external choke. With the choke removed the barrel is 8" long (ballistics wise its 7" as there is an inch of muzzle back bore for the Hot Shot ports. At the time this was my 1 gun solution to being a handgun hunter. I Shot squirrels, pheasants, and several whitetail deer with it. Very snappy recoil with a 240 grain hunting load. It holsters like a 6" 357 Mag revolver with the tiny old school octagon forend. It still has better velocity than a 44 revolver with the solid breech. I still have this barrel and will occasionally carry it as my backup gun in a shoulder holster. If you Don't mind the recoil, an 8" straight wall barrel with a dot sight would be a great woods gun. It's similar to shooting a 4" model 29 with heavy loads.

Leaning 357 Max right now and will probably end up 10" or so.

I have had several 10 inch factory T/C Contender barrels, and have numerous S-14s. The 10s never seemed muzzle heavy enough to hang on the target, and the 14s of course are too heavy. This of course is for off hand work, not where you have the ability to support the forend with something. I have come to the conclusion that for me, the 12 inch bull is ideal. For the occasional off hand shot it balances very well and for the supported shot it works just as well. New 12 inch T/C barrels in 357 mag are available on Gunbroker for about $250, and will give you more than enough power for deer and most hogs. You shouldn't have any trouble getting 1500 to 1600 fps with 180 grain XTPs using handloads. Just my 2 cents.

357 max sounds like a lot of fun. Never shot one, but wouldn't pass up a deal on a used one.

I shoot a 10" 44 in a contender, as said it is a handful but performs awesome, I would not hesitate to get a 10" 357 max to ad to my collection, 45 colt either.