I have a 14 inch factory Contender barrel with a muzzle brake that I?m tired of fighting. I?ve always thought about sending it to SSK to rechamber to 358 JDJ, but after following JDK?s recent experiences, i?m interested in hearing about other options. Do you guys have any recommendations for cartridges and shops to do the work?

Thanks in advance,

Harold

What are you fighting it about?

Things can happen to anybody or any product, but you do not hear very many bad things about SSK.

If the barrel is giving you those kinds of fits...Sell it!
Start over with something you want.

I had two issues. One was an issue with the plating, which was a freak deal I believe. That said, if SSK would have tested The chamber using a dummy round, they would have caught that before it cost me extra time and money. The second was SSK not providing me with pertinent info in the beginning. I think it'll be fine now that I've just received my RP brass, though I haven't had time to do more than unbox it. I think SSK's customer service is\was lacking, but I've done the tough part (the teeth pulling to get the info). Just know you MUST use RP or Hornady brass and have to seat the bullet in further than with their older chambers.

Other options are the 358 Bellm and maybe the 35 Rimmed using 303 British cases.

I agree with Ernie. I would sell it and order what you want from someone like MGM for example. It will most likely save you a lot of hassle in the long run.

I would think a 358W would clean up a 35R chamber and a 35 whelen certainly would.

Encore yes Contender no

Sell the barrel and get a 12? 357 Maximum from Match Grade Machine in Hurricane, Utah.

I have 3 barrels from MGM. Very happy with their work.

Send it to Mike Bellm. He can turn it into his .358 Bellm chambering. Just an option. And no custom dies needed. Good luck.

John Harris

For the price of the new chamber, I'd sell that barrel and purchase a new one as well. You'll probably be close in cost anyway as long as you don't go wild with the new barrel. MGM makes a fine tube.

When I built rifles, I did a few rechambers. They shot well enough, but the time and money spent would have gotten me a decent tube in the caliber I wanted.

Never did see a response from the OP as to what was actually wrong with his .35 Remington barrel. The old 35 is a great cartridge as is, and is just getting better with age. If it is an older factory barrel with the extraction problem. The .35 Remington rimmed will fix the problem. Fred Smith (Bullberry) rechambered mine years ago, and I have had no problems since.

Thanks for all the responses guys. I have been experiencing trouble with this barrel misfiring with handloads, to the point I can?t trust it in a hunting situation. A while back, I bought a box of Hornady Leverevolution cartridges to give factory loads a try. I finally had a chance to shoot them two weeks ago and they all fired without any misfires, but I had to quit shooting after a few rounds because the gun locked-up and was extremely difficult to open after each round. Initially I thought they were locking the gun due to pressure and that?s when I was ready to give up on it.

Fast forward to yesterday and I was out sighting in a few other barrels using the same frame. I shot 30 herrett, 25 Bullberry Improved and 7-30 waters as normal. Switched to a 357 herrett barrel and same thing; locked up tight. Reinstalled the 30 herrett barrel and shot it again without issue. I installed the 357 herrett on a different frame and everything was just fine. What would cause a frame to behave like this?

I?m a fan of 35 caliber cartridges and i?d really like to have something that could stretch it?s legs so-to-speak. I recall the reading about the 358 Bellm back in the day, but couldn?t find any references to it or rechambering work on their website. I could sell it, but I really want to make this barrel a keeper. Still haven?t ruled out going the 358 JDj route. I?ve wanted one for years!

I?ll have some over the next couple of weekends to try the 35 rem barrel on my other frame with Leverevolutions. It will be interesting to see how that works out. I still have a lot to learn about Contenders........

I finally got to run some rounds through my JDJ barrel today and it shot great. I was just working up to the load I wanted to use and wasn't in a position to really test accuracy, but it was shooting very well. With a lousy rest and shooting at a circle I made with a sharpie which was about 2.5 inches across, it was dropping every load (3 to 4 rounds per charge weight) into an inch or less at 25 yards. I have no doubt this barrel will out shoot me.

I wanted a 358 JDJ for a long time and I'm glad I've got one now. As I said earlier, just use RP brass and you'll be good to go. The turn around from SSK is pretty fast.