Let me start by saying I WAS a REVOLVER GUY! I love this gun! This is the first single shot handgun I've ever fired, and Im really impressed.
I bought just the frame from Cabelas, then ordered a 9" bull barrel in .41 Mag from MGM, mounted up a Leupold 2x in Weigand rings, then had Ken Kelly @ Magnaport work over the trigger, ... and boy is it a shooter. The 3 shot group in the pic was shot at 50 yards of a sandbag. I took it over to the rifle range and shot a 3" group at 100 yards. 2 shots were 1" apart, then I pulled the 3rd opening the group. And to think, with my open sighted handguns 45 yards used to be my max.
Whitetails beware this November!!! [img]http://www.handgunhunt.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=3345&ppuser=5335&sl=2[/img]

I've inserted pic wrong, but check out the braggin board, couple posted there.

They have always been accurate. If you are impressed with what a 41 Mag will do, get a 223 Super 14 to plink and varmint hunt with. You will need more glass than a 2X though.

Several years ago my brother got a 7x30 Waters barrel. We ran a bunch of 30-30 brass through the sizer, and then loaded it with the cheapest bullets we could find to fire form it, which happened to be a Pink box of Hornady 175 grain Round Nose marked in the $7 dollar a box range. It had been on the shelf forever. Anyway we took the scopes off, as we thought that many hard recoiling rounds might pound them a little more than they needed. (We had not had our contenders long at that time, now days I would not have worried about the Burris scope dieing early) We were just shooting over the TSOB scope base using a rock on the berm approximately 12 Inches square to aim at. After a few rounds we were both hitting the rock about 50% of the time, at 250 yards. With the 2 - 7X Burris scopes off a rest we would have made the rock into gravel at that distance.

The point is, if you get a barrel that shoots flat with some glass that tops out in the 6X to 12X range, add a Harris BR Swivel bipod and a Rear Bag, you will not believe what you can hit with a Contender.

And reviews like this is why I got the fever.

240,
Welcome to the SS world.
With glass and a nice set-up it does get easier to shoot further.
Congrats on your G-2 and your good group

I started out with revolvers, but w/ the unlimited power you can harness in a SS and the extra range of bottleneck rounds it would be hard for me to go back to wheel guns. You'll be hooked soon. Plus, you are able to change barrels and about 400 rounds to choose from. Single shots are hard to beat.

sounds like great setup 240gr. am sure will see pics of killed critters lol.

The Contender /G2 ,Encores are just plain sweet,pretty soon you'll have a room set aside in your home just for barrels!

http://www.handgunhunt.com/photopost/data/500/Picture_0071.jpg


Hey, I did it!

Thanks fellas. I need to get a bottlenecked cartridge barrel now. Whats a good one for deer? Light recoiling 250 yd max for the Contender?

7mm 08 or 308 would be great .but so many ..you got the fever now lol

The 7 tcu will get you to 200 yds, very mild in recoil.

The 7-08 and 308 Win are high pressure cartridges and will not work with the Contender. Work fine with the Encore though.
The 7x30 waters would be my favorite for the Contender.

you r right Ernie sorry 240gr.encore for big pressure but no rimfire. thanks ernie. 7/30 would be great low recoil. and some custom barrels out there to .

I really like the 300 Whisper! Perfect for deer & VERY, VERY low recoil.

I believe that the 7mm08 and the .308 are only available for the Encore.

For the Contender G2 which is what it looks like you have in the pic, I load a 140g Nosler Partition or BT, over IMR 4198, for a muzzle vel of 2140 fps(conf'd on my corno from my 14" barrel). It is superbly accurate and carries enough velocity out to 200 yrds to perform well terminally. Trajectory is 1.6" @ 100yrds, 0 @ 150 and -4.0" at 200yrds. This is a very mild round.

My buddy shoots a 14" Contender in 7x30 Waters and has taken numerous head of game (deer, antelope, and an exotic or two). I don't know the numbers for the round he uses, but it has always been effective for him.

I love my 7-30 waters in a 14in super. My 12 year old daughter shot a 1 7/8 in. 3 shot group at 200 meters with 120gn at 2550fps, and a nice little mulie buck at 125yds. The 30-30 brass is easy to find and one pass through the die and your ready to go. I got a 16 in barrel to go on a rifle stock for a while, and now hunt with a loooong SS. With 110gn Barnes TTSX I am getting 2700fps out of the 16. The 7TCU brass is a little more work but 223 is everywhere, and its easy to find a 7TCU barrel on the auctions for cheap. You can get a little more V with the 7-30 at 250yds, but the 7TCU is no slouch. So if your a red blooded americain...get both, life is short.

I have been using a 14" Contender 7-30 Waters for several years. It has accounted for numerous whitetail deer and exotics. The 120 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip over Varget or 748 is amazing. So far this season it has dropped two does. I have never lost an animal hit with it. The recoil is practically non existant. 7-30 brass is easily formed from .30-30 Winchester. Try it and you will be pleased.

Im hearing nothing but praise for the 7x30 Waters round. I think its going to be my first bottlenecked barrel. I've got a ton of 748 and Varget for my .223, and I like the fact I can buy brass ready to load.
On a side note, my .45 LC Encore barrel arrived from MGM the other day. I will post pics soon.

I had one for quite a few years, and one of the features I really appreciated is the plethora of available 7mm bullets. And due to other popular non-7mm magnum cartridges out there, there are plenty of bullets to choose from that will function correctly at reduced (non-7mm mag) velocity.

Craig

I prefer the .30-30 or the .30-30 AI in the Contender as a deer round. The 7-30 Waters is a little flatter shooting with most loads but if you need factory ammo the .30-30 is much easier to find and usually much cheaper and works fine in the Contenders I've tried it in.

Bob

With upir ramge limit you can't really go wrong with either the 7-30 Waters, .30-30 Winchester or the excellent .30-30 AI with the right bullet and load.

I have had all 3 and hunted with all 3 (plus some others) and all will cleanly take Whitetails with the right bullet. I think you'll be further amazed at the accuracy potential of a bottleneck cartridge in a Contender.

Good luck with your quest.

Larry

I am new to handgun hunting. I had the same discussion with this group and settled on the 7x30 waters. Love it

get yourself a 6.5 JDJ from SSK Industries and never look back.