Sidewinder

I went back 15 pages, and couldn't find any post on reloading .22 Hornet, so I hope I'm not duplicating and thread. If so, moderators please move my post to the proper thread or delete it.   I'm not new at reloading, but have never reloaded something as small as the .22 Hornet. So, I'm trying to get started off right, and have a few questions. I've done some research, and found out some information, but hoped other .22 Hornet re-loaders would talk about their "experience" with this interesting little cartridge. Here's some of my questions to get us started: 1. Do you use small rifle primers, or small pistol primers? 2. What powder do you use? 3. What are you shooting your rounds from? 4. What is a good range to count on, in yards, in real woods hunting situations? 5. What game do you use the .22 Hornet for hunting? 6. What do you figure it's costing per round to reload? 7. Where do you get your brass? 8. Do they make 'bottle-neck" dies in carbide...such as the .22 Hornet? 9. Do you "full length" re-size every time ? 10. What are your dos and don'ts about re-loading the .22 Hornet?   Thanks for your time.  

That would be a good pic to post on here, Glenn. Was that a 10" or a 14" barrel?

I was at a range once where someone was shooting a short barreled AR in .223, and it was uncomfortable to everyone at the range! I think I'll definitely pass on the 10" .223.

No problem... if you think you're confused about all of this, imagine what a newbie to the Contender world thinks! I want to stay within the confines of "all" laws, but explore the TC Contender world also. I was hoping I could snag a 14" Contender barrel in .223 for less than $200...in used condition.

Thanks for the input Dolomite. I think you're right about the 10" barrel. I think I remember a short barrel .223 being shot at the range, and it was very noisy. I'm not sure about the base on the 14", but will ask. I had another person, on another site, tell me he had a 16" barrel in a .223... but said it was not for sale. Any experience with the 16"? Where does it go from being a pistol barrel to being a rifle barrel...21" or so?

Here's the offers I have:   10" .223 with sights...$150 Super 14" heavy barrel, scope base, no sights, with wood forearm... $225   Obviously, both are used barrels. Which one should I buy...or neither? Thanks for your help.

Anybody got experience in shooting .223 Rem out of a 10" barrel? What kind of groups can be expected...from the barrel, not the shooter? Thanks.

I'm pretty sure I could use a .223 barrel on my older Contender frame, if I had one. But, is a .30-30 barrel ok to be shot from the earlier Contender frame. I don't have one of those either, but I don't want to buy a barrel that is unsafe to shoot on my Contender frame. I read on some forum that the older Contender frames would "stretch" if a too big a round was fired in them. I'm just trying to be safe. I don't have any extra hands or eyes that I could spare...do without!

Thanks for the link Dolomite, and for the other information. Like I said, I'm a newbie at the TC Contender, and as such, do not know what can and what cannot be shot from the older Contender frame. Above all else, I want to be safe, and stay within the limits of the older Contender frame. Is there a list somewhere that tells what barrels can be shot on the older Contender frame? Mine looks new...but only has a five digit serial number!

  Thanks, I'll do some more research.  

Sorry to be so uniformed, but I brand new to the TC line of handguns. Only had mine two days. I didn't see too many 10" barrels on the sites you posted. Are they old school...kinda like the 68 Buick?

Thanks, you might be right about the .308 only being Encore. How about the .30-30... probably not in a Contender, huh? What is a good deer round that you know for sure works in the older Contenders? Thanks.

I've been thinking about getting a 10" .223 barrel for  my older model Contender. In researching this possibility, comparing prices and such, I ran across a troubling post on one of the forums. The poster was complaining that the .223 Rem., when fired from a 10" barrel, was key-holing at 100 yards. I read further discussion that said that the .223 should not be fired from any barrel shorter than 12", and preferably 14" - 15" barrels.   Has anyone on here had experience shooting the .223 out of a 10" barrel on paper, so they would be able to detect any key-holing? Has anyone else experienced this? Because, like Sheriff Buford P Justice in Smokey And The Bandit, I was in hot pursuit...of a .223  10" barrel, until I read this, which caused me to throw the brakes on real quick. I guess a person would almost have to be shooting paper to detect it key-holing.   I'm also considering a .308... probably in a 14" barrel, but was wondering if it might have the same problem in a shorter barrel? Thanks.

Will the barrel have "Contender" stamped on all Contender barrels? I was hoping to find one locally, in used condition, at a fair price. What do you think a used one could be bought for locally? I've gone to Ed's site, but no reply! Thanks.

I think this may be a Weaver type. It doesn't look like the "U" style you mentioned.   When buying barrels for the earlier models (1969), how do you know if the barrel will fit and function properly? I wouldn't mind having a .223 or .30-30 barrel for mine.

Thanks for the links Dolomite. I have the factory style setup scope rail, I think. Like I told Westwindmike, I'll leave the scope, and the barrel pinfor that matter, until I have some experience with it on paper, in the woods, and just plinking. Thanks again.

Thanks for your reply Westwindmike. I got the idea of the over sized hinge pin from a website that may have prompted some of that controversy. When it comes to guns and gun owners, there's no shortage of personal opinions...and that's a good thing.   Even though it's pretty heavy, I'll leave the scope on it until I get some personal experience with it. Thanks again.

I've been on some of the Contender forums, and have read about using an oversize hinge pin to improve accuracy. My barrel wiggles a little when it is open. Is this normal, or a sign of wear. indicating I should consider going to an over-sized hinge pin? I think I read that they were only a little over $6 each. Anyone replaced theirs? Did it improve accuracy, so that you could notice? Mine is tight when it locks up.   Mine has a Tasco "Pro Class" 4x30 scope on it. Is this a decent scope for the .22 Hornet barrel, or should I take it off and put an iron rear sight on this barrel? Anyone have any experience with this scope/barrel set-up? Thanks.

Thanks, I'm a newbie to Contenders. Just got mine yesterday, but have been happy that people will share their knowledge of them. A person can read books, and do research on the net, but the guy that has owned them for a while, and experienced the problems or enjoyed the performance, can speak of them with accurate facts. I've learned... in one short day, that the earlier models had a severe problem with being hard to open. I've been trying to lubricate the locking tang/bolt, and roller, and exercise it to see if it helps...and it seems to have helped some. Dolomite said the twin tang/bolt and shortening the spring helps. Have you had any experience with this problem?

Onemancoyote, sorry... I didn't mean to pry. I thought maybe you hunted coyotes with a Contender, which I thought I might do, if I get the chance. I guess the .22 Hornet might be a little lite for that though. I've always wanted to bag a yote. It would be especially nice to bag one with a Contender.

Dolomite, it sounds like you've already been down the road I'm heading down. I just checked, and you're right, I have the one piece locking lug. Do you know if Brownell's sell the twin locking lugs, how about Thompson? Any idea on the price?   In the meantime, I'll try the other things you've suggested. Do you know of anyone that  had their frame modified to the easy open configuration? Does this require changing the trigger group, or can it be modified too? Is all of this "cost prohibitive"... as in, maybe cheaper to just replace the frame?   I just got my Contender yesterday, and have been busy rounding up .22 Hornet ammo. Traded a member on a local site 100 rounds of .22LR for a box of 50, older Winchester Super X, .45 gr. soft point, .22 Hornet last night.   Thanks for your help in sharing the information you already have experience with. After all of this dust up over hard opening Contenders, it set me to thinking...it's amazing how much we think we know from "researching" before we buy a gun, and how much we learn in a short time after actually buying a gun!

Onemancoyote, this one sure has me baffled. Sometimes it's hard...extremely hard to open. But if I just close it gently until it snaps shut, I can open it fairly easy time after time. I've taken the barrel off a couple of times to operate the trigger guard as if I'm opening the barrel...and it feels rough, gritty, and sort of like it wants to hang on something.   Fifteen more barrels, you say! Actually, I wish I did have one in .223, and maybe one in .30-30. I have a Blackhawk in .357 mag., so I'm covered there. Do all barrels come with rear sights? I didn't get a rear sight with this one, as it's scoped. Are all of the rear sights the same, and what is an approx. cost for one? Thanks again for your help.   Oh yea...with the user name you have... do you coyote hunt with yours?

Thanks, mine pivots from the front of the triggerguard, and it takes both hands to open it.

Dolomite, mine has a screw like part in the hammer, that is rotated 180 degrees to hit the other firing pin. It's built with one half of the screw head lower than the other half. I'm not sure if I have one tang or two, as I'm brand new to the Contender. Can I see the tang with the barrel open, or do I have to remove the grip? Thanks for your help.

Thanks to all who have responded and shared their knowledge on the Contender.   I did some "horse tradin'" and wound up with one chambered in .22 Hornet, which is one of the calibers I was interested in. Haven't shot it yet... still rounding up ammo that won't break the bank. I plan to start reloading the .22 Hornet as soon as I get a set of dies for my Rock Chucker. Right now the Contender is "extremely" hard to open the barrel...it takes two hands! It feels like something solid is blocking the trigger guard that releases the barrel. Has anyone ran into this before... and if you did, what does it take to fix it? Is something loose in my gun? There's no way this should be this hard to break open. I'm a Contender newbie... but anyone would know that this is not just stiff, or hard to open, there's something not right going on here. Thanks in advance for your help.