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Old March 27, 2013, 08:08 AM   #1
Nathan
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Contender Barrel Project

Hello, my creation juices are flowing, but just a bit! I have a SSK Contender in 375 JDJ. It is a big boomer and quite accurate.

I would like to have a little brother barrel made for it. I would like to do something a bit different. I'm looking for a super accurate 22 or 6mm caliber which runs 2800 - 3500 fps in light for caliber FB bullets. It should have cases and dies available for a reasonable price or be relatively easy to form. I would like it to have a parent case which is here to stay...oh yea, and no $200+ die sets.

I'm stuck on:
219 Donaldson Wasp
6mmx30-30AI
6x47 Lapua
222 Rem Mag
204 Ruger
223 Rem tight neck

Any other ideas?

BTW, I'm thinking about a 12-15" match grade bull barrel Contender pistol barrel as the base here.

If you've done something like this, tell me how it's working our.

Also, this is for shooting paper at 100 and 300 yards.

Last edited by Nathan; March 27, 2013 at 11:05 AM.
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Old March 27, 2013, 08:18 AM   #2
Brian Pfleuger
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.243AI

243Win brass, Lee collet die for 243Win, Redding body die for 243AI, ready to roll.
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Old March 27, 2013, 09:37 AM   #3
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A .204 Ruger barrel is in my future. Wonderful cartridge and one that will stick around.
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Old March 27, 2013, 10:37 AM   #4
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if you are going to use a contender barrel I would use the 6 x 47. little to no recoil and very accurate. also look at the TCU rounds such as the 6.5 mm or 6 mm.
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Old March 27, 2013, 11:04 AM   #5
Nathan
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I don't think a 243AI operates at Contender pressures.

204 Ruger would be easy, but if this think really shoots, I would like to try 22 or 6mm bullets from a true BR source.
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Old March 27, 2013, 11:18 AM   #6
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6mm TCU
6mm X 45

both were standardized & I have barrels in each ( the 6 X 45 is a custom barrel ) I'm not sure which would be easier to get dies for ???

BTW... how about 7-30 Waters... can shoot factory rounds with the flat point bullets, but it really comes into it's own if you throw some mid to light weight pointed boat tail bullets in that case... used to take that barrel P Dogging, & had hits out to 300ish yards with a 15" Barrel

BTW... 6.8 SPC might be worth mentioning ( got a carbine barrel in that caliber, though I've yet to wring it out )
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Old March 27, 2013, 11:26 AM   #7
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Looking through my barrel list...

17 Hornet, 17 Fireball, or 17 Remington
221 Fireball
my 222 Remington is one of my most accurate ( don't think I'd do the magnum, since it's so close to the 223 )
My custom 1 in 9" twist 223 works really well ( standard barrels are slower twist )

BTW... my 6 X 223 is an SSK barrel
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Old March 27, 2013, 11:41 AM   #8
Brian Pfleuger
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nathan
I don't think a 243AI operates at Contender pressures.

204 Ruger would be easy, but if this think really shoots, I would like to try 22 or 6mm bullets from a true BR source.


.204Ruger is 58,000psi, 243Win is 60,191, 243AI is listed by QuickLoad at 55,000 though there is no SAAMI standard and T/C themselves sell barrels for 6.5Rem Mag, 65,000psi.
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Old March 27, 2013, 12:18 PM   #9
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are you talking contender barrels or encore barrels with that much pressure? an encore barrel will handle the pressure but there isn't way I would shoot a round that much pressure with that case head area in a contender barrel.
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Old March 27, 2013, 12:32 PM   #10
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You may want to check these guys out. They offer barrels in more calibers.

http://www.eabco.com/cntndr01.html#MadeToOrder

My dad has two of their pistols chambered in 7mm US and 6.5 BRM. I haven't had a chance to play around with those yet, but I've read nothing but good things about them.
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Old March 27, 2013, 12:55 PM   #11
Brian Pfleuger
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Quote:
are you talking contender barrels or encore barrels with that much pressure? an encore barrel will handle the pressure but there isn't way I would shoot a round that much pressure with that case head area in a contender barrel.
Check out T/Cs list of barrels. 256Win Mag, 6.5mm Rem and others.
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Old March 27, 2013, 01:25 PM   #12
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TC

Check out Mike Bellm for Contender ideas.
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Old March 27, 2013, 01:30 PM   #13
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BRIAN... I'll be the 1st to admit I'm not a "rocket scientist", but my understanding, is the bigger the case head, the lower pressure the gun can handle ( there is a formula for that stuff ) & 243 AI would ( in my understanding ) be too much pressure for the case head size...
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Old March 27, 2013, 01:43 PM   #14
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7 TCU has won everything there is to win in handgun shoots. Its also very easy to load and has case life that is amazing.
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Old March 27, 2013, 01:49 PM   #15
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the problem is with the case head size and pressure. you can get a 45-70 in a contender barrel but the pressure is low enough that it isn't a problem. you take the 357 max which is a high pressure round but the small case head size and that is not a problem. you take the 243 case head size and high pressure you will have a problem. a contender barrel is .812 diameter and subtract the .473 head size and that leaves the chamber walls quite thin. if your barrel manages to survive that over a period of time , the chances are very good that you will bend the hinge pin and that is another real bad thing. I have seen bent hinge pins from people that shot a LOT of heavy recoiling 44 mag , 30-30 and 357 Herrett loads. My opinion is that the contender ain't quite as strong as everybody makes it out to be and should rely more on just having the longer barrel for the increased performance.

Last edited by steveno; March 27, 2013 at 03:04 PM.
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Old March 27, 2013, 02:25 PM   #16
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Maybe a little off course here but what about a .223 or 6mm based of of the .357 Max case?
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Old March 27, 2013, 03:05 PM   #17
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Its my opinion that anything based off the 223 case is perfect for the contender design. I like the 7 TCU best out of all the chamberings I have owned or seen. I sold all others and have one 10 inch and one 14 inch 7TCU barrels.

With larger case head sizes some people index the round by marking the back of the head and putting that up top on each loading of a round. This is due to the angle of the head after firing. The 223 based rounds do not need this even though some folks still do it.
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Old March 27, 2013, 03:15 PM   #18
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I'm talking about Contender not Encore.

In addition, I don't want to go as big as 243 AI. I'm thinking more 17 rem, 223, etc power levels,

I'm also kind of thinking 17 HMR, probably not though, because reloading is a big part of shooting for me.
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Old March 27, 2013, 03:16 PM   #19
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I'm pretty sure the .243 class of cartridges is not acceptable in the Contender/G2 Contender platform.
As stated before, nearly anything using the .223 head size is acceptable, or the larger, but lower pressured cartridges like the .30-30 and .45-70.
TC lists the 6.8 Rem, but not the 6.5...

Personally, I'd go with either the .204 Ruger, or the .221 Fireball. I think (haven't verified) the Fireball will get almost the same velocities as the .223 out of the 15" barrels, but will use less powder to do so.
Both of those are factory cartridges, so dies shouldn't be a problem.
If you are just wanting something different, I'd look at one of the .17's... like the .17 MachIV, or even the little .17 K-Hornet, or the new factory duplicate... what's it called... the .17 Hornady Hornet? Something like that.
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Old March 27, 2013, 03:35 PM   #20
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to translate this a bit... really any of the cartridges that can be chambered in a standard AR 15 style rifle can be chambered in the Contender, but not any of the cartridges that chamber in the larger AR 10 style rifle

so that leaves some interesting new cartridges like 6.8 SPC, etc....

I always wanted to try a 300 Whisper...or something similar
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Old March 27, 2013, 03:54 PM   #21
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Try a 6mmBR - one of the mildest and most accurate cartridges out there. Folks have wildcatted the BR series from 22 through 30. My XP-100 in 7mm was scary accurate
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Old March 27, 2013, 08:21 PM   #22
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6mm BR is a no-no in the Contender. Too much case head thrust as others have already mentioned. About the only .308 case head size that's useable in the Contender is the 45 Auto or the Winchester 45 Mag.
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Old March 27, 2013, 08:34 PM   #23
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222mag improved will give you just a hair more speed than the 223 AI. You want a hot 6 you'll have to go full wildcat but you seem comfy with that. 6mm Bullberrry would get you there. I'm sitting here now mulling over ordering a 219 zipper.
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Old March 28, 2013, 12:16 AM   #24
Nathan
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It is really all about bolt thrust which is the force against the bolt or action face due to the pressure exerted on the ID of the case head +/- a few other factors.

So, since 6 PPC is too much, 6 BR would be also. Good cartridge though.

Anybody have experience with 219 Donaldson Wasp specifically? I think that could be the one!
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Old March 28, 2013, 07:29 AM   #25
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Brass forming may be a pain but EABCO sells brass for 89/100. The 6mm Donaldson wasp is also interesting.
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