What would you buy for target shooting,Contender only.

[Lager]

Ellis,When I bought my Contender used, it came with some different barrels. One of them was the 22 LR.
I gave it a try, I really didnt care for it much. It really wasnt all that accurate( my Ruger Charger will outshoot it badly) and shooting a 22 lr just really my idea of shooting? I enjoy the recoil, I enjoy the boom,enjoy the kick. Sorry, but a 22 just dosent float my boat.
But a good idea tho, Thanks for replying.

[Lager]

Bullseye, Thanks for posting that. Now I have something to compare to.
Come to find out, the hornet is actually a pretty accurate round.
I was reading an article in a recent Field and Stream magazine and they compared many of the high pressure hunting rifles that are available today.
The article was all about accuracy and barrel erosion from these high velocity rounds as compared to lower velocity and the differences in a long range test.
22-250 cal, barrel lost accuracy after 600 rounds if I remember correctly.
The 223 wasnt far behind it.
Seemed like the larger the caliber, the less the erosion and the longer the barrel would last.
Seems speed is the culprit.
The Hornet, being a bit slower might be more of an interest because Im a cheap SOB and tend to keep my stuff for a long time.

[giturgun]

222 Rem.  221 f ball   Would like to try a 20 based on the 221 or 222 .
  Had a 7 tcu , it was a good round , but I wanted a longer barrel . Itraded around and finally wound up with a 222 14 inch. Had a 223 stainless with break between these 2 barrels and it was a real dog. Forgot and shot a round with no muffs 1 time , 1 time only . Man that hurt.

WHAT SAY U

[SHOOTALL]

218 bee ( because it had not been listed ) , But really a 30-30 bbl would be good also . A rimmed cartg. is better in a contender , 30-30 is still reasonable in cost ans aval. and it is one of the most accurate in a contender . I had the 7X30 waters but ammo is more .

[Ladobe]

First choice... 6X47 (it's so easy can you really call this one a wildcat?).    All the advantages of an endless list of bullets that will buck the wind if needed.

Second... (and even easier), the one that ruled the roost for target and varmint shooting for decades, the 222 Remington.   I would pick this one every day and twice on Sunday over the 223 for target shooting.   

[mcwoodduck]

MC woodduck, I dont mind recoil at all. In fact, I enjoy it. Thats why I really didnt like my tc 22 barrel and sold it. I just dont like the crushing,bone jaring recoil like the 44mag produces

OK load a 180 grain bullet to 1,000 FPS or slower in your 44 mag.

[Lager]

 All you gents have thrown a whole lotta information at me about all sorts of calibers, this is what I wanted and I read everyones response and considered each one carefully and I appreciate the time every one took to give their opinions. I then did some PC work, calculated cost and availability of brass, bullet heads and new dies.
Then I did more research concerning accuracy from different sources, weighed in the the reloading complexity of each round, the cost of the completed round including consumables, like brass and heads and come up with this list.
Box stock standard 223
6MM TCU
7MM TCU, even tho stretching bass that far has got to cost me.
Lastly,
7-30 waters, this interests me greatly.Its made from discarded 30-30 cases I find at the range all the time. It punches big holes in targets( Like that, easier for me to see)
Feel free to tear up my choices and tell me Im wrong.

[lynneil]

14" 7TCU
10" or 14" .22 Hornet
14" .223

[sbhg]

22 LR   Mines a 12 inch from Bullberry it will  bulk pack Remington in to just under one inch. No recoil ,low noise level, and cheap

Even if you shoot Eley 10X, you can't find anything cheaper.

[bobg]

  Check out the 300-221. {300 Whisper]. I had one from Virgin Valley. With Cor-Bon factory ammo it would shoot one hole groups at 100 yards if i did my part. Also had a VV 221 Fireball. That shot very good also. Both were 14" barrels. Sold all my hand guns so i no longer own a Contender.
              bobg

[mcwoodduck]

I have a 223 Rem 14" barrel with a mounted scope and it is almost no fun to shoot as you throw out clays or potatos to 150 yards and it is Bang break or Bang Pop and there is a breif 3' white ball out there.  Recoil is acceptable.  And so far I have not missed a ground squirrel with it.  Even hit a charging one.  Ok he was not charging but was running for a hole I was behind but looked like he was making a Bonzai charge.
22 Hornet would another good one.
357 Mag shooting 38 Specials

[Lager]

 Made my decision,, a 223 barrel came up in the "for sale" section here.
I jumped on it!
So ,it looks like Im trying out the 223 for now. Need to get some dies,I already have some brass, dont know what the rate of twist of a Thompson barrel is yet. I can find that and decide on the correct weight of the bullet heads.
Look for another posting somewhere about your "pet" loads for the 223,like powder,primers and over all length suggestions.
Everyone here has been very helpful with your suggestions, I really appreciate it.

[sk330lc]

1-12" twist       40gr to 55gr pills    try the hornady 52gr A-max... 

[Bullseye]

I shoot Hornady 50 gr. V-Max with IMR 4198.

[sk330lc]

IMR4198, RL-7 and AA2230 are all good powders with 50 to 55gr pills in the 223 Rem.

[Lager]

Is it Ok to shoot military 5.56 ammo in the TC 223 barrel?
 Military ammo prices are pretty attractive when I can buy fully loaded cases for $7 per 20. This would build up my supply of brass but I dont want to hurt the gun at the supposed 60Kcup some/most 5.56 is being loaded to.
If I google 223 ammo, I get a lot of sites that offer ammo,but advertise the 223 and the 5.56 to be the same.
Some sites offer 223 ammo @ 1$ per round for 223, same sight offers other ammo interchangeable 223/5.56 for less money, but from a different manufacture.
I read a site that tells me, do NOT use mil spec ammo in a 223 chamber. Ok, I understand that.
So,how can I tell whats really 223 and whats 5.56 ? By the price ?
Im a lil confused.