14" vs. 10" barrels

[Arkinsaw Huntr]

I've always liked the 10" Contender over the 14". Lighter, better balance, more easily carried and I just think it looks better... so I bought a 14" .375 Winchester hunter barrel.

 At first it seemed long and slightly unweildy for offhand shooting. I take a rest of some kind when possible but it's not always possible.

The first day I carried it deer hunting I had two coyotes come up to me while I was walking into the woods. I drew the big handgun and waited for the best shot knowing that I would only get one chance. They were preoccupied by a dead animal on the ground.

At 40 yards one presented a good broadside shot. Offhand, I pulled the trigger and the coyote went down. I was surprised to see the other dog trotting towards me with its head swiveling around. As I chambered another 220 gr. Hornady the second coyote spotted me and turned inside out going the other way. Unfortunately for her she stopped at 40 yards to look back at her partner who was on the ground. Bam, she hit the deck hard. Way too easy.

After shooting this barrel for a while my thoughts are I still like the 10" over the 14" for handling. The 14" can be shot offhand OK but it takes a little more practice. The 220 gr at 1900 fps is really hard on coyotes.

I better get a few more of these 14" barrels to try. I want to give them a fair chance. What do ya'll think?

[alan in ga]

being a 'full' diameter barrel will probaby make a 'best of both worlds' barrel. Even the Contender 10" "Bull" barrels are tapered a bit. The 14" seem to be cylindrical.

[Ken55]

14 inch barrels in straight walled cartridges (357 Mag, 44 Mag, 45 Acp, generally show an increase of 15-25 fps per inch & bottle-neck cartridges (223,30-30 etc)35-50 fps per inch over a 10" barrel.  With that all said I think barrel length is a personal preference. I prefer 14 & 16 inch barrels, but that is my personal preference.  To each his own....Ken

[Bullseye]

I have a whole pile of ten inch barrels in what I will call standard handgun calibers.  I always prefered the 10"ers which is why I went this way for years.  I now have 14"s (375 and 30-30).  I bought them because in my opinion they are the only way to go to get some good performance out of the big cases.  I have also started to like them more and more.  Shooting offhand I am still better with the 10"ers but I shoot the 14"ers just about as well any more.  That is what is great about a Contender, you can trade barrels and try different things.  I might just try that 375 on the deer this weekend.

[Ladobe]

I've come a long way in my preferances having shot Contenders for something like 33 years.   I really hated the early short octagons - still don't much care for them, but they have their place I guess.   Shortest tubes I like are full bull 12", but prefer 14-15" even for off-hand shooting/hunting.   Never cared for the 16's, but now I have added a bunch of carbine length (20" full bulls) after not caring about the carbines for so many years.   After owning over 90 factory barrels, I now prefer customs only, and wildcats only.   So, I guess this is a long way of saying that your desires will change over the years... just go with your whims and have as much fun with them as I have for so many years.

Ladobe  :bye:

[C A Plater]

For walking about I have a preference for the 10 inch class barrels.   In a stand or blind I like the longer ones.   I find the 14 plus size somewhat unwieldly on foot but with a hand rest, they are just fine.   Caliber has an effect on what length I buy.  I am currently down to just one 14 inch in .35 Remington and a 16 inch .223 and I don't think they would work very well as a 10 inchers while a .45 Colt or .357 hardly needs more.    This is all a matter of personal prefernce and the size that you have confidence in is the one you should use.   That I think is one of the great things about Contenders is that it lets you explore the different sizes because one size does not fit all.