Any advice??

[okieshooter]

I am going to a huge gun show this weekend in search of a contender or encore pistol (small hands so probably contender), what advice can you guys give me on what to look for? G-2 better than the older ones? Caliber with recoil around that of the 30-30?( I have shot one of these before and was easily handled) What kind of price should I be able to find a good one? Any good info you can throw at me will help and be appreciated guys.

[southernutah]

Go to Ed's Contenders and you should get an idea of the current values.

[Keith L]

They are all good.  Find one you like and can afford then shoot the dickens out of it.

[Grumulkin]

I would also recommend Ed's Contenders.  Once you get his prices, you might forget about the gun show.

In my opinion, the older style of Contender has a trigger right out of the box that's excellent.  The older style is my choice over the G2 any day.

[Lager]

Myself, I perfer the ability to look/see/touch as compared to buying something on line.
Might pay a lil bit more at a gun show, maybe not and you dont have to deal with an FFL to pick it up. Its Yours, right now.
If you can't find the caliber you want? The receiver appears to be a good deal,buy it. No biggie, Look in the "For sale" part of this forum,you can always sell the barrel you have and buy or trade for something you want.
Personally, I would be exploring any local sort of forums with many "looking to buy" posts before I would venture into either a gun show or a web based seller.
Here is a good example, I know of a real nice Contender outfitted with a 45-410 barrel , hes a local guy and cant find anyone interested in buying it. Hes asking $275, now I dont want the barrel, but I figure I can sell it here for round $150. This means Im into the reciever, which is 'like new, for $125.
Look before you leap.

[P.A. Myers]

As mentioned, you are really only buying the receiver. Barrels and grips are easily bought/sold/traded. Only the frame requires an FFL for transfer.

30-30 is still cheap and available, as is 223

I prefer the early contenders unless shooting very powerful loads that a G-2 grip angle may help deal with recoil.

[okieshooter]

Well I went by Ed's at the gun show. I honestly think he had one of the busiest booths there. I told one of his guys what I was looking for and within minutes they had a G-2 frame (they had already done a trigger job on this frame) with pachy grips on it and a barrel to give me the feel of it. We then debated over calibers and I settled on the 30-30 for availability and price of ammo. They fixed me up with mounts and a 1.25-4 X 28 TC scope. They even filled out the paperwork, all but my name and address, for any rebates I was qualified for from TC. I am into it for $625, rebates will make it $575. I probably could have found it a little cheaper online but not sure of that and I felt good about supporting Ed as he is a sponsor here. Will report after shooting in a few days.

[Tommyt]

Congrats
you done Good
and you'll like it
the $$ difference is nothing
when you get just what you want
Enjoy
Tommyt

[blhof]

You'll love the 3030.  I've got the original Contender with a 14" comped barrel and it's been my main deer gun for the past few years.  The 3030 is easily capable of taking deer out to 150yds as mine has with quick kills.  The 1st rounds I shot through it were Federal 160's from Wally world and from a rest at 50 yds I got a 1" group so I was hooked.  Enjoy your new Tender.

[okieshooter]

Well I went and shot a couple times this evening. I shot it once standing to let my son see how BAD it kicked. He kinda giggled and said "Let me see that a minute" That is where I messed up, I handed it to him. We never tried to adjust the scope cause I could tell looking through the bore it was pretty close. He knelt and took a rest and busted a V-8 can at 25 yards. I was going to show him up and tried a plastic bottle at 50 and missed. This is where I messed up again, I gave the gun back to him and he busted it with his 1st try. It was hitting a little to the left(that is why I missed) so he held to the right side and hit it. He is 13 and weighs about 120 lbs. and handled this gun perfectly fine. I would recommend to anyone afraid of recoil. I can't wait to sight it in on paper to see what it will really do. Thanks for all the advice and help guys.