Super 14 vs Carbine/Rifle

[teamnelson]

I've had Contenders and Encores in pistol and rifle off an on for years. Presently I'm down to a G2 pistol and a few 10" barrels, which have typically been my favorite to shoot. I've been thinking about setting up a rifle again in .223 and 30-30, but I'm noticing 21" barrels are rare, and 14" are everywhere so it got me thinking about maybe going 14" ... which I've never tried before. I'm worried about balance, and if iron sights are as useful on 14 as most seem to be scoped. And how do you field carry? Holster or sling? Anybody

In .223, how would you characterize the difference between a Super 14 and a 16" or 21"? I've had a 10", 16 and 21 in my life before. I'll primarily be shooting factory and some milsurp 5.56.

In 30-30, how would you characterize the difference between a Super 14 and 16" or 21" I've had only a 10", and I'm familiar with 30-30 in a 20" on a Marlin. This will be mostly handloads, cast bullets.

Your opinions would be most welcome!

[Lon371]

 I can not compare a Super to the carbines. I do have a Super 14 in a .357 max. I am not much of a handgun shooter. Thinking really hard about having it streched to 16 1/4 so I can use as a carbine.
 
 As far as carry, I carry mine in a shoulder holster or in hand depending on circumstances.
 
Lonny

[Curtis]

I'm worried about balance

With my 10" barrels I can palm the bottom of the grip with my off hand and feel steady.  Not so with the 14" barrels where I feel I need to hold the forend in order to be steady ..........and even then I would rather be on a bench or in a box stand with a good rest for the 14" barrel.  In pistol format I much prefer the short barrels, although I do have several 14" barrels and enjoy them.

And how do you field carry? Holster or sling?

I holster the 10" barreled Contender for field carry.  I haven't yet field carried a 14" one.
 
Curtis
 

[David D.]

I've been thinking about setting up a rifle again in .223 and 30-30, but I'm noticing 21" barrels are rare, and 14" are everywhere so it got me thinking about maybe going 14" ...

In .223, how would you characterize the difference between a Super 14 and a 16" or 21"?

A 14" barrel on a rifle if you get caught can get you a heavy fine and several years in the big house!!!!!!

Now if you want to put an extension in whats considered a permanent  way on a 14" barrel and make it 16" or longer you will be legal.

[teamnelson]

I've been thinking about setting up a rifle again in .223 and 30-30, but I'm noticing 21" barrels are rare, and 14" are everywhere so it got me thinking about maybe going 14" ...

In .223, how would you characterize the difference between a Super 14 and a 16" or 21"?

A 14" barrel on a rifle if you get caught can get you a heavy fine and several years in the big house!!!!!!

Now if you want to put an extension in whats considered a permanent  way on a 14" barrel and make it 16" or longer you will be legal.

Thank you, that's not what I intended. Just a long barreled pistol ... that's the crux of the decision - long barreled pistol or rifle.

[skarke]

Team Nelson,
David is right.  16.25 is a common carbine length (16 plus a little for a faulty ruler).  Remember, if a muzzle brake isn't permanently installed, it doesn't qualify for the length requirements (at least if I remember correctly).

[teamnelson]

Team Nelson,
David is right.  16.25 is a common carbine length (16 plus a little for a faulty ruler).  Remember, if a muzzle brake isn't permanently installed, it doesn't qualify for the length requirements (at least if I remember correctly).

Thanks fellas, evidently I didn't make that clear enough. Not talking about an SBR, just weighing the decision to go with a long barreled pistol, instead of my plan for a rifle.

[Dezynco]

My Super 14 30-30 barrel is one of my most accurate barrels, rifle or pistol.  I do need a sandbag or a good rest, but it will outshoot all of my rifles if I do my part.  It's a bit heavy for offhand shooting unless you have really huge arms, but I do most of my shooting with my pistol off a rest of some sort.
As a matter of fact, some of "the boys" are talking about getting up a little informal shooting match when the weather stays warm.  They're bringing all their fancy-smancy rifles with gozzilion power scopes and their finest handloads.  I'm bringing the Contender with the Super 14 barrel!  I'll be using a Nikon 2-7 power handgun scope so that I can see the target at 100 yards.
I may not win, but I'll bet they'll be sweatin' it!

[rickt300]

There was a time in my life when I shot a lot of game with a 14 inch barrel in 30-30 in an early contender frame. My eyes were good and I took a lot of deer and antelope in Wyoming with that pistol, some over 200 yards. I have a new to me 14 inch 30-30 barrel and I can still shoot 2 inch groups with it at 50 yards easy with it's iron sights. The trick is to sort of stretch the pistol between your hands. This steadies the gun and as long as you have tension between your hands recoil is handled very well. It has a sling swivel stud on it's grip which is a wood and rubber composite. I have a QD swivel on a sling that is a loop. This loop is set just right in length so that when I am in shooting position there is a bit of tension between the gun and my chest making a steady affair of it. The loop goes around my neck and under my right shouler. Kind of hard to explain but it works well for me. I have made some very good shots with this system.

[Ladobe]

IMO handgun barrel length depends entirely on you... how well you've mastered handguns, especially the Contender.
 
I could hold and shoot a 14'15" barrel better than a 10" offhand, one or two handed, probably a product of so many years doing.   Mattered not if it was scoped or with open sights (before the eyes started getting old).   Nothing wrong with open sights if your eyes can still use them other than they will shorten the range you can shoot effective at.   I preferred scoped as a 14" can come real close to equaling a carbine/rifle barrel in accuracy in the right hands, so your effective range is increased substantially.   One of the reasons why so many of the 14" barrels are scoped, to take advantage of that whether shooting offhand or supported.   
 
After trying them all I settled on sling carry for the 14/15" bull barrels.   Bandoleers were the least desireable to me with any long barreled handguns, slow and a PITA to use; belt holsters meant always having to pull the pants up whether strong side or cross draw; in a hunting situation I certainly didn't want to give up a hand carrying it that might be needed to bust brush or catch a fall.   A good sling system is hands free, puts the handgun where it is naturally protected by your arm/body, and is fast to bring into action with the added advantage of being useable for extra support shooting.
 
Both the 223 and 30-30 will perform very well in a 14", way better than in a 10", are not picky about ammo and the loss of velocity due to length verses a carbine/rifle barrel make little difference hunting when you know the ballistics of your 14" barrel and load.    I've used the 223's for predator and varmint hunting (scoped), and the 30-30 barrels for years shooting IHMSA, some open sighted, some scoped and they were very reliable on the 200 yard rams with either sights shooting Creedmore postion (and well beyond when hunting).
 
So I wouldn't discout the 14" barrels... just another part of learning the technique for shooting Contenders.   Decide what config you want, what you feel you will be the most confident with and you will have made the right decision "for you".   IOW, confidence is 90% of the game, especially with handguns.
 

[Da-Law-Dawg]

All my barrels are presently 14"ers.

In the field, my Tender wears a bipod religiously. In a pinch, I can drop her down and get to work.

I normally deer hunt from a stand with a rail and holding her steady isn't a concern while deer hunting.

On yotes and groundhogs, prefer a set of shooting sticks for stretching her legs. As far as carrying her around, usually stays in hand while yotes and groundhogs. For early morning walks into the stand, my pack has an internal pouch that she sits in and a 1911 or Glock 21 on my hip.

[Hopalong7]

     Your decision to use a long barreled pistol verses a rifle is very much a personal thing that only you can decide.  I've always been intrigued with the fact that I could take a pistol and hit a very small target at a very long distance .  In my late teens and early twenties I shot mostly revolvers(Blackhawks) and then 1911's in the service and then....in the late '60's....enter the era of the specialty pistol.  I knew I wanted one....bad...but was mostly interested in an XP or so I thought.  A friend called and said some guy was wanting to sell this big funny looking pistol in some wierd caliber.  Thinking it was an XP in .221 Fireball I hustled on over.  I was dissappointed to find it to be a scoped Contender in .256Mag.  The price was right and he wanted to let me shoot it.  Long story short....I shot it and the bug bit and bit bad and has never turned loose since.  Ever since that day the barrels have gotten longer and the scopes bigger and better, but the bug still bites.
     To me the bigest difference between the two is not so much your shooting ability for I think anyone with enough desire can master whatever.....but with handgun shooting I have to practice fairly constantly to keep on my game, where as with a rifle I could pick it up only occasionally and still do pretty well.  IOW I think the occasional shooter would be much better off with a rifle, but the guy who loves to go shoot and does(and I DO!!!) will find more satisfaction with the challenges presented by the handgun .
Walt

[spinafish]

 To me the bigest difference between the two is not so much your shooting ability for I think anyone with enough desire can master whatever.....but with handgun shooting I have to practice fairly constantly to keep on my game, where as with a rifle I could pick it up only occasionally and still do pretty well.  IOW I think the occasional shooter would be much better off with a rifle, but the guy who loves to go shoot and does(and I DO!!!) will find more satisfaction with the challenges presented by the handgun .
Walt
well stated Hopalong..

[rickt300]

I really like to shoot handguns of any stripe. I shoot far more rounds from  pistols than rifles but the total is still a lot. Thousands of short gun rounds and more than a thousand rounds from various long guns make for a good shooter. With iron sights for me the longer the barrel the better but short is handy.

[Couger]

I'm still acquiring Contender barrels ......  All I had I got rid of, but starting from scratch I'm thinking seriously a CARBINE length barrel could indeed be shot with it's 21" length all the way down to whatever it could be cut off at. 
 
But whether using a rimfire barrel, or something big like a .44 mag, 7.62X39, .30-30, or even a low pressure .45/70 ..... why not have barrels that are 16.1 inches, 16 1/4 or even 16 1/2inches?
 
Choate M&T makes two grips/stocks that would enable a shooter to have a 16ish inch rifle!  Or an extra long single-pistol!  Thats one of the really NEAT and LEGAL things about the Contender and the Encore, either configuration could be incredibly useful.  And even at that length either would also be legal with a threaded muzzlel too.     (what would hapen after that though, might depend on you and what your state allows    ).

[Curtis]

..... why not have barrels that are 16.1 inches, 16 1/4 or even 16 1/2inches?

Couger ..........like this?  I really like my shorty 22.


 
Curtis

[Couger]

Couger ..........like this?  I really like my shorty 22.

Curtis

Yeah!  Nice pics and .22's.      One of the Choate stocks/sets I'd consider is the 'Survivor' stock and 'storearm' for their inside space to carry things.  However if a HG-rifle was gonna be shot more than stored, I'd put on it what was most comfortable/enjoyable too.