Contender will not fire with some barrels

[Don45]

Hello a little while back I purchased a used contender, the guy I purchased from had two and the one I got was made in 1989.  Just recently I was able to get a few more barrels from the guy that I got the contender from, as he wasn't using them with his contender too much anymore.  I have three barrels that will not release the hammer block safety and I measured the distance the bolts stick out from the back end of the barrel and I have found that the three that will not allow the safety to work are around 0.015" shorter than the barrels that do work.  Is there any longer bolts that can be purchased or does the internal safety lock need replacing?
Any help on this would be much appreciated.

Don

[RonF]

You could contact T/C and get some new bolts, but here is what I would do first to see if I could solve it myself.  The amount the bolts protrude is governed by a cut-out on their bottom which bears on the roll pin holding them in.  I'd remove them and use a file or a Dremel tool to gently lenthen them on the front so they'll protrude a bit more.  If their length is the problem this should solve it.

Let us know how you make out.

RonF

[Don45]

I tried lengthening the bolt and now it is as long as the others but the hammer block safety still will not drop so I guess it is something else.
Any ideas on what could be the problem?   

[Steve P]

The bolts are probably too thick.  Do a search in this thread and you will find many many posts explaining this in detail.  Look in titles for "locking lugs", "light hammer strike", "gun won't open", etc.  I did a search myself and did not find many.  I started just browsing down thru the titles and found several in the first couple of pages.  You can also look for some of my prior posts and you will find some.

Good luck.

Steve

[Don45]

I posted a bit too soon as I had another look at the bolt and when I had ground down the end I didn't quite get it square so once I squared it up I was able to get it to work.  I found that one of the barrels works better if I cock the hammer before I close the action, I will have to make sure that the firing pin selector is on safe when I do this. Also I need to close these barrels a bit more firmly than the others.
I will look and see if I can find those old posts Steve as maybe these bolts are a bit thicker than the others something else to look into thanks.

Don