Let me first say, I'm new to the site, but have been lurking for awhile. About 2 years ago, I purchased an old style blued Contender EZ open frame and have accumulated a few barels. A 10" 7TCU and 14" 7IR pistol barrels, and a 17 HMR and 17AH Rifle barrels. These frame/barrel combinations are extremely accuarate and fun to shoot.
Well I recently fell into another real deal on a Contender pistol. It's a SS Contender pistol with a SS super 14" 223 barrel, walnut grip and forend, and 4x Leupy scope. Got it home and it was pretty dirty, lotsa dust and gunk on it. I cleaned it up last night. Haven't fired it yet, but it appears it might have "issues".
The frame, I believe is a newer old-style contender with the EZ open feature. It has the selectable Rimfire/Centerfire toggle on top of the hammer. The barrel has split locking lugs. The problem is, it's not really easy to open. The barrel to frame gap is very tight. I haven't measured it, but you can't see light through the gap. This may be one issue that needs addressed.
The big issue I notice is, the split locking lugs are gouging the heck out of the firing pin bushing. I mean noticeably gouging. I have read some posts on here about polishing the locking lugs, and perhaps "round off" the edges a little.
Anybody have any experience with issues like these and have any ideas? I haven't had a chance, but I plan on trying my other barrels on this frame and this barrel on my old frame to see if it's a frame or barrel issue. But I'd like to fit this barrel to this frame since they're both SS.
Charlie
