Newest addition

[Incitatus]

A local gunshop just got this in.  It is an old Contender sn 91xxx with a .256 Win. barrel.

It's in beautiful shape made in early 1978. 

It took me a bit to figure out the fireing pin selector (you turn a screw which has 1/2 of it's head recessed, on position it strikes the CF pin, 180deg and it hits the RF pin ... clever).  Actually, I think it is sort of neat and I don't think that I would convert it.

It is, of course, the non-easy open version and I see how they would drill  new hole and change the pivot to increase the leverage.

So fat it works fine on a couple of barrels, hangs up on the 357 octagon.  Not the end of the world, it seems that if you set the safety, it opens just fine.

Speaking of the safety: Wow.  It's a bit like poking a stick in the spokes of  wheel to stop it.  Sorta cool though. 

All in all I am very happy.  Whole deal was $300 American, all in.  Scope is a 1.5 Bushnell rail mount (anybody have thoughts on rail mounting?  First one I owned).

I understand the attitude of a number of posters here who own the older version an love them.

I might very well sell the 256 barrel sinc I don't reload and I am not sure where it fits in with my current barrel collection 

[hunterspistol]

  Nice pistol, you got a fair deal there.  I looked up brass for the 256 win, it's available from Quality Cartridge at MidwayUSA for almost  $1.00 each! Might be a good barrel to trade with, I think it was one of the original long range silhouette and hunting calibers. 

     Nice original wood too.

[Incitatus]

Here is a nice little treatment of the.256

http://www.reloadingroom.com/index_files/256%20WM.htm

I'm not a handloader so I think that, regretfully, I am going to get rid of the barrel.

[Incitatus]

Just to f/u on the barrel lock up ...

It works flawlessly 22 lr, 22 WRM, 357, all octagon.  Also with the 223 Bull.  The hangup was with the 44 mag bull but that seems to be pretty minor.

I don't see any reason to get the modification done either on the hammer or the release.

[Keith L]

And you don't have to.  You may have to polish the locking bolts a little.  No big deal.

[hunterspistol]

   The locking bolts, on the bottom rear of the barrel, slide down the inside of the frame to the point where they pop under the ledge on the frame.  Some real fine grit wet-or-dry autobody sandpaper works, as does emery cloth in the finest grit you can find.  The top where the bolts angle upwards is usually what hangs them up. Sometimes there's a ridge cut in them that catches hard.  The edge at the back is sometimes too sharp too.  I've even used a real fine file on them before (of course, I have the attitude that I'm big enough to pay for my own mistakes, also!).