Contender and .44 Mag Suggestions

[greenrivers]

I am strongly considering a .44 mag barrel for my Contender, but aside from the ten inch I have in .22 Hornet, I am a newcomer. The barrel will be used for both paper and hunting, but for now at least will have a rear peep and front post. I have been going through the posts to try and find out what is favored for a length and what length is most accurate. More than fifty percent of it's loads will be cast, and I am not interested in the Hot Shot barrels. Any help would be appreciated I have jumped in too many times and then wished that I had asked. So? What's your advise?

[kynardsj]

Anything between 10 and 14 inches will do well in a Contender. If your eyes are better than mine the iron sights will do ok at closer ranges and your light is good. A big bullet like a 44 doesn't have to be screaming to take critters. I've seen a lead 250 gr SWC that was pushed by 9.0 gr of Unique go end to end on a whitetail. They're a lot more fun to practice with too than saying to yourself " Do I really have to shoot this thing again ?" A really hot 44 mag in a Contender to me isn't a real fun thing to shoot a lot and I've owned and shot pistols from 22's up to 500 S&W mags. Good luck on your choice.

[buckeye509]

I've had 10", 14" and settled on a Bullberry 12" topped with a 2x Nikon. The 44 round alone is fairly accurate with most loads, and a proven gamegetter. I've thusfar on developed loads for hunting and those most accurate were near Max book recommended with 240 gr jacketed and 300 gr cast. I hope to work on some paper punchers, just for fun (easy on the wrist and wallet), in the next few months. The 44 is one of my favorites to reload and shoot. Good luck finding a barrel that suits you.

[greenrivers]

I started using the .44 mag back in the early 70's and it has been one of my favorites since. I have evidently come to the same conclusion as you both. Faster is not always better. The .45 Colt taught me that a bullet does not have to be pushed until it mushrooms to 70 caliber to be effective. Comfort leads to accuracy and that is what I am looking for now. I did find a ten inche bull barrel today with T/C stock open sights and bought it. I believe that a bit of paint on the front sight will give me an effective user. I do not want to put a scope on this one. At least yet. I may go to a peep rear after using this for a while. I have several boxes of factory and my reloads to try it out tomorrow and find out. Any recommended reduced loads that are working for you in the T/C? Thanks for the help!

[marked trail]

I have several 44 mag barrels, a 12" hunter, a 10" bull, and a 10" oct.  The light 10" octagon has a heavy and sharp unpleasant recoil with loads used in the first two heavier barrels.  I have reduced my load to 9.4 grains of unique, CCI LP primer, and a 240 grain OR Trail lasercast SWC.  I can shoot a box of these at the range and still enjoy the light barrel.

[greenrivers]

I just got in from trying this new barrel out and I am very pleased with the accuracy and handling. I was shooting a 265 gr. cast over 17 gr. of 2400 and it was doing very well. I have not put it on paper yet, but as the range was almost a hundred yards and off hand, all three of us did well at chosen targets. I did have one problem though. The forearm fell off after the second shot. I had snubbed it before leaving and knew it to be tight. After getting back I discovered that only three threads were engaging the lug. I may try a longer screw as there is more than enough depth. I tried calling customer service to order a new lug and screw, but they are closed for the holidays. Is this a common problem with the higher recoiling calibers and single screw forearms? And thanks for the load information.

[dstegjas]

Greenrivers,
Congrats on the new barrel.

I have not heard of any problems like you are talking about. With so few threads holding the forearm on, I am not surprised it came off. Bigger calibers usually equal more recoil and that means you will need to keep everything nice and tight. So you have a good idea about picking up a longer screw for the forearm. I'm not sure if you have a set of pacmyers on it yet, but they feel pretty good while shooting.


I have one of the 12" hunter barrels in .44 mag. topped off with the lighted recticle T/C scope. I have taken a lot of deer with that set up.


Jim

[greenrivers]

I believe that the shorter screw in my forearm was one someone put there to replace a lost one. The threads in the barrel lug are in good shape, so it is not an issue. I do plan on the Decelerater Pachmyers as the wood grips begin to bite the web of my thumb after a number of rounds, and I very much like the look anyway. I have never tried Unique in the .44 mag.. I have always used 2400, but as I have Unique, I will give it a try. Thanks!

[Junior1942]

This is a Williams #009671 WGRS T/C ($37.95) with a Williams #070919 Firesight Ghost Ring slide ($9.95) with two green fiber optic dots.  It's on a 10" octagon 357 mag.  I epoxied a red fiber optic to the front sight.

[Ladobe]

You chose well with a 10" bull.     They balance well, are more pleasant to shoot than the octagons for most folks, lighter/easier to carry in the field than a longer barrel, and that length is easily good enough for well beyond 100 yard deer hunting even with open sights (if you still have your eyes).    If not a bright, low magnification scope will be the ticket, especially if running shots will be taken.   My first choice in BG hunting handgun scopes was the 1.5-4's.   In the wide open spaces of the west running shots and longer range was the norm, and they got the job done very well and more was just not needed.   A favorite was the TPC's in 1.5-4 (and their 1, 2, 3, 4 or 6X).   Big and bright enough with a fine dot converging tapered reticle that is good to go for target and fast target acquisition on game whether standing or running.   And they hold up well to any handcannon.
 
The Pachy's... while I've had every factory grip set offered I think over the years (until the Contenders were discontinued), and many custom sets made for me, for spot & stock still hunting I preferred the Pachy Grippers.   Mattered not whether they were the Decelerators or not even though they were a little small for my hands.   I found out the hard way early on about their Presentation style grips when I got a deal on 20 sets of them unseen or tried out first.   Didn't like the feel of them and couldn't get them resold fast enough.   But a person with larger than normal hands may have to go to them as the Gripper is not a large grip.
 
Way back when I still hunted big game, I never used my 44MAG Contenders for it hardly at all even though I've had 8 3/4" and 10" octagons, 10", 14" and 15" bull Contender barrels chambered for 44MAG.   What 44MAG mule deer/elk/bear/hog hunting I did was with S&W 29's and Ruger SBH's mostly, all with open sights and from 5" to 10.5" barrels (I preferred the shorter barrels though).   When I did BG hunt with the Contenders I mostly used my 14"/15" JDJ and Super Bower barrels wearing scopes.   They always got the nod for a hunt when I knew the area being hunted would most likely require very long shots and so scopes, and where the ability to shoot flatter and kill instantly were a huge plus.
 
Enough rambling... but enjoy that barrel.   It's a keeper.
 
 
 
 

[greenrivers]

Thanks for the input guys. Helps save some experimenting and money. I did find a set of Decelerators that were taken off a 10 inche Contender and wonder if the adapter bar that was with them is correct. It is a two hole bar. It seems to work well but I wonder about leveraging forces when using the sling stud. The grips are very comfortable and look much better than the set I put on a SBH a few years back. The earlier set on the Ruger made full loads feel like light practice loads though. I hope to try them today. I have put scopes on all of my other barrels but plan on keeping this one open sights and it sounds like Juniors set up is exactly what I plan on for later. With a peep sight I don't have to use my glasses, though I likely will not get away with that much longer.
Junior did you have to epoxy the fiber optic rod to the top of the sight for additional height, or did you have to lower the original first? Also wondered if you sighted in so that the fiber optic dots line up?