Cowgirl Corner: Contender kind of day

[North Country Gal]

I know posts about Contenders are bit off the beaten path on a lever gun forum, but Contenders are my benchmark guns, right along with my CZs, so hope you don't mind a once in a blue moon post on these guns. Hot and hazy July day, today, so going single shot with the Contenders seemed like a natural thing to do.

First up is one of my favorites in a Contender carbine with a 21" light, tapered 22 LR Match barrel. The gun wears a Leupold 2-7x Rimfire befitting this little 5 pound gun's size.


A gun this light is no bench gun, but don't tell that to this Contender carbine. With the RWS Rifle Match, it shoots like one. I suspect I could squeeze tighter groups out of this little carbine with a bigger, higher power target scope, but then it wouldn't be the same sweet gun to shoot.


Tried my luck, offhand, but, for whatever reason, I pulled a few low out of the 3" bull. No big deal. Just having fun.


Next up is another Contender carbine, this one in stainless steel with a composite stock. It's wearing a 16.25" stainless barrel in 22 Hornet, topped off with an excellent Nikon Prostaff 3-9x EFR.


Ammo was some inexpensive local re-manufactured stuff I found, but plenty good enough for the fun shooting we do.


For whatever reason, I did better offhand with this one, though.


Last up was an old fav of mine. It's a vintage 70s Contender rig with an octagonal 38 Special barrel. It wears a vintage correct Bushnell 1.3x rail mount scope. These 1x class scopes were very popular in the 70s as an alternative to iron sights for offhand work. Keep in mind, that red dots were still in the development stage, at the time. Red dots wouldn't hit the scene and become popular for many years, to come.


I do like the precision of these old scopes, though. Eat your heart out S&W 38 revolvers.


You may have noticed that both carbines are wearing slip on buttpads. Remember, these are Contenders and in a matter of a couple of minutes I can switch out barrels to the likes of a 45-70, 30-30, 44 mag and so on. The slip on pads are BIG deal on these ultra light carbines when shooting the heavy stuff.

Let me know if you ever have questions on these amazing single shots. Thanks for letting me do a post on them, now and then.

[PT7]

After placing those tight POIs (whoa, @ 50 yards!) with your stainless steel carbine, you said, "For whatever reason, I did better offhand with this one, though." I know exactly what that feels like. Off hand is most fun.

All around great report. The blue moon doesn't happen often enough.
PT7

[Sir Henry]

Joanie I think everyone enjoys a good report no matter what it is on. I bet you could do a rubberband shoot and make it interesting. I would love to have a TC in .22LR. If I got a silencer I could shoot in my backyard like you do

[North Country Gal]

Thanks, guy. Glad you enjoyed the report.

Gene, you could get a Contender barrel threaded for a suppressor by a custom shop, but I've never seen on from the factory. CZ, though, now makes a 455 suppressor-ready model with a threaded barrel.

[Sir Henry]

Thanks, guy. Glad you enjoyed the report.

Gene, you could get a Contender barrel threaded for a suppressor by a custom shop, but I've never seen on from the factory. CZ, though, now makes a 455 suppressor-ready model with a threaded barrel.

My friend in TX could thread it. The paperwork is what is stopping me

[bandit1250]

NCG, I don't think you could find one person on this forum that would complain about your posting fire arms other than lever guns. I am guilty of posting about other guns also and sometimes think it is not appropriate but then I think that is why there is places on here to post about other types of guns. Your threads are very popular here and are welcomed by all. Love the Contender threads and really wish I would have stayed with them over the years. I plan on keeping my 1982 Super 14 223 and also keep an eye out for another one at the shows. Would like to change the hammer on mine to top select. Mine also is not easy open. Some fine shooting with your carbines and your hand gun model. Nice looking with the gloss finished scopes that you hardly see any more unless it is older. Do you have a Contender old enough to have the full etched frame? Mine is the 3/4 etched. Would like to find a frame with the etching behind the Cougar on the rock but only have ever seen a few. Once again very nice post on some guns that are most fun to shoot and have amazing accuracy. Fun to make guys mad at the range when sighting in their deer rifles and take the 14" 35 Remington Contender and out shoot their deer rifles at a 100 yds.

[North Country Gal]

Yes, I do have an early gun with the extended etching. This one is really the only Contender I have that comes close to be a safe queen. I bought it, specifically, to collect and not to shoot, given it's like new in the box condition. My other Contender frames typically get trigger jobs and I often swap out parts, but this one will remain as it came out of the box. It's a 1969 Contender (Contenders were introduced 1967) with original factory octagon 45 Colt/410 barrel.


What takes these very early Contenders special to me is their history. The early guns all featured octagon barrels as standard barrels. In fact, TC labeled them as standard barrels. This was the early in the game for the Contender, before there were 14" barrels, before there were heavy round barrels, before the silhouette game hit town and fell in love with Contenders, before people were turning Contenders into the big heavy rigs that later earned Contenders the name of rifle-ettes or hand rifles.

Sales of Contenders were slow for TC in those early days. Shooters were intrigued, but really didn't know what to make of them. At the time, TC was trying to market the Contender as an alternative to revolvers and semi-autos in terms of balance and weight. The octagonal rigs like my 38 Special, above, actually weigh about as much as a 357 or 38 Special revolver with a 4" barrel. I shoot my octagonal barrel Contender rigs exactly the same way as I shoot our revolvers, namely, offhand at typical revolver distances. That's why I love them and have a nice collection of octagonal barrels.

The heavy barrel Contenders get shot with silhouette style holds or get shot from a rest and they get pushed to rifle shooting distances (and they do compete, nicely, with rifles at 100 yards and beyond).

[Henry88]

Great shooting again NCG, especially the 50 yd standing, very impressive.