Best caliber(s) for a single shot?
- Thread starter TruthTellers
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TruthTellers
New member
I know, it's one appeal I have for single shot pistols and rifles like the T/C's, but I don't have a need or desire to own 10 different barrels. The wildcats are cool and all, but I've not much interest in them unless they're based off some case that is easy to source at the range.
.223/5.56 is an obvious one here, but along with what some others have said, I do prefer a rim.
It's one reason I've gravitated a lot to the .357 Maximum. It's got good power, maybe not big game stopping power, but enough for any situation I could possibly use it for.
One of the reasons I own so many is that I made a deliberate decision that, if I could get a Contender barrel for calibers I already own in other guns, I would. Didn't get everything but I got enough for now, hehe
I'm not just interested in things I can get free brass for, its a single shot pistol, 100 new cases will last years for most of us.
Good power for barrel length, But a Marlin carbine .357 actually beats it. So, if a .357 magnum from a carbine isn't enough, then the Maximum from a Contender isn't enough, either.
The rimless rounds I have for my Contender are .222Rem, 9mm Luger and .45 Win Mag. had a .223 but didn't care for it, it was a heavy 14" and there wasn't anything it could do I couldn't do with my .222 except shoot .223
Never had any issues with headspace, I FL size. I can't think of any belted case other than .224 Wby suitable to use in a Contender. In an Encore that's a different matter.
It's always a trade off, you won't ever get full rifle power but then you aren't carrying a rifle, its a (largish) handgun.
About pressure and the Contender. The Contender receiver is not rated for a particular pressure overall. It is not a "50Kpsi" unit. What the standing breech will sustain is dependent on the size of the casehead and the thrust of the case against the breech. So 50kpsi from a case the size of a .223 is one thing, larger cases, like the .45-70, are more limited. "Ruger Only" loads are a no-no. The pressure limit of that case is around 28kpsi.
Pete
Pete
Nobody is "dumping revolvers for single shots" except maybe for hunting.
"...from a 3.5 lb pistol..." That'd be slightly more than your typical handgun.
However, a .45 Colt +P, 250 grain bullet at 1200 FPS out of a 2.75 pound hand gun(closest there is on the chart) has 17.0 ft-lbs. of recoil energy. A .454 Casull, 260 grain bullet at 1800 FPS out of a 3.2 pound firearm has 39.0 ft-lbs. of recoil energy.
A .45 Colt 255 LFP at 914 out of a 2.75 lb. handgun has 10.4 ft-lbs.
"...from a 3.5 lb pistol..." That'd be slightly more than your typical handgun.
However, a .45 Colt +P, 250 grain bullet at 1200 FPS out of a 2.75 pound hand gun(closest there is on the chart) has 17.0 ft-lbs. of recoil energy. A .454 Casull, 260 grain bullet at 1800 FPS out of a 3.2 pound firearm has 39.0 ft-lbs. of recoil energy.
A .45 Colt 255 LFP at 914 out of a 2.75 lb. handgun has 10.4 ft-lbs.
stinkeypete
New member
1. Just say “no” to .357 Maximum. The recoil and blast are oppressive. Hot .357 Magnum is more than enough. If you want to make your Contender a nice Carbine, .35 Remington would do the same job with less stress.
2. Just say “no” to .454 Casull. You need all the weight you can get to help tame recoil. 45 Colt “Ruger and Contender only” loads will get all you need with less stress and no need for an Encore.
3. If you want a big boomer, 45-70 just because.
I think I would really like a .327 Fed Mag barrel... from plinking to white tail, at realistic ranges .. yeah. .32-20 “Contender only” would be a question of how much cooler do you want to be than your pals.
Realistically, a .357 magnum barrel is awesomely flexible and common.
2. Just say “no” to .454 Casull. You need all the weight you can get to help tame recoil. 45 Colt “Ruger and Contender only” loads will get all you need with less stress and no need for an Encore.
3. If you want a big boomer, 45-70 just because.
I think I would really like a .327 Fed Mag barrel... from plinking to white tail, at realistic ranges .. yeah. .32-20 “Contender only” would be a question of how much cooler do you want to be than your pals.
Realistically, a .357 magnum barrel is awesomely flexible and common.
I am a long time Contender shooter in a variety of calibers. There are lots of great choices, but if you want to use the gun for "fun shooting", calibers with less recoil have a big advantage.
The 357 max in a 10" sounds great. I got one of these after shooting the Max in a revolver for many years. In my Dan Wesson I can shoot the Max all day long. With the TC, my wrist is hurting after a hand full of full power loads. I am more recoil tolerant than most shooters, but this one in a 10" Contender is over the top for me. Also, do not get a Max barrel and thinking you will just use Mags & Specials. Most TC Max barrels do not do near as well with anything other than Max brass.
The 30 Herrett performs great (I have a 10" and 14"), but 30-30 brass is no where as easy to source as some other choices. My 14" 30-30 is ok, but not as good as the 14" Herrett. I really do not recommend a 30-30 in a 10". At full power, the 30 Herrett and 30-30 are both a bit much for fun or target shooting. I have shot a bunch a reduced loads in the 30 Herrett, but other choices are better for volume shooting.
A straight 357 mag is real good for "fun shooting" with adequate power for typical handgun hunting needs. If you are set up to reload 357, plan on getting a 357 mag barrel even if you also want something with a longer effective range. I have probably used a 357 mag barrel more than any other for fun/target shooting.
My new favorite is a 10" 7 TCU that is working well with a 132 gr bullet that I cast. The 10" 7 TCU is about as good as you can get for performance while retaining the ability to shoot a full power rounds more or less comfortably. I found the lack of a rim to be less of an issue than I expected, and making brass from the most plentiful range pickup caliber out there (223) is a piece of cake. In addition to my 1800 fps full power load, I found that 8.8 gr of Titegroup gives ~1450 fps and make a dandy medium heavy target load. I have already started loading this one in large batches and incorporated it into my regular practice shooting rotation.
The 357 max in a 10" sounds great. I got one of these after shooting the Max in a revolver for many years. In my Dan Wesson I can shoot the Max all day long. With the TC, my wrist is hurting after a hand full of full power loads. I am more recoil tolerant than most shooters, but this one in a 10" Contender is over the top for me. Also, do not get a Max barrel and thinking you will just use Mags & Specials. Most TC Max barrels do not do near as well with anything other than Max brass.
The 30 Herrett performs great (I have a 10" and 14"), but 30-30 brass is no where as easy to source as some other choices. My 14" 30-30 is ok, but not as good as the 14" Herrett. I really do not recommend a 30-30 in a 10". At full power, the 30 Herrett and 30-30 are both a bit much for fun or target shooting. I have shot a bunch a reduced loads in the 30 Herrett, but other choices are better for volume shooting.
A straight 357 mag is real good for "fun shooting" with adequate power for typical handgun hunting needs. If you are set up to reload 357, plan on getting a 357 mag barrel even if you also want something with a longer effective range. I have probably used a 357 mag barrel more than any other for fun/target shooting.
My new favorite is a 10" 7 TCU that is working well with a 132 gr bullet that I cast. The 10" 7 TCU is about as good as you can get for performance while retaining the ability to shoot a full power rounds more or less comfortably. I found the lack of a rim to be less of an issue than I expected, and making brass from the most plentiful range pickup caliber out there (223) is a piece of cake. In addition to my 1800 fps full power load, I found that 8.8 gr of Titegroup gives ~1450 fps and make a dandy medium heavy target load. I have already started loading this one in large batches and incorporated it into my regular practice shooting rotation.
TruthTellers
New member
1. I do have some .35 Remington brass my uncle game me, but it's not a cartridge that interests me. Along the lines of what others have said about pistol specific cases, the .35 Rem is probably not a case optimized for use in a 10-12 inch pistol barrel, plus it's not rimmed.
2. I hear you on .454, I've long believed hot .45 Colt was good enough in a Ruger, I just mentioned it because it's safer to load a .45 Colt hot in a .454 chamber.
I would get .327, but I don't believe T/C makes a barrel in .327 and aftermarket barrels seem to only want to chamber .327 in a barrel with .308 groove diameters, which is stupid IMO. Same issue with 7.62x39.
Presumably you're going to a single-shot pistol for the accuracy potential. Shooting a shorter cartridge than the gun is chambered for is going to throw away some of that accuracy potential. I'm not saying it's definitely guaranteed to make the gun shoot poorly, but you're more likely to get good accuracy from a cartridge that fits the chamber and doesn't require the bullet make a jump to get to the rifling.
While I recognize this is true in principle, I don't think it matter much in revolvers, and even less so specific to the .454 Casull and .45 Colt. The difference in the two case lengths is essentially .1" which is less than the .135" case length difference between the .38 Special and .357 Magnum.
Considering the distance the bullet has to "jump" before it hits the rifling of a revolver I don't think 0.1" is significant and doesn't have a noticeable affect on accuracy.
Of course every gun is an individual and no doubt there are some which do shoot better with a case full length for the chamber, but I've never seen a revolver that seemed to care, so I don't worry about it.
If you want something other than what they offer order it. Barrel makers will cut the tube to anything you want it just takes a bit of $$.
I think that's probably true. There are other accuracy issues inherent to revolvers that likely dominate.
However, the OP specifically stated that he was interested in single shots for the improvement in accuracy over revolvers.
When you get away from revolvers to a more conventional chamber/barrel/leade arrangement, I think the difference in accuracy potential due to the bullet jump becomes more significant because you've eliminated most of the accuracy issues inherent to revolvers.
I don't think it's going to be a huge effect, but it just seems inconsistent with the stated goal.
TruthTellers
New member
True, it's getting away from the goal, but if I wanted to shoot some lighter .454 rounds I would have to lower the charge to starting loads and that may leave too much air space in the case and cause other issues.
So, yeah, I don't see any reason to bother with the .454 then. I have no other guns in .454, don't intend to buy any other .454's (unless Henry or Rossi want to come out with new lever actions in the chambering) so no sense to get one over .45 Colt, which I have many guns in and lots of brass.
TruthTellers
New member
I'll see who else makes barrels for the Thomson Center pistols, currently I only know of Match Grade Machine and Bulberry.
We don't have as many contender barrels as before but still have 32/20, 30 & 357 Herrett, 357 Max, 41 mag, 22 Hornet, etc. But if I had to pick one, the 7 TCU is a do it all barrel. It is accurate and hits hard enough with mild recoil. They are formed from 223 so brass is easy to come by. If lower power is okay, the 22 Hornet is very accurate and fun to shoot.
I have several barrels for my contenders.
22lr
22 Magnum
222
223
256 Winchester Magnum
32 H&R Magnum
30-30
My favorites are 22lr, 223, and 32 H&R
All three are incredibly accurate and with the exception of the 32 H&R are easy to find cheap ammo for.
32 H&R mag ammo is limited but if you reload, thats not a huge problem.
At 75 yards, this is my most accurate barrel. It would probably be a tack driver at 100 yards if not for my old eyes.
22lr
22 Magnum
222
223
256 Winchester Magnum
32 H&R Magnum
30-30
My favorites are 22lr, 223, and 32 H&R
All three are incredibly accurate and with the exception of the 32 H&R are easy to find cheap ammo for.
32 H&R mag ammo is limited but if you reload, thats not a huge problem.
At 75 yards, this is my most accurate barrel. It would probably be a tack driver at 100 yards if not for my old eyes.
The way I look at a 357 maximum chambered barrel is one you can shoot:
38 special target loads
38 special standard
38 special +P
357 magnum
357 maximum
All out of the same barrel ! That covers a lot of different rounds and there is no greater variety than 38/357 ammo and components .
Anything from paper target loads to hog and deer hunting loads can be easily covered .
I will admit , I could probably do everything I wanted with 38/357 magnum barrel ...it would be nice to have the 357 maximum option there if I wanted it .
Gary
38 special target loads
38 special standard
38 special +P
357 magnum
357 maximum
All out of the same barrel ! That covers a lot of different rounds and there is no greater variety than 38/357 ammo and components .
Anything from paper target loads to hog and deer hunting loads can be easily covered .
I will admit , I could probably do everything I wanted with 38/357 magnum barrel ...it would be nice to have the 357 maximum option there if I wanted it .
Gary
223 shooter
New member
I bought my TC Contender new in 1989 and it came with a 10" 357 Magnum barrel which I still have. Accuracy is quite good and easy to load for. The recoil/blast is not severe like my old 10" 44 Mag was. With the 10" the gun can still be fired free handed.
Only other barrels I have are two 10" 22lr match barrels and a Super 14 in .223.
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mikejonestkd
New member
I had a contender with several barrels for quite some time, and now have two encores with a half a dozen barrels.
They do have a learning curve compared to most other handguns, and they are a bit ungainly when carrying, but they are excellent hunting handguns.
My 15" .308 win barrel is obnoxious, my brother's 15" 270 win barrel is even worse.
If I could have just one 15" barrel for hunting in an encore it would be either 260 rem, 6.5 creedmore, or 7mm-08 rem. they have the best balance of downrange performance, usable case capacity, and tolerable recoil.
They do have a learning curve compared to most other handguns, and they are a bit ungainly when carrying, but they are excellent hunting handguns.
My 15" .308 win barrel is obnoxious, my brother's 15" 270 win barrel is even worse.
If I could have just one 15" barrel for hunting in an encore it would be either 260 rem, 6.5 creedmore, or 7mm-08 rem. they have the best balance of downrange performance, usable case capacity, and tolerable recoil.