First TC Contender

[GunsMcghee]

Hi Everyone, new to TC, new to this forum. I just bought my first Contender in 45 LC/410ga. I thought it was stainless and so did my dealer, but it turns out that it is Armor Alloy. I was told that regular barrels wouldn't work because of the alloy coating. I've heard you can modify these but if I do would my current armor alloy barrel still work. Not sure what to do but I would like to have another caliber to shoot, maybe 357 or 44 magnum. Also wondering if 357 magnum would shoot decent in a 357 maximum barrel, as I found an alloy barrel in this caliber. I appreciate any and all  help.
 
Thanks.

[spinafish]

I understand the modification is pretty simple and straight forward..but I haven't done it..will let someone else fill you in on that procedure..but I can say for sure that .357 mags shoot just fine from my .357 Max barrel..but I would highly recommend you find some .357 Maxs and give them ago..completely different animal..just remember to clean the chamber after firing .357 mag.  there will be build up of crud that could keep .357 Maxs from chambering.  I use a worn out .40 caliber brush soaked in solvent.

[Keith L]

If you search here I am sure you will find several threads that discuss modifying AA barrels and frames.  I have never had one so my information is second hand.  I understood that the plated frames and barrels had the hole for pins smaller because of the thickness of the plating.  If I recall you could send your barrels and frames to TC and they would modify them to work with conventional frames and barrels, or you could wrap a dowel with sandpaper and carefully enlarge the holes in them to fit a conventional hinge pin.

BTW, welcome to Contenders and this forum.

[GunsMcghee]

Thanks for the replies everyone. It sounds like if I open up the hinge pin hole on the frame and my current armor alloy barrel to accept a blued hinge pin, then I could use regular barrels and my current armor alloy barrel as well, is this right?
 
Thanks.

[jbrown]

I had the same thing happen to me. Bought it from a buddy, who bought it from a friend. My stainless turned out to be AA. I only have two barrels, 45/70 and 223. I am also interested in this info.

[GunsMcghee]

Hey guys, I bought a blued 223 Rem. barrel from Ed's Contenders and it looked like new 
However I tried it out yesterday and I had a lot of misfires   I've never had any misfires with my 45/410 barrel before but I'm not sure that the barrel its self can cause misfires but I don't know much about Contenders as this is my first one. I tried two different brands of 223 ammo. and had misfires with both. After about 10 or 15 misfires in a row I had 7 rounds fire in a row. And then more misfires and then a few more rounds fired. The primers on the 223 rounds were all lightly hit and several more attemps still did not fire them. If it were a weak firing pin spring, why no misfires with 45 LC or 410 ammunition? Are rifle primers harder than pistol and shotshell primers? Any help would be appreciated.

[Keith L]

The most likely problem is the locking bolts on the .223 barrel are not engaging completely.  Snap the barrel shut and see if that helps.  If so then a good cleaning of the mating areas may be all you need to do.  If not you may have to lightly polish the lugs to get them to enter far enough.  You may want to try to swap the locking bolts with your other barrel and try it.

A search of this forum will give you a bunch of information on this topic.

[GunsMcghee]

Thanks Keith, I was just looking over my Contender and opening and closing the action and with the 223 barrel I noticed that if I closed the action normally or kind of easy and I pulled the trigger while easing the hammer forward, that the hammer didn't even reach the firing pin. But if I shut the action sharply and pulled the trigger and eased the hammer forward, that the hammer did go all the way forward and engaged the firing pins. I put the 45/410  barrel that came with the gun back on the frame and no matter how I closed the action, easy or sharply and pulled the trigger and eased the hammer forward, that it reached the firing pins every time. This 223 barrel is like brand new, not a mark on it and I'm wondering if these bolts just needs broke in some. I also noticed that the extractor is very tight in its recess, so I removed it and sanded the bluing off of the extractor and it moves freely in its recess now. How hard is it to remove and polish the bolts and do you know where I can find a diagram on this procedure?
Thanks again.

[Keith L]

http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,226214.0.html

This is a thread up in the stickies that is titled Contender Barrel in G2 frame.  If you read through the posts you will gain knowledge about your Contender, and find a great post that has a diagram about how to polish locking bolts.  It is something that most of us have accepted as part of Contender ownership.

Keith

[GunsMcghee]

Thanks for the help Keith.