Posted: 3/11/2010 4:35:52 PM EDT
| Looking at one at a local shop. $450. Wondering how they tend to shoot when .45 colt is used. I really would rather get it in .44 Mag or .45/70, but I figure I can always get another barrel. I should have gotten the one I saw at a gunshow for $450 or so with 2 barrels. One was .45/.410, the reason I didn't get it was the other barrel was .221 Fireball-figured it was enough of an oddball that with me not interested it would be tough to sell or trade. |
| I've had 2 different ones, the older hot shot style with the external screw in choke and the newer internal style, 45 Colt shoots fine, its the 410 shot pattern that will suck, that short screw in shot stabilizer doesn't work very well so its still spinning as it comes out of the barrel as best as I could figure. I had the same experience with one of the NEF/H&R 45 Colt 410s |
|
My experience was the same as RIA's as far as the .410 goes. I "patterned" it into a snow bank at around 25 or 30 yds. with the choke tube screwed in. At that distance, it was probably a rough 3-foot pattern, and the .410 has few enough pellets to make for several "holes" in the pattern. I've got a 16" barrel, and I'm going to assume that the shorter barrels open up even faster. It would be a good handgun for jackrabbits in the brush where they literally jump out at your feet. But it's going to suck at any kind of distance.
As for the .45 Colt, I believe it could be accurate, but it will depend on what type of sights you have for it. My barrel has a vent rib with a shotgun bead front sight. It has a small, rough U-shaped notch for the rear sight. It shot very poorly from the bench at 50 yds. because it is difficult to get a precise, repeatable sight picture with this setup. By way of comparison, I shot the same load through 4-5/8" Ruger Blackhawk at 50 yds. as well, and had groups roughly half the size of the Contender. I'm thinking I should try a red dot on this barrel. It would work just fine with the shotgun loads and give some semblance of precision with the .45 loads. I'm not sure if there is a way to mount it to the vent rib. If not, it looks like the rib is screwed on, and the screw pattern is likely the same as the pattern for a scope base on T/C's other barrels. One nice thing I've found about the Contender is that there is essentially zero action length. A 16" barrel is still comfortable to use as a "pistol", but it's long enough that I can put a rifle stock on it as well. (that little tiny barrel also in the picture is a 10") 
|
| Ended up getting one shortly after this post-went with a Super 14 .44 mag(having issues getting it zeroed) and a 10 inch .22 hornet-can't believe how LOUD the Hornet is in a 10 inch instead of 12 inch barrel. Would still like to get the .410 barrel but holding off-the temptation to try it on pheasant would be hard to resist. Also can't get rid of the itch for a .45-70 barrel-how would the Ultramax cowboy loads Cabelas carries compare to a single shot 12 gauge chopped to minimum legal length? In my young and stupid days I had one of those and one-handed it frequently-ONCE with a 3" magnum. This was an old Savage with a top lever to open like a double barrel and also a hammer. That top lever sliced the web of my hand open-gloves every time I fired it after that. |