Contender Bug

[gemihur]

Zappa's "Zombie Woof" showed the way!
As for the 357/44 Bain and Davis, one of the classic wildcats, here's a great load reference site:

Shooter's Reference Load Data for .357 / 44 Bain & Davis

www.shootersreference.com

H110 & W296 same*
..................................* according to most sources
I really dig the wildcats when you can find 'em for the encore

 

[MountainBear]

My reloading skills aren't strong enough for quite that level of wildcatting yet!

 

[Jmorris]

I have a lot more barrels than frames but once I started machining and welding my own, it got a lot cheaper.

 

[gemihur]

I have one stubbed barrel but have never performed the process myself.
I followed Eagle View until they faded.
I'm more confident working with wood.

Thanks for sharing,
Jimmy

 

[gemihur]

mountainbear, start out with a 7 TCU, the easiest to make and load for. simply lube and press brass in die, load and fireform
fireform loads are huntable because nearly as accurate as finished brass loaded
The 357/44 B&D is about as easy although it necks down rather than expands and is about equal to the 357 maximum
You can download although you need snappy pressures to properly form

 

[MountainBear]

That one looks intriguing. I'll have to put it on the list of barrels I need!

 

[MountainBear]

Have any of you SBR'ed any of your contenders? I'm thinking of doing that to a G2 and hunting with either a 14" .30-30 or .44 magnum. May even suppress it at some point, but thinking of the SBR first. Wondering if anyone else has done one?

 

[Twodogs]

Yes 10" 44 mag with a hybrid suppressor.

 

[MountainBear]

Yes 10" 44 mag with a hybrid suppressor.

View attachment 2063061

Yessir, something just like that!!

 

[titsonritz]

I'm more into the big brother…Encore.

 

[MountainBear]

I haven't gotten bit by that one just yet. One platform at a time!

 

[gemihur]

I'm into wildcats and the Encore is less populated with them.
I do muster up a few, tho.

This one uses 30-40 Krag brass expanded to straightwall

 

[RonC]

Anyone else got it? This is my 3rd frame. This one came with a 10" bull in 45 Colt not chambered for 410 shotgun. Not being able to stop there I bought a 15" bull Barrel in 357/44 Bain and Davis. Anyone have a pet load for that caliber? Other calibers I've had were .222, .223, 7-TCU, 30 herrett, 357 herrett,

 

[MountainBear]

View: https://youtu.be/LHNFuDUw04s?si=FsOco4MUxSVOWqR5


This video caught my eye. I have multiple contender frames at this point and this seemed like a pretty cool concept to do to one of them. Legally, of course…

 

[gemihur]

Ron
I love the 357/44 B&D
Good load data: https://www.shootersreference.com/reloadingdata/357-44-bain-davis/
Hornady loads: https://static.hornady.media/site/hornady/files/obsolete-data/357-44-bain--davis.pdf
I personally like a 180 gr. cast ahead of 20.0 gr W296
Good shootin'

 

[Jmorris]

Have any of you SBR'ed any of your contenders? I'm thinking of doing that to a G2 and hunting with either a 14" .30-30 or .44 magnum. May even suppress it at some point, but thinking of the SBR first. Wondering if anyone else has done one?

I haven't but a contender with a 16" barrel and folder can get pretty short. This is a 16" Contender below my 9" SBR 10/22.

 

[aflineman]

Have any of you SBR'ed any of your contenders? I'm thinking of doing that to a G2 and hunting with either a 14" .30-30 or .44 magnum. May even suppress it at some point, but thinking of the SBR first. Wondering if anyone else has done one?

I made mine an SBR when the brace amnesty came about. I liked the brace as a brace on my Contender, and wanted to keep it. After I got the stamp, I decided to just put a stock on it. I mainly keep my suppressed 300BLK barrel on it, but I do shoot some of my other barrels on occasion.

 

[357 MAX]

Whats not to like about contender and encore most versatile platform going
buy the frame and go wild


sorry, no hi cap mags, but so what?

 

[MountainBear]

Whats not to like about contender and encore most versatile platform going
buy the frame and go wild


sorry, no hi cap mags, but so what?

Yep, pretty much have done that! Five barrels, multiple frames…

 

[MountainBear]

Problem is, now I have multiple frames and five barrels.

Probably going to sell one of my G2 frames to fund SBR'ing the other frame if anyone is interested…

Learning that I have to navigate this addiction smart, as funds are never unlimited…