This is a TC Contender with a round 10" barrel in 44 mag. Standard TC production barrel, nothing special or unusual about it. Since it is my offhand 44 mag shooter, it wears a TC recoil proof (RP) 1.5x scope. I prefer the vintage essentially no power scopes on my Contenders to red dots. The scopes are a finer aiming point with their crosshairs and do not rely on electronics. The wood, though is full custom and simply amazing. A friend of mine found it for me in his many TC dealings. It was used by a champion silhouette shooter. Cost a pretty penny, but it sure is pretty and comfy, too.
rs I call this gun my "one mean shooter" in both a literal and figurative sense. First, the literal. Shooting a standard factory 240 grain 44 mag load in a Contender is like turbo charging it compared to shooting it in a revolver. The barrel, at 10", is longer than most conventional revolver barrels, but, more importantly, there is no velocity robbing cylinder gap. In a 10" Contender barrel in 44 mag, I can usually expect a 150-200 fps increase in velocity over the same load in a revolver. That, of course, gives me a significant jump in power, but more to the point, it also gives me a significant increase in recoil. That, and the Contender is not really that recoil friendly a platform. Bottom line, here, is that shooting a standard 44 mag factory load in this Contender is like shooting a Ruger, only, 44 mag load in a revolver. Ouch! I'm good for about 20 shots before I need to call it quits. Keep in mind, that I am no recoil wimp. I've been shooting 44 mags of all kinds all my shooting life.
So why do I bother? That where this is "one mean shooting" 44 mag in the other sense, namely accuracy. I use a standard of accuracy for my Contenders that is separate from my standard of accuracy for a revolver. Check this target, shot, today. The cluster to the right and just outside the bull was shot first. Adjustments were made to the scope and the next five were in the black. All offhand, of course. Pulled one just a touch low or I would have had a one inch class group at 50 yards, no rest. Even at 2.6", offhand, I'm in another class of accuracy than I can get with a revolver. Typical for a Contender, though.
So what do I do if I want to shoot this gun more than 20 shots? Well, there's good old 44 Specials. I don't like shooting 44 Specials in a 44 mag, but I do in this gun just to get more range time with it. 44 Specials are a walk in the park, recoil wise, in this gun.
print screenYup, beautiful gun. Given that I've been shooting 44 mag in revolvers nearly all my shooting life, it doesn't quite satisfy my 44 mag shooting itch. The 44 mag is, after all, a revolver cartridge. Not to worry, though, found and shot my perfect 44 mag revolver, today, too. Stay tuned.
