Contender Questions 357 Max & 256 Win Mag

[chh]

I have been searching for a new toy for a bit. I was looking for a 44 Mag to play with and stumbled across a TC Contender with 5 barrels that I just could not pass up instead. I had a Contender once before in 223 that was a great gun, but got stupid and sold it awhile back. Anyway my question involves the 357 Maximum barrel and the 256 Win Mag barrel. Anybody have any experience with these calibers? There is brass and dies available for the 357 Maximum and it really seems like a pretty straighforward round in the Contender. Is it really adequate for deer sized game? The 256 Win Mag seems like a real oddball. So far I have not found brass or factory ammo for this one. Dies are available and 357 Mag brass is supposed to be able to be necked down to make 256 Win Magmum brass. From the load data I've looked at it seems like the 223 is a better varmit/target round than the 256 would be with 60 grain bullets. I have done quite a bit of reloading, but not to the extent of reforming brass and loading compressed loads that seem to be recommended for this round. Is the 256 really worth messing with or would I be better off trading it for a 223 barrel at the next big gun show since I am already set up for it?

 

[kossetx]

I don't have an answer, but welcome back to the tc contender shooting. I've shot an 10

" octagon barrel for 26 years now. Most don't like them, but I do. I also shoot .22, .223, .44 and 7-30 waters. I will someday have a 30 herrett though.

It's been years but Midway had 357 max brass.

 

[RavensRoost]

I have no experience with the 256, but have loaded 357 Mag for years and my recollection on the 357 Max is that it can easily be loaded to around 44 mag energy levels, and as it is a straight walled case, should be straightforward to load.

I certainly would not hesitate to use 357 Max on deer with 180 or 200gr bullet, assuming I practiced with it first.

As far as 256 vs. 223 barrel, I would think it depends on what you plan to use it on. I absolutely love my Model 70 "sporter varmint" in 223, but remember shooting a friends 223 Contender and it was a bit much for a lot of shooting, always thought the 221 Fireball or one of the 17's would be better.

What were the other 3 barrels?

Good luck, be safe, enjoy!

RavensRoost

 

[chh]

My old Contender was a 223 in a Super 14" barrel. After I got a load worked up that it "really" liked it would shoot 1/2" groups and was not bad to shoot at all. It had Pachmyer grips and forend not he standard T/C stuff. My only problem with it was I didn't like the 14" barrel. My buddy(who got me started shooting Contenders) had a 10" octogon barrel and I really liked it. The 256 barrel is a 10" octogon and is scoped with a T/C scope. If it has ever been fired I can't tell it.
The other 3 are, 12" bull 22 with iron sights, a 14" bull 22 match scoped, and a 45/410 barrel. It also came with extra grips, forends, a bag of odds and ends, and 22 match,45 and 410 ammo. He had the Contender and an Encore with 223 and 308 barrels(I was a day too late for that one) and was getting rid of all of it.
My main shooting is targets and coyote's. If I had just been shopping for a barrel I would have never even considered the 256. But after gettting this one and looking at the data, I am really tempted to give it a try. I'm just not sure it would really be enough for coyotes though.

 

[tomd999]

Hiya,

I haven't had a 256 or Maximum in a contender but I do have a 222, 223, and 357.

I used to shoot a Dan Wesson 40VH 357 Maximum in the early 90's. I used it at the Masters shooting championship in '90. It was OK but not all I expected at 200 Meters with those 8" plates. (I switched to a Remington XP-100 in 7mm-08 after that, much, much better out past 200 yards)

I normally loaded a 180G with Hogedon 110 in the Maximum with Federal BR small rifle primers. I'm going from memory but I think with that you can get close to a 30-30's energy out of a 12" barrel. I would consider it about a 50-75 yard gun for taking deer to be sure of a proper kill. Anything more than 75 with a Max and you may get into wounding and tracking/possible loss in the brush, not good.

My 357 Mag in a 10" TC gets 125G going at 1980FPS, I think the 180G Maximums were a bit slower from the DW but with a lot more weight.

Kittery trading post sells loading books specifically for the contender for each caliber. You may want to take a look at what they have.

Be safe,

Tom