I just got a used contender pistol in 223 with the super 16 barrel. It was rediculously accurate with some older Winchester 64 gain ammo that I had in my box.

Should I be using the heavier bullets for improved accuracy? As it is used I do not no the twist rate.

In addition, I think someone has done a trigger job on it...very light and very crisp!!!! It may be too light for hunting. Are the triggers adjustable on the contender? Date of Manufacture 2002.

Thanks,

Nowaypal11

I believe most, if not all, Contender barrels in .223 were 1 in 12 twist. If that is the case I would suspect that heavier bullets would result in a degradation of accuracy. Generally heavier bullets require a faster twist rate of 1 in 8 or 9. Contenders do generally have very nice triggers. Someone may have had a trigger job done - hard to say. As far as trigger adjustments go, there should be setscrews in the trigger guard that adjust sear/trigger engagement and trigger overtravel.

Hope this helps.

I have never been able to get the 64gr. Winchester Power Points to shoot in my Contender. This has been with this bullet Handloaded not in Factory Ammo.

I never could understand this as the length of the bullet (from the base of the bullet to the tip of the bullet) is about the same length as a 50gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip and they shoot fine.

In fact in my current SST Super 14 .223 Remington G2 Contender Handgun I am shooting 55gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips with H-4895 Powder in Military LC Brass with Remington 7 1/2 Primers. This load is super accurate and the 55gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips are actually longer in length than the 64gr. WInchester Power Points.

I have a buddy with a SST Super 16 Contender set up as a Carbine and he is shooting Black Hills Shooters Supply 60gr. Hornady Spire Point Commercial Reloads with excellent results.

If you go to the T/C web site and check out the Barrel Rates of Twist they show the .223 Remington as a 1 in12" twist. I've shot the 64gr. Winchester Power Points in other 1 in 12" Twist .223's (Rifles that is) with good results. In fact when my daughters were first starting to hunt Deer that is the exact bullet they used in a Ruger KM77RFP MKIII 22" .223.

Larry

Trigger work on the Contender is fairly easy to do. It may well have been done but T/C triggers tend to be crisp in any case. A noticeable improvement may be had by carefully and lightly stoning/polishing the sear (very carefully. It doesn't take much) and cutting a coil off the spring.
The result may be too light for hunting. I did it for a very specific target shooting purpose and not on my hunting gun.
Pete