.223 in 10" barrel Question ???

[Pahoo]

I've been offered a 10" T.C. Contender barrel in .223. Even though I am dealing with a Contender pistol, my basic question is about a rifle cartridge, so please bare with me. I am very suspect about the practical use of this barrel as well as how efficiant or accurate it might be. I just think it might be too hot for a 10" barrel. What do you fellas think? Again, any and all input would be appreciated. Be Safe !!!

 

[thetoecutter]

What calibers do you shoot regularly in your Contender?

I have inherited a Lone Eagle in .30-06, and have shot both .223 and .22-250 also. Have never had the opportunity to shoot a Contender in anything other than .22LR.

Both the .223 and .22-250 were a blast to shoot, the '06 really requires some load tweaking to manage the soccer ball sized muzzle flash.

Am guessing that the barrel has a fairly long twist rate, which would limit you to lighter bullets.

WRT to accuracy, that would primarily depend on the person holding onto the pistol. I have shot thumbnail size groups off the hood of a pickup at 25 yards with the .22-250 using the standard Lone Eagle iron sights (Williams?).

Hope this helps.

 

[629 shooter]

My Hornady manual used a 10" .222 for their TC , yes the triple deuce , and stated that only the fastest burning powders "performed well enough to produce uniform accuracy" And this was a .222 which has less powder capacity than the .223.

Le's say you have a .223 round with an OAL of 2.200" , so then you have the actual barrel length used for rifling at only about 7.800" or so in which to burn 25 grains of "slow" rifle powder. This explains those fireballs - impressive but not very efficient.

The Super 14 in .223 is something I think you will enjoy much more. I have owned two. The accuarcy with match bullet reloads can be better than some rifles! The muzzle blast is not bad especially with powders like H322. Hornady reached 3000fps with their Super 14.

 

[Magnum Wheel Man]

I have a large collection of barrels, incuding a 10" - 223 barrel...

mine ( I think most ) are older barrels produced before the heavier match grade 223 ammo came out... mine shoots extremely well out to a few 100 yards, but only with 50 grain bullets... 55's are only ok, & anything heavier does not stabilize in my barrel 68 grain match bullets are out of the question...

but, as I said, 50 grainers shoot better than I'm capable out of my 10" barrel...

 

[GLK]

629Shooter wrote;

My Hornady manual used a 10" .222 for their TC , yes the triple deuce , and stated that only the fastest burning powders "performed well enough to produce uniform accuracy" And this was a .222 which has less powder capacity than the .223.

Le's say you have a .223 round with an OAL of 2.200" , so then you have the actual barrel length used for rifling at only about 7.800" or so in which to burn 25 grains of "slow" rifle powder. This explains those fireballs - impressive but not very efficient.

The Super 14 in .223 is something I think you will enjoy much more. I have owned two. The accuarcy with match bullet reloads can be better than some rifles! The muzzle blast is not bad especially with powders like H322. Hornady reached 3000fps with their Super 14.

Great reply, personally I wouldn't want all that going on at muzzle length every time I touched one off. I also wonder what effect that short of a barrel would have on projectile stabilization? <-Magnum Wheel Man answered that for me)

 

[HorseSoldier]

I know it's an apples and oranges kind of issue, but accuracy with 10.5" barreled AR/M4 uppers doesn't seem to be a major issue once you get an optic on the weapon to address the shorter sight radius.

 

[Magnum Wheel Man]

actually the stabilization of heavier bullets has more to do with the rifling twist rate, than the barrel length... the older TC 223 barrels used a slower rifling twist rate ( which was plenty in the days of 50 - 55 grain bullets ), but now with longer heavier match bullets, those older / slower rifled barrel don't stabilize the heavier bullets...

 

[44 AMP]

10" barrel...you don't get something for nothing

Ever hear of the .221 Remington Firreball? It was the original chanbering for the XP-100 pistol. I always wondered why Remington, who obviously knew quite a bit about guns and ammo would chamber their bolt action handgun in the .221 Fireball, instead of the more common .222 Remington. Then one day the light came on, and I understood the answer.

It was the 10" barrel. The .221 has a smaller (shorter) case body than the .222, and this was done because of the handgun barrel. The extra powder in the .222 was just being wasted. The .221 was efficient with that barrel, where the .222 wasn't. And the .223 would be even more so.

I have a 10" octagon .222 Rem barrel for my Contender, and I like it, even though you can't use all the potential of the .222 case in that short a barrel. On the other hand, it is easier to pack around, and off hand shots are still possible. I had a 14" .223 bull barrel, and found it awkward and heavy, and traded it off. Now, I don't mind the 14" .45-70 barrel, but the .223 just turned me off. No real good reason, just the way it was, for me.

So, with a 10" .223, you are going to get a lot of flash and blast, (with most loads), but as long as you aren't going to whine about the velocity you aren't getting, all will be well.

remember that Contender barrels (and most other sporting guns) in .223 are varmint guns. They are set up to shoot varmint bullets, most in the 50-55gr range. They were never intended (or made) to shoot the new styles of long range heavy target bullets. They may do so well enough, but don't count on it. The guns are made for sportsmen, so don't compare them to military guns, even with the same barrel length, it isn't a fair comparison.

Accuracy if a function of how well the barrel is made, how well the ammo is made (uniformity), how well the barrel likes the particular load, and how well the shooter can shoot. It is not affected by barrel length (profile, yes. Length, no) other than when using iron sights. And when using iron sights, it is the shooter's accuracy that is affected, not the gun's.

If it shot well (and you need to go through a number of load combinations to be sure), I wouldn't have any problem with a 10" .223 Contender. Just don't shoot some surplus ball ammo and think that is all the gun is capable of.

 

[W.E.G.]

10.5" barrel with big clunky can hanging on the end.

1/8 twist, chrome-lined barrel