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Sidearms & Scatterguns Scope recommendations for 35 Rem Contender

bobke

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  • Sep 17, 2010
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    Hill Country, Texas
    Need to scope a recently acquired 14” 35 Rem Contender, and have been away from the game long enough that a 4x Bausch & Lomb was my last designated handgun scope and it shit the bed on a 7JDJ-2 long ago. What’s out there that durable on a hard recoiling gun, tracks reliably in a fixed 4x or lower power variable? Appreciate the assist.
     
    Need to scope a recently acquired 14” 35 Rem Contender, and have been away from the game long enough that a 4x Bausch & Lomb was my last designated handgun scope and it shit the bed on a 7JDJ-2 long ago. What’s out there that durable on a hard recoiling gun, tracks reliably in a fixed 4x or lower power variable? Appreciate the assist.
    Leupold 4X will work great and are almost indestructible.
     
    leupold and believe it or not....simmons fixed power. jd jones of ssk industries would recommend the simmons for his hard kicking calibers. and if you find a guy that has more experience than jd, lemme know. they’re affordable and they work.

    as a side note, the 35 remington is a motherfucker to shoot in the contender. i had one back when i was piss poor and even spending 50 bucks was a big deal. i had rynite grips on it and i was punished every time i would touch one off. do yourself a favor and get some pachmyr grips for it right away. they make a huge difference.

    and if handloading, the 35 remington can be challenging.
     
    The 35 will definitely be a handloading project-curious to what issues you had with yours. Still have my 7JDJ No. 2, which runs a 140 Amax at around 2350-2400fps from a reformed 307 Win case, so recoil is familiar. Guess it was a bit much for original frame, as SSK no longer offers it.
    Needed yet another project to horse with in retirement, and 35 is new to me, and want proper optic that will hold up to anticipated recoil. Do have Pachmayrs from 45 Colt barrel that will cross over to this barrel. Appreciate the inputs.
     
    truth be told, i never handloaded for the 35. i didnt fire it enough to justify it. i bought 4 boxes when i got the barrel brand new. i paid 135 for the barrel. my plan was to build a supply of brass, then handload after i had 100 pieces. i ended up selling the barrel before i reached the 100 pieces point. i’m still a big fan of the 35, i cant remember exactly who i sold it to, but they wanted it for a price that was well above what i paid for it, so down the road it went.
     
    The fixed Burris scopes hold up well. I run them on a couple or three Super Redhawks with no issues.
     
    Just now seeing this, so you've probably already found something but, the Leupold and Burris pistol scopes are the best of what is available new. You can also find the Weaver and Swift new. The Bushnell Elite 3200 and Nikon Force were good but both are discontinued. I've got a mix on may various JDJ barrels and have only killed the old Simmons and Bushnell trophy variables. The Simmons that JD used to recommend was the Gold Medal that you can still find used occasionally. Most of the fixed powers are going to hold up to the 35 Rem just fine.

    The 35 Rem really isn't that bad in a 14" gun, fun to shoot and depending on your plans, you could really do alright with a red dot out to 150 yds or so for minute of deer accuracy.
     
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    I've determined I've thoroughly toasted the Bausch and Lomb 4x, as it won't adjust windage, nor hold a zero. Watching a 4x Leupold on GB as we speak. In the interim while trying to figure out my options, mounted a 3MOA dot Fast Fire on the 35R, and it's doing well enough to sight in and work on some handloads. Also came across my notes and some new 307 Win brass to convert to 7JDJ No. 2. Can't really believe I was loading 44gr of 4350 and a 140 bullet at 2350ish in a Gen 1 Contender, and getting away with it. That's more like a hot 6.5CM load. Will anneal and form brass and get down to a more sensible load and see if the barrel will still shoot. 4x might work on that, and leave the Fast Fire in play for a bit. Thx for feedback.
     
    That's actually a pretty standard load in the 7JDJ #2, I've had 140s up to 2430fps (15" Barrel) before seeing pressure signs and the gun was still easy to open. I typically follow Don Shearer's method for pressure limits in the original contender, looking for when the case web stops expanding or when I get an imprint from the rimfire firing pin hole, then backing off to an accurate load. This is specific to hunting loads, though. If I am loading for extended shooting sessions or plinking, I typically load a bit lighter.
     
    Got a 'maximizer' by White on my 7mm Bellm Bbl and she shoots more accurately than I can hold!
    7 mm Bellm with custom furniture.jpg

    IMR 4350 is my go-to for this one also
    Look here for data on JDJ's: http://benchrest.com/sst/jdj.html