Contender-Series Model 39
by Tom Gaylord
New Contender Model 39 is a smaller breakbarrel spring-piston rifle with a lot of full-sized features, including a 4x scope!
This rifle is a little beauty. It's smaller than the average adult air rifle, at just longer than 40" overall, yet it's also sized well for an adult, if that makes any sense. The length of pull (distance between the butt and trigger) is what makes a rifle feel big or small. On the Contender 39, that distance is 13" - on the short side of normal for adults, but definitely not a youth gun. That said, older kids will also love it, not only for its size but also for the light 22-lb. cocking force. It was designed to be a youth air rifle, but it carries over nicely to adults. The rifle weighs just 5.25 lbs. So, big or small, you can carry it around all day and never get tired.
The forearm is short and thin, giving the impression you're holding a lightweight carbine. The barrel, however, is not short at all, at 17-7/8" long. That includes the decorative muzzlebrake that helps reduce cocking effort. This rifle is a study in contrasts - a short rifle, if you will, or a long-barrelled carbine.
Several nice features
I like small rifles, so I was really eager to shoot this one. Before we get started, let me show you a couple of features I find quite attractive. The first one is the manual safety. I understand why manufacturers put automatic safeties on airguns, but I don't like them and wish they weren't there. A manual safety puts the shooter in complete control, which is how it should always be.
The manual safety is the round button on the rear of the action above the trigger. Push in on the right side to set it; on the left (shown here), push in to take it off.
Another feature I find very attractive is the 4x scope that comes with the rifle. There are no open sights, so you need a scope, but so many times you are required to buy that item separately. Having said that, I must admit that the scope in the package is not the best quality; but it works fine and it comes with scope mounts, another item you usually have to buy, so you'll be ready to go. If this is all you can afford at the moment, it won't let you down. During the accuracy testing, I adjusted it and it worked exactly as it should. The view through the tube was a little on the dark side because the diameter of the scope tube is smaller than the one-inch standard, but you can live with that and do just fine. If I were going to upgrade, I couldn't think of a better replacement than the Tech Force 4x32mm. It has a full one-inch tube, which gives you a bright, clear picture of the target.
One final feature relating to the scope is the built-in scope stop. All recoiling spring rifles must have a positive mechanical stop to keep the scope mounts from slipping under recoil. No amount of clamping pressure alone is enough to keep the mounts from moving backwards when the rifle springs forward. On expensive German air rifles, the scope stop is not provided, so there's another $20 you must pay before you can shoot. The Contender Model 39, however, comes with a scope stop already installed. Once you mount the scope rings, simply slide the rear ring back to the scope stop and cinch it down. That will hold everything in place.
Position the rear scope ring against the scope stop (the plate with the screw), and you'll have no problem with scope mount movement. Although the rifle doesn't recoil that much, this step is very necessary, because the cumulative effect of many shots will move the mounts unless they are anchored this way.
Mounting the scope
Mounting the scope is an easy 10-min. job. The mounts are held with one screw per base and easily clamp to the dovetails. The scope comes with the rings attached, so simply attach the bases to the dovetails and slide the scope back to the stop before tightening the screws. You are not quite finished with the job. Hold up the rifle in firing position and sight through the scope. You want to see the scope's vertical reticle line bisecting the rifle's receiver. This is just an eyeball job, no measuring tools are needed. When the rifle feels level in your hand, the scope reticle should look plumb (straight up and down). Every person sees this a little different, so don't be surprised to find the reticle is not level from the factory.
If you need to adjust the scope to be level, loosen the screws on either side of both scope caps just a little. Rotate the scope until it looks right. This is also the time to position the scope at the correct distance from your sighting eye. Tighten the cap screws, and the job is finished!
Sighting-in
I have a real quick and easy method for sighting-in an airgun. Because you can shoot in so many places, I use a paper target taped to a cardboard box. You can even draw an aim point directly on the box, if you want to. Draw it about the size of a nickel, or about 3/4" in diameter.
Making certain that the backstop behind the box is safe, set the box just 10 feet away. That's right, 10 FEET! You must wear safety glasses all the time you are shooting, as pellet fragments can bounce back and hurt severely! Shoot groups of three and adjust the scope until you are hitting about two inches directly below the aim point. At 10 feet, the target will look fuzzy through the scope, but you aren't going for great precision. Just keep shooting and adjusting until the groups are approximately two inches below your aim point.
When they are, move the box out to 10 YARDS and shoot another group. This group should climb up from the 10-foot group by about one inch. If it doesn't, adjust the scope knobs until you are hitting about one inch below your point of aim.
Move the box out to 20 yards and shoot another group. It should be close to the aim point. If not, adjust the knobs until it is. Allow for the normal dispersion of pellets at this range, which will be about an inch or so. Once you are hitting the aim point at 20 yards, you can stop. Your rifle is now sighted in for 20-25 yards. At 10 yards, it will shoot about an inch low and the same at about 32 yards. This sight-in distance is the best one for all general shooting. If you have a special need for a different distance, go ahead and sight in for that range. Just remember, you start the process at 10 feet!
Power
Remember that this is a youth rifle. The power is purposely less for safety reasons. I cleaned the barrel with J-B Non-Embedding Bore Cleaning Compound before shooting began, then I chronographed the rifle first. That gave me a chance to get used to the trigger, the handling and the firing behavior before trying to shoot groups.
This picture shows where the term breakbarrel comes from. By breaking the barrel down this far, the mainspring is compressed and the piston that holds it is held by the rifle's sear until the trigger releases it. A spring-loaded latch returns the barrel to the same place every time you close it.
RWS Hobby pellets averaged 440 f.p.s. with a maximum velocity spread of just 11 f.p.s. That's a very tight spread for 10 shots and with pellets coming straight from the tin with no special preparation. The rifle did not diesel and only smoked a normal amount, which was refreshing. Usually, a new spring gun diesels loudly for many shots.
Gamo Match wadcutter pellets averaged 460 f.p.s., which is surprising since they weigh more than RWS Hobbys. They probably fit the bore a little better. Their extreme spread was 15 f.p.s., which is still very good.
Compasseco's new Tech Force target wadcutter pellet is heavier still, at 8.2 grains, and averaged 407 f.p.s. The extreme spread was just 11 f.p.s. These pellets fit the breech very tightly, which is a good indication they will be very accurate, since spring guns usually like tight-fitting pellets.
Trigger
This is a good time to mention the trigger. It's a two-stage, non-adjustable trigger that releases at about 7 lbs. on the test rifle. That's heavy for most shooters. For plinking, you'll have no difficulty. Firing off a rest, you'll definitely notice the weight. On the plus side, the trigger I tested was entirely free of creep. When released, it's as crisp as it should be.
Accuracy
Most of the groups at 20 yards were in the 1.5" range. RWS Hobby pellets and Gamo Match were both about the same, as far as group size goes. With the new Tech Force target wadcutter, I got groups below the one-inch mark. The best group of the session was barely larger than 3/4".
Compasseco's new Tech Force target pellet is a good match for the TF 39.
Summary
If you're in the market for a handy breakbarrel spring-piston rifle, they don't get much handier than the Contender-Series Model 39. Designed as a youth airgun, it has plenty to offer adults, as well.