Hold a contender, hold an encore, you are more likely to pick up the contender again.
Yes, it has pressure constraints but so does the seat of my pants!
A contender can do nearly everything that I need to get done with a firearm.
Handy little sucker, ain't it?

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Think twice, shoot once.

I sure understand your point about forward weight bias. A scoped 10" barrel is bad enough, but a 14" is impossible - for me anyway. I used to shoot Hunter's pistol too. A lot of people shot with a Taco hold. A short eye relief rifle scope and the gun held by clamping your hand around the barrel and the scope bell. Held close to your eye, it was fine with 22LR and 32-20 for the rimfire and centerfire matches. Anything bigger would put your eye out!

We shoot cowboy silhouette at my club - at least until "recent events" changed everything. It uses Hunter's pistol targets but the guns are lever action, iron sight. Hunter's pistol can be shot simultaneously and we do see the occasional Contender. One of these days when we get back in operation, I'll dust of my Contender and give it a go.

I had one in the early 80's. I was trying to figure out what type of handguns I liked and decided to give single shots a try. Obviously the Contender was the platform of choice. I was doing the .22-.38-.45 thing with revolvers so I got .22, .38 Special, and .45 ACP barrels for the Contender.

Boy did they shoot well. But they were slow and my hand would cramp up from opening them during a range session. A hundred rounds was a workout. But I wish I had kept them. .38 and .45 barrels are now expensive if you can find one. Ultimately I decided on revolvers, and eventually S&W revolvers specifically. That's about all I shoot now, except for a couple of 1911's and one Ruger single action revolver thrown in for variety every now and then.

I have 4 frames and probably 10 barrels. 32 H&R, 223, 357max, 10mm and 445 super mag. The super mag barrels are some serious firepower out of a handgun. Borderline the most recoil I can handle benchresting a pistol. It would be a really fun carbine caliber

One 223 barrel is a 16" MGM fast twist that I found on ebay. I want to set it up for a carbine but it got put away and forgot about.

Here is one 445 set up on my G2 frame

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-Matt

I had a 223 version with a Leupold pistol scope back in the 70’s. It was a bull barrel and think it was 14”. This is one gun I wish I’d kept.

My brother had one he used in silouhette shooting and had a 7mm TC and 22LR barrel. My dad had one at the same time and had a 44mag and 357 barrels.

Fabulous guns!

I agree! I just bought a TC with 45-70 bbl to go with my #1 in 45-70. The 45-70 should be interesting to shoot out of a TC, even with muzzle brake. The bluing on the TC reminds of Colt's Royal Blue found their Pythons.

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213th FBINA

For my 1985 TC/Contender , I bought .223 Remington & .35 Remington.
They were my first barrels.
Adding a 12” hunter barrel ( muzzle tamer) in 45-70 Govt. in 1993.
I dropped a feral Hog with the 45-70 … at a little over 60 yds.
I had to use it for something after sessions of practice and boxes of handloads.
Now I have very little use for the Govt.

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Dino in Pittsburgh's Rat Pack

The Thompson Center Contender is a cool gun, everything from the look to the action is just so unique. The aesthetics remind me of flintlock pistols, only more modern, it's a hunting handgun that looks the part. It might sound corny, but there's something about it being a single shot that just oozes masculinity, it's like it says; "I've only got one shot, but that's all I need." and you've got to be confident in your skills to carry something single shot.

Sure, one shot, one chance is all you've typically got on a hunt anyway, as the shot will spook the animal otherwise and send it running into the brush and out of sight, but carrying a gun that only holds one round at a time just leaves me with the impression that the guy who's carrying it is especially confident.

It takes someone talented, someone special to carry a Contender into the field, just don't go feeling too special or you'll get into trouble for that.

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Shooting Comfort is bilateral.

If you have one in 45/70 and want to enjoy shooting it, use Trail Boss powder. Really tames it down a lot.

An older thread revised. My first handgun I bought was a Contender in 44 mag. A ten inch octagon barrel, new to me back in the early 80's. With a Keith load it kicked like a mule. Soon picked up a bull barrel and recoil was better. Down the road, found I enjoy hunting deer more with a handgun. Fast forward to today and my TC herd is double digits with both Contender and Encore. I still look at them and though most of my wants are filled, have a few custom barrels am thinking about. Would post a pic of the herd but been awhile since I have done so.

Back in the days of "once a rifle always I rifle" I ended up with an Encore pistol and a rifle frame, a Contender pistol and a rifle frame. And then I discovered MGM barrels ….

Funny thing is, heavy recoil in the TC pistol doesn't bother me. I have the 45/70, but 375 H&H, 405 Winchester, 300 WM in pistol - no problem. A little "limp wristing" goes a long way, so to speak. Rifle is another story. My favorite is an MGM 22" in 25-35 Winchester. Maybe I just got lucky but it's so accurate and easy to shoot.

I started my youngest son out with a Contender Carbine 223 when he was 5. A couple of years later I got him a 375 Winchester barrel for it. He still has it and his boys shoot it. With a low powered scope, it is a really handy hog killer.

I still have My Contender it’s My Muzzleloader now it’s got the T/C Carbine Stock & the Barrel is a Gonic Arms GA-90 .45 Muzzleloader Barrel 1 in 20 twist rifling & wears a Leupold M8 4x Scope light-compact & accurate


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I’ve been shooting Contenders for probably close to 30 years now. I’ve had more calibers then I can remember. The ones that I have kept are 44 magnum, 357 maximum, 223 Remington and 17 hmr. I have these in pistol barrels and carbine barrels. The 44 magnum was a package they called the “Hunter package”. It came scoped and a what they called a muzzle tamer and with a pistol case. This is what I hunted deer with for a long time. That’s what’s pictured above.



The one pictured above is a 357 maximum carbine barrel from MGM with custom black and English walnut wood on it. The stocks are from Bullberry.

Bought my Contender in '80, super 14", 35 Remington. Had all sorts of barrels for it (22lr, 44 Mag, 45/410). Cut down the 14", that didn't work out. Settled on the 12" 35 Rem. Shot more deer with it than any other gun I've owned. Great gun.

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I think I have 5 frames/receivers. Maybe 25 bbls. The one that was most memorable was the one I didn't enjoy shooting much...the 45-70. It shot well! Me? Not so much first 3 were fine....any after that?? By number 6...never never land. I think my favorite calibers are 22 K hornet and the 357 Max is a 150 yd deer slayer+. I also have an Encore rifle. Still in the box unfired. I think it is a 270. That little K Hornet is a great shooter. Surprisingly I've never had a 22 LR bbl. I did have a 22 mag carbine bbl I bought at an auction in Virginia. For some reason I let myself get talked out of that one. Stupid of me

I have my original Contender from early 70's with a .357 Herrett in 14" and a 30-30 10" barrel. Wonderful shooter in both calibers. Used them for IHMSA as well as Michigan Whitetails. Been thinking about getting it back out for the next range trip.

Absolutely silly what the barrels are selling for these days. Over $300 for anything interesting.

That's just the way things are right now! If is at all interesting, people just throw money at it!

Ivan

I’ve had several frames and a bunch of barrels over the years, but am down to one carbine frame and 2 barrels, a .204 Ruger and a .50 cal. muzzleloaderi. The .204 is very accurate, but since I haven’t used it in years, it may get sold.

A friend had a .44 mag. pistol barrel rechambered to .444 Marlin. At the range one day he asked if I wanted to shoot it and, of course, I did. After one shot from the sitting position, I never shot it again. On the upside, I hit the target dead center.

Which is more desirable?

A .45/410 bull or vent rib?

I had an original Contender in the late 80s. Started with the 223 and then got a 7-30 Waters barrel. Both calibers were boringly accurate off the bench. Sold it in the 90s and missed it from time to time. In 2015 I bought an Encore pistol in 243. It shot very well, so I got 7-30, 223 and 45-70 barrels from MGM. The 45-70 barrel was shot on one outing and put away... Too much for me. The others get shot occasionally, and are extremely accurate. This old thread has rekindled my interest, so I'll need to dig the Encore out and blow the dust off of it at the range.

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Tom
"Panem et Circenses"

I had one of each. I sold the bull bbl. I found I used the 410 much more than the 45 Colt. In fact the last pheasant I shot I used the Contender. I have plenty pheasants here but I kind of feel they are just a tough chicken. I have used the 410 Contender on a few less than desirable rattlers round the house. I have a couple T-C shoulder type holsters I tie on the tractor and mower. The vent rib bbl just looks kina natural to a shotgun shooter

TC should be my middle name. I've been collecting, trading, shooting and hunting with Contenders since I came home from Nam. When the Encore came out, it to went into my TC affliction. Everything from 14 Flea to 470 Nitro.

My first centerfire pistol was a 44 Magnum Contender, in 1973.
I sold it for college tuition money.

About 15 years ago, a friend sold me a plain Jane Contender with a 22LR barrel.
I was looking for a scope on eBay, well the scope was attached to a Contender barrel, and the packege was less than I was expecting to pay for the scope,, I bought it.

The barrel is a 35 Remington. I bought a box of ammo, put the barrel on the frame, and it has been setting,, A LONG time!!



Guns typically do not scare me, I shoot my 18" Benelli M1 one-handed all the time.

So, Do I need to continue avoiding the recoil of this thing?? or, is it similar to the recoil of the 44 Magnum??

I have never ran into a 35REM pistol owner,, Hmmmmm,, What should I do??

The 35 isn't really all that bad in the Contender. I still have one but will probably put it on ebay soon. I have another bbl in 357 Rem Max and it is as good as the 35 Rem. The fun-est cal in my Contender is either the 22 Hornet or the K Hornet. They both shoot good. The 223 is also fun

The 35 remington is one of my favorite calibers in the Contender. Have taken many deer with it, a reason I dont hear real well now. The ignorance of youth. I reload so my 35's have been fed my loads but recoil isnt as bad as my first barrel, a ten inch octagon 44 mag. You have a good grip on it as well for recoil. If you find the recoil is to much, look at Witt clamp on muzzle brakes. Have two and they work well though are kind of large and are loud. Mine sit on Encores, a 30-06 and a 270, both handguns.

+1 on 22 Hornet! I have a 10" Bull in 22 Hornet and a 10' Octagon & 10" bull in 221 Fireball. The fall in the category: "The most fun you can have with your cloths on!"

Ivan

This thread still have any activity?

Well it could. Do you have any questions or pictures of your Contenders ?

My .45LC / .410 I picked up earlier this year.



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It looks like the thread is still active. Nice looking Contender by the way.

Just joined the T/C group. A 1994 Contender 10" round bull barrel chambered in 357 maximum. Found ammo but pretty pricey. I always have 357, 38 to use also.