Anyone here collect contender barrels and frames. How many shoot these accurate guns and what barrels do you shoot? I have one in .22 or and 357 max, both shoot great. Looking to have Bullberry make me a 6" bbl in 32 long. Larry

I had couple. 30 Herret, 44 mag, 30-40 Krag Bellm barrel, and 223 Rem. The 223 would shoot sub. 3/8" groups @ 100 yds.

I ordered a 21" carbine barrel, in .22 Rem. jet from MGM in Tulsa...Still waiting... I'll bet that baby will sizzle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
JIM....................

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SWCA # L-1911

I have 2 frames and 9 barrels. My favorite by far is a Super 14 in .223; much fun ringing steel gongs! I picked up a 357 MAX barrel in a trade but haven't fired it yet; do you know a source for reasonably priced ammo?

First let's get the bad news out of the way,- 357 max is pretty much a reload your own or go without show. Soooo - forget "cheap Max ammo".

Now the good news, - You can fire 38 special or 357 mag in that barrel, chamber. As for special length ammo, accuracy may suffer some from the long lead from case to rifling.
With either, be sure to clean the chamber area well before going to longer cases.

I have .22, .22mag, .357, two different 30/30 barrels, 410/.45 off the top of my head.

I have a real affinity to the older tapered octagon barrels, I just think they look elegant. The barrel with the scope on it, is a .22lr tapered octagon the scope has flats on it to match the flats on the barrel. Ed

I have an early pre-easy open frame, along with a scoped super 14 .223, scoped super 14 30-30, and 12 inch 45c / 410 shotgun barrels. They all fit in one TC carry case. It is nice to have a package in one case that can handle everything from target to small game, to big game and birds. The .410 barrel works well on pheasant at about 20 yards and under.

Larry

I've had mine since the 70's and like the versatility of them. Would also like a 357 single shot and a 20" bull berry or MGM would fit nicely. The bull berry is listed as a match also. Larry

Larry, I sold off my Contender but still have my Encore. I have 3 barrels on order from Bullberry as we speak. 12" .223 and 7.62 X 39mm. And a 10" .44 mag. Good people to deal with. I ordered them early Winter. Hoping to see them soon. I also had the Bullberry hangar conversion done to all of my other barrels. Best thing since sliced bread. I don't know what the lead time is now. They were stating 4 months but I've been waiting longer. They sell some darn nice wood also.

22LR, 38spec, 357mag, 30carb, 45acp, 45/410 all 10" octagon except the 38spec & 45acp are 8 3/8".

I've also got 2 Jurras custom carbines w/ 3 barrels, 7mm Jurras, 17/223 & 2R Lovell.

I've attached a couple of pics, the target is 10 rounds, 38spec / 50 feet.

I had a bunch of other barrels but sold them off........I never shot them.

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I have a 6mm TCU and a 300 Whisper. Haven't got to shoot them yet. What is a good stance for shooting without a bipod?

Anyone here collect the barrels? What would a 6 1/2" bbl be worth in 22 or 32 mag? Is there a contender collected forum? How do the Jurras guns shoot? They look great, Larry

Larry,
Depends on the maker. All of my barrels, 7.62X39, 30.06 and 7-30 Waters Encore rifle length, were made by the TC Custom shop in Rochester, NH. before the fire and ultimate sale of the Company. Super nice in fit, finish and workmanship. Thompson Center was a first class operation and it is a disgrace to see the quality of todays product versus the TC operation.

A short time ago, I decided I wanted a .44 mag barrel and recently purchased a new barrel made by you know who. Absolutely horrible. Stamped roll marks for caliber designation that were so deep the metal was all raised and rolled over. Looked like it was made by bubba and a ball peen hammer as compared to my old TC Custom Shop barrels. I never shot it and sold it on the TC Forum for a loss just to get rid of it. I'm now waiting on a custom 10" from Bullberry. BTW Bullberry does excellent work if you are looking for a custom barrel.

Check out the TC Forum. They have a for sale section similar to this forum. (Not as nice as this forum though). You might be in the 200-250 area, possibly even more if the caliber is unique. The original Thompson Center barrels will command a premium over aftermarket.

I have a earlier Contender Frame & Put a Carbine Butt Stock & a Gonic Arms GA-90 .45 Caliber Muzzleloader Barrel on it makes for a Light but Accurate Black Powder Gun,Gonic was a small outfit in New Hampshire they are long out of business now.

I originally bought mine to shoot .256 Win Mag. I liked so much I bought extra barrels in .44 Mag, .45LC, .357, .22LR, .221 Fireball, and 25-20 WCF.

Fun to shoot. Easy to clean.

There are some great responses so far. Will check out the TC forum. The ML bbl sounds neat. May have a nice set of exhibition rifle wood and make a cool 357 match with a 20" bbl. Sometimes life is good, Larry

Larry,
I'll help you spend some of your hard earned cash. Pictured is my Encore with a 18" 7.62X39 bbl. (.308 bore). This barrel and my 30.06 were originally made at 26" length. I also have a 20" 7-30 Waters barrel. The 26ers were a little too long and didn't balance well. Also, surprisingly the 20" barrel always shot better than the longer tubes. I recently read a great article on short bull barrels versus long tubes and the short barrels often hold better accuracy do to better harmonics. Contrary to what we have read for years on long tubes.

I sent all the barrels to Bullberry for their proprietary hanger install. Since I have Bullberry pistol barrels on order and they only come with their hanger I figured it would make it easier all around. While there, I had the two 26 inchers cut down to 18" and recrowned. The heavy short barrels result in a nice compact package that balances much better. I'd give the shorter barrel length some serious thought if ordering a custom barrel. More so if you get the full bull barrel profile.

I don't know about the other barrel makers but will highly recommend Bullberry. Super nice people and quality work. Also they procure their barrel blanks from some of the premier barrel makers in the country. Won't mention any names.

18" TC Custom Shop bull barrel profile. I believe it is .875". Bullberry full bull profile is 1".


Cut and crowned with Bullberrys recessed 11degree target crown.


Bullberry fore end hanger system. Dovetailed bases with the screw on hanger. One screw in forearm for mounting.



Here's a blast from the past. April 1970 Shooting Times featuring the TC Contender. I was 13 years old and wanted one of those rascals in the worst way. I remember sitting drooling over this mag like it was the Sears Christmas Catalog. Eventually did buy one. Sold it off a year or so ago to a work buddy. Doesn't float his boat and he keeps asking me if I want it back. It's tempting.



Regards Mike

Pieced together a Contender Alloy frame (Gunbroker), Bulberry grips, 14" MGM barrel in .223 w/a Burris 3-12 scope. Haven't shot it yet, anxious to see how it performs.
Wes

I have a 357 herret a 30 herret and a 222 all with 2.5 power scopes.all 10 inher that shoot well

I have had:
22 lr (10 & 14 inch)
22mag (10 & 14 inch)
221 Fireball (10 inch) should have kept that one
223 Remington (14 inch) good shooter
223 Remington carbine barrel ( I think it was 21 inch) really big mistake
256 Winchester (10 inch) not much good for silhouette IHMSA
25-35 Winchester (10 inch) really loud
7 mm TCU (10 & 14 inch) both really shot good
30 Herrett (10 inch) big mistake
357 mag (10 inch)
357 mag hotshot (10 inch)
357 Max (10 & 14 inch) the 10 inch is REALLY LOUD , 14 inch really shot good
41 mag (10 & 14 inch) 14 inch really shot well
45 Colt/410 vent rib (10 inch)

I have a 10” 22 Hornet, one of the most fun guns to shot I have.

Keep us filled in on your project choice.

I do not personally have one but I get to shoot some of my grandfathers from time to, usually just before deer season. He has a bunch of different barrels from .357 to a 45/70. From what I can tell they are all accurate with his hand loads. Some are obviously not that much fun to shoot. His 30/30 is about the stoutest I can say is fun to shoot but I will always shoot the 45/70 to avoid harassment. The .223 and 7mm (May have a suffix-not a magnum) are surprisingly accurate.

I have a stainless Encore with 223,300 win mag and 50 cal muzzleloader barrels. The 300 is the most brutal rifle I have ever shot and I have been shooting a magnum rifle for over 25 years.

My Contender is one of my favorite pistols. I have a 10" .44 Mag, a 10" .22 LR, and a scoped 10" .30-30. I have plans to get a .357 Mag, and a .45 Colt, and then my outfit will be complete. Unless I see a....

With the .44 barrel, it's now my favorite target pistol. I shoot a Rim Rock 200 gr. DEWC with 6.4 gr. 800x, and at 10 yards offhand, my groups average 1 inch.

And even though I'm set pretty well on .22 ammo, I still like shooting them through a single-shot. I was raised with the notion that you should make every shot count, and with a single-shot, there is no wasting of ammo.

I have a 357 Mag 10" octagon barrel that came with frame #1861. Since serial numbers started at 1001 in August of 1968 this is from October. I also have a 10" oct. & 10" bull 221 fireball, 10" bull 22 Hornet, Super14 44 Mag that I had Mag-na-ported, Super14 7TCU, Super14 in 22 Long Rifle Match and perhaps the most fun of all; a 12" Hunter (w/iron sights) in 375 Winchester. The muzzle blast is the size of a large beach ball, but the recoil is very mild. I have both a early and a e-z open actions. I currently have the Hornet and Bull Fireball scoped and am thinning the herd of rabbits and ground hogs from my garden! I had an 223 Super14, that I couldn't get to group under 3" @ 100 yards. I bought it used and think it was damaged (ammo I loaded for it shot well in other Contenders) This was about 1983-4. It had the crummy little Phantom 2.5x scope that was rail mounted. I've been thinking of adding a extension to the TCU barrel and making it a carbine. Ivan

Glad the contender is still popular, anyone have one as a rifle. How good do the rifles shoot? Pics would be nice, Larry

Well, last nite I bid on a 6 1/2" 32 mag bbl with the T /C box and won the auction. I'll see how it shoots and if need be, I'll order a Bullberry in .32 long. It's a cool looking bbl, Larry

Post some pics when you get it. Congrats.

Well the barrel came Friday, I mounted the bbl to see how it looks being so short. Love it, just need to shoot it to see if T/C made a good bbl. Looks good with the full length forend!!! It's a .32 Magnum bbl. Larry

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It don't look good, it looks great. Sweet looking rig. Love the wood and also love when the bull barrel ends near the forearm. Very nice. Have fun at the range. I'm patiently waiting for my barrels. Coming from original TC I bet it shoots like a champ.
Regards

Reminds me of a 5" .45 ACP barrel Dean Grennell had made for his Contender.
I bet that .32 Long is a sweet shooter out of that barrel.
I'd like to get a Contender and have a barrel made in .327 Federal.
Or, maybe an Encore Carbine.

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What would Jim Cirillo do?

Anyone else have a bbl in .32 magnum? How's it shoot? How abt the 32/20? Larry

I'm sorry...but that is a really cool looking TC!
My favorite is my super 14 in 41 magnum. I also have a 22 lr, a 17 Remington barrels and a 45 lc. and 410 barrel. I also have a Encore Pro frame with walnut wood but no barrel! Yet. enjoy

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2 Timothy 1:7

Beautiful.

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Oh well, what the hell.

I still have my 10 incher..I won my class in the mid 80's ( before my eyes went squirreley),Texas State IHMSA field pistol championships..Shot it open sights (standing and also didn't place with my 10" scoped 45 colt..
Love the contenders.. Just got my .22 jet bbl.in from MGM in Utah...gotta find out what it's boreis...Forgot to ask...Then find some bullets for the test firing...
JIM

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SWCA # L-1911

I just won the last two barrels I was looking for.

A ten inch octagon .357

A fourteen inch bull .223

Life is good.

Right now, I'm down to just a .357 Max and a .357 Mag. Very stupidly I let some really good ones get away. I shot IHMSA competition many years ago with A Ruger Super Blackhawk in .44 Mag in revolver class but shot unlimited with a 7/30 Waters and a 7 TCU T/C's. Loved those T/C's, I'll replace them someday.

I just picked up the Pachmayr Decelerator grips,& forearm.
Not that the OEM Walnut , is in bad shape, just wann' keep 'um that way.
1. .223 ( not .556) extractor prob. told me. 14"
2. 35 Remington 14"
3. .375 JDJ 14"
4. .41 Magnum 10"
5. 7 mm. TC/U 14"
6. 45-70 Gov. 12" Hunter & multi- port Brake.
SCOPES ON .223 , 35 , 375 jdj , & 45-70

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Dino in Pittsburgh's Rat Pack

I still have my first barrel, 10" 44 Mag which I used for Silhouette competition for a few years. I've had a 7 TCU and .22 RF which I have sold, but still have a 7X30 Waters 14" and a .222 10".

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

I have a 32-20 Contender since 1990. I bought it for hunters silhouette. It has a 2x scope with a black dot in the center. Put the dot on what you want to hit and squeeze the trigger. Anyone can do it. I was shooting home cast 118 grain gas check wadcutters at 1260 fps.

I also have a TC rifle stock and 223 barrel with a 6-24 scope. Its a short light rifle. I shot this for years in a 100 yard offhand rifle match. Now my girlfriend shoots it because its light. I am getting a savage model 25 with a thumbhole stock in 223 for that match.





David

Edit: Its the best trigger of any gun I own.