Why were Thompson Center single shots discontinued?

Are any of the similar models of these single shots made under different manufacture?

What is likelihood that whoever owns the property will resurrect the brand?

I've had T/C Contenders since the Early 80's. I have 8 barrels and 2 Actions. Delivery started in August 1968 with the first 500 starting with SN 1001, Those sold out and the second batch continued in September 1968 with 1501. I have a 10" 357 Mag, Octagon barrel, that was shipped with action 1607. I bought it off the original owner, but I couldn't talk him into selling me the action.

There are 3 types of Contender Actions. "Original", "Easy Open" and "G-2" (which looks like a baby Encore) There are several gazillion T/C Actions and about 4 times that many barrels, along with a number of aftermarket barrel makers. If you go to any gun show you will see quite a few actions, barrels and NIB sets for sale. I don't believe new production will ever resume, because the market is over saturated already.

My assortment includes:

10" Bull 22 Hornet
10" Oct 221 Fireball
10" Bull 221 Fireball
10" Oct 357 Mag
12" Hunter 375 Winchester
14" 22 LR Match
14" 44 Mag w/Mag-na-port
14" 7 TCU

Of what I owned, the 10" Bull 221 Fireball is the most accurate, and a 14" 223 with a rail mounted Phantom scope was the worst. After 3 years of trying to get a fair group out of it I gave up and sold it. The most spectacular is the 375 Win with Factory ammo being shot at dusk! The muzzle flash is a little bigger than a large beach ball! (The Recoil is not a lot more than the 357 Oct. The "Muzzle Tamer" porting does a fantastic job of recoil reduction and controllability!)

I have a friend with a 14" 22 Hornet, we have gone head shooting "Improvised Targets" at distances out to 275 yards. Off of sandbags and laying down, I didn't miss one of the 15 consecutive shots on "Pop can" sized targets Using Factory Hornady 35 grain V-Max ammo. Advertised Velocity is 3100 FPS in a rifle. In handloads the same bullet will maintain 1" groups @ 100 up to 3250 FPS, but my gun maintains 1/4" groups @ 100 staying with 3100-3150 FPS. (Powder; H 4227) Like I said earlier my 10" Bull 221 Fireball is more accurate than that (50 grain Combined Technolgies Ballistic Silver Tip over AA 1680).

I hope you will jump in and enjoy the pleasure of a good single shot handgun!

Ivan

S&W currently owns Thompson Center. Their firearms have been discontinued and I've read that they now make castings.

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"I also cook."

S&W discontinued all T/C products a few years ago. Not sure what will become of the company at this time, but SSK Firearms is currently offering Contender receivers as well as some Encore and Contender barrels and parts.

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Ain't This Fun Though?

Big Contender fan here except I shoot mine as a carbine. I have

21" TC tapered blued 22lr Match
21" TC tapered blued 22 Hornet re-chambered to 22K Hornet
21" MGM tapered blued .223
21" TC tapered blued 30-30

I'm good. Don't need any more barrels. Not buying any more barrels. I mean it this time. The Contender can be a very deep rabbit hole.......

I was unaware the company went out of business. I own a T/C Renegade .50 caliber cap lock muzzleloader that is a great shooter.

Like Ivan, I too have an affinity for the 14" barrels. The 45/70 barrel is as much flame thrower as hand cannon

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Qui plantavit curabit

I've heard that song before ! And a deep DEEP rabbit hole . . . not as bad as Handi-rifle barrels 'cause they tended to be a lot cheaper . . . I seem to had a few of those as well . . .

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Qui plantavit curabit

I have a .35 Rem and a .223. The .35 has killed some nice bucks and the. 223 has never fired a shot because my action is too weak to set off the military primers of my 5.55mm ammo. Never have tried .223 lol.

The April 2024 issue of Guns magazine has a story about the rebirth of the Contender, under a different name but the same basic gun with improvements.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

Cool I have a Carbine that is My Muzzleloader It has a Gonic Arms GA-90 ,45 Caliber Muzzleloader Barrel that uses 209 Shotgun Primers for Ignition & has a 3x9 Scope 1 in 20 Twist Rifling it's amazingly accurate I shoot Hornady SST Bullets & Blackhorn 209 Powder,Gonic is long out of business But I purchased the barrel New in the early 90's

4 frames, 10" bbls are in 22 lr, 22 Hornet, 357 Max. and 45 Colt. 12" in 7 TCU that someone tried to install ports on so I cut it back. 16" in 22 Hornet, 14" in 30-30 and 44 Magnum.
Rifle bbls in 223, 17 Ackley Hornet, 7-30 Waters and a wildcat 30 Badger.

There are a lot of parts and bbls floating around. Many have interesting throats and chambers. I find the pistols hard to shoot without a rest. In the MT woods a rest is not always far away but a walking stick or knee rest when sitting make them very accurate,

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Front sight and squeeze

I never used as a rifle, but had several calibers in the pistol configuration. .22 Match, 7mmTCU, 7x30 Waters 14", 44 Mag. 10", all were used primarily for Metallic Silhouette, and all were very accuracy. The original 7mmTCU I used with a "Sure Lock" hinge pin that tightened up the lock up and did improve accuracy. Almost forgot about it, but ran across it the other day straightening up my loading room. (Since no longer have any TC's, I'd sell it if anyone wanted it.)

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Been a TC "fan" for many years, most in the handgun version. Have both Contenders and Encores. Most of my deer hunting these days is with short guns. A first for me this year was a turkey with a 14 inch Contender in 410 and TSS shell.
You will have to ask S&W why they quit the TC brand, they are the last owners. SSK has finally started selling their version of the Contender frame, a copy of the first generation Contender with easy open frame.
Encores and the Gen 2 Contender aren't being made currently.
Most of my wants and needs are filled these days, though I do keep an eye out for those that peak my interest. Am contemplating thinning the herd some, some are beginning to collect dust.

I had a problem with a TC a couple years ago and ended up speaking to the president of S&W. He mentioned to me then that they were trying to sell TC. I guess they never found a buyer.

I’ve got a 14” G2 .30-30 that started as a pistol, and I recently SBRd it and shortened a synthetic buttstock for it. Makes for a handy and ridiculously small rifle. Currently on the hunt for a .223 barrel for it, but those are getting scarce.

I've been really tempted to get into the Contender game. I've been wanting one since the late '70s, but something else has always pulled the money out of my wallet faster.

I'm thinking about starting out with .22 Hornet and .357 Max. There are a ton of rifle configurations going through my head as well.

If I ever get back to a state that allows hunting suppressed, I'm going to get a threaded .45 Colt or .44 Mag barrel and see what a 300 gr, sub-sonic bullet does when it passes through a deer.

I picked up a magazine last month, new company is making the TC Encore frame and a few barrels. I forget the name, don't know if TC barrels readily fit.

I have 4 frames - two as handguns and two as rifles, Contender and Encore. I have the usual chamberings, but among the unusual are 405 Winchester, 375 JDJ, 350 WinMag, 8mm Mauser and of course 45/70 - all in handgun configuration. My favorite in rifle is 25.35 WCF. Super pleasant to shoot and for some reason accurate as heck.

I will never stop!
SSK is bringing back the original contender as the SSK-50!
When inventory is restored (after the election)

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Think twice, shoot once.

A few years ago I met an employee of Lehigh Defense at my local range. He told me that they were going to start producing Contender actions and he had a few prototypes. He let my son shoot a .300 Blk prototype. Shortly thereafter Lehigh Defense was acquired by Bill Wilson and I don't know what happened with SSK. I don't know if anybody has any plans to keep making them.

First things first:
Midway has SSK-50 frames in stock. I would be all over one except you can't have just a frame shipped to CA. Single shots have to be a complete pistol with a 6" or greater barrel.

Also, I just bought a G2 with .41Mag and .327Mag barrels. As I happen to shoot both of those calibers, it works out pretty well. Now I just have to wait it to be delivered to my local FFL.

I had a few SAE (different from SSE, but same theory) handguns sent to an intermediary FFL in AZ who removed the DA sear and then sent into CA. I'd suppose they would also do the same re the SSK. Midway sends them the frame, you send them a barrel.

There's a listing for the new frames on the SSK website. It says "dealers only" and "must buy five frames".
Price listed is $2125, but no explanation if that's per frame or for an order of five frames. (I hope it's for an order of five!!!)
Oh yes, and of course, they're out of stock!
But, there is a silly picture of a new one with a cheesy plastic AR style stock attached. Oh well....

And there's this statement:
"This receiver is compatible with Thompson Center/SSK G1/G2 Contender® barrels post TC Generation 1. The SSK-50 receiver is not compatible with TC Generation 1 barrels. Due to other barrel manufacture’s variation from TC dimensional specifications, we can not assure fitment to these manufacture’s barrels."

As someone who shot Contenders in the last century, when dinosaurs and IHMSA were alive and well, I have no idea what they're talking about. (If by Generation 1, they mean the cool ones with the cougar on the side, then I'm not interested in this new one.)
But, I do know this: When Warren Center was running the company, every barrel was guaranteed to fit every frame. If not, they went out of their way to make it right, no questions asked.
That company was run by nice folks!!

As for the OP question:
Why were Thompson Center single shots discontinued?
My "wise guy" answer is, "Because they don't take a 30 round magazine."

If you ever talked with J.D.Jones on the phone (and got the phone slammed in your ear), you would immediately understand that things are different now!

Jones does do a great job of maintaining HIS tolerances, but to heck with any other set!

Ivan

News! S&W has sold T-C

Former Owner Purchases Thompson/Center From S&W - The Truth About Guns

Referring back to my earlier post, the whole generation 1 vs generation 2 thing is a retroactive perspective that overlooks the era of the original Contender design.
Back then, if you were familiar with the particular model, you understood that there were a number of important variations.
The “original” Contender did not have an adjustable trigger stop, did not have the “easy open” frame, and had the one-piece bolt in the barrel underlug.
The adjustable trigger stop and the two piece bolt were helpful inprovements. Together they consituted a new version of the Contender.
As the gun was being used for heavier recoiling cartridges operating sometimes at high pressure, the “easy open” action helped address case set-back which could make opening the action more of a challenge. The change was accompanied with a new trigger profile which was not to everyone’s liking.
Also, this change introduced spare parts logistical issues.
At the same time, T/C made changes to the hammer mounted safety lever and the firing pin selector. Fortunately, hammers were all interchangeable, but it was yet another spare part headache!
Then, there were the important sight variations. The original rear sight was mounted with two screws. A design change involving a four screw mount was accompanied with a new, proprietary scope mount and line of optics. For the first time ever, a handgun manufacturer offered a complete (and high quality!) handgun-mount-optic system. Up to then, the only game in town was the Bushnell Phantom, a mediocre scope (well, it was a Bushnell, after all) of low magnification (1.3 & 2x) and plain cross reticle, recoil resistent all the way up to the 38 Special. Plus, the mount was a “gunsmith only” drill and tap affair. The T/C system allowed the end-user to install and configure scope or sights to their own needs.
Other sight variations were to come. And, in the midst of all this were the many barrel variations: original short octagonals, the 10” (octagonal or bull), and “Super 14” bull barrel.
The short-lived Armor Alloy II (there was no Armor Alloy I…weird!), added a new problem: for the first time, there was a Contender variation that violated the idea of across-the-board barrel & frame interchangeability.
Many of us were not amused, and the Armor Alloy II variation was mostly rejected marketwise, and subsquently discontinued.

Fortunately, T/C never lost sight of their heritage, as underscored by their Steve Herrett commemorative Contender (see attached image). While I am not a fan of most “commemoratives”, this one was tasteful yet still utilitarian. And, for a couple hundred bucks over the price of the standard model, still within the budget of many shooters and collectors.

Anyhow, the bottom line is, to retroactively throw all of these variations into one heading under “Generation 1”, is, to me, a gross oversimplification, to say the least.

By the time the so-called “Generation 2” version came along, it just appeared to me to be a “mini-me” (sorry, Austin Powers) version of the Encore.
The grace, handling, balance, and yes, style of the “real” Contender was over.

Requiescat in pace

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I just saw this morning that TC was sold, to a former owner(?). I'm sure more information will be coming out soon.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244