T C frame question

[kbstenberg]

I am looking at 2 TC Contender frames to purchase that have a piece on the hammer that can be adjusted to fire either RF or center fire. Is there any disadvantage to using this kind of frame to strictly shoot center fire cartridges. Kevin

[Fishman]

Short answer no. All contender frames have that feature. Just leave it set on centerfire and enjoy.

[uscra112]

The Generation 1 Contender frames have a true set-trigger, which I like a lot. Gen 2 does not. All have the rimfire/centerfire hammer arrangement, which is adequate, but not terribly robust.

I'm going to get a lot of pushback for saying so, but IMHO the Gen 1 and Gen 2 are great with pistol cartridges and small rifle cartridges like the Hornet, Bee, and .223. Beyond that, I feel they are overstressed, and now that I know better I would not fit a .357 Maximum, .30-30, or 35 Remington barrel to one, never mind anything hotter. (I did, and I regret it.) Big, high pressure cartridges should be in an Encore frame!!! I will keep the .357 Max barrel I have for my Gen 1, but will fire it only as necessary for hunting, (Ohio restrictions). The rest of the time it will wear a Hornet barrel, and hopefully it will live to be handed to my grandchildren.

[selmerfan]

The only disadvantage I can see is that I have a shooting buddy that owns one, and when we got shoot, his clumsy thumb moves that switch about 25% of the time and it goes "click". I don't have that problem with my Encore, but I love the lighter Contender frame that he has. His only barrel is a .30-30 and it shoots great with moderate jacketed loads and is just plain fun with cast boolits.

[Larry Gibson]

The only disadvantage I can see is that I have a shooting buddy that owns one, and when we got shoot, his clumsy thumb moves that switch about 25% of the time and it goes "click"...........

Not sure of the "official" name but the hammer attachment for scopes alleviates that problem. I really enjoy my Contender Carbine 30-30 barrel also with cast loads. They generated much less psi than the loads out of my .357 and .44 Magnum barrels.

Larry Gibson

[NSB]

I owned three of these guns at one time and shot a LOT of silhouette with them. I have shot literally thousands of rounds out of one frame with 7TCU, 357mag, and 30-30. After twenty years of shooting all three of them are as good as new other than the signs of wear. They close up tight, trigger still breaks clean and light, and they all shot as good as the day I got them.

[kbstenberg]

Thank you all for the help!! I pulled the trigger (pun intended) on it tonight. I hope I got a good deal. Guy wanted 250 just for the frame, but he wanted 275 for the frame and custom Black Walnut grip and forearm. I figured I couldn't go wrong. so I got the pistol grips also. You just never know when a pistol barrel will whisper in my ear. Kevin
I forgot he said it is an Easy Open model.

[canyon-ghost]

Yessir, Easy Open is the cadillac of the Contenders. Love mine!

[tg32-20]

I have shot Contenders for 20+ years in everything from 22 to 7-30 Waters. Not much in the 7-30 but it did get me a nice deer a couple of years ago.
The two frames I have are old but lock up tight and the triggers on the old frames are crisp and light. In all the years and thousands of rounds, there has not been a problem.

The only problem is that you always want a new barrel and for some reason one comes up that you just have to buy it. I have about 20 now and for some unknown reason, I am always looking for a new one.
It is truly an addiction. Of course when you get a new barrel, you need to get new dies, a new mold or two and that is when it all starts.

tg 32-20 which is my new fascination

[Olevern]

The Generation 1 Contender frames have a true set-trigger, which I like a lot. Gen 2 does not. All have the rimfire/centerfire hammer arrangement, which is adequate, but not terribly robust.

I'm going to get a lot of pushback for saying so, but IMHO the Gen 1 and Gen 2 are great with pistol cartridges and small rifle cartridges like the Hornet, Bee, and .223. Beyond that, I feel they are overstressed, and now that I know better I would not fit a .357 Maximum, .30-30, or 35 Remington barrel to one, never mind anything hotter. (I did, and I regret it.) Big, high pressure cartridges should be in an Encore frame!!! I will keep the .357 Max barrel I have for my Gen 1, but will fire it only as necessary for hunting, (Ohio restrictions). The rest of the time it will wear a Hornet barrel, and hopefully it will live to be handed to my grandchildren.

I don't recall reading anything indicating the Contender was ever offered with a set trigger.

Perhaps someone here can enlighten me; set trigger as in push it forwards and it and it "sets" the sear, becoming a much lighter trigger?

[NSB]

I don't recall reading anything indicating the Contender was ever offered with a set trigger.

Perhaps someone here can enlighten me; set trigger as in push it forwards and it and it "sets" the sear, becoming a much lighter trigger?

I think the poster is confused. The TC Contender trigger will release without the hammer being pulled back (once it's opened and then closed, the trigger will release without the hammer being cocked). Once you "break" the trigger in the down position it has to be reopened to allow you to cock the hammer. It's not a true set trigger, it's just the way the gun was designed. You can tell how heavy or light your trigger is without cocking the hammer.

[Shooter6br]

They are out there.Bought a Contender in 357 mag 10 in.Made 1969 (summer of love to you old hippies) It was never shot.Non easy open model.Stiff but workable.Great trigger Great balance..$299.00

[Spokerider]

The Generation 1 Contender frames have a true set-trigger, which I like a lot. Gen 2 does not. All have the rimfire/centerfire hammer arrangement, which is adequate, but not terribly robust.

I'm going to get a lot of pushback for saying so, but IMHO the Gen 1 and Gen 2 are great with pistol cartridges and small rifle cartridges like the Hornet, Bee, and .223. Beyond that, I feel they are overstressed, and now that I know better I would not fit a .357 Maximum, .30-30, or 35 Remington barrel to one, never mind anything hotter. (I did, and I regret it.) Big, high pressure cartridges should be in an Encore frame!!! I will keep the .357 Max barrel I have for my Gen 1, but will fire it only as necessary for hunting, (Ohio restrictions). The rest of the time it will wear a Hornet barrel, and hopefully it will live to be handed to my grandchildren.

I'm interested in hearing more about what you have found [ and regretted ] with shooting a 357 max, 30-30, or 35 Rem barrel on the contender frame.
I have read that the contender frame can be stretched, but have yet to hear first hand info that this has happened to someone.

I am putting together a 45 70 contender for hunting purposes, and will stick to trapdoor pressures [ 18,000 psi ] to avoid frame damage.

[pietro]

I am putting together a 45 70 contender for hunting purposes, and will stick to trapdoor pressures [ 18,000 psi ] to avoid frame damage.




BT, DT - NTS : Don't even consider shooting it w/o a set of Pachmayer rubber bumpers, and even then I would strongly suggest an MT-equipped bbl (muzzle-tamer muzzle brake).

FWIW, when the T/C Lobo scoped .45-70 Contender w/16" MT bbl Hunter package was first introduced by T/C, I shot it with the (then new) issue stocks with the rubber backstrap insert.

BAD IDEA ! - the trigger stop screw's threaded nut on the back of the triggerguard drew almost enough blood to start my own Red Cross. :veryconfu



.

[uscra112]

I don't recall reading anything indicating the Contender was ever offered with a set trigger.

Perhaps someone here can enlighten me; set trigger as in push it forwards and it and it "sets" the sear, becoming a much lighter trigger?

In that there's a little springloaded striker in there which knocks off the sear when the trigger is pulled, yes, it's a set trigger. The striker is cocked by opening the action, not by pushing on the trigger, or by a second trigger, like set triggers on rifles. It is also true that the sear does not engage the hammer unless the striker is cocked. This was only the Gen 1. After that they went to a conventional trigger and sear.

I know that many people have fired many hot rounds through these, but the fact that it is even possible to stretch the frame, and the fact that people have stretched frames, tells me that loading 'em up hot is overworking the structure. (Read about this on Bellm's web site.) I look at how little metal there is there, compared to full-scale rifles and shotguns that use the breakopen action design, (H&R, Savage 219). I look at that sliding bolt arrangement, a design which single-barrel shotgun makers gave up on before WW1, for Heaven's sake. I note that if the lockup isn't in perfect tune, it can open on firing, (mine has done so with full-house .357 Max loads). Finally, I note that T/C designed the Encore to be a whole lot stronger. Something a manufacturer would never have done if there weren't a need for it.

BTW my Hornet is a tackdriver with the right loads - lots of fun to shoot a few into a quarter-sized group at the range while the guy two benches down is struggling to get an AR to stay on a dinner plate. (Yeah, it really happened.) No, it ain't for sale. No, I don't use it for woodchucks anymore because I have to have sandbags to do that well, and the chucks won't wait while I get set up.