TC pistol frame's

[zuke]

Do they use the same frame for the pistol's as they do the rifle's?
Can the pistol frame handle the rifle pressure's?

[No_1]

The frames are one and the same.

Robert

[calaloo]

Contender frames are same for rifle and pistol. Encore frames are same for rifle and pistol. Some questions exist about legality as far as making a pistol using a frame registered as a rifle. Don't know about Canada.

[Irascible]

The original Contender and the newer model Contender G2 frames take the same rifle and pistol barrels. The bigger. stronger Encore use different rifle/pistol barrels than the Contender G2. In order of strength Contender, Contender G2, Encore.
The Contender/G2 should be kept to low pressure in the neighborhood of a 30-30 or 7-30 or 45-70 factory load. Smaller case heads can use higher pressure. That would be 221, 222, 223. the 375Winchester has been known to stretch original Contender frames.
The Encore frame can take almost anything as they chamber it for 300 Win mag, 77 Win mag, 416 Rigby, etc.

[Matthewx]

There is no question about it, if you use any part originally intended or manufactured for a rifle on a pistol you are in violation of the law. If you make your pistol into a carbine and then back into a pistol you are in violation again. Buy two frames and keep them separate if you want both pistols and carbines. I spoke with Mike Meadows from the Salem, OR BATFE office about this a couple weeks ago- he said T/C won a lawsuit where the ATF wanted to ban the sale of pistol kits with a grip and pistol barrel as it was promoting the building of unregistered SBRs and pistols from rifles. Now T/C puts warnings on the kit, but at least they won.

Matthew

[Baron von Trollwhack]

MatthewX. I think you are either wrong or using western state law. THe only flux is the SBR federal issue. If you are legal to possess a rifle and pistol, you make one or the other with your frame & go. Just don't make a SBR. BvT in NC.

[lathesmith]

This is a question that keeps coming up again and again, but more clarity seems to be had now. DON'T make a pistol out of a frame that was originally sold as a rifle; this is a CLEAR violation of federal law, period. And of course, no rifles with shorter than 16" barrels, period. Beyond this, it gets murkier;the clearly legal way to handle this is to buy one frame as a pistol for pistol stuff, and a pistol/rifle frame for rifle stuff. This applies to Contenders and Encores, and any other switch-barreled frames.
lathesmith

[T_Bone]

I think too it depends on what State you live in. I was looking for something on a Encore and ran into a website that was selling "hand" sxs shotguns, about 14" overall and $1500, IIRC.

They said in AZ they were legal with a $5yr permit and a upfront one time fee of $50.

I had never heard of such permit and didn't check it out as I didn't have a interest in that type of weapon. Since I bought a Encore, I thought I'd check it out as that's cheap insurance too keep me legal and out of trouble.

[No_1]

A call to TC with your serial number will tell you what your frame was sold as. As far as having rifle and pistol barrels on hand, I suggest having at least 2 frames but never have both set up the same (both as rifles or both as pistols) and NEVER have a barrel shorter than 16" combined with a rifle stock unless you have a SRB stamp from the ATF for that frame. Besides that I believe the only other problem you could ever have is if you have long and short barrels WITH a rifle stock and only 1 frame.

Robert

[exile]

What's an SRB? I guess the problem then would be buying a used frame from an individual you would have no way of knowing whether it was originally sold as a pistol frame or a rifle frame, or am I wrong?

You guys have guts calling the ATF. Me, I could never do it. Or the FBI for that matter after the **** at the SHOT show with the industry big shots. What a load of ****. (I guess I already said that).

I don't yet have a Contender or an Encore, but I would like one. Guess there's more to think about than meets the eye.

exile

[crazy mark]

I don't know where "Mike Meadows from the Salem, OR BATFE" office got his info but he is dead wrong. Another case of BATF agebts not knowing what they are talking about and making their own rulings. Years ago when all you needed to buy a gun with-out waiting was a concealed permit in Oregon all T/C's were classified as pistols. I bought several frames and they were run as pistols and there isn't anything wrong with it being a rifle or pistol if all the rules are followed in regards to barrel length and overall length. Why do you think that the 16" barrels are actually 16.25" or so. They can be used as a pistol or rifle depending if you have a rifle stock or pistol grip. This is another one of them great internet based untruths based on he said and she said. You need to read the complete lawsuit transcript and you will see the truth. The BATF and DOJ would have shut down T/C if they were violating the law.

[calaloo]

Now you know why I said questions exist.

[zuke]

I'm not positive but am pretty sure here in Canada I can go pistol to rifle, and since I can't use/carry a pistol anywhere but to and from the range it'll be a rifle for me.
The frame in question come's with 2 barrels. a .223 and a .44 Mag.
Will the frame stand up to .35 Whelan/45-70/.308 load's?

[Irascible]

As I mentioned earlier a Contender or Contender G2 will stand up to 223 and 44 mag loads and 45-70 factory loads. If you try to make the 45-70 into a 458 Win. Mag. it will stretch the frame.
Only an Encore frame will put up with the 35 Whelan and the 308.

[Gun-adian]

This for my fellow Canadians......

If a T/C Contender or Encore is registered as a restricted firearm (pistol), it will stay that way in the system forever, no matter what you do to it.

If it was registered in rifle configuration (non-restricted) it will stay that way unless you change it's classification by taking off the stock and putting a short barrel on it. (It can actually be a little more complicated than that....re: the Dlask 870) We also have the option of leaving it as a non-restricted rifle with a really short barrel, a long as the overall length of the firearm is over 26 inches. I imagine you could also put on a really long barrel and leave the stock off of it, again still meeting the 26 inch requirement. It would definitely be a handful...not to mention looking kind of weird.

That's why, in Canada, the Contender and Encore rifles tend to sell for more $$$$. At least we can hunt with the rifles as opposed to the pistols, which are range queens up here.

That's my interpretation of the regs. I ain't no lawyer, so please chime in if I messed something up.

Thanks.

Mike.

[zuke]

I didn't realize about once that way, forever that way.
I know we can play with the barrel length to overall length status.