Anyone own/used a Thompson Encore or contender?? what caliber and what did you think of it, pro's con's???

I have a Contender with carbine barrels in .22 LR, .22 Hornet and .223 Rem. I also have a handgun barrel in .22 LR lying around somewhere.

Currently, the gun is being used by my "nephew" with a youth stock and the .22 Hornet barrel.

I personally did not find the Contender the best gun to hunt with. In the carbine version (handgun hunting is a no-no in most parts of CEntral Europe), it balances poorly. That makes it a bit of a pain to carry around, although its short length is an advantage in narrow blinds. I also never found the safety system to be all that confidence inspiring. Although the hammer is not supposed to be able to fall from half-cock, it did on mine. I have never tried whether it had enough power to set off a primer from that position, but I normally opened the gun when I needed it to be safe.

- mike

308, I was having visions of Al Capone for a minute there....

Me too, also because a semiauto version of the famous thompson machine gun has been sold in Italy some year ago.

308, when are you going to just buy a proper rifle?!

Hi 308 mate
I am going to buy a encore rifle in a 300wm.I have been looking at them for a while now and I always hear good reports about them.

S&W just bought out T/C, better get one while they are still affordable. - dan

quote:

Originally posted by brass thief:
308, when are you going to just buy a proper rifle?!

What like? a girly .243!!! I hear a 243 is so good you are now hunting with a bow and arrow!! Is it not a bit cold to be wearing green tights this time of year??

I live in the USA & have 3 contender carbines & 1 encore rifle. The contenders are 2 old style & 1 new g2. 2 of the contenders & encore have Boyds laminated stocks. The new g2 with 23" medium weight barrels are much better balanced than the old style. The new forend is longer & handier. The new g2 frame does not have to be opened to allow the gun to be recocked as the old.

Here the encore is probably more useful that the contender but I prefer the contender because I like the 22lr, 223, 7-30, 375 winchester mix. You would probably have difficulty getting latter 2 supplies over there. The encore weighs about 1 pound more than the contender and is more flexable if you consider the 22 hornet/223 as an adequate lower end. Over here they are a cheep way to check out a different calaber($200 us for a barrel)than buying another gun. They are not as well finished as a Remington 700 or Winchester m70 but better than entry level guns. My contenders are all sub 1" rifles, the encore with a 223 barrel is a 1/2" rifle but the 338'06 barrel is a 2.5" rifle. Pm me with any specific questions you have.

I have never take a big game animal with anything but an Encore or Contender. The game would include whitetail deer, blue wildebeest, black wildebeest, springbok, warthog, mountain reedbuck, zebra, impala, blesbok and maybe something I've forgotten.

Cartridges used for these animals included 222 Remington, 22-250 Remington, 270 Winchester, 308 Winchester, 30/06 Springfield, 357 Herrett and 375 H&H Magnum.

My rifles do about 0.6 MOA to 1.5 MOA for all except the 375 H&H Mag. which does about 2 MOA. The 357 Herrett Handgun does about 2.5 MOA.

The above isn't nearly all the chamberings I've tried; just the ones I've taken big game with.

I guess you might rightly conclude that I'm a Contender and Encore enthusiast.

I have my second contender now (the first was lost to the UK pistol ban). I Shot a pronghorn at 180 paces in New Mexico in 1993 with the .35 rem.
Now I have .17 rem, .22 lr, 6.5JDJ (with excellent accuracy), .35 rem, .357 8 incher. I like the system a lot and have visited the plant in new hampshire where a nice welcome was given to me by the manager.