Have always wanted a contender or an encore but never liked the look of the stock (wood) Awhile back I was paging through a few old gun rags and came across a photo of a contender with a thumb hole stock. If my deminished memory serves the rifle was built by a fellow named Dale Story. Been serching the net but can't seem to find ant of these stocks. The one in the picture made a really good lookin rifle. Any one know anything about these thumb hole stocks?

woods

Virgin Valley guns has thumbhole Encore stocks, and I wouldn't be surprised if Bullberry, E.A. Brown, and others also supply thumbholes:

http://www.virginvalleyguns.com/stocks.cfm

Regards, Bill

Was it a wood thumbhole or synthetic? As far as thumholes go you have a few options. There is Virgin Valley Custom http://www.virginvalleyguns.com/ they have there own design as well as the patter to make a foxpro thumbhole style stock in any kind of wood. Then there is Denzel Roberts http://dwrobtcwoodnmor.tripod.com/ .There is also for you do it yourselfers, need lots of sand paper, E.A.Brown http://www.eabco.com/. Then there is foxpro custom. They handel the tc custom stuff for the factory. you won't find the thumbhole stock at their web site you have to get the catalog. Problem is that the supplier who makes their stock only makes a run once a year so if it's not in stock good luck on getting one. There is one other fellow but I can't recall his name right now but his is the same as the foxridge and eabrown stock only difference is he, like VVC can make it in any wood you want. In the synthetic market the only one I'm aware of that makes a thumbhole is bell and carlson. I understand however that they have or will be ceasing production on them shortly. When I got my encore I couldn't find any thumbhole stocks. This is the list I've acumulated in a years time. I am going with a VVC foxridge - eabrown style in electric blue laminate. Hope this helps.