have just been given a guns digest, scopes & mounts book.

it has on the inside page a picture of a break open rifle,which it says is a tcr 83, is this rifle still available and who makes it?

many thanks

Griff

Thompson Center made it but is no longer in production . I shot one in 220 Swift .

Hi Griff:

I think the '83s are beauties, and they handle good too. Thompson/Center made them in several models and quite a few calibers. I did a bit of research a few months ago, as I was planning to buy one. That deal fell through, though. One of the dealers at a local gun show said the story goes that T/C lost all the tooling for the TCRs in a fire that totally destroyed the facility they were produced in. They were working on the Contender/Encore guns then, and decided to let the TCR fade away.

A real shame because it appears to me the TCR is a much better gun than the Encore. It has a much better action. There are some for sale quite often, but usually at "collector" prices.

The TCR action is far inferior to the Encore. It's not nearly as strong or accurate. It's one of the reasons T/C decided not to re-tool for building them.

While the TCR is a beautiful gun to look at, the Encore is everything the TCR should have been mechanically.

I had two TCR frames and three barrels a few years ago. One was the hunter model, the other the Deluxe model. The average Encore (or Contender) will outshoot the TCR's I had. I was very disappointed in the performance. And Thompson/Center wasn't interested in any way, though at that time they were still producing barrels for them. My opinion from my (admittedly) limited experience is to get a Contender or Encore frame and an aftermarket barrel.
T.D.

I have a TCR 83 with 3 OR 4 barrels and while "the encore is what the TCR should have been mechanically" I much prefer the TCR. While I have never owned an encore I have had friends that have and have shot them fairly extensively. The barrel I use the most is a sporter weight in 223. It will put 5 rounds of the "Varmint Pack" cheap winchester ammo in less than 3/4 MOA every time I check the zero which I don't feel is too bad for cheap ammo and a less than perfect rest (it would probably do better if I let someone else shoot for groups, but I don't punch much paper with it) It is quite possible that an encore might be more accurate but all my barrels will hold MOA and they are stock factory. For what I use it for the accuracy is fine. The handling qualities however are vastly superior (well for me anyway) to either the encore or contender balances like a charm has the set trigger which I prefer on a weapon like this and looks so much better. However remember this is my opinion and yours may vary. Also FWIW when I lived in New Hampshire about two blocks away from their plant ane of the fellows there told me one of the biggest reasons they quit making them was they were just too dang expensive to make. Probably why everyone of the newer models got more plain.

P.S. The safety is one of the least friendly ever devised I am not a fan.(just so you don't think I'm biased )

[ 04-27-2003, 02:51: Message edited by: pallladium2506 ]

V.V. Jeff:

I presume with Virgin Valley in the business of making Encore barrels, you have seen a few Encore actions. I had a 243 WCF Encore standard sporter with wood stocks, which fit me like it was special made. But every box of ammo had to be full length sized because the action wouldn't latch, I'm guessing due to excessive headspace, due to action springing. Two friends who have 22/250s have the same problem, and FL size all handloads. When I look at that flimsy little toggle latch and spring that holds the Encore action closed, I can't for the life of me see why anyone would call them a strong action. What am I missing?

I bought one with a .243 and a .22/250 barrel, with the idea that I could get a lot of different barrels in a wide selection of calibers! It had a double-set trigger, and was very handy. After the TC fire, I was able to get a .30/'06 barrel, then TC decided not to make any more barrels for it! This really made me mad! I just sold the thing along with the 3 barrels for more than I paid for it, so it wasn't a total loss. The .22/250 barrel was very accurate, the .243 barrel was totally inaccurate, and the .30/'06 barrel would do about 1.5 MOA with Federal Hi-En. 165-grain ammo. I liked the style and DST on this rifle a lot better than any of TC's present interchangeable barrel rifle/pistols, which I think are ugly as hell!! I suspect there's another reason why this rifle was discontinued besides the fire! I think the action is not sufficiently strong for some of the magnum rounds they chambered in it, and I experienced numerous failures to fire when the barrel was not slammed shut vigorously.

Comparison of the TCR and the Encore is like comparing an Italian sports car to a Mercedes Truck....sure the Encore is over engineered, and might be more accurate (I'd like to see someone prove that though), but much like I'd rather drive an Italian sports car than a Mercedes truck, I'd rather carry a TCR into the woods or onto the range than manage the clunky Encore in either place. The TCR just points, carrys and shoots like a dream.

Graycg opines....

Graycg,

That may have been the most well said analogy I have ever seen on a shooting forum.

While the TCR is not without a few problems, the Encore has it's shortcomings too. Today, we can see Thompson/Center as a company that used to make finely crafted firearms with good out of the box triggers, but now makes box like firearms, sans graceful lines, sans quality barrels, and equipped with lawyerized triggers. Now we have to see the Contender, a design that has withstood the test of time, albeit with a few quirks and shortcomings, and the one classy gun that T/C has left, be morphed into the uglier G2 version. Gone is the beautiful blueing. I am betting the trigger is lousier and harder to work on. Current designs are more about being cheaper and easier to produce than anything else. I see prices going up and quality going down. One of my friends sold most of his Contenders and bought NEFs. His NEFs are outshooting his T/Cs and they are way cheaper. Something stinks here.

Cok, what you describe is really a shame! I just wish TC had gotten the TCR right! Now, I have no modern rifles with a DST! If I want a good trigger, I have to use a muzzleloader!!

[ 05-09-2003, 21:42: Message edited by: eldeguello ]

I guess it's a matter of taste. I've always preferred the Encore to the TCR. I really like the way the Encore carries and shoots. However, I can see the appeal of the TCR. It's a beautiful gun.

The problems I've seen with the TCR are in the way the barrel fits to the frame. I don't have a lot of confidence in it. The reason Thompson came out with the magnum frames is because larger calibers would spring the frame open. The magnum actions are essentially the same as the standard frame with a pin added to prevent the locking lug from backing out under high pressure. The square design of the mono-block makes it difficult to get a barrel to fit tight in a frame. It's very unforgiving and is really a manufacturing nightmare.

The Encore solved a lot of those problems and is, in my opinion, a far superior design. It's not without fault by any means, but I feel it's a vast improvement.

Don't get me wrong. I still like the TCR rifle. It has a classic look that is, sadly, dieing off these days. It's really a shame.

VV Jeff,
You make the excellent engineers arguement and it it irrefutable I'm sure. But the whole taste thing is what makes the world go around!! The early TCRs are things of beauty, the wood, the checkering, the incredible bluing, double set triggers... All in a gun that cost less than $500 new...and you could trade barrels too boot. The encore looks like an engineers answer to the TCR's shortcomings... But much as Detroit doesn't let engineers design the sheet metal and plastic parts that give a car it's looks, I wish TC had let a designer have a final look at the Encore before they shipped them out.
By the way, you guys make great barrels, I have 10 inch stainless .357 Max that I'm gonna have buried with me when I go!!!

regards,
Graycg