hi, I would like to hear from anyone who owns/ used a Thompson Encore or Contender. Would calibre you have and what you think of it, pro's, con's, accurate or not, whats the trigger like etc??? any coments would be great I'm thinking of one as a fun gun mayby in a pistol calibre???

I have one of each. I use the Contender (not the G2) mostly as a pistol (22, 357, 44, and 45/410) and the Encore mostly as a rifle (209x50 and 270). The ergonomics of the Contender Carbine are better than the Encore as a rifle. The triggers on either can be tuned up, but my Contender is the better of the two. Been thinking on a pistol cartridge rifle barrel (357, 44, or 45 Colt) in the 24-26 inch range for off season plinking and close range doe harvesting...but I've been thinking on that for close to a decade now...so many projects, so little cash.

I have a couple Encore frames, and several Contender frames. I don't have any G2 frames.

Accurate is as accurate does - with work (some more than others) - all my barrels have been very accurate. My 14" 7mm TC/U on the Contender frame has shot groups of just over an inch at 200 yards. I have not shot any of my Encore barrels extensively for groups, but I've sure killed a lot of stuff with 'em.

As mentioned by nordrseta, the Contender trigger is inherently better, more adjustable, and easier to tune up. But I just finished a trigger job on my latest Encore frame and it's a VERY nice 2-1/2 lbs.

Contender is a little more compact and lighter - Encore will handle the big boys, although most barrel makers won't chamber the short mags or ultra mags due to case diameter. Chamber/barrel pressure isn't the only issue here; you must also consider "backthrust". The larger the cross-sectional area of a cartridge, the more backthrust is transferred to the frame for a given pressure. That's a gross over-simplification, I'm sure, but it should hold pretty true.

Anyway, they ARE hard to beat for pure fun. There are a few pistol cartridges you probably won't find chambered in Contender barrels - .500 S&W comes to mind.

Be prepared, though - once bitten, you may find yourself accumulating frames and barrels as though you were possessed.

These are the barrels I have or am expecting in the near future. With the exception of the .358 Bellm (a .358x444 variant), and the first 10" .22 LR, all are factory chambers.

Contender - 10" .22 LR, 14" 7mmTC/U, 21" .22 LR Match, 21" .223, 24" 7x30 Waters, 14" .30 Herrett, 10" .22 Mag Oct. - COMING SOON!!! - 14" .358 Bellm, 10" .22 LR Oct.
Encore - 26" 7mm Rem Mag. - 24" .270 Win., 15" .270 Win., 15" .243 Win. - COMING SOON!!! - 26" .375 H&H Mag.

I have a couple of Encore frames and a Contender. All of the rifle barrels except the muzzleloader will do about 0.5 to 1.5 MOA (and I have about 11 of them). I can do 2 to 3 MOA with the muzzleloader with open sites. The scoped handgun barrels will do about 2 MOA at 100 yards. All of my barrels are factory barrels.

As noted above, Contender triggers are nice and Encore triggers generally need some work for the nicest feel.

Another handgun cartridge not chambered in the Contender is the 460 S&W. The main advantage, as I see it, of the Contender over the Encore is the ability to shoot rimfire cartridges in them. The Encore can be chambered for just about any commonly chambered sporting cartridge of the centerfire type even up to 600 Nitro Express (not one I'm planning on getting). Encores are fairly light so you might want to consider a muzzle brake for the heavy hitters though I shoot an unbraked Encore in 375 H&H Magnum.

I have a couple of Encore frames and 4 Contender frames on which ride an assortment of rifle, hangun calibers and a muzzlelaoder barrel.
The contenders are the pre-G2 kind. Super triggers and great to shoot, including half dozen wildcats.
The Encore triggers were a bit heavy for my liking. Some stoning and springs got them to the 2.5 lb pull I like.
Both Encore and Conteners look a bit strange to some folks. But the stock shape works particularly well with scope sighted barrels. Some folks with small hands tend to dislike the large pistol grip, however. The Encores are marketed for higher pressure cartridges including 300 mag and more. The original and G2 Contenders are generally limitedd to cartridges of lower pressure: 204, 223,30-30 etc. and 17 and 22 rimfires. Both G2 and Encore can be used for muzzlelaoder barrels, although the G2 can only be had with 45 cal (marketing issue, not pressure).
The interchageability of barrels allows me to scratch my current itch at minimal investment. Then, if I don't like the results, to get rid of the barrel without a hassle. Barrels can be purchased w/o FFL intervention and are easy to sell on e bay and elsewhere.
I load for half dozen pistol calibers, but practice extensively with a 22RF with a barrel length and scope like the others. My calibers range from the Hornet to 45/70 (handgun); there's even a 10" 410/45 Colt barrel in the bunch.(Don't buy that one for the 45 Colt, long chamber necessary for the 3" 410 shotshells and slugs causes poor accuracy).
If I did not reload, I'd be buying the 30/06 in Encore rifle barrel in 24" and 7/08 in Encore pistol in 12". One thing you will notice is that the length of the overall gun is shorter than bolt action guns because there is no bolt. Lots of stock and grip options available and you can easily configure to your liking. For example: my 284 Encore looks great with it's blue frame, matching scope, base and rings, on a stainless barrel in a wallnut thumbhole stock. Good luck.

I was thinking of somthing with a 18" or 20" barrel in somthing like 44mag, 444marlin 454(just for a fun gun) etc but I have looked there website and they dont do it! they do a 460 and 500s&w but are dumb laws over hear say that I cant have anything bigger than .455 and we are not allowed to shoot deer with anything more than .30cal (or hunt with handguns!)

The 460 S&W takes .451 and .452 diameter bullets so should be permitted with your mentioned criteria. Also, if you look at www.foxridgeoutfitters.com on the Custom Shop link, there are many barrel length/caliber options at least some of which may suit your purposes (the 44 Remington Magnum and 444 Marlin are specifically mentioned as rifle barrel options). Fox Ridge Outfitters is closely affiliated with Thompson/Center Arms.

My vote is for a 15 inch encore in .480 Ruger, got one and like it alot. Just my 2 cents worth.

You guys sound like a bunch of smart fellers, maybe you can answer my question, because I hate to ask it in America, as everyone just about craps their britches when you bring up the matter, but I just gotta know........ Can you put the pistol barrel on the rifle frames for an encore?

I live in Germany (for 29 years), and I have to follow the German rules for registration. And those rules state that if I own a rifle with exchangeable barrels (like the encore) then I don´t have to register any additional barrels that are smaller in caliber, only those that are larger in caliber.

So naturally, I want to buy an encore, and want to register it with a 50 caliber barrel, and the only one I´ve seen readily available is the 15inch .500 S&W pistol barrel in 15 inch.

But I can´t register any more pistols, so I need to register it as a rifle (which is what I want anyway), and plan to buy the rifle stock for the reciever.

But in America, everyone keeps telling me that a 15 inch barrel is HIGHLY ILLEGAL on a rifle frame, and they just about toss me out of the store for bringing the issue up, and won´t even begin to answer me. But here in Germany, having a 15 inch barrel on a rifle is fine, as long as the whole rifle is at least 60 cms long, and the action and barrel are at least 30 cm long, which makes a 15 inch barrel, plenty long to be legal in Germany.

So, the big question is... can a 15 inch encore pistol barrel fit onto an encore rifle frame, or are there minute differences making this impossible.

Otherwise, I´ll just go with a 45-70 rifle barrel and be done with it, but doggonit, I would love to have a 500 S&W if for no other reason than just to have it.

Do any of you smart fellers know the answer to this?

308mate: the trigger on my Contender (older style) is not the best, but I have shot others with much better triggers. The old Contender used a set trigger which is "set" on working the latch. This mechanism can be worked to make about as fine a trigger as you want, so long as accidental release of the trigger on closing the action is not created. Reports on the G2 triggers are generally not so favorable. I owned a 16" .223 carbine, which I strongly dislike. It is accurate enough with open sights, and it is a mighty handy little rig, but the muzzle blast is unbelievable. Keep in mind that short barrels in the T/C leave the muzzle several inches closer to your ear than the same length barrel on a bolt action. I would not accept a bottleneck cartridge in the shorter barrel lengths; my hearing is worth more to me than the small savings in weight. I also don't like rimless cartridges in my T/C. The extractor drags on them when the case is pushed in and out. This tends to drop shavings of brass into the works, but this could be eliminated by carefully sanding the edges of the extractor. I will stick soley with rimmed cartridges in the future.

murkan mike: barrels shorter than 16" fall under a special category in the U.S., and an extra license (with its tax) must be obtained to own one. (Some claim that if the T/C was bought as a pistol, it's ok to refit it as a rifle; but if bought as a rifle and refit as a pistol, you might get in trouble with the Feds. Hopefully someone will chime in on this issue: I think I saw this restriction on refits in the BATF website once.) All Encore frames are the same. If you fit a pistol barrel with a rifle buttstock, it will work fine, unless you don't like the shape of the forearm. In the older Contenders, the forearm for the 16" pistol barrels and the rifle barrels are the same (same contour on the barrel). I don't know about the 15" Encore contour as compared to the rifle contour, so it may be the rifle forearm won't fit the 15" pistol barrels. Of course, if you like the shape of the 15" forend, it doesn't matter. Again, I don't find short barrels worth the muzzle blast.

It boils down to the configuration of the gun as it originally left the factory.

If it left the factory as a pistol, you CAN legally configure it as a rifle, with no additional taxes or licenses needed.

If it left the factory as a rifle, you CAN NOT legally configure it in pistol form (i.e., barrel 16" or under), without first getting a tax stamp from BATFE.

The stamp is $200.

One addendum to Wingnut's post -

There is now also some indication that the ATF is taking the position that if you DO legally convert the handgun to a rifle, it is to remain a rifle ever after. If you want to convert it back, you must receive approval and pay the $200 tax.

It is absolute insanity. There isn't one good reason in the world why these firearms shouldn't receive an exemption from the NFA (or ATF's interpretion thereof). Instead, they're headed the wrong way with it.

Your tax dollars at work.....

Thanks for posting that, wingnut. You must have done so once before, because I'm pretty sure that is the BATF reference I mentioned in my previous post.

T/C used to have an item on their web site about a court ruling which overruled some BATF interpretation on the Contender, but I don't recall the details. It's not on their current site.

Regardless, our friend in Germany is subject to different rules, of course.

Thank you very much for the info. Pretty interesting.

I´ll make sure that when I go back to Murka next time I especially request a pistol frame. Even though I still can´t think of one thing I would use a 500 S&W for, it does make a big bang, and I bet a pig shot with one would still be dead.

Wingnut Here's the info from TC "Thompson Center Arms Co. went all the way to he U.S. Supreme Court to establish the lawfulness of the Contender pistol and carbine(including carbine kit),and won. The Supreme Court opinion also establishes the legality of the Encore system,which has similar interchangeable parts. With these systems,a receiver may be assembled either with a pistol grip and pistol barrel,or with a shoulder stock(minimum length 16 inches)A barrel under 16 inches in length must never be assembled onto the reciver when the shoulder stock is attached.Within that parameter ,the consumer may use the parts to make a pistol or a carbine,and may change the configuration at will."Contact TC for a copy of the US Supreme Court Decision.

quote:

Originally posted by JLarsson:
One addendum to Wingnut's post -

There is now also some indication that the ATF is taking the position that if you DO legally convert the handgun to a rifle, it is to remain a rifle ever after. If you want to convert it back, you must receive approval and pay the $200 tax.

It is absolute insanity. There isn't one good reason in the world why these firearms shouldn't receive an exemption from the NFA (or ATF's interpretion thereof). Instead, they're headed the wrong way with it.

Your tax dollars at work.....

I have a copy of the TC court decision contact TC and they'll send it to you.

quote:

Originally posted by scr83jp:

quote:

Originally posted by JLarsson:
One addendum to Wingnut's post -

There is now also some indication that the ATF is taking the position that if you DO legally convert the handgun to a rifle, it is to remain a rifle ever after. If you want to convert it back, you must receive approval and pay the $200 tax.

It is absolute insanity. There isn't one good reason in the world why these firearms shouldn't receive an exemption from the NFA (or ATF's interpretion thereof). Instead, they're headed the wrong way with it.

Your tax dollars at work.....

I have a copy of the TC court decision contact TC and they'll send it to you.

If you're referring to the 504 U.S. 505 decision of 1992, I've read it. The issue decided was whether mere possession of a Contender Pistol simultaneously with a Carbine kit for converting said pistol to a carbine constituted a violation of the NFA. The Supreme Court upheld the Appeals Court decision that possession of the Contender pistol in conjunction with the kit did not constitute an NFA offense.

It did NOT address the conversion of a carbine to a pistol or the conversion of a pistol to a carbine and then back to a pistol. For that matter, it didn't even address the conversion of a pistol to a carbine! Sure, that's implied by the contents of the kit, but the ONLY issue addressed was whether possessing all the parts to make a short-barreled rifle from a Contender handgun constituted an NFA offense.

If it is a different decision to which you refer, I'd love to read it. Please post the case number and date here so I can look it up. Thanks.

I purchased an Encore back in 2003 in 7mmRem with 26" heavy barrel. I immediately bought a heavy 22-250 barrel. Accuracy is as good as I can shoot. The 22-250 configuration is excellent for prairie dogs.

To tell you the truth I would rather have bought two different guns than one Encore. I feel that the Encore is a cumbersome gun that even with standard barrels is unfit for spot-and-stalk hunting. Follow up shots are nearly impossible. That is why it is in my safe not shooting coyotes, deer, and other game.

I am now looking to sell/trade the gun (which as a few scraches in the stock) with both scoped barrels. PM me if you want to talk any deals.

I have never owned an Encore or a G-2, but I have the following in Contenders: 6-TCU, .30 Herrett, .357 Herrett, .357 Maximum, .44 Mag, .30-30 WCF; all Super-14's. The least accurate of my barrels is the .30-30. The most accurate is the 6 TCU. However, for all around utility, combining varmint-to-deer power, accuracy, and ease of operation, I prefer the .30 and .357 Herrett rounds.

quote:

I want to buy an encore, and want to register it with a 50 caliber barrel, and the only one I´ve seen readily available is the 15inch .500 S&W pistol barrel in 15 inch.

The Encore frame can be made into a pistol, handgun, rifle, shotgun, muzzleloader, or - as of 2007 - a rimfire rifle or handgun, with nothing more than a screwdriver and a credit card. The 20 inch Encore Pro-hunter Katahdin barrel comes in 500 S&W and seems a little closer to meeting your needs. More details on pg. 8 of 55 of the 2007 catalog http://www.tcarms.com/catalog/pdf/TC_2007_CATALOG.pdf Waidmannsheil!

murkan mike, can you see if your dealer can order from Fox River the T/C custom shop. You could order a 550 S&W in a rifle barrel. another possibility might be from a custom shop like Bullberry if they export. Does the muzzle loader barrel count as it is 50 cal.

can anyone shed some light on a problem dealing with scope bases not setting completely down on t/c pro hunters,etc. a while back i thought i read that on this site.thanks ahead of time for any input.

I shoot a stainless encore with a 375-06 JDJ barrel. Mike Bellm trigger and Leopold 2.5-7 scope. It is more accurate than I can shoot it. The encore is great for the flexibility of barrel changes and accuracy potential. Follow up shot speed, and mentioned in a previous post, leaves something to be desired. Just my $0.02 wk

My wife & I have an encore and contender each.

I started with a factory 280 carbine, then a factory 260 carbine in the encore. I took several deer with the 260 barrel, liked it lots better than the 280 in the encore, particularly in the factory configuration. I also bought a 44 mag pistol barrel in the encore, which I took a hog with. From the start, I really liked the feel of the encore . . . but . . .

I bought a beat up used contender at a show with a 30-30 barrel. My intent all along was to have 22 win mag barrel made for it to use for squirrel hunting, so I contacted Bullberry in Utah and had a custom barrel and stock set made up. As soon as I got that barrel and stock, all interest in factory encore stuff went out the window. I bought my wife an encore frame and custom 260 barrel and stock set, then bought a 6.5x284 barrel and stock set for myself.

Differences in the custom and factory stuff. From the factory, the stock drops such that it is aligned for open sights, the custom stocks are aligned for scope use. The holes in the barrel for scope mounting from the factory are set too far back (with the 280, it was difficult to keep the scope from dinging you in the forehead, even set as far forward as it would go), while the custom stuff is set far enough forward that I've never had one ding me.

Another complaint with factory encores is the trigger. Mine broke very crisply, but with a fairly stiff pull (~5 pounds). I just installed Mike Bellm trigger springs (15 minutes on the first one, under 10 minutes for the second once I had the hang of it) and dropped them to under 3 pounds.

At any rate, I'd recommend even the factory stuff, but I think custom is the way to go with these, and compared to other custom work, these aren't really expensive (barrels run around $450, stock work varies - I spent $500 on mine).

I have:

encore - 24" 6.5x284, 14" 7x57
contender - 22" 22 WMR, 12" 17 HMR, 10" 30-30 Win (only factory barrel I have left)

My wife has:

encore - 22" 260 Rem, 22" 358 Win (on its way)
contender - 18" 17 HMR

Every one of these shoots better than I can. I put the 6.5-284 bullets under an 1" easily, usually at about 1/2" . . . the 22 WMR shoots less than a 1/2" at the 50 yards I sight it at (and is quite deadly on East Texas cat squirrels).






Troy

I've got an original Contender. Bought it used complete with a 223 Super 16 barrel, and a 30-30 Super 14. Have a pistol grip and forend for the 30-30, and a buttstock and forend for the 223, all are Rynite composite. Both barrels are scoped for hunting.

Bought it all as a complete package, and haven't even worried about the legalities of it. They both shoot better than I can.

Been thinking recently about selling the package, as I've got an urge to get a bolt action 223 or 243 for coyotes and the like. Was thinking of about $600 for the package, sound about in the ballpark? Too low, Too High? Unit is all in excellent condition.

Dave

quote:

Originally posted by rifleman:
I've got an original Contender. Bought it used complete with a 223 Super 16 barrel, and a 30-30 Super 14. Have a pistol grip and forend for the 30-30, and a buttstock and forend for the 223, all are Rynite composite. Both barrels are scoped for hunting.

Bought it all as a complete package, and haven't even worried about the legalities of it. They both shoot better than I can.

Been thinking recently about selling the package, as I've got an urge to get a bolt action 223 or 243 for coyotes and the like. Was thinking of about $600 for the package, sound about in the ballpark? Too low, Too High? Unit is all in excellent condition.

Dave

What scopes are on 'em? Scopes included? Blued or SS? Depending, $600 might be in the ballpark. Maybe $550 without the scopes. More than $600 if they both have Leupold's or something like that.

Scopes are nothing special - Swift 2X on the 30-30 and Swift 3-9X on the 223. Buyer could have the choice of scoped or not. The finish is SS.

Personally - and this is just for me - $200 is max for the frame, barrels @ $150 each, and $75 for the stocks involved. $600 ought to be just about right.

Thanks a lot Jon! It looks like I'm right in the ballpark. Now I just need to make a decision whether or not to act on my urge.

HMMMMMMM?

Dave

PS

I'd better do some checking. I've got some accessories around that I just remembered. Like a shoulder holster for the scoped handgun. Might even be some more that I'm forgetting.