A Dying Model but I Love it

J

jstanfield103

New member
I have a Thompson Center Contender and really Love shooting this very accurate gun. Right now I have a 22 LR Match Bull Super 14" barrel and a 222 Remington Barrel for it. The 22 LR barrel is very accurate with the Bi-Pod. I Love the single action slow loading and shooting. My next barrel that I am going to get is a 45/70 and a stock set. I have had two others of these in the past and sold them for something else. Now that I have more income in my life and don't struggle as much I have several guns and don't have to sell them anymore I will be keeping this one. This one was made in 1980 and just a joy to look at and shoot. I have a new scope coming to replace the cheap NcStar scope that is in this picture. The scope coming is a Burris 3-12X32mm and should be able to see the small bullseye better so I should be able to get smaller groupings than the group that I posted here.
Here are some pictures to go with the comments











Here is a 5 shot group at 25 yards with the Bi-Pod only and cheap (Magtech) ammo. The inner white section is smaller than a dime.

 
I really, really want the Burris optic also. :( I can't seem to sell myself on the money involved, but it really makes an awful lot of sense on my Super 14", .223. I can whack steel out to 300 yards with this handgun (from a rest) but I'm killing myself with the 2-6x Bushnell that's on it. WAIT! Please don't take that as a slag on that Bushnell, this optic has been a -ROCK- and never failed me in the slightest except for the wish for more magnification. Say what you will about a circa 1994 Bushnell glass, mine has been worth every single cent.
 
Nice shooting and nice gun! I have 2 complete guns, a 10" octagon 25-35 with the old sliding saftety on the hammer. It has the early style checkered grips and forend. The 2nd gun is a 10" Bull barrel 357Maximum, the frame on it has the lever type hammer saftey and forend and grips like the walnut ones in your pictures. The 25-35 has a 4X Weaver while the 357 has a 2X Redfield, both beautiful guns, and awesome shooters.
 
love mine but I don't shoot it as much as I use to. I got a 45/70 barrel for it and its a bear to shoot with full power loads. Much better with the 223 or 30-30 barrels.
 
The Thompson Center Contenders always looked like they would be a real hoot to shoot system. Get a barrel for whatever caliber you wanted to shoot and you were good to go. I remember the barrels being quite reasonably priced.

Haven't looked at them for a long while now. Didn't they have a big fire at their plant a long time ago that put them out of action for a while? Also didn't they change the design so the older barrels don't fit on the newer actions or maybe the other way around? (My google-fu is weak tonight.)

You've got a very nice setup there that looks like fun.
 
I have wanted a Contender from the day they were introduced. Just always delayed in getting one opting for multi shot guns instead. A couple years ago I finally found one at an unbelievable price. G2 stainless with a Super 14 barrel in 35 Remington, 14" 22 Long Rifle barrel, Burris 1.5-4 scope, and Boyt case...Everything for $250!
Since then I have added a 14" 223 barrel, and an SSK Industries 10" ported 45-70 barrel.
Great gun, and lots of fun with what ever barrel. Also, barrel buying becomes addictive. Now on a search for a Hornet, a 7-30 Waters, and maybe 32-20 barrel.

BTW, sitting in the cabin at deer camp right now. Guess what's out in my truck with the 35 Remington barrel on it!
 
From what I have been reading S&W is not doing much with them. They are not interested as of right now is what I am reading. Customer Service is non-void.
 
I spent nearly 30 years ignoring the Contender, after all, it was just a single shot!

One day, out of idle curiosity more than anything else, I picked one up at a shop, and discovered, "Wow! What a sweet trigger!"

I bought one soon after. It happened to be a .45Colt/.410 with sights, and the internal "straightener" (choke tube is what it looks like, but not what it does).

Since then, I have gotten another frame, an assortment of grips & forends , and 10" barrels in:
.22LR
.22 Hornet
.222 Remington
.357 Magnum
.44 Magnum
.45 Colt (only)

14" barrels:
.30-30 Win
.45-70
.45 Win Mag

6"barrel:
9mm Luger

I've discovered that this last one is actually the most "fun" to shoot with friends. Its my "trick" gun. The trick only works once, per person/group its pulled on, but so far, it has always worked. Goes like this..

Chat with someone shooting one and mention, "bet I got a 9mm I can shoot a better group with than yours..." Friendly wagers encouraged, and while (to date) I have never lost, I never try collect.;)

The 9mm barrel is just fun! Deadly accurate, 6" but barely sticks out beyond the forend, and comfortable to shoot with the stock wood grip (which the big magnums definitely are NOT).

Makes me feel all Pirate-ty AAARRRRRRRHHH!!!! Prepare to repel boarders! Arrrrrhh! :D
 
Funny, it was one of the first handguns I bought 30+ years ago.
1 frame with a 14" .223 Bull barrel and a 30-30 octagon:eek:
Didn't have them for long, 7.5" ST SBH took their place.:confused:

Then about 5 years ago I wanted to put together a 10" .357 Magnum to shoot 180gr Speer Hot Cores for the 35 Rem. My friend gunsmith found me a brand new "old" 10" .357 Max so I called it good! Load the same 35 Rem bullets with a little more horsepower.
My 25-35 is a sweet pretty little octagon gun, very retro, fun to shoot.
 
My dad got me into contenders several years ago. When I first got married I really struggled to make ends meat, and sold the one that my dad gave me. I have had another one in stainless steel that I bought when I lived in Wisconsin which at that time was a very unfriendly gun state, Sold that. This is and older one with the cross bolt hammer safety and is a very sweet shooter. I now make a very decent living and have since grown my gun collection and this one is here to stay. It's accuracy is awesome. I have had a S&W Model 41 very accurate but constantly stove piped no matter what I did to it. Traded that for a Browning 14" Silhouette model it was accurate enough but not quite as good as the S&W model 41. Now this is the most accurate out of all of them. I really like the Carbine fore end on it after doing quite a bit of fitting, and the dag gone thing is just gorgeous in it's appearance.
 
I do not even think the Encores or the G2 are doing anything. It seems that everyone wants a tactical this or tactical that anymore.

Times do change, I am kind of and older spirit at 52 years old
 
I picked up a 10-inch .44 Mag barrel for mine and found that it was physical torture to shoot. Just horrendous. Sold that.

I'm curious about the felt recoil from the 14" barrel in .30/30. Also, at normal-spec .30/30 pressures, is there anything to be gained from a more modern spitzer bullet versus the old-school blunt slugs? Also, does anyone run gas-checked cast lead in a .30/30 Contender?
 
10" Contender .30 Herrett

Mine is a 10" chambered in .30 Herrett. A very accurate, fun handgun to shoot. I agree that the Contenders are not as popular as they were years ago. There have to be thousands of frames and/or barrels out there but I don't personally know anyone who owns one.

Contender30HR_zps18d42065.jpg


.30 Herrett reformed from .30-30 and .32WS brass. Loads with 125gr bullets have been the most accurate. I tried a few loads with the 50gr Sabot but gave up after groups averaged 3"-4" at 100 yards.
1361e2b1-1510-42d6-9246-a2923a56a14b_zps177520fe.jpg
 
It's never really been my interest, but I've shot a couple and appreciate their quality. I would hate to see them go.
 
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