They are not being made any longer and the company is for sale . I liked the TC brand .

 

Smith & Wesson has ended production of all Thompson/Center products.

The short version of the story is that S&W bought T/C a few years before the pandemic. Then, in 2020 when the panic buying started, S&W decided to reallocate all the staff and equipment from the T/C production lines to things like 9mm pistols that were in high demand. Late last year S&W announced that they wouldn't restart T/C production and would sell the brand instead.

 

I have a Contender I really enjoyed. Wish I could have purchased a 45Colt/410 barrel before they were stopped. Sold it to my regrets later.

 

Hey Ranger,
I just happen to have a SS G4( iirc ) with extra grips and barrels on consignment at my LGS. I'm sure they are listed online with Gun Broker, Guns Int., etc. Check those places for a frame. EBay is a good place to buy barrels, or used to be.

 

Check this site.

Ed's Contenders, Thompson Contenders and Encores.

Ed specializes in Thompson Contender barrels and accesories, as well as new, used and collectable frames. Trades welcome.

www.edstc.com

 

Hope someone buys the TC brand/assets and continues making them.

 

I inherited a TC rifle, handgun and .50 black powder Hawkins. Of course rifle and handgun barrels interchange. I have no love for any of them. Gonna hit Armslist .

 

Thanks all, that explains a bunch!

 

Thompson Center Pistols - Contender for sale

Browse all new and used Thompson Center Pistols - Contender for sale and buy with confidence from Guns International.

www.gunsinternational.com

There's a good start. Better than Gunbroker in my opinion.

 

If you are seriously wanting a Contender, look for a clean early Contender. one with the engraving on the receiver.
I prefer everything about the older ones over the last generations. Especially the triggers.

I have a couple of them and several barrels. They are the last guns I will ever let go of.

 

I

I'm with you on this. Early frames are sweet, late frames are not as refined. The G2 I think is bulky for no good reason, and I just don't like the Encore.

 

The old flatside frames should probably be restricted to lighter calibers.
Thompson would fix or replace them pretty much whatever you did to them but, no more Thompson to stand behind them now,
The G2 Contenders were built to handle heavier calibers.

This company is the closest to both factory and their old custom shop these days.
I have not done business with them.

Thompson Center Arms at EABCO - TC Encore, Contender, G2, Barrels, Stocks, and Accessories.

 

I like mine. Have a 223 and 30-30 barrel with different fore ends for each. Maybe I should pick up a few more barrels...

 

What length is your .30-30?

 

Years ago I had a flatside I had picked up used.
Shooting .357 Maximum reloads it locked up. I had to disassemble it to open it up.
Sent it back to Thompson and received a letter that they could not fix it but would replace it, no charge, with a new G2 frame, if I wanted. HECK YEAH !!!
They were great folks to deal with, in my limited experience.
Their old custom shop, Fox Ridge Outfitters in Rochester, New Hampshire had some really cool stuff.

 

hausofarms.com has been trying to produce the ssk 50 frame the last couple of years. some bumps getting it to full production. think is supposed to features of old and new frame. there blog suggest there are close to releasing again. I had a stainless .41 magnum contender should have never sold it. had a hair trigger job.

here is the ssk 50

 

hausofarms.com has been trying to produce the ssk 50 frame the last couple of years. some bumps getting it to full production. think is supposed to features of old and new frame. there blog suggest there are close to releasing again. I had a stainless .41 magnum contender should have never sold it. had a hair trigger job.

here is the ssk 50

View attachment 1171529

It has bee more than a couple of years. I have been watching and waiting.

The G2 Contenders were built to handle heavier calibers.

When I first saw the G2, I assumed that the raised part of the frame was for that reason. When I enquired about it, they told me no, the G2 would not handle heavier calibers or hotter loads.
However, that may just be what S&Ws legal guys instructed them to say at that time.

Also, I don't really believe that S&W ever really wanted the Contender or Encore lines. I think the bought them out for other products in the Thompson Center lineup.
When I was directed to the S&W website for Contender, I figured it was the beginning of the end of this page in firearm history.

I am not really blaming them for this. It's just what the market has evolved into.
Not many of us are left that prefer a single shot. Todays shooters are not interested unless they can dump 15+ rounds in a couple seconds.

 

Looks like 16”. Stamped “super16”. My father shot at least 1 deer with it.

 

@Hauki
Nice!
I had a Super 14 in .30-30. Then I reamed the chamber to .30-30 Ackley Improved. It made a significant increase in performance. And in the size of the fireball, too!
I still play with the idea of setting up another one, but in a carbine configuration this time.
I like the look of that longer barrel. Seems tailor made for a red dot and a bipod, maybe...

 

@Hauki
Nice!
I had a Super 14 in .30-30. Then I reamed the chamber to .30-30 Ackley Improved. It made a significant increase in performance. And in the size of the fireball, too!
I still play with the idea of setting up another one, but in a carbine configuration this time.
I like the look of that longer barrel. Seems tailor made for a red dot and a bipod, maybe...

Fun modification!

 

My favorite Contender: 14” 7-30 Waters.

 

I have an early one with a 30 Herrett barrel. One of these days I need to get it out again.

 

There are still plenty of TC's on GunBroker. I have one in .35REM with the OEM TC 3 power scope.

 

Here's mine with 8" 38 spl. barrel.

 

This SSK 470 Nitro Express is quite a handful.

 

This SSK 470 Nitro Express is quite a handful.

I really don't see how you can hang on to that when it goes off... beautiful gun though. I found that my 45/70 was causing problems with my rt elbow by jamming the bones from my forearm back into it under recoil.

 

I still have a few Contender barrels.
All but one I bought used and usually for reasonable prices.
Most were like new as I don't think most single shot pistols, or their barrels see much use.

It's probably been five years since I last fired one of my Contenders but, if the right barrel comes along, and the price is right, you never know ?

 

I kind of went crazy on Contenders. I think I have 10 frames and 13 barrels right now. They have been a pleasure/ nightmare to work with. Some frames and barrel combos don't function together without work on the interlock/firing pin block. The firing pin falls, but the gun won't go bang. Sure good to check your flinch though. I have a 30 herrett like that, and a 357 herrett that I finally fixed. Love the 357 herrett! The 45/70 takes some serious introspection to touch off. I load it down, but it is still breathtaking. They are not a gun for the casual shadetree gunsmith to tinker with, unless you want to convert them into an auto-eject single shot pistol. The G2 frame was designed to stop the frame stretch that was happening with the earlier frames.

 

These pistols had some success during the heyday of Contenders 30 or so years back.

Ordnance Research SSP-91, aka the Lone Eagle (forgottenweapons.com)

They had barrels in sone horrendous calibers. .458 Win Mag and .460 Weatherby were a couple, I think ?
I use to see barrels offered for sale at the Concord, New Hampshire gun show years ago.
Prices weren't bad but I wasn't that masochistic.

 

I have a Contender rifle and several Contender revolvers. Bough them all on gunbroker. Look for the buy now guys and then consider the price. Beware none are cheap. I love mine! If you buy a frame I have some 357 and a 45/410 barrel I’ll sell you at a reasonable price.