# Long Rambling about The Thompson Contender ( you been warned )



## papaperch (Apr 12, 2004)

Back in 1967 Thompson Center Arms released a single shot break action pistol . They named it the Contender. I took little note of it at the time . At 19 years of age it does not take too much imagination for realizing where my focus was then. Even though already a full fledged gun addict. 

Stint in the Armed Forces , marriage and just getting on in life. In the mid-70 s at a gun show I buy one of these Contenders. I only bought it because it was so cheap. This poor guy was offering to dealers at a Chagrin Falls gun show. They showed absolutely no interest at any price. It was a notorious slow mover for retailers back in those times. Which I was not aware of myself. I bought it strictly for trade bait.

Couple days later I go to trade it on a rifle I was lusting after. Again the dealer was ready to throw me out of his store. I guess a TC rep had talked him into stocking them. According to him he lost his shirt on the investment. So the big dummy here was talked into a display case for the barrels and another barrel for the gun in 22 Mag. Now I have a 357 mag/ 30-30 winchester /22 mag. returning home . I put the entire collection in my gun case. I tried to sell to it several times thru local flyer sales that were popular at the time. Amount of interest 0. Finally decided to actually shoot the thing to see what the fuss about it was. This proved to be the beginning of my blessing or curse. Husband and Wives opinions do vary.

Had a 2-1/2 power pistol scope. Sent away for mount and rings to mount it. First group at 25 yds so tight I though wow. Moved out to 50 again wow. 75 yds now sighted in just ate up a little 3/4 inch dot. 100 yds same same. Being an accuracy freak my whole life. I was instantly in love. This was in pistol form and I used that fall for squirrel hunting. DEADLY is the only description. It was almost comparable to cheating.

Frequent trip to Gun shows thru Northeast Ohio over the years. I learned to carry my Contender. Not to sell but so dealers and buyers alike would inquire " you want another barrel for that ". If it was a caliber I did not have I tried to maintain a poker player's face. Not my intent at the time but I was building a " stock portfolio " in T/C barrels. One deal just to give readers an example 4 barrels at 135.00. All odd calibers 22 Jet and such. The Jet alone is worth well over 600 now.

At one count don't remember the year I owned 25 barrels for it. The year that Thompson released in carbine form prompted another investment from me. At this moment in time I own house on 12 acres in Vernon Township. A previous owner had a huge pile of fill dirt on premises. Instant gun range after conning friend with little dozer. In a very short time my exclusive impromptu gun club with one member me. To about 20 neighbors , friends and just about any hunter/shooter that lived within earshot.

It gradually evolved from a makeshift range into something resembling the ranges you see at real gun clubs. Labor and materials and skills all donated by the various gun guys. One even setup a coffee urn with 200 ft of extension cord to my barn. Almost every weekend it sounded like a mini D-Day invasion. Most of our group were very competitive. They grew tired of constantly losing to the Contender. About half of them ending buying one. 

Fast forward and my health takes a turn that looks like my shooting days are done. I sell my entire collection off one piece at a time. Mostly on Ebay the prices I get are shocking to me as they have soared in value. I get down to one frame no barrels. I just can't bring myself to sell it the first frame . I tell the wife when I go throw it in the casket with me.

As a side note I must interject how little I know about trends. Silhouette shooting matches were what made the Contender hence they were VERY popular west of the Missippi but the exact opposite east of said river. When the Silhouette shooting meets faded out. I thought the value of the T/C would plummet. As any gun auction site will show I could not have been more wrong. I belong to several on-line T/C groups. Seems like it is growing in popularity with no end in site.

At 74 I don't know how much time I got left. I am assuming most of my little informal gun club members have moved on . But just in case if one or some of you are still around would love to hear from you. We can do a get together still have a range in my backyard ( not as nice as the one in Vernon ). But it is serviceable enough to see if I can still outshoot ya. LOL

On a upnote I got a better Doc few years back. I decided I could shoot again. I will never build the T/C collection up to its former status. But a few varmit barrels here and there ( at greater prices of course) and a deer hunter barrel or tow or three and I am back in.

If any member is interested in Thompson Contenders or think they may be interested. Contact me thru PM here. I won't say I know everything about them. But I will state that there isn't a whole lot that I don't know. In the very near future I have an extra frame I am going to sell. Not the original it's still going with me. Besides it is not the easy open frame and you would not want it anyway.

If you think you need a magazine the Contender is not the firearm for you. If you like extreme accuracy then you may be a Contender convert. It also offers versatility that is uncomparable and stock options galore. Even at todays price it still offers great value. To be fair I was often laughed at when I showed up at varmint hunts. The laughter ceased when the shooting began.


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## luredaddy (May 25, 2004)

We have a very similar attraction to T/C Contenders. I graduated from college in 1968, wanted a Contender, but had to shelf the idea, for a while. Bought my first frame, guessing around 1975, and the barrels followed. Pistol configuration was fun, but the carbine versions really showed what Contenders could do. Eventually I sold/traded all my factory barrels except a Super 14 , 44 magnum. I went to custom carbine barrels by Russ Carpenter, Bullberry, and Van Horn. My hunting days are over, but I did keep a 22 mag carbine, with a Bullberry barrel for yard varmints. The carbine also has the nicest factory stock I have ever seen. John


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## papaperch (Apr 12, 2004)

Talked to the One Good Shot magazine. Which is a magazine for Contender fans like myself. He lives about 10 minutes from the original TC custom shop and their main building. I am glad I did not reside that close. I would have been broke my entire life. Anyway with S&W closing production all together of the Contender . The legacy is left to guys like this to carry on. Thompson Center Arms was legendary for their customer service in the firearms industry. Smith and Wesson did all they could to ruin it.


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## eyecat (Sep 17, 2018)

I have a couple contenders and barrels. Shot an elk in New Mexico with a 45 cal Contender muzzleloader barrel. They are great quality guns. I didnt know they are being put out of production, thats sad.


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