Sidearms & Scatterguns Thompson Contender

[gemihur]

Don't overlook the simple improvement of an Ackley shoulder. The .223AI has considerable versatility. Next in that direction is the 222RMI. Shoots close to the 22-250 velocity but you might want a bit more barrel length. https://www.bellmtcs.com/blog/222-rem-mag-improved/
204 Ruger w/custom stock

 

[sandwarrior]

204 would be a fun round to try out great velocity and super low recoil. The 223 could be loaded down to accomplish this also just have to reload

204 has a larger capacity than the .223. Albeit, you can't shoot as heavy of bullets, so maybe it's a wash. Anything necked up from the .204 is gonna get you into the realm of too much recoil. That is just my findings for me, not everyone else. Personally, I think the idea of blowing the shoulder forward on the .204 is awesome. I'm just not so good at holding on to that much recoil over 50 rds. in a day anymore.

Added: I only mean recoil in a handgun. Hell yeah, I need a .204 and a 6mm-204 in a rifle. Maybe even a 6.5 and a 7mm.

Added II: Per gemihur's post above, The ultimate would be what ever bullet diameter you stick in the .204 case improved. Remember the body is longer in the .204 than the .223 or .222RM.

 

[sandwarrior]

I started with just a few. Now they seem to multiply.

Out of shorter barrels I like .221 Fireball, .30 Harrett, .300Blk/Whisper, 6.5TCU, 6.5 JDJ, 6.5Bullberry Imp. .44Mag, .357Max, .35Rem...

HA! For the life of me I couldn't quite tell what you had. Then I see it's individual pistol bags with various pistols/barrels!

 

[gemihur]

It's an addiiction, for sure!

 

[sandwarrior]

It's an addiiction, for sure!

Yeah! I only started with three....

 

[gemihur]

You're never gonna find yourself thrown around by a bullet of 55 gr. or less.
The 32 gr. .204 Ruger bullets are very fast and very light and are a real pleasure to shoot.

 

[gemihur]

6x45mm .... Just wait'll I get the furniture finished for this 'sleeper'

Not much to look at now but this baby shoots 'lights out'!
Thanks,
Jimmy

 

[sirhrmechanic]

I have about 8 barrels... I bottom feed for them. If I can pick up a new cal cheap... game on.

Favorites are a .357 that I cut off and threaded for suppressor. Whisper quiet.

And a .17 Rem which leaves vapor trails.

The most insane is a ported .45/70, which almost got me my first handgun deer. Had there not been a 4” tree in the way. That still has the scar. I visit it every year when hunting in oh. Doe walked away. With a concussion, I am sure. How that tree jumped into my line of sight I still can’t explain!

Contenders are more fun than a ‘barrel’ of monkeys. Barrel. Get it???

Cheers, Sirhr

 

[gemihur]

Indeed a gentleman's perspective.
... and entertaining.
Thank you, Sir.
I like wood ... shown here is a Gonic GA-90 20" Bbl in 45 caliber

 

[gemihur]

Don't underestimate the driving force behind a 45 cal projectile. I once killed a small buck with a maxi fired from my Kentucky rifle even though the bullet struck a 4" dogwood and split into fragments.

 

[lash]

Indeed a gentleman's perspective.
... and entertaining.
Thank you, Sir.
I like wood ... shown here is a Gonic GA-90 20" Bbl in 45 caliber
View attachment 7395017

Don't underestimate the driving force behind a 45 cal projectile. I once killed a small buck with a maxi fired from my Kentucky rifle even though the bullet struck a 4" dogwood and split into fragments.

First off, I just want to say how impressed I am with your collection of Contenders, what I have seen so far. Second, I’ll second your observation regarding the power of a .45 caliber black powder rifle projectile. When I was young, my Dad built a Pennsylvania Dutch flintlock long rifle from a Dixie Gunworks Kit. He upgraded a few parts, including the stock which he made from a beautiful piece of Birdseye maple he had.

As teens, we would take it out and practice on things. After seeing a cast .45 round ball split a 4” tree we did a penetration test in our own way. We shot at a 6” thick block of pine in front of a maple stump from 50 yards. That ball went clean through the 6” block and buried itself 2” into the maple stump. We were impressed.

That rifle went on to be used to take more than a little game around our place.

 

[diggler1833]

I ended up with dad's Contender and a half dozen 10" barrels for it.

.223 is so what hit and miss as the hammer is not always strong enough to pop every primer. When it does pop, you get a most impressive fireball. I've got Contender specific handloads now.

.30-30 is great for developing a flinch. If you like powerful handguns, its probably a good option. 500ft/lb is my threshold between something I want to shoot 6 or 50 times.

.357 is a .357. Nothing amazing, but you will get a little extra velocity.

.22 is awesome! I load shorts or the super quiet CCI stuff for letting my 2 and 4 year old shoot with me...they love it.

.45/410 makes for a handy snake gun I suppose. I've killed one dove with it...no snakes.

 

[myronman3]

the 10 inch in 223 and 3030 are motherfuckers. anything less than 14” and it’s a tremendous muzzle blast with the bottleneck calibers.

 

[bobke]

Anyone shooting a 35 Rem? I picked up a 14” barrel and been working on both cast 190gr flat points and 200gr Nosler Accubonds with mixed results. Load for a dozen other calibers but short any experience with the 35. Factory recoil is doable with Pachmayrs, though don’t think I need 1875fps for it to be effective. Any advice appreciated.

 

[myronman3]

advice? make sure you have pachmayrs and earplugs. and dont fire it inside-or you’ll piss your pants and forget your name for about 30-40 seconds

i had a 14” 35 remington. i had rynite handgun grips, and that bastard was NASTY.

 

[gemihur]

I told ya' I was gonna dress this Dude up! same barrel as in post #57.. fully free-floated from rear lug forward... 6x223

 

[Cclary60]

I still don’t understand why people get worked up over the contender platform.

Personally, I want 10 rifles in 10 different calibers.

Not one rifle that I can change to 10 different calibers.

 

[gemihur]

You can still get your 10 rifles AND a contender that shoots a multitude of calibers.
It's just a specialty design that implores the significance of the first shot being the all important one.
It offers it's own set of constraints further mandating your understanding of pressures and twist in relation to bullet weight and loads.
It's probably not the best platform for the casual shooter.
... a man's got to know his limitations.

 

[nagantguy]

7-30 waters in super 14
44 magnum
357 maximum.
the 357 is my favorite hunting round the 7-30 is splendidly accurate and the local fox/woodchuck populations fear it. Owning a contender pistol had been a dream since boyhood when a friends father owned one. Had a very good deal on one fall into my lap just before Christmas some years back, I have not been let down!
The OP asked for ways to improve hold/ lessen wobble, I added a lanyard ring to bottom of grip and use a single point sling that added third point of contact really helps with walking around shots or sighting in and is amazing to use in a tree stand!

 

[gemihur]

Familiarity leads to fondness
Fabulous perspectives shared here

 

[gemihur]

Last one
I promise
444 Marlin

 

[sandwarrior]

Last one
I promise
444 Marlin
View attachment 7529144

No need to stop there!

 

[lash]

I concur. Please do go on.

 

[gemihur]

I don't want to get redundant
I was splitting firewood about two years ago and saw the straightest grain in a chunk of black walnut and thought I should do something with that other than burn in the fireplace. I took it to my table saw and started cutting. That was the start of my first attempt at shaping furniture for my contenders.
The forearm shown below was that firewood and the buttstock was my last project in an attempt to incorporate features depicted on classic muzzleloaders and modern firearm furniture manufacturers. Shown here with a 21" stainless 30-30 Winchester barrel and frame with a Caldwell bipod and Bushnell scope

 

[John_in_WYO]

@ gemihur

What length of pull do you like for your Contender rifle stocks?
I have a factory Carbine stock that is just a bit short for me, but worked great for my kids and nieces and nephews when they were little.
Is there a source for longer stocks that you know of?

 

[gemihur]

There are two sizes from TC, 12" LOP (youth) and 14" LOP (full).
I have all factory buttstocks in youth model or Bantam as I am not a big fellow at 5ft 6 inches.
I have made a couple of sets of contender furniture on request and have made them both at 14" LOP.
... just check a few of my creations and they are 14 5/8"
The yardstick method of measure usually determines optimum LOP for an individual.
( A quick & easy non-technical way to determine length of pull is take a yardstick:
Bend the shooting arm @ 90 degrees @ the elbow. Place the yardstick in the crook of the elbow & along the inside of the fore arm.
Bend the trigger finger, as if caressing the trigger, & read the measurement off the yardstick.
That's your LOP)
You can remove the recoil pad on your buttstock and insert a spacer to increase the LOP.
The level of cosmetic consequence relies upon your skillset.
A local gunsmith would be glad to accommodate you.
For a retail source of contender furniture, Marty @ http://www.hausofarms.com/ is the man, for sure!

The rynite stocks from TC are another animal completely.
Super light ... I have a pair and use one that I filled with packets of lead shot for shooting from the bench some of the more stout chamberings.

 

[gemihur]

All factory rynite furniture (with weight added)

Sleek walnut forearm of my own design

 

[lash]

All factory rynite furniture
View attachment 7939702

View attachment 7939703
Sleek walnut forearm of my own design

Do you know where I can get the hardware to make my own forearm? I tried a few searches so far with no luck, but honestly haven’t tried calling anyone yet.

 

[SpeedyR]

glad to see this bumped again... some good looking contenders

anyone know of good sources for threaded barrels for the contender? Now that I have some cans I can't resist something like my 22lr or a 44 special barrel with some 300gr bullets subsonic..

A while ago I read (silencertalk?) about someone getting faster twist 22 caliber barrels chambered in 22 hornet and shooting 77gr SMK's subsonic for a great quiet plinking round. Thought the contender might be an easy way to accomplish this..

 

[gemihur]

Hardware for contender forearm is 10-32 hex-head and for encore is 8-40 screw both from Ace Hardware.
Grip bolt for both 1/4-20 hex-head.
Lengths determined by your wood's dimension
Lots of wood out there to shape!
Have at it!
Barrel modifications were handled by David White. I miss him. A lot of good folks were lost to Covid. He was one of the greats!
Gary Reeder is always onboard for a customization but you can expect big bucks (sorry, not deer) https://reedercustomguns.com/

 

[cas6969]

Sleek walnut forearm of my own design

This one... elegant, sleek.

Pillar bedded, "free floating" . You'll notice the two spots on the front. Those were 3/4-1" holes drilled about 6 inches deep and filled with molten lead. Because 12" hunk of rough 4 x 8 just wasn't heavy enough. lol

That's a .358JDJ barrel in the photo, but it was never used with it. I only used my .222 barrel in it. And it worked very poorly.
Shot better with the any forend I put on it than it did with that.

That photo was actually taken years after the failed experiment, as is evident by the rust and oxidation.

 

[gemihur]

Oh my!
Great counterweight
I'm sure it helped detent recoil
sometimes, less is more
and sometimes more is ... more

 

[cas6969]

It really didn't move. It also shot 100 yard groups that would have been barely acceptable if I was using open sights. lol It only ever went to the range once, which is why I made it so crude, I had my suspicions it wouldn't work well.

 

[gemihur]

It showed great ambition, tho!
Never surrender

 

[Ironcreek]

357 mag

 

[gemihur]

Fabulous look
Love the can
stealthy stalker
I'm jealous

 

[lash]

Hardware for contender forearm is 10-32 hex-head and for encore is 8-40 screw both from Ace Hardware.
Grip bolt for both 1/4-20 hex-head.
Lengths determined by your wood's dimension
Lots of wood out there to shape!
Have at it!
Barrel modifications were handled by David White. I miss him. A lot of good folks were lost to Covid. He was one of the greats!
Gary Reeder is always onboard for a customization but you can expect big bucks (sorry, not deer) https://reedercustomguns.com/

Thanks. I’ll see what I can come up with.

 

[Modoc]

Gemihur, now I want to go pull my 221 Fireball out of the safe and see what I can do with it again. As if I don’t have anything else to do.

 

[obx22]

Great old thread and timely.
I’ve a 14” and 16” barrel in .22LR Match chamber, with the new longer range rimfire games, and talk of using faster twists, I plan to slap a Vortex SE on the handgun with it’s 12 twist barrel and see how it performs at 300yds.
Pic is of a friend coaching a young lady with my 16”, a very handy carbine!

 

[awpk03s]

glad to see this bumped again... some good looking contenders

anyone know of good sources for threaded barrels for the contender? Now that I have some cans I can't resist something like my 22lr or a 44 special barrel with some 300gr bullets subsonic..

A while ago I read (silencertalk?) about someone getting faster twist 22 caliber barrels chambered in 22 hornet and shooting 77gr SMK's subsonic for a great quiet plinking round. Thought the contender might be an easy way to accomplish this..

Look at SSK or MGM for excellent threaded barrels.

 

[gemihur]

I just really like the contender/encore platforms and love to see the contributions to the thread.
Wildcats intrigue me and Ackley improvements are always sought.
Bellm and Reeder designs are my favorites. J. D. Jones is my hero also!

 

[Ironcreek]

6.5 CM 12" barrel

 

[gemihur]

Now that's some kinda equipment!

 

[HSNARC]

Did TC stop selling new single shot encore/contenders? Can’t seem to find any off of GB and the ones there are ridiculously priced.

 

[awpk03s]

GunBroker is your option at this time…. SSK is developing a Contender G1 frame to sell to end users separately, but that timeframe has continued to push out.

 

[Ironcreek]

You might want to visit Haus of Arms (https://www.hausofarms.com/) for barrels, stocks and the occasional used action...

 

[gemihur]

It's a sad state of affairs indeed
The used market is the only market at present
smoke 'em if you've got 'em, Boys

 

[Ironcreek]

 

[awpk03s]

Old school Contender in 45LC

 

[awpk03s]

350 Legend Contender…