TC Frame Variations

In the 80's a friend sold me a TC Ser# 13,xxx with a 10" 44 barrel and 1.5 TC Scope. I kept it for a few year and put a 223 14" barrel on it I used for hunting and was able to get groups the size of a dime with handloads and H322, which was about $5 a pound at the time. I eventually sold it and got an XP100 then sold that a few years later. FF to about 2010 I bought another TC with a 14" 223 barrel and kept it for a few more years and sold it to a friend who was looking for one.
Well I got the itch again when someone posted a 30 Herret barrel. I kept it for a few months and then traded it for 22 barrel. Now I have a chance to get one with a 14" barrel in 223 for $700 which seems fair. It has the plain wood furniture with rubber back on the grip.
So I started looking at TC's on GB and see that there seems to be a few frame variations and was wondering if someone could explain them to me. I see the usual one with the cat but also saw one that was listed as Madcat and some are listed as Easy Opening. TIA

The main thing you need to know is original vs easy open. If you can see the trigger guard hinge pin in the middle of the frame just above the trigger, it's easy open. If that pin is covered up by the forend, up near the barrel pin, it's an original, "hard open" frame. There were some conversions to ez open, as well. The oldest barrels have a single lug that engages in the locking mechanism in the action and newer ones have a split lug configuration. The part that pushes the lugs forward is different on the older vs newer frames so some barrels need to have the lugs changed.

The engravings are just aesthetic. The "mad cat" ( I call it the cartoon cat) is just sort of dumb looking compared to the original cougar on the rock scene. A lot of stainless frames seem to have the cartoon cat.

There's a variation called Armor Allow that requires special attention...because of the finish, those frames may or may not accept regular barrels...or maybe it's the other way around.

There are some variations in the safety and firing pin selector mechanisms and hammer castings but those will usually work fine whatever they are. Again, plenty of retrofits out there so that an older frame may have a newer hammer and/or selector and safety.

Thank You for that tidbit. Looking at frames and the one for sale I see it is an EZ open, not that is really matters one way to me. When did the EZ Open frame begin production?

Easy open models started at serial# 195,000

All stainless frames are mad cat or cartoon cat(lol funny). If you see a silver frame with the leaping cougar it will be either armor alloy or coated, such as khrome from SSK.

the mad cat can also be described as “post fire”. TC had a fire that destroyed the older stuff used.
the stainless frame pre and post fire……the etching depth changed to a shallower depth post fire. Laser etched or ????