T/C Contender & Encore

[trappst]

Any of you guys play with the T/C Contender G2 or Encore pistols? What's the difference?

Say a guy (me) was looking at a single shot pistol to play/hunt with and had no intentions of making it a rifle/muzzleloader. It kinda seems like the G2 would be the way to go. Or am I off? What's the basic difference?

Will the one frame work with any case, including rimfire? What's the going price for a new G2 frame?

Thanks in advance for any info!

[bootsmcguire]

I have the older Contender frame, and as far as I know the big difference between the older fame and the G2 is the grip angle was changed and the grip to trigger distance was altered. My Contender, as all others I have seen, will work with Rimfire or Centerfire. However the Contender and G2 has a lower preassure limit on the frame and cannot be chambered for cartridges like 243, 308, 30-06, etc. You may want to look at the Encore since there are currently more barrels and options available and it can be chambered in dang near anything.

[chj3]

Have a couple of the older Contender frames and pistol barrels ranging from .22 rf and .22 Hornet up to .45 Colt. I tend to like the older 10" barrels, octagon for the lighter cartridges and bull for the .45, etc. Wide range of used barrels available and you can buy/sell them easily. (see Ed's Contenders: http://www.edstc.com/ )

Only have rifle barrels (.250, 6.5x55) on my Encore frame.

I tend to think of the Encore "pistol" as a very short rifle. As noted in the prior post, it can handle the .243, etc class cartridges and the Contender is limited to the .223, .30-30, etc.

Check the weights-- probably 3 to 3.5 lb for a Contender/G2 and 4+ lb for an Encore -- wide variations due to the various barrels.

[Don - LongRangeSupply]

If you want one gun that will do it all, get an Encore PISTOL, not an Encore RIFLE or a Contender pistol or rifle.

You can legally convert the Encore PISTOL into a RIFLE with a 16" or longer barrel, or a SHOTGUN with an 18" or longer barrel as long as it meats the overall length requirements of the ATF, but you CANNOT legally convert an Encore or a Contender that was manufactured / shipped from TC as a RIFLE into a PISTOL without going through special Title 2 paperwork and paying the federal tax required to do so.

Also the Encore can do everything from 22 Long Rifle all the way up to the belted magnums. It will also handle a 12 Ga. shotgun barrel. The Contender is limited to lower pressure or smaller breach face rounds that do not exceed the standing breech design limits.

[bythebook]

Between my Sons and myself we have several Encores from 204 up to a 450 Marlin. They are fun and shoot good and can be as addicting as Savages. The 450 Marlin can be used in Ill. gun season as it is a straight walled case, that might interest you Trapp.

[trappst]

Thank you all the info! It looks like the Encore may meet my needs more with the higher pressure stuff.

Bythebook, funny you should mention deer hunting. That would be one of the main uses. Our laws here require a bottleneck cartridge to be 1.4" or less and at least 30 cal. Fired from a single shot handgun or revolver with at least a 4" barrel. Ammo must be factory available with published data showing at least 500 ft/lbs. of energy at the muzzle.

That was a mouthful! Wait for it..............enter the 300 Blackout.


A web trip to Bullberry and Matchgrademachine had me drooling!

[bythebook]

Thank you all the info! It looks like the Encore may meet my needs more with the higher pressure stuff.

Bythebook, funny you should mention deer hunting. That would be one of the main uses. Our laws here require a bottleneck cartridge to be 1.4" or less and at least 30 cal. Fired from a single shot handgun or revolver with at least a 4" barrel. Ammo must be factory available with published data showing at least 500 ft/lbs. of energy at the muzzle.

That was a mouthful! Wait for it..............enter the 300 Blackout.


A web trip to Bullberry and Matchgrademachine had me drooling!

But if it is a straight walled case there is no case length limit, that is why my Son got the 450 Marlin barrel. I will admit though you have to practice with it to get used to it. Letting a 300 to a 350 grain bullet go from a 5lb. pistol gets your attention, even with a muzzle brake.

[Blue Avenger]

when the .45-70 was first chambered for the contender there was no muzzle brake on it, now the only way the factory will sell them is braked. To many hit between the eyes!
Another big plus for the Encor and G2 is the action dose not have to be opened to reset the trigger to recock the hammer.

They also have a support network for the barrel addiction! They have venders that make very nice barrel storage devices!!!!

[Eric in NC]

Check the triggers on the two also - big difference in pull quality from the factory.

[trappst]

bythebook, you are correct on the straight walled pistol cases. I have a Ruger SRH 454 that I also hunt with. It can be a handful too!

Eric in NC, on the triggers which one is normally better? Contender or Encore?

[Eric in NC]

My experience is that Contenders have good triggers out of the box and can be easily made into something fantastic. Encores come on the low end of "ok" for me but can be fixed but it takes more work (can't remove trigger mechanism etc.).

Good walkthrough here -

http://www.bellmtcs.com/store/index.php?cid=110

[Apache]

It's my latest addiction. I have a G2 with a 357 mag, 44 mag, 375 GNR, 7-30 Waters MGM barrel.

Unfortunately the job situation is making it difficult to feed the addition right now.

I really like the feel of the G2 and earlier frames. The encore seems a little "clunky" and too big for my taste....I'm using it as a hunting pistol only. My Savages do ALL the rifle duty work I would need.

The 357 Mag will soon be a 357 Max and the 44 Mag will soon be a 445 Super Mag.

It's as addicting as the Savage!!!

[Eric in NC]

The 357 Max is an awesome SS pistol round. Decide if you want to use pistol type bullets or 35 Remington type bullets and have it throated accordingly.

375 Win is a great round too if you need more thump!

[DonArkie]

I'm a avid handgunner, have a 1st Gen, T/C Contender Super 14 chambered in 45 Winchester Mag. Does a number on deer & hogs

[etisll40]

Nice picture by the way. are you talking the centerfire 45 win mag? Can a Contender handle that? Thx, Ed

I'm a avid handgunner, have a 1st Gen, T/C Contender Super 14 chambered in 45 Winchester Mag. Does a number on deer & hogs

[Hotolds442]

Don't confuse the 45 Winchester Mag (a pistol round) with the 458 Winchester Mag (a rifle round)

[n4ue]

I have a couple of older Contender frames. One is an 'easy open', the other takes a lot of force to open it.
I have a lot of .44 Mags and a .454 Casull revolver. Even an XP-100 in 7mm-08.
However, the worse recoiling pistol I have, is the T/C with a 14" bbl chambered in .445 Super Mag. I don't (can't) shoot it any more but my macho buddies that own .44 Mags, will only shoot it once. And yes, it does have Pachmyer rubber grips.... ha ha

ron

[Blitzfike]

I have several Contender pistols, and several Encores in both rifle and pistol configuration. The biggest caliber I have in the contender is 375 Winchester, and that one will get your attention. I also have 30 and 357 Herrit barrels, and most of the standards like 41 mag, 44 mag, 45 colt, 357 mag, 223, 22 rf. My encore pistols are 15" barrels in 30-06 and 22-250. Then I have multiple rifle configurations from 22-250 to 375 H&H magnum. 45-70 and 375 H&H both kick the snot out of you. I like the TC family quite a bit.

[jonbearman]

I have 2 encores and one is a pistol and the other started life as a smokepole. Now it is a .243 in bench rest type stocks and shoots awesome.I have a slew of barrels and the encore is truly a riot.

[n4ue]

Kinda late to post this....
I have a couple of Contender frames. The 'newer' one was improved (by TC) to be 'easy open'. The oldest one is a pain to open, I don't recall what change TC made to make it easier to open but it sure made a big difference.
My ex-wife used a TC 14" bbl to shoot IHMSA .22 rimfire. She had small hands and just could not open the old one. She had no problem with the newer one.
I bought a bunch of bbls for mine, some unusual cal. 6.5 TCU, .357 Herrett, etc.
The most brutal as far as recoil, is a 14" bbl chambered for .445 Super Mag. I also have a Dan Wesson SS revolver in that caliber, but the TC, even with rubber grips, is not too much fun. Most guys only shoot it once.

Check out my recent posting concerning how "I got kicked of the Internet"...... Good TC story.

ron

[Hubcap]

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...stBuckdeer.jpg

This is the first buck I ever shot. Used an Encore in .444 Marlin.

[gemihur]

Load 'em to 39,000 psi and you'll be fine

[Stumpkiller]

Old Thread! But I like it!

I have a pair of frames and a handfull of barrels.

Here's my .223 REM carbine. This is my barnyard defense and always handy.



And here's an interesting "little" 7-1/2" barrel .44 Magnum that fits in a 6" barrel size revolver holster. SSK cut, crowned and put a bead ramp sight on it for me.


I have a 10" octagonal .44 Mag barrel and I don't think they made many. I've never seen another larger than .357 Mag. The muzzle isn't much wider than the bore and it is VERY unpleasant to shoot!

[gemihur]

I know what ya mean about the thin barrel walls
I've got one in 45 LC only.
nice setups
Thanks,
Jimmy

[hamiltonkiler]

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...stBuckdeer.jpg

This is the first buck I ever shot. Used an Encore in .444 Marlin.

Hell of a deer. What year and state if you don’t mind.


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