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Thompson Center / TC Arms returning

neeltburn

neeltburn

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Aug 23, 2013
457
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South Western Indiana
Gregg Ritz from Huntmasters TV / Wild Communications is leading a "group" that has acquired TC Arms from Smith and Wesson. Prior to the 06 purchase by S&W they had a great smoke stick (My TC Omega is a tack driver for a smoke pole). Ritz was a former CEO of TC which makes me wonder if he left the company prior to the 06 sale. Website states new product line coming 2025. I wouldn't be mad if the Contender made a return.


 
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neeltburn said:
Gregg Ritz from Huntmasters TV / Wild Communications is leading a "group" that has acquired TC Arms from Smith and Wesson. Prior to the 06 purchase by S&W they had a great smoke stick (My TC Omega is a tack driver for a smoke pole). Ritz was a former CEO of TC which makes me wonder if he left the company prior to the 06 sale. Website states new product line coming 2025. I wouldn't be mad if the Contender made a return.


Click to expand...
They are not showing any guns, just accessories.
 
Let’s hope they resurrect a legacy company . Summer 1987 I saw a t/c contender add with a man shooting woodchucks over a bean field .
Made we want to become a great woodchuck hunter and a contender owner .
Have done a decent job at the first one and since I own a contender and a handful of barrels - looks like I aced the the second !
Also love the encore - the 209x50 is the muzzle loader I keep coming back to . Just pleasant shooting and consistent.
Made lots of meat with it . The 45/70 encore barrel has moved on but the 7mm mag and the 7 Mauser barrel are also pretty good shooters . IMG_0926.jpeg
Large doe taken with contender in .357 max at roughly 75 yards with 210 grain cast bullet and on MP brass 6 cavity mold .
 
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Ronws said:
They are not showing any guns, just accessories.
Click to expand...
nagantguy said:
Let’s hope they resurrect a legacy company . Summer 1987 I saw a t/c contender add with a man shooting woodchucks over a bean field .
Made we want to become a great woodchuck hunter and a contender owner .
Have done a decent job at the first one and since I own a contender and a handful of barrels - looks like I aced the the second !
Also love the encore - the 209x50 is the muzzle loader I keep coming back to . Just pleasant shooting and consistent.
Made lots of meat with it . The 45/70 encore barrel has moved on but the 7mm mag and the 7 Mauser barrel are also pretty good shooters .View attachment 8410288
Large doe taken with contender in .357 max at roughly 75 yards with 210 grain cast bullet and on MP brass 6 cavity mold .
Click to expand...
Ronws: I think that the firearm line is coming 2025 so I would anticipate announcements to follow soon.


nagantguy:
I missed out on the contender, and largely regret not getting an Encore when I had the chance. That said I have a TC Black Diamond that holds a lot of special memories afield. As well as a TC Omega that has stacked a lot of deer. I only quit hunting primarily with it when Indiana allowed centerfire rifles and suppressors on private land. If I choose to hunt public that Omega is the top of the list.
 
I have a TC Compass II in .308 W. It shoots very nice and lives up to the factory guarantee of 1 MOA on the first 3 shots. The first two out of that barrel with ammo it didn't particularly like was .54 inches dispersion. That was Hornady SST 150 gr. I eventually went to Federal Fusion 165 gr. Even though the stock was okay and had aluminum pillar bedding, I moved it to an Oryx chassis. That is what is in my avatar. It's not a "sniper rifle." It is a hunting rifle.
 
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Ronws said:
I have a TC Compass II in .308 W. It shoots very nice and lives up to the factory guarantee of 1 MOA on the first 3 shots. The first two out of that barrel with ammo it didn't particularly like was .54 inches dispersion. That was Hornady SST 150 gr. I eventually went to Federal Fusion 165 gr. Even though the stock was okay and had aluminum pillar bedding, I moved it to an Oryx chassis. That is what is in my avatar. It's not a "sniper rifle." It is a hunting rifle.
Click to expand...
I only have front loader experience with TC but from what I have read and observed they were the gold standard with Knight at the time being the largest competitor. I have heard that the Compass overall shot better than it ever should have for the money but never shot one to know first hand.
 
neeltburn said:
I only have front loader experience with TC but from what I have read and observed they were the gold standard with Knight at the time being the largest competitor. I have heard that the Compass overall shot better than it ever should have for the money but never shot one to know first hand.
Click to expand...
Well, it ticks a lot of people off to see something like a TC shoot well. I paid $404 + tax (S&H free because of a July sale at guns.com) + $35 transfer fee.

That just pisses people off.
 
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45 ACP Hunter Silhoutte in a 10" Contender was a riot more than 20 years ago. The gun was almost down by my side when the bullet finally got to the rams.
 
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Thompson Center Encore was the company's flagship response to the all purpose and versatile Hoyt dovetail mounting system AKA international limb fit recurve bows that began to dominate the hunting sphere in the 1980s. The end result was a single shot rifle platform that enabled a shooter with one rifle to use almost every existing centerfire caliber on the market and adapt from a wide range of rifle oriented sports with one swap of a barrel.
 
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I love my TC Contenders.

Once you shoot a center grip Remington XP-100, the Contenders get left in the safe.

In a bout of mid-divorce stupidity, I let mine go.
My oldest daughter has never let me forget that.

Smart girl.
 
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A nice thing about the TC selections. They never intended or claimed to be something they are not. The purely advertise these as hunting weapons.

So, for me, on a good day, a rifle and me should hopefully be capable of 1 MOA dispersion. Even though my Compass II shot .54 inches, I still think of it as a 1 MOA in the first 3 rounds gun. I will not be shooting at a deer more than 3 times. More likely, 2 times. They don't usually stick around for the third shot and that is usually a hail mary at a target now moving at 30 mph and sideways.
 
Although not TC barrels, I have an Encore with a 357 max and a 6.5 Swedish barrels. Also the muzzleloader barrel. Would be interesting in a re issue Contender.
 
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