Thompson Center Arms

What your preference Contender or Encore and why?

Depends on caliber. If the encore frame isn't needed for the cartridge, I prefer the smaller, lighter contender.

Same here. Just got a 35 Rem Super 14 Contender on a trade. I think I've owned about a half dozen Contender frames and two Encores. Can't go wrong with either. I've had everything from 22lr to 45-70. They're a lot of fun

I bought a Contender rather than an Encore because so many people made the same comments as above. Since I've never shot an Encore, I can't compare the two, myself. That said, I'm very happy with my Contender, my Triumph muzzle loader and my .30-06 Icon. All in all, they make pretty good products.

I have both, as stated above the cartridge is best to decide which action to go with.
I only have original Contenders, no G2's, and like the trigger better than the Encore trigger. The Encore trigger pushes your finger forward after the hammer drops and I do not like that.

Mark

I do like the Contender for pistol setups and Encore for larger caliber rifles. My Encore pistol is heavy

Encore, but I'm an engineer. Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Depends on what the top end of your desired caliber is.

Encore. I have two Pro Hunter frames and four barrels, 243, 270, 30-06, and 338 win mag.
Most of the time during the fall I have both frames and all the barrels with me but there
are times I may have the 243 and 338 barrels. With the 338 you need the Encore frame.
Three of the barrels are standard Thompson 28", stainless, fluted. The 338 is a custom
MGM, 27" with integrated muzzle brake. Currently the three other barrels are being cut
down to 24". I've shot the 243 and 338 a lot and both are shooters. Have not shot the
270 and 06 much but they are just to picky on loads so we'll see if 24" is a little less
picky.

I am like SD, an engineer and just prefer the Encore.

Like some of the others have said, depends on the caliber. Have both frames but have never used the Encore as a handgun. Before the Encore or G2 came out was hunting with a Contender in 7-30 Waters, if I need more reach than that gun provides I need rifle.

Handgun will stick with the Contender, I do have an Encore that I use sometimes rifle hunting but never have gotten a handgun barrel for it only rifle and muzzle loader.

Got 6.5 Creedmore 15" Encore....it's quite a shooter

All shooters should be aware that if you buy a Contender or an Encore as a pistol, then it is illegal to convert it into a rifle.

By the same token, if you buy a Contender of an Encore as a rifle, then it is illegal to convert it into a pistol.

Either one can get you twenty years in a federal pen. The matter is judged by whether the firearm goes into the books as "rifle" or "pistol" when the original purchase is made.

One might think, "Well, who is going to know or care?"

Well, ATF agents are hot on this issue and when they see a Contender or Encore in either configuration, guess what they go out of their way to check up on, right off the effing bat?

There is no firearm sold that is legal to convert back and forth between rifle and pistol. With the right tax stamp you can convert one back and forth, just as it is with an AR, but otherwise no.

Some may see me as a party-pooper in bringing this point up - but I'd rather the readers here spend a few minutes thinking about it now - than spend twenty years considering it while residing in a federal penitentiary.

If you have one of these, in the books as rifle or pistol and want to have the other - go the inexpensive route and buy another frame to go with the other kind of stock and barrel.

Think about your family.

My understanding is that this is partially true. A pistol frame cannot be used for a rifle, but a rifle frame can be used for a pistol. Once converted, it cannot be used as a rifle anymore.

There has been a lot of discussion on this, and the water is pretty muddy as to ATF enforcement. A lot of folks are using frames interchangeably, and while I can't say that that is fine, I have heard of noone being brought up on charges for doing so. That may well change after the next election.

Can you show evidence of a rifle action being converted from rifle to pistol legally, without buying the tax stamp? Has anybody else seen this? I've been around firearms for many years, and have yet to see anything even remotely like that, anywhere.

Shooters being how they are, loving to experiment, if it were legal I think we would all have been seeing it on a regular basis.

The criteria as I understand it, is how the receiver with serial number is designated by the manufacturer. (Pistol or rifle) Thus we have pistols with rifle receivers legally sold by manufacturers, like the Remington XP-100, AR pistols, and the Ruger Charger for example. An inverse example was when Thompson-Center started offering Contender rifles.

I got my information from ATF agents who noticed a Contender in my shop, and other ATF agents at the ATF office when I called and asked about it by way of verification. There was no mud in the water, they made it very plain and were emphatic about it. Then I asked the county Sheriff and he had the same story. Federal law is not a casual thing to push the envelope on, as the push-back when you do so can be quite severe.

If you cannot back up your claim with evidence, then what you are doing here is trying to talk fellow shooters into having their lives ruined, on the strength of your "opinion". Twenty years in a federal pen is no joke. Opinions mean nothing, compared to federal law.

You have to be careful about giving out bogus information... If somebody wound up in trouble because they believed your "opinion", then later on they or some of their family might be looking you up. - Get the picture? Injured families are a lot like the feds, in that they will not accept ignorance as an excuse.

Personally, I do not agree with this particular law... Whether you or I agree with the law or not will have no bearing though, when they drag you off to prison while your family wonders how they are going to get by without you for the next couple of decades or so. Then, when you do get out, you cannot legally own any kind of firearm at all.

I have owned a number of Contenders over the years - but I've never been stupid enough to try to convert one from pistol to rifle, or visa versa.

The fact that T/C does not encourage buyers to do home conversions is a significant clue. If it were legal, they'd be advertising and encouraging the practice as a special feature of the Encore and Contender.

- But they don't, do they?

There are circumstances where parts can legally be swapped out:

With a rifle, you can take off the butt-stock and install a pistol grip instead - as long as the barrel is over 16 inches, and the overall length is 27 inches or better. (Same goes for shotguns like the Mossberg Cruiser, but with shotguns the minimum barrel length is 18".)

With a pistol, you can have any length barrel you like - but you cannot put a rifle butt-stock on it.

TC used to sell a package with one receiver, a pistol barrel, a pistol grip, rifle barrel and a rifle stock. The ATF said it was selling SBRs illegally. TC won the Supreme Court case and it was ruled that they were not selling illegal SBRs due to the lack of intent as the kit had both the pistol grip and stock.
IANAL
YMMV

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Thompson-Center_Arms_Co.

Didn't T/C sell a 16" barrel and rifle stock kit for the Contender at one time, so you could convert it back and forth?

A 16" barrel is legal for either rifle or pistol.

It was a 10" and 21".

Do they sell that kit today? - If not, then why not?

Think it through.

No need to SBR a Contender anyway.
16" is plenty short.

No sure why they don't. Must not have been any money in it. The SCOTUS ruled it was good so it wasn't for legal reasons.

I have a friend who owns several 16" Encores, and very rarely hunts with anything else.

I'll make you a good deal on a bridge, if you really believe that. Just think... You could charge a toll and get rich overnight!

Believe what? That they weren't making money on the kit or that the SCOTUS affirmed that it was legal to sell it?

The end of page 4 puts this to rest.

ATF Ruling

If it's the kit, you can change it back and forth, provided you do not use the short barrel with the rifle stock. If it began life as a pistol, you can change it back and forth, again no short barrel/rifle stock. However, if you bought a TC rifle, it is illegal without the stamp to alter it to a pistol, in the eyes of the ATF.

That's what I was thinking.

I am very seriously considering getting either the G2 or Encore in a 30-30 or .44 mag with a 14" barrel. I'll be hitting the gun show next weekend to see if I can pick one up.

Sorry guys but the OP was not inquiring about the legality of sbr's nor exchanging of rifle to pistol. Rather the benefits or other of the Contender's shorter length rifle stock or lighter than Encore along with caliber choices?

Thank you for clarifying any concerns some may have had though

Consider the multi caliber choices of a single shot gun

You've hit the nail on the head there, making it obvious why the kit was removed from the market. - It was a serious violation of federal law, just waiting to happen. Judging by some of the attitudes that we see just in this one forum topic, it should be obvious how the kit would lead many shooters to make uninformed assumptions - that could lead them straight to the pokey.

Don't agree? - OK, where are the other kits on the market? Who offers a Rifle/Pistol kit today? Where do I buy the T/C kit? Can you point to ONE example of a rifle/pistol kit that is currently available?

If not, then you might ask yourself, "Gee, I wonder why?"

Here's why:

T/C belatedly saw the writing on the wall when they realized that marketing the kit was a lawsuit magnet.

The world being as it is, there will always be stupid people who will insist upon doing stupid things. There is a sizable percentage of the shooting community who would take the existence of a kit as a plain indication that federal gun laws that they do not agree with no longer apply. - With predictable results.

They get caught, they get into trouble - and then they or their family sues the company that marketed the kit.

There's an old saying that covers this issue very well: "Wish on one hand, and crap on the other... See which one fills up the fastest."

Thompson-Center wanted to stay in business - so they dropped the kit like the legal hot potato that it was. - Most likely after a lawsuit or two, but it may be that they wised up before that had to happen.

That question was covered very well by Tactical Cowboy, kmon1 and others, early in the discussion.

Did they post in vain?

If those are the only calibers you're interested in, I'd suggest the Contender. If you want to go with a larger rifle cartridge later on, get the Encore.