Still shooting TC with the Encore
Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2025 5:30 pm
As some of you know from a previous thread, we sold off our entire TC Contender collection earlier this year and it was quite an extensive collection. It was all original Rochester, NH vintage Contender, too, not the later Springfield, Mass stuff made by TC after TC was bought out by S&W.
1969 Contender
Why would we sell off such an extensive collection? Several reasons, not the least of which is that we had a local buyer, a friend of ours, who specializes in buying and selling Contenders. He gave us a fair price and bought the entire collection in one transaction, saving us the need to sell it all piece by piece.
Another reason is age related. We both have arthritis, now, and opening Contenders could sometimes be an issue, depending on the particular Contender barrel used. Using the same Contender frame, some barrels would open easily and some with great difficulty and every now and then, you'll get a Contender barrel that will lock up, but not open at all, requiring you to do some mods on the barrel locking bolt.
We did not sell our much more modest TC Encore collection, though. Kept the Encores. Encores are much easier to open, regardless of which barrel is mounted on the frame. TC solved the barrel opening issue, nicely, when the Encore was introduced in 1997. Even when the arthritis is acting up, I can still open the Encore, easily, regardless of what barrel I'm using.
And when shooting cartridges like the 44 mag, I long ago switched to the Encore for the way it handles recoil, better. (44 mag in the Contender is not fun.)
Encore 12" 44 mag
Encores are far more versatile than the Contender, too. The Encore can use almost any power level of cartridge, from 22 LR up to African safari cartridges that would destroy a Contender frame with one shot. Encore pistol in 30-06, anyone? Yeah, I used to shoot one.
22 LR, though? Yes, even though the Encore only uses one firing pin, you can still shoot rimfire, since TC used a special two piece rimfire barrel design to offset the rimfire chamber to get the proper alignment for the firing pin to strike the rim on a rimfire round. Not many Encore rimfire barrels were produced, though, so they can be hard to find.
Encore with 15" 22 LR barrel
The above Encore 22 LR is phenomenally accurate, by the way, as in under half inch at 50 yards. Still pretty loud, though, for backyard shooting, so I recently got lucky and found a scarce 24" Encore rifle barrel in 22 LR. That longer length makes it quiet enough with CCI Quiets for backyard shooting, though. Scope is an inexpensive BSA 3-9x AO rimfire, but works well enough.
Encore 22 LR rifle
And the Encore 22 LR rifle barrel shoots great with the CCI Quiets, just like I knew it would. In fact, this Encore rimfire barrel shoots as accurately as my Anschutz with the Quiets.
Still shooting TC and doing it right in the backyard. Feels right.
1969 Contender
Why would we sell off such an extensive collection? Several reasons, not the least of which is that we had a local buyer, a friend of ours, who specializes in buying and selling Contenders. He gave us a fair price and bought the entire collection in one transaction, saving us the need to sell it all piece by piece.
Another reason is age related. We both have arthritis, now, and opening Contenders could sometimes be an issue, depending on the particular Contender barrel used. Using the same Contender frame, some barrels would open easily and some with great difficulty and every now and then, you'll get a Contender barrel that will lock up, but not open at all, requiring you to do some mods on the barrel locking bolt.
We did not sell our much more modest TC Encore collection, though. Kept the Encores. Encores are much easier to open, regardless of which barrel is mounted on the frame. TC solved the barrel opening issue, nicely, when the Encore was introduced in 1997. Even when the arthritis is acting up, I can still open the Encore, easily, regardless of what barrel I'm using.
And when shooting cartridges like the 44 mag, I long ago switched to the Encore for the way it handles recoil, better. (44 mag in the Contender is not fun.)
Encore 12" 44 mag
Encores are far more versatile than the Contender, too. The Encore can use almost any power level of cartridge, from 22 LR up to African safari cartridges that would destroy a Contender frame with one shot. Encore pistol in 30-06, anyone? Yeah, I used to shoot one.
22 LR, though? Yes, even though the Encore only uses one firing pin, you can still shoot rimfire, since TC used a special two piece rimfire barrel design to offset the rimfire chamber to get the proper alignment for the firing pin to strike the rim on a rimfire round. Not many Encore rimfire barrels were produced, though, so they can be hard to find.
Encore with 15" 22 LR barrel
The above Encore 22 LR is phenomenally accurate, by the way, as in under half inch at 50 yards. Still pretty loud, though, for backyard shooting, so I recently got lucky and found a scarce 24" Encore rifle barrel in 22 LR. That longer length makes it quiet enough with CCI Quiets for backyard shooting, though. Scope is an inexpensive BSA 3-9x AO rimfire, but works well enough.
Encore 22 LR rifle
And the Encore 22 LR rifle barrel shoots great with the CCI Quiets, just like I knew it would. In fact, this Encore rimfire barrel shoots as accurately as my Anschutz with the Quiets.
Still shooting TC and doing it right in the backyard. Feels right.
Unlike others, I respected both the family and my budget, so I never got around to the Contenders. There were a few in my various clubs over the years with impressive collections, and they shot them well. There were always offers to "Give 'er a go."
