Minding my own business, I swing by the shop to visit my buddy. I notice a styrofoam clamshell box on his desk. Hmmm.
- Me: Whats in the box?
- Him: Thompson Contender
- Me: What caliber?
- Him: .45 Colt / .410
- Me: Ugh. Whaddya want for it?
- Him: $150
- Me: Uh..Ill be back in a few minutes. I gotta swing by an ATM.
And thats how that happened.
I actually already have two Contenders and a handful of barrels. My favorite is a 21″ .30-30 carbine sitting in a Choate stock. With open sights it weighs just under five pounds. A wonderful lightweight carbine for running through the timber.
And for a hundred and fifty bucks….why not? I think the .45/.410 barrel is useless, so I’ll dump it on eBay and get $150 for it which will make the frame and furniture a freebie.
I like the Contender as a test platform for my reloads. As a break open single shot it eliminates a lot of variables and makes an excellent test platform. Does it have any survivalist-centric special uses? I suppose someone will think that the interchangeable nature of the barrels gives some sort of advantage but….no. Why wouldnt you just have a .22 rifle, a .30 bolt gun, maybe a .223 of some kind, in full-size repeating guns? About the only advantage I can see is that if you live in some environ that limits the number of firearms you can own, it might be useful. But, really, its just a fun gun to play with various calibers.
Sure, I’ll slap the 14″ .44 barrel on it and go knock down Bambi. But in a world where knocking down an animal means the difference between full bellies and starvation? I’ll use the gun that gives me the most advantage and thats probably gonna be a .308 of some kind.
But for a hundred and fifty bucks….why not add a little range toy to the collection? Especially if I can get it to pay for itself by unloading that .45/.410 barrel.
Back in the early 70s I had a 3 barrel set Contender in a Sheepskin bag.
.22 Hornet, 30 Herrett, and .45/.410.
I sold it because the Herrett beat up my something fierce.
That get up today would bring a nice price.
I always thought the 30 Herrett recoil was mild compared to my non bull barrel 44 mag. The herrett barked alot louder though.
I’m jealous! I would of jumped on that deal also.
You definitely stole that T/C at that price. Very versatile. I’d check and see what the receiver is registered as. Some were sold with a carbine barrel installed and are registered as a rifle. Theoretically illegal to install a pistol barrel on it, making it a short rifle. At least,that is my understanding.
You are incorrect. There was a case a number of years back stating that you can switch a Contender between pistol and carbine without NFA issues as long as you dont have the stock on it when you have the shorter barrels on as well. Most dealers I know take the barrels off when someone trades in the gun, and then logs the gun is as just a receiver.
Ah – okay. Thank you for clearing that up. It didn’t make sense to me either.
I think I read a story that involved a Contender, magnified vision, a poodle-round and a politician golfing.
Something about “Bad Guys Abroad and at Home” or something… decent story.
I think the book was ‘Enemies Foreign and Domestic’ by Matt Bracken. It was a good read. He is a talented writer.
Walked into a local g/s a while back and got to talking to the owner..She showed me a Thompson Encore she was holding back for herself in 7mm Mag and 8mm/308. Wanted $600 for the set. Didn’t need two more calibers in the closet, but. . . what can I say; I’m a sucker for single shot rifles,
Funny , stopped by what is probably the same place and the classic little old lady was showing him a smith . I said , hey can I look at that ? He says “ I haven’t bought it yet “ I said . When you do put it aside for me . Next time I get by grizzly there is a 6” barrel supposed to be model 17 no dash waiting for me . It wasn’t 150 but it was way under the market price . Our mutual pal did me right on that one !!