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.