TC contender: what's the appeal ?

doctor_meltdown

doctor_meltdown

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One of my friends and colleagues -and CGN member- passed away unexpectedly late this spring. I took possession of his restricteds to help sell them for his wife (executor) since it had been announced that transfers would cease and nobody wanted the outcome to be just handing them in. The transfer was approved about a week before the new rules came into effect.

Now that we can't transfer, I'm "stuck" with 2 TC contender pistols with a bunch of barrels, in what I consider oddball calibers.

What's the appeal of these ?
Any value to the barrels themselves ? It would be nice to get more money to the widow since parts are still ok to sell.

Any foreseeable issue selling the barrel that's on the registration certificate (pistol registered as X calibre) and being stuck with just a receiver and stock ?

Thanks for any insight.
 
Oddball chamberings is one of the appeals. Rifle cartridges in a pistol format too.

They were big with silhouette shooters and with hunters in places that's allowed.

There is interest in the barrels and they can be traded without any concerns as they are unregulated and not registered.
I bought a contender as my last handgun and am interested in more barrels.
As far as the current registration certificate, who knows. It's all such a mess I doubt ANYONE can give an iron clad answer.
 
I remember when these were hot in the 70s. I hated and loved them at the same time. decades later an as new 7mm tcu would find its way to me. I usually take it out twice a year just to oil it and admire the beauty of its weirdness.
 
doctor_meltdown said:
One of my friends and colleagues -and CGN member- passed away unexpectedly late this spring. I took possession of his restricteds to help sell them for his wife (executor) since it had been announced that transfers would cease and nobody wanted the outcome to be just handing them in. The transfer was approved about a week before the new rules came into effect.

Now that we can't transfer, I'm "stuck" with 2 TC contender pistols with a bunch of barrels, in what I consider oddball calibers.

What's the appeal of these ?
Any value to the barrels themselves ? It would be nice to get more money to the widow since parts are still ok to sell.

Any foreseeable issue selling the barrel that's on the registration certificate (pistol registered as X calibre) and being stuck with just a receiver and stock ?

Thanks for any insight.
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looks like they get fetch a good price down south. may want to look into Switzer's Auction house and see if they can handle that for you. they were emailing buyers, offering this service when the freeze happened.
 
They are a handgun that offers unusual levels of power, range and accuracy. The wide range of caliber options you can put on a single frame is very useful. If you need those things, the appeal is obvious. If you don't, then I suppose they just look big, heavy, slow to use, and (at today's prices) expensive.

Barrels routinely trade around $300-350. Did I mention I consider today's prices to be expensive?
 
I sought one out after the freeze. I like the concept of picking up interesting barrels and reloading for them. A new barrel in a new calibre is as close as I'll get to a new handgun in the future.
 
I own two pistols and a carbine and several barrels. Most will outshoot a rifle at long range and are a lot of fun . I shoot a 7TCU and 357MAX carbine on deer. They always draw a lot of interest at the range. You hit the jack pot with that deal
 
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I have one of of the carbines so it’s non restricted. It makes for a nice short and light rifle and is pretty accurate. Some pistol barrels, depending on the length, should be able to go on the rifle frame and still keep it long enough to be considered a non restricted rifle. I’d love to find a 357 mag barrel for mine. It’s been a while since I really looked but they seem hard to find in Canada.
 
Personally, could never warm up to the TC handgun but eventually acquired a TC Encore pro hunter stainless rifle, with the 28" barrel in .280 Rem which I'm kinda fond of. Have since acquired a couple more barrels for it, too.

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NAA.
 
I'd keep them, as you can trade barrels for other calibers.

I bought a TC earlier this year for 500. Came with a frame, barrel in 30 Herrett, dies and brass.

They're fun to goto the range, and people just think they're just a pistol. Then you pull put box of rifle ammo.
 
To answer the original question - nothing in particular. In the 70’s and 80’s when silhouette shooting was big (much like IPSC or even 3 gun today) they were one of the top guns out there. They allowed you to shoot extended distances with a handgun. Remington built the XP-100 for silhouette shooters. I remember a family friend getting a Ruger Super Blackhawk with a 12” barrel for silhouette.

The advantage that the Contender always had was the ability to switch barrels/calibers that the others didn’t. This allowed you to shoot different classes of silhouette with the same gun. It also allowed you to switch out to “wildcat” chamberings that were developed for silhouette. Long range, accurate, but with less recoil. That’s where many of the TCU and Herret chamberings came from. They were a Wildcatter’s dream, and at one time it seemed that everyone was coming out with their own “caliber” that they felt was the best. 270 REN? 224 Montgomery? 7mm TNT? 309 JDJ?

Today, the Contenders are still somewhat popular. They are fun to shoot, although maybe more in a retro, days-of-old type of way. There are still barrels available in different lengths and calibers, and you can change them out relatively quickly. They do seem to be popular with a certain segment of preppers/survivalists who expound the “one gun able to shoot many calibers” school of thought. (More accurate than any Chiappa inserts).
 
IN the day the special sights were easy to get and change. Silhouette shooting was easy to be good. NOW well how else are you going to get a different cal. gun?
 
The appeal to me is all the different calibers and different barrel lengths. They have a lot of calibers that normally aren’t available in pistols. Many are rifle calibers that aren’t normally available in pistols. Firing a couple rounds of 45-70 in a pistol is definitely a blast. Well above the 460 and 500 S/W. A lot of options for grips and forearms are still available. Most of mine are scoped and the scope stays with the barrels so no changes in zero.
 
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In this configuration, the oal is > 660mm and it's obviously not semi-auto. Can I get it reclassified as a NR, or is it forever a restricted if the receiver was initially a pistol receiver ?

restricted said:
Handguns that are not prohibited firearms
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Airgunners tried this with the Crosman 22xx and the 13xx. Same with the 2289. Putting longer barrels and fixed stocks on them to make them over 660mm. RCMP deemed them still pistols, as the tube where still the same.
 
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