My TC Contender .32 H&R Mag with JD Jones custom barrel

D

Dale53

Active Member
I have pulled my TC Contender .32 H&R Mag with JD Jones custom barrel out of retirement. The Green Frog and I have bullet molds on order (we both have a number of .32 molds, already, but-t-t-t). We're hoping to hear from NOE and Mihec next week. The TC will make a great platform for working up accuracy loads. I will be shooting these in both the TC with Leupold 2 power scope and my Smith 16-4 with Red Dot in the upcoming "Challenge Cup" between the Frog and I. He has a half dozen platforms, so this should be VELLY INTELLESTING. Here's the TC:



Here is the Smith:



We'll keep the forum posted as to results (Good, Bad, or Indifferent).

There is a LOT of money riding on this contest (the loser buys the winner a VERY LARGE malted milk:D) so stay tuned!

Dale53
 
Ben

Ben

Moderator
Staff member
Dale,

I need to find the Pach rubber foreend and grips for my 1978, T/C pistol.

Ben
 
D

Dale53

Active Member
Ben;
I see a lot of disparaging remarks about Pachmayr grips but I have been a fan for many, many years. On heavy recoilers, they save the day. Further, in a wide range of temperatures you can always maintain a firm grip (sweaty hands or frigid ones). When it comes to actually HITTING something, they cannot be beat. Since I am all about HITTING and not LOOKING, that's what you'll find on most of my pistols and revolvers.

Pachmayr no longer lists grips for the TC's but you might try Ebay. When I got my Ruger Flattop .44 Specials, I learned that Packmayr "out of print" grips for the Colt SAA was an acceptable fit (not perfect, but good enough) and I picked up several pairs "new, in the box". Ebay can be your friend.

FWIW
Dale53
 
Rick

Rick

Moderator
Staff member
Dale53 said:
Ben;
I see a lot of disparaging remarks about Pachmayr grips but I have been a fan for many, many years. On heavy recoilers, they save the day. Further, in a wide range of temperatures you can always maintain a firm grip (sweaty hands or frigid ones). When it comes to actually HITTING something, they cannot be beat. Since I am all about HITTING and not LOOKING, that's what you'll find on most of my pistols and revolvers.

FWIW
Dale53
Click to expand...

Absolutely!

When the gun is laying on the bench those Pachs are butt ugly. I don't shoot any of them on the gun bench in my shop. At the range with the gun in my hand those Pachs are the most beautiful around. Not only for taming recoil but a proper/good fit in your hand is priceless for accurate/consistent shooting.
 
Brad

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
Those are more than the same set at Midway. Oddly, Midway shows the G2 set but not the "old" Contender set. I would assume they aren't interchangeable as Pachmayr shows a set for each iteration of Contender frame.

I have a feeling the Ben's Google-fu is strong and he will find a set at the right price. I bet he is adept at E-bay too, those moulds all come from somewhere.
 
Ben

Ben

Moderator
Staff member
Dale,

My pistol is a 1978 ( " G-1 ")



Will the grips above in your # 6 thread fit my G-1 ?

I don't think that they will. The G-2 frame and the old G-1 ( mine ) are different, aren't they.

Ben
 
Last edited:
Rick

Rick

Moderator
Staff member
I should expand on that. There is a G-2 Contender but if you look at that frame and the frame of the Encore the difference in the original Contender is obvious. Ben's 1978 Contender is the original with a completely different frame. The G-2 came out I think in the 90's sometime.
 
Rick

Rick

Moderator
Staff member
Yes Ben, that's what I've been telling you. You said your Contender is vintage 1978, there is no chance that it's a G-2. Your photo in post #8 is vintage T/C Contender. Here's one from 1984 chambered in 7 TCU and the frame is identical to yours. No, the G-2 grips will not fit on yours or mine. The barrels are also not interchangeable between the original Contender and the G-2.

DSCN1285-99-small.jpg

Here is a G-2 Encore frame for comparison.

tc-G-2-Encore.jpg
 
Ben

Ben

Moderator
Staff member
Yes Ben, that's what I've been telling you. You said your Contender is vintage 1978, there is no chance that it's a G-2.

I've been hearing and understanding everything you've said. I said in thread # 8 that I understood the 2 frames are different. I'm well aware that a G-2 grip won't work on a G-1.

I posted the photo ( # 12 ) so that EVERYONE could see the difference in the 2 models.

Ben
 
Last edited:
J

JSH

Active Member
There is the contender.
There is the G-2.
There is the encore.

The barrels on the contender and the G2 WILL inter change.
SOME of the forearms will inter change on the Contender and the G2.
There were several changes of the contender, I have never seen them refered to as a G1, ever. Thus this has caused a lot of confusion to folks. There were also some changes on barrels for the Contender.
The encore is a large version of the G2. The encore is by its self. Barrels and hardware are for it only.

I still have enough of each mentioned above. But have had on hand 4-5 frames of each at some time or another.
Contender, G2 and Encore. That is it in a nut shell.
 
Ben

Ben

Moderator
Staff member
JSH,

I'm still no expert on T/C Contenders. I'd seen the old ones ( which mine is ) refereed to as a G1. I hope I've not added confusion to a some what confusing situation already.

Ben
 
williamwaco

williamwaco

Active Member
Ben,

The old ones are frequently referred to as G1. I see that term frequently on the web and hear it every time I walk into a LGS that stocks 'Tender barrels. Just for grins I did a search for Contender +g1 and got 88,000 results.

The barrels are occasionally interchangeable but by no means reliably.

My BIL and I together own a G1 and a G2 frame each ( four frames total ) and around a dozen barrels of mixed vintage. We have between us only one G1 barrel that will work on the G2 frames and NO, zero, G2 barrels that will work on the G1 frames.

Occasionally the G2 barrels will work on one G2 frame but not the other.

Interchangeability is problematical.

When I go to a gun show. I take my G2 frame with me. If I find a barrel I want, I try it for fit before I buy it. About one in 3 will not lock up.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.