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40-597: Warren Center, working in his basement shop in the 1960s, developed a unique, break-action, single-shot pistol. In 1965, Center joined the K.W. Thompson Tool Company and they introduced this design as the Thompson-Center Contender in 1967. Although they cost more than some hunting revolvers, the flexibility of being able to shoot multiple calibers by simply changing the barrel and sights and its higher accuracy made it popular with handgun hunters. As K.W. Thompson Tool began marketing Center's Contender pistol,

80-638: A heeled bullet , which means that the bullet is the same diameter as the case, which has a narrower "heel" portion that fits into the case. It is one of the few cartridges that are manufactured and used in a large variety of rifles and handguns. Larger rimfire calibers were used during the American Civil War in the Henry repeating rifle , the Spencer repeating rifle , the Ballard Rifle , and

120-529: A sawmill in Kansas. Calibers available for the Contender were initially limited, stopping just short of the .308 Winchester -class rifle cartridges. However, almost any cartridge from .22 Long Rifle through .30-30 Winchester is acceptable, as long as a peak pressure of 48,000 CUP is not exceeded. This flexibility prompted a boom in the development of wildcat cartridges suitable for the Contender, such as

160-435: A G1 frame. Starting in 1967, the Contender was discontinued in 2000. The year of manufacture is determined by the serial numbers as follows: Rimfire ammunition A rim-fire (or rimfire ) is a type of metallic cartridge used in firearms where the primer is located within a hollow circumferential rim protruding from the base of its casing . When fired, the gun's firing pin will strike and crush

200-401: A conical bullet. According to Berkeley R. Lewis, a firearms historian, this later Smith & Wesson cartridge was 'essentially the same as Houllier's 1846 patent'. This led to the .22 Long in 1871, with the same bullet weight as the short but with a longer case and 5 gr (0.32 g) of black powder. This was followed by the .22 Extra Long in 1880, with a longer case and heavier bullet than

240-475: A dedicated shooting parlor or shooting gallery. 6mm Flobert Parlor pistols came into fashion in the mid-19th century; they typically featured heavy barrels. This cartridge was improved upon by Benjamin Houllier in 1846. The next rimfire cartridge was the .22 Short, developed for Smith & Wesson 's first revolver , in 1857; it used a longer rimfire case and 4 gr (0.26 g) of black powder to fire

280-401: A different barrel and pre-aligned sights. This allowed easy changes of calibers, sights, and barrel lengths, with only a flat screwdriver being required for this change. The Contender frame has two firing pins, and a selector on the exposed hammer, to allow the shooter to choose between rimfire or centerfire firing pins, or to select a safety position from which neither firing pin can strike

320-415: A plastic capsule. Shotshells will not feed reliably in some magazine-fed firearms, because of the unusual shape of some cartridges that are crimped closed at the case mouth, and the relatively fragile plastic tips of other designs. Shotshells will not produce sufficient power to cycle semiautomatic actions, because, unlike projectile ammunition, nothing forms to the lands and grooves of the barrel to create

360-417: A primer. The initial baseline design of the Contender had no central safe position on the hammer, having only centerfire and rimfire firing pin positions, each being selectable through using a screwdriver. Three variants of the original Contender design were later developed, distinguished easily by the hammer design. The first variant has a push button selector on the hammer for choosing rimfire vs. centerfire,

400-422: A serial number greater than 195 000 . The earliest barrels, from early 1967 to late 1967, were all octagonal with a flat bottom lug, and were available in only 10 and 8 + 3 ⁄ 4 inches (250 and 220 mm) lengths. The next group of barrels, from late 1967 to 1972, were available in 6,  8 + 3 ⁄ 4 and 10 inches (150, 220 and 250 mm) lengths. Later, round barrels were added in

440-477: A wider variety of lengths, including 10, 12 and 14 inches (250, 300 and 360 mm). Likewise, round barrels in heavier (bull) barrel configurations, known as Super 14 pistol and Super 16 pistol barrels, respectively, were added. Carbine barrels in 16 and 21 in (410 and 530 mm) were added for the Contenders. Sights on all the pistol barrels have varied, ranging from low iron sights, only, in

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480-583: Is also useful for shooting birds inside storage buildings as it will not penetrate walls or ceilings. At a distance of about 10 ft (3.0 m), which is about the maximum effective range, the pattern is about 8 in (200 mm) in diameter from a standard rifle. Special smoothbore shotguns, such as the Marlin Model 25MG "Garden Gun" can produce effective patterns out to 15 to 20 yd (14 to 18 m) using .22 WMR shotshells, which hold .125 oz (3.5 g) of No. 11 or No. 12 shot contained in

520-433: Is extracted when the mechanism is opened. Barrels have been made available in either blued or stainless configurations, to match the finish available on Contender receivers. Unlike most other firearm actions , the break-action design does not require the barrels to be specially fitted to an individual action. Any barrel, with the exception of a Herrett barrel, that is made for a Contender will fit onto any frame, allowing

560-464: The .17 WSM uses the blank case from a .27 caliber nail gun that is necked down to accommodate a .17 caliber bullet, resulting in a much higher muzzle velocity and energy than the .17 HMR . Some .22 caliber rimfire cartridges are loaded with a small amount of No. 11 or No. 12 shot (about .067 oz (1.9 g)). This " snake shot " is only marginally effective in close ranges, and is usually used for shooting snakes, rats or other small animals. It

600-411: The .45 Colt /.410 barrel or through a special 21-inch (530 mm) smoothbore shotgun barrel. A ported, rifled, .44 Magnum barrel was made available for use with shotshell cartridges in a removable-choke .44 Magnum barrel, with the choke being used to unspin the shot from the barrel rifling, or, by removing the choke, for use with standard .44 Magnum cartridges. The degree of flexibility provided by

640-417: The 7-30 Waters and .357 Herrett and the various TCU cartridges , most of which were commonly based on either the widely available .30-30 Winchester or .223 Remington cases. The largest factory caliber offered for the Contender was the .45-70 , which, although a much larger case than the .308, is still feasible because of the relatively low cartridge pressures of the original black-powder round relative to

680-642: The Frank Wesson carbine . While rimfire cartridges larger than .22 caliber existed, such as the .30 rimfire, .32 rimfire , .38 rimfire , .41 Short (for the Remington Model 95 derringer), .44 Henry (for the Henry rifle, later used by the famous Winchester Model 1866 ), the .56-56 Spencer (for the Spencer rifle was the world's first military metallic cartridge repeating rifle), all the way up to

720-425: The firing pin strikes and crushes the base's rim to ignite the primer. The rim of such a cartridge is essentially an expanded and flattened end section of the case, and the priming compound is filled from inside into the trough cavity inside the rim. The case is then filled with propellant ( gunpowder ) and sealed off by the projectile ( bullet ). Rimfire cartridges are limited to low chamber pressures because

760-400: The production cost of the case material and powder load are both low, and the manufacturing process is significantly more streamlined than that for centerfire cartridges (which require more steps in the assembly process). As a result, rimfire cartridges are typically very affordable, primarily because of the inherent cost-efficiency of manufacturing in large lots , which has contributed to

800-445: The .22 Long. American firearms manufacturer J. Stevens Arms & Tool Company introduced the .22 Long Rifle cartridge in 1887. It combined the casing of the .22 Long with the 40-grain (2.6 g) bullet of the .22 Extra Long , giving it a longer overall length, a higher muzzle velocity, and superior performance as a hunting and target round, rendering the .22 Short, .22 Long, and .22 Extra Long cartridges obsolete. The .22 LR uses

840-530: The .58 Miller, they were quickly made obsolete by the newly developed centerfire cartridges. The early 21st century has seen a revival in .17 caliber (4.5 mm) rimfire cartridges. New and increasingly popular, the 17 HMR is based on a .22 WMR casing with a smaller formed neck which accepts a .17 bullet. The advantages of the 17 HMR over .22 WMR and other rimfire cartridges are its much flatter trajectory and its highly frangible hollow point bullets (often manufactured with plastic "ballistic tips" that improve

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880-471: The Contender design is unique for experimenting with new cartridges, handloads , barrel lengths, and shotshells. The original Contender is now known as the generation one (G1) Contender and was replaced by the G2 Contender in 1998. The new design is dimensionally the same as the original Contender, but uses an Encore-style trigger group. Due to the changes in the trigger mechanism, and to differences in

920-594: The angle of the grip relative to the boreline of the gun, the buttstocks and pistol grips are different between the G1 and G2 Contenders and will not interchange. The G2 uses essentially the same barrels and fore-ends as the original Contender and barrels will interchange, with the only two exceptions being the G2 muzzleloading barrels, which will only fit the G2 frame, and the Herrett barrels/fore-ends, which are specific for use only on

960-418: The bullet's external ballistics ). The .17 HM2 (Hornady Mach 2) is based on the .22 Long Rifle and offers similar performance advantages over its parent cartridge, at a significantly higher cost. While .17 HM2 sells for about four times the cost of .22 Long Rifle ammunition, it is still significantly cheaper than most centerfire ammunition and somewhat cheaper than the .17 HMR. First shown at the 2013 SHOT Show,

1000-416: The case must be thin enough to allow the firing pin to crush the rim and ignite the primer. Rimfire cartridges of up to .58 caliber were once common when black powder was used as a propellant. Modern rimfire cartridges use smokeless powder , which generates much higher pressures and tend to be of .22 caliber (5.5 mm) or smaller. This also means that rimfire firearms can be very light and inexpensive, as

1040-408: The company name was changed to Thompson/Center Arms Company. Originally the chamberings were on the low end of the recoil spectrum such as .22 LR , .22 WMR , .22 Hornet , .38 Special , and .22 Remington Jet , but as Magnum calibers took off in the 1970s, the Contender quickly became very popular with shooting enthusiasts. The most unusual feature of the Contender is how the barrel is attached to

1080-431: The continuing market popularity of these small-caliber cartridges. Frenchman Louis-Nicolas Flobert invented the first rimfire metallic cartridge in 1845. The 6mm Flobert cartridge consisted of a percussion cap with a bullet attached to the top. These cartridges do not contain any powder, the only propellant substance contained in the cartridge is the percussion cap. In Europe, the .22 BB Cap (introduced in 1845) and

1120-400: The earlier years to a choice of either low or high iron sights, as well as no sights, for those pistol barrels intended for use with a scope. Various barrels have sometimes included ejectors as well as extractors, or extractors only, as well as containing either a flat bottom lug, a stepped bottom lug, or split bottom lugs. On barrels with an extractor only, about a quarter of the empty cartridge

1160-408: The early 19th century, such as teat-fire and pinfire , only small caliber rimfire ( .22   caliber (5.6   mm) or less) cartridges have survived to the present day with regular use. The .22   Long Rifle rimfire cartridge, introduced in 1887, is by far the most common ammunition found in the world today in terms of units manufactured and sold. Rimfire ammunition is so named because

1200-405: The frame. By removing the fore-end, a large hinge pin is exposed; by pushing this hinge pin out, the barrel can be removed. Since the sights and extractor remain attached to the barrel in the Contender design, the frame itself contains no cartridge-specific features. A barrel of another caliber or length can be installed and pinned in place, the fore-end replaced, and the pistol is ready to shoot with

1240-483: The hammer only in the safety (center) position. Barrels have been made in lengths of 6,  8 + 3 ⁄ 4 , 10, 12, 14, 16, 21 and 24 inches (150, 220, 250, 300, 360, 410, 530 and 610 mm). Heavier recoiling cartridge barrels have been made with integral muzzle brakes . Barrels for the original Contender may be used on the later-released G2 Contender and G2 barrels may be used on original Contender frames with

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1280-422: The limits of the bolt face of the Contender receiver. Custom gunmakers have added to the selection, such as the J. D. Jones line of JDJ cartridges based on the .225 Winchester and .444 Marlin . Other barrel makers pushed beyond the limits the factory set, and chambered Contender barrels in lighter .308-class cartridges like the .243 Winchester . The Contender can fire .410 bore shotgun shells , either through

1320-510: The pistol while hunting to a "hair trigger" suitable for long range target shooting (see accurize ). Unlike the later G2 Contender, the original Contender may be safely dry-fired (provided the hammer is not drawn back from the second notch) to allow a shooter to become familiar with the trigger pull. The break-action only has to be cycled, while leaving the hammer in the second notch position, to practice dry-firing. G2's with switchable firing pins (centerfire or rimfire) can be safely dry-fired with

1360-571: The pressure necessary to cycle the firearm's action. The 9 mm Flobert is a notable rimfire cartridge that is still in production in Europe and is chambered by the Winchester Model 36 in the 1920s. This cartridge is primarily loaded with a small amount of shot, but can also fire a small ball, and is used in " garden gun ", which are miniature shotguns. Its power and range are very limited, making it suitable only for pest control. An example of

1400-452: The rim against the edge of the barrel breech, sparking the primer compound within the rim, and in turn ignite the propellant within the case. Invented in 1845 by Louis-Nicolas Flobert , the first rimfire metallic cartridge was the .22 BB Cap (also known as the 6   mm Flobert) cartridge, which consisted of a percussion cap with a bullet attached to the top. While many other different cartridge priming methods have been tried since

1440-423: The round versus the bull barrels. The fore-ends have had an assortment of either one or two screw attachment points, used for attaching the fore-ends to the barrel with its matching one or two attachment points. Universally, the fore-ends, in addition to attaching to the barrel, cover the single hinge pin that connects the barrel to the receiver. The wood stocks and forend are made specifically for Thompson Center by

1480-442: The second variant has a left-center-right toggle switch for selecting center fire-safe-rimfire firing pins, and the third variant has a horizontal bolt selection for choosing center fire-safe-rimfire firing pin positions. All three of these Contender variants have a cougar etched on the sides of the receiver, thereby easily distinguishing them from the later G2 Contender which has a smooth-sided receiver without an etched cougar. Some of

1520-410: The shooter to purchase additional barrels in different calibers for a fraction of the cost of a complete firearm. Since the sights are mounted on the barrel, they remain sighted-in and zeroed between barrel changes. Pistol grips, butt stocks and fore-ends have been made available in stained walnut, or in recoil reducing composite materials. Different pistol fore-ends are required for the octagonal versus

1560-403: The slightly more powerful .22 CB Cap (introduced in 1888) are both called 6mm Flobert and are considered the same cartridge. These cartridges have a relatively low muzzle velocity of around 600 ft/s (183 m/s) to 800 ft/s (244 m/s). Flobert also made what he called " parlor guns " for this cartridge, as these rifles and pistols were designed for target shooting in homes with

1600-412: The very earliest Contenders, those requiring a screwdriver to switch the firing pin between rimfire and centerfire, had smooth sides, without the cougar etched on the sides. The original Contender designs have an adjustable trigger, allowing the shooter to change both take-up and overtravel, permitting user selection of a range of trigger pulls ranging from a fairly heavy trigger pull suitable for carrying

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