T/C contender pistol OLD ONE

D

DAB

New member


I bought a used T/C Contender pistol a while back.

What I am Having trouble with is once in a while it will not fire a round, wont even make a mark on the primer.

I believe my problem is the Transfer Bar not dropping down all the time when the hammer falls.


Can anyone shed some light on this?

It aint the ammo. It has done it on store bought and hand loads.

DAB
 
What caliber is it? Some of the rounds will head space correctly. Try closing it really hard, that sometimes need a quick snap to get them to work. I've never had one, but the .35 rem is known for this. Some times the newer barrels require the factory to fit them to the old frames.

Go over to Specialty Pistols forum, They have a wealth of knowledge there.


http://specialtypistols.infopop.cc/eve/ubb.x
 
I've got a 10" 22LR barrel that does that if I try to close it easy. If you slam the barrel shut it seems to work fine. Only seems to happen on that one barrel. Have you tried other barrels or swapping your barrel to another frame?
 
This sounds simple, but check the selctor on the hammer. There are three positions - rimfire, centerfire, and "safe", which is in the middle position. If you have it in the middle, it won't fire.
 
Originally Posted By: Uncle_SteveWhat caliber is it? Some of the rounds will head space correctly. Try closing it really hard, that sometimes need a quick snap to get them to work. I've never had one, but the .35 rem is known for this. Some times the newer barrels require the factory to fit them to the old frames.

Go over to Specialty Pistols forum, They have a wealth of knowledge there.


http://specialtypistols.infopop.cc/eve/ubb.x

Exactly. I had an old Contender I hunted with in the 80's. It was chambered in 30 Herret. It headspaced on the shoulder. I had more trouble with misfires because of this one thing..
 
Originally Posted By: DesertRamThis sounds simple, but check the selctor on the hammer. There are three positions - rimfire, centerfire, and "safe", which is in the middle position. If you have it in the middle, it won't fire.

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I was born at Night but not last night
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The fella I bought it from made sure I knew about that part.
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I do have a 35 Rem. Barrel and it shoot super fine.
The barrel I "WAS" having trouble with is a .223 Rem. 10 incher.
I took off the wood and the barrel and stuck the lower in my Sonic cleaner with solution. Then fresh hot water for 10 Min. or so. Then blew it out with compressed air Heated with hair dryer for 20 Min. Applied thin Gun oil, Blew out excess and also to blow oil into every crack and crevice.

What I did find out as one of you said "snap" it shut quite hard and I did that and every shell fires, close it easy and the transfer bar will not fall when trigger is pulled and obvious it does not fire when the transfer bar does not fall.

Reminder to self "Snap closed quite hard every time".

I am astounded at how well the .223 Rem. barrel shoots. Even as shaky as I am even off sand bags I can get quarter size 5 shot groups at 50 YDS
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Thanks to all that gave suggestions Even the one I quoted.


DAB
 

I too had a .223 contender (14" barrel) and that thing would really shoot. At one time I had two frames and three barrels. I had a .357 Maximum barrel and .30 Herrett. I don't recall ever having the problem of misfires with any of them. Maybe I was just lucky. I do remember having to close the action hard on the .30 Herrett, but that's so it would headspace properly.

One of the biggest mistakes I ever made was selling that .223 outfit. It was pure death on groundhogs. Wish I had it back.

 
Originally Posted By: DAB

I bought a used T/C Contender pistol a while back.

What I am Having trouble with is once in a while it will not fire a round, wont even make a mark on the primer.

I believe my problem is the Transfer Bar not dropping down all the time when the hammer falls.


Can anyone shed some light on this?

It aint the ammo. It has done it on store bought and hand loads.

DAB



Your problem is likely negative head space or improper barrel to frame fit. Try closing the action with no cartridge several times and see if your transfer bar fails to engage, most likely not. Probably is your ammo.

Break actions have little camming force, and must have free clearance. The safety mechanism works with your locking lugs. If the locking lugs don't engage far enough, the transfer bar will not engage.

Slamming the action closed is a symptom, not a solution. Proper lock up is a must. This is the reason that I sold my TC Encore Pro Hunter, PITA. I still have a Contender frame that was my Father's that holds special meaning to me.

Mike Bellm's site has more information than you can absorb. I will give you the link to the head space page. Read that then read the many other articles Mike has written about the system. Mike has devoted most of his carrier to the TC frame, and is not affiliated with TC. Mike also worked under Parker. O. Ackley for a time, and still has some of Ackley's personal reamers, and tools. He will[Mike] answer e-mail, and is very helpful.

Here is Mike Bellm's thoughts on head space, enjoy.

http://www.bellmtcs.com/store/index.php?cid=172
 
Not trying to hijack thread.Seen a mint 25th anniversary contender pistiol 1978.It was .22 .It was priced 499.00 is that high or going price.
Jimmy
 
Contenders are well known for broken firing pin springs. I bought an early model a couple of years ago with a 10 inch .22 LR barrel. I was getting light strikes and misfires. A friend of mine has a gun shop, so I took it to him and he diagnosed it immediately. Luckily he also is a Contender fan, so he had a spring on hand.
 
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