Is a thompson center contender rifle in .22lr legal for smallbore silhouette?

I sure hope so. I've seen them used quite a few times. If you get all fancy with the stocks it's not too hard to get stuck in standard class instead of being able to shoot both. If the Contender meets all the rules for hunter class guns (tapered barrel, comb no higher than bore, toe of stock not more than 7" below bore, etc.) then get it out there and shoot it.

There's no question that it would be legal for standard rifle, but judging by the shape of the stock, it would be questionable as to whether or not it would qualify for Hunter class. It's got a pronounced pistol grip that isn't present on typical "hunting" rifles, so I think you'd be subject to the whims of the match director in terms of classification.

Beyond which class you'd be shooting in, it's a break-open single shot rifle, you would have to be proficient at reloading in order to overcome the time disadvantage imposed by its reloading mechanism.

I'm basing the above on this article:

http://www.chuckhawks.com/t-c_g2_rimfire_rifles.htm

If that isn't the rifle you have, ignore everything I've said.

Doesn't seem to be any more of a pistol grip than most of the custom rifles we see on the line and is nowhere close to a thumbhole stock, so it would definitely be fine at any of our local matches. Might be better to get someone more knowledgeable like Ernie or Marv who have run tech at bigger matches to throw in an opinion with more experience behind it.

Jason wrote:Doesn't seem to be any more of a pistol grip than most of the custom rifles we see on the line and is nowhere close to a thumbhole stock, so it would definitely be fine at any of our local matches. Might be better to get someone more knowledgeable like Ernie or Marv who have run tech at bigger matches to throw in an opinion with more experience behind it.

IMHO, as long as the rifle meets the general NRA criteria for Hunter class competition (if that's the class he wants to compete in), I'm personally fine with it. He'll probably experience no problems at all at local/club matches, but at the larger regional matches, he should be prepared to compete in the Standard class - just in case.

I'm not trying to dissuade him from using that particular rifle. I'm merely trying to give him a heads-up that match directors and/or fellow competitors may not consider it to be a hunter class rifle, and he should be prepared for that possibility.

is it a g2 or an older one? the g2(which i use in std) is only offered in 23" full bull barrel after market or the older 21" tapered carbine barrel would be fine for both classes i belive that the tc contender and ruger #1 are listed in the high power hunter class rules and the small bore rules say the same as HP except the weight. you are all set. if it is old be careful of how light the trigger ajustment is and keep a taper on the barrel.mine is a tack driver but the trigger on the g2 is junk,heavy and not ajustable mine will be going in for some work to make it 1.5 pounds just after x-mas

take care
dave

Thompson/ Center now makes a 22 lr semi auto rifle ( R55 ) that has a full lenght stock, this rifle will be perfectly legal for either STD. or Hunter class. The single shot Contender with the rifle butt stock, and 23" barrel will also qualify for STD. class, and possibly for the Hunter class depending on the shape of the pistol grip.
Evelio.

silhouette13 wrote:is it a g2 or an older one? the g2(which i use in std) is only offered in 23" full bull barrel after market or the older 21" tapered carbine barrel would be fine for both classes i belive that the tc contender and ruger #1 are listed in the high power hunter class rules and the small bore rules say the same as HP except the weight. you are all set. if it is old be careful of how light the trigger ajustment is and keep a taper on the barrel.mine is a tack driver but the trigger on the g2 is junk,heavy and not ajustable mine will be going in for some work to make it 1.5 pounds just after x-mas

take care
dave

According to 3.1.1(e), bull barrels aren't permitted in hunter class (either high-power or small-bore).

Evelio Mc Donald wrote:Thompson/ Center now makes a 22 lr semi auto rifle ( R55 ) that has a full lenght stock, this rifle will be perfectly legal for either STD. or Hunter class.

Evelio.

Has anyone used an R55 in Silhouette? Their specs say it would work really well straight from the box, but the only semi-automatics I've seen are modified 10/22's.

jsimmons, i did not mean to imply that the 23" bull would be ok for hunter,that is why i use mine in std.my typing skills may have clouded my ability to communicate,the reference to the hp rule was just to show that the rifle(provided the barrel meet the regs)was fine regarding it being a non-repeater w/junk hanging off the trigger gaurd

i belive the contender to be a top quality piece of kit, it is a shame that tc has buggerd the trigger group,pistol has been ruled by tc forever and given the choice the orignal is a better pick for rifle silo if you have to shoot std the thumbhole stock is very nice and has a higher cheek,why dont i use one? because tc has not offered one for the g2 ,pity.they seem to be concentrating on their encore line and muzzleloading

dave

Is the TC light weight? If it is, I think it would be a good solution for people who would like a light weight, accurate rifle.

The only two that I remember sighting in for people were older Contenders with shorter (~16 to 18", I'd guess), tapered barrels. With barrels that short in a break action rifle with essentially no length from a receiver, those rifles felt really short. They were light, but they didn't feel that great for me for offhand shooting. I bet a smaller, shorter buttstock on one of them would make an excellent kid's silhouette rifle, though, with the added safety training benefit of it being a single shot.

Edit: Noticed above that the older Contenders sometimes came with a 21" tapered carbine barrel. The ones I shot could have been those, but they felt amazingly short for having 20+" barrels if that's what they had.

i finally got the g2 trigger done. on target technologies llc.mike is the fellows name. THE ABSOLOUTE BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE I HAVE EVER HAD!!!!!!! there was a couple issues with my gun that he took care of and the trigger is 1 1/2 and super crisp. he also makes custom barrels. check him out if you have a g2 www.ottllc.com


regards dave