Breaking Open Contender

[nautilusranch]

Hi Folks!! First, thanks so much for your help last evening with my
questions...  two more if you don't mind  !!!

1.  I am having difficult breaking the gun open after my shots. Even
my husband 6'2" and a really strong guy sometimes has problems with
this new contender pistol.  Do ya know if this can be adjusted ? (if not we'll have to sell it as I can't do this 3 out of 5 times...) it just seems
tougher at times than it should.
2. In shooting this pistol today.. my husband eventually got shooting
it dead on bullseye.  Me (and I am a pretty darned good shot) kept
shooting at the bullseye yet kept hitting high left .  I had a GREAT]
grouping but no matter what I did I could not hit the bullseye. As I
said I am no slouch .... guessing the gun pulls left on me but don't know how to correct it... any ideas would be greatly apprciated...
Again, thanks for so much wonderful information...you are all terrific!!!
Bobbie :roll:

[Gregory]

Bobbie
1. Sounds like you have an old style frame before Thompson Center changed it to as "easy open" style.   When I had one of these I used to enjoy handing it to someone and watch them struggle trying to open it.  Strength won't help.  Try grasping the gun in one hand by the grip, put two fingers on the trigger guard tang and with a quick squeeze pull on the tang.  Let the weight of the barrel drop the action open.

2.  If it's your gun and you're shooting a good group, just adjust the sights to get it to shoot to point of aim.

[teeball]

I agree, you probably have one of the older frames. I have heard of people sending frames back to Thompson Center and they can correct this problem. If I were you I would give them a call and inquire about this.
Customer service # (603) 332-2333.
As far as not hitting center and your husband can, this could be caused by the grip. It may fit his hand better, offering a firmer grip. I have somewhat small hands, and have found that the rubber grips for the Contender fit my hand a whole lot better. You might want to try this.
Good luck.

[contendernut]

Bobbie,

If you have an older frame, T/C will convert it to the new style "easy open".  The easy open frames have the trigger pivot pin right above the trigger in the bottom of the reciever.

I dislike the shape of the Contender trigger spur(the part you grasp when you go to open the action).  Everytime I get a frame, I unload it and grasp the trigger spur with either ViceGrips or a creasent wrench.  I bend the spur away from the grip until its perpendicular to the barrel.  It doesn't take very much bend to make a difference.  The frame is much easier to open and the spur doesn't hit your hands if you have large hands.

[Del]

Bobbie,
I believe all t/c contenders before serial # 195000, are the "old style" hard to open type.  You might want to check your serial number.  Either way I'd send it back to Thompson Center and ask them to fix the problem!  Don't give up on a fun gun, it is a great firearm platform!  Good luck, Del

[helobill]

I've got a frame that does the same thing and it's an easy open newer frame, but it only does it on one barrel, so it's not the frame. The bolts are to blame. Easy fix for me is to hold the barrel up as I sharply pull the trigger guard spur to open the action. Opens every time with no problem. The long term solution is a good Arkansas stone or some other type lap that will adjust the engagement. Be warned though, too much and you'll get the opposite problem, barrels flying open when shot. Before you get discouraged, try a different barrel and see what happens. This is a 44 mag right, see if your local gun shop will let you shoot another used barrel for half a dozen rounds or so (there's an indoor shooting range that will let you do that around here, and most of the gun shops I deal with are pretty happy to work with me, especially if there could be a sale down the line).
Good groups not on center = change point of aim and don't care where someone else shoots with it. I agree it could be a grip problem, but that will usually end up with inconsistent groups as time goes by.  Everyone aims slightly different, both open sights and with optics. With open sites I've seen folks swear they are centering the blade in the notch but actually be offcenter. As long as they do the same thing consistently, so what. Optics, if you don't have your eye in exactly the same spot as another person, it changes. Much more evident with lower quality optics, but all of them do it to some extent. To prove it to yourself, lock a scope in place looking at a blank sheet of paper at 25yds or so, look through the scope and have someone put a small dot at the center of the crosshairs. Now move your eye around. If you move too far, you'll loose the picture completely, but by moving in and out and slightly up/down left/right, you'll see the crosshairs move off the dot. If your hubby and you don't have the same cheek size, face thickness, and eye to eyepiece distance, than you're gonna see an ever so slightly different point of aim (up to 2" at 100 yards depending on quality of scope). Hope it helps.
Helicopter Bill

[BobMachus]

Above ser# 195000 or #19500?  What year did the change take place?

[BobMachus]

hmmm, the reason I asked is that mine is ser # 195XX, must be pretty old then I guess.  I got it about 8 years ago with a 10" octagonal 45LC/.410 barrel with that tapered choke extension.  Thanks for the update.

[securitysix]

You might look at the grips you're using on the contender, too.  If they are the standard wood grips, I don't think it will matter, but if they are some sort of rubber grips, it might.  

I had some difficulty with my easy-open frame when using Pachmayr Presentation grips.  The Gripper grips and the TC wood grips don't give me this problem.  What was happening with the presentation grips was that the little tab that comes out the front of them and runs under the trigger guard was very stiff and was resisting movement from the trigger guard.

Regarding your group position, it is probably in the way you grip the gun.  Since you're grouping well, you're gripping consistently, so I don't think I'd change that.  Zero the scope so it hits dead on for you, then have the hubby try it.  If it shoots low and right for him, then the two of you have different grips.  Get it zeroed for whoever is going to shoot it the most, and leave it there.  Or, you can leave it right where it's at and not worry about it.