?'s about an old Contender frame without "selector switch"

[Dezynco]

Some of you guys who are familiar with the very old Contenders might be able to answer my question:

I just purchased an early Contender frame on Gunbroker.com  This frame is in mint condition, so I feel lucky to have snagged it!  My question is this:  The hammer on this frame has no "selector switch" to flip it from centerfire to rimfire.  This is not a problem for me, assuming the frame is centerfire (I havn't recieved it yet).  When did TC start putting the "selector-type" hammers on the Contender, and how old does this date my frame that is without one?

Thanks!

[dehunter52z]

the selector is in the hammer,cock-it ,then use a screwdriver (reg) to turn the

selector from rimfire to centerfire......make certain it"s empty when doing this

[Czech_too]

The selector would be as 'dehunter52z' describes.  As a side note, I came across a frame yesterday, ser#14xxx range, which has a small movable bar in the top of the hammer.  This 'bar' serves as a safety of sorts.  Move the bar to one side and the 'safety' is off, move it to the other side and a nipple is pushed out into the face of the hammer preventing it from hitting the firing pin.  I hadn't come across a frame with this feature previously, found it kinda curious.

[RonF]

In the early Contenders, the lack of a visible safety bothered some people; they didn't understand the internal hammer block safety.  So, the hammer you describe was their first attempt to provide an external safety.  In the later "selector switch" hammers, the center position has the same effect, and it's a bit more robust.

RonF

[Dezynco]

Ok, I got the Contender frame today - it looks brand new!  Problem though!

I put my 7mmTCU barrel on it and it will not fire.  I checked the "center-fire/rim-fire" position and it's correct for centerfire.  What do you think is going on?  It just clicks.  With a little poking around, it seems that the internal hammer-block is not moving out of the way.  Does this mean that my barrel does not fit well, or do I need a repair?

[RonF]

There are a couple of possibilities.  You may just need to give everything a good cleaning.  Pull the grip and remove the barrel and shoot down the hammer channel with some brake or carburetor cleaner, then dry lube and reassemble and try.  If that doesn't work, then your problem is likely that the locking lugs are not engaging enough to release the hammer block.  You can put a little grease on the top surface of them, then close and reopen the barrel to see how much they are engaging.  If not enough, then you could very lightly stone them until they do.

Hope this helps.  Others may have more ideas for you.

RonF

[Dezynco]

Ok, I'll give the cleaning a try.  If that don't do it, I'll send it to Thompson Center for a repair.  It's just too nice to send back to the seller, so I plan to keep it.  Besides TC warrants them like forever!

[Ladobe]

There are other things that can prevent it from firing too.   Sounds like you know little about the frame, so your best bet probably is to send it to TC for a complete check out under warranty.

While using a dry lube after flushing the frame to get gunk out may get you by, that's really not how the frames are lubed.   Particular greases are used in several wear places in them from the factory, and is how they should be lubed for the best operation and minimal wear.   Means completely disassembling the frame.

If you send it back to TC, you can have the hammer updated to the so called selector lever if you want for a fee.   They'll clean and lube it correctly too.

Vintage of the frame to the exact year it was made is only a matter of knowing the serial number.

[Dezynco]

Ok, I took a stone to the locking lug of the barrel.  After some very careful polishing, I got it to work.  Now that the lug is dropping into the groove on the frame, it's a little stiff to open.  I'll let it "wear in" and keep it lubed well for a while.  I guess the older frames were built to much closer tolerances thatn some of the newer frames, so the newer Contender barrels don't lock up easily.  I guess I'll have to do that to all my barrels until the frame itself wears in.

Thanks for the input!  It's shooting now!