Posted by Patrick Sween on January 02, 2001 at 12:53:24:
I've now been shooting 10m air pistol for a month with the IZH-46M and thoroughly enjoy it. What a great way to spend an evening after work! I'm now thinking about trying Free Pistol for a change. I'm on a very tight budget, but a already own a Thompson/Center Contender single shot .22LR pistol. I think the sights are adequate for free pistol, and the gun is certainly accurate enough. Would this be enough to get me started? As far as I can tell the grips and trigger are the only real problems. The trigger is a very crisp 1 lb., so I'm not too worried about that, but the grip is skinny, very vertical, and has no palm shelf. Does anyone make a reasonably priced target grip for this gun? Does it really matter? Thanks for all the advice!
Patrick
Been there, done that...
I have a .22 Contender that I worked over to shoot as a free pistol.
Othopedic grips, and as light a trigger as I dared. Skeltonized the
hammer, etc. The first thing I discovered is that you get blisters
opening the thing 60+ times in a couple hours. The other thing is that
the lock time in a Contender is very long, and the hammer fall is a lot
more jarring than a typical striker.
It was fun to try, but my scores went up considerably the instant I
bought my Pardini.
Posted by John on January 02, 2001 at 15:18:08:
Hi Patrick!
I too own a T/C Contender. It was my favorite gun to shoot.
If you can get to a gun show or Firearms web site, look for the old T/C Herrit target grips. I think it's just what your looking for cause it has a thumb rest and finger grooves.
Also, try calling Fox Ridge Outfitters in Dover, NH. They are the Thompson Center Arms custom shop. They may have a few Herrit grips and forends remaining. The number for T/C is (603) 332-2333.
Sorry but I don't have the number for Fox Ridge butwhen you call, try asking for the custom shop.
Hope this helps.
Good shooting
John
Posted by Rod Sorenson on January 02, 2001 at 14:29:40:
In Reply to: T/C Contender for Free Pistol? posted by Patrick Sween on January 02, 2001 at 12:53:24:
Dear Patrick
I think you have the right thinking on the
Thompson. It is accurate enough, the sights are
good enough, the trigger is good enough and
adjustable to very light numbers. The main
problem is that the gun was not designed to be
used one handed. The barrel is very high above
the grip and the best angle on the trigger is
from a low angle on the grip. Although I don't
know of a good grip for one hand shooting, almost
everything is available for a Thompson and I
wouldn't be surprised to see that something is
available on the shelf somewhere. Is it good
enough to get started? Yes. The grip is iffy.
Does it realy matter? No. You could carve them
yourself if you feel the need.
Another factor is that if you buy a free pistol
before you have any experience, you may find you
don't like it, or you might not like the gun you
bought. If you hang around free pistol for a
while, you will have a better idea what you want
to spend your money on.
I have seen a photo of a college shooting team
that used the Thompson for all of its free
pistols. I'll see if I can find that and maybe
find what they are using for grips.
Come on out.....Rod Sorenson
Sponsored by Pilkington Competition Equipment