Henry Rifle Forums

We sold off our TC Contender collection this week along with most of our semi auto handguns. The Contenders have been great, but we got an offer to buy the entire collection in one sale and at a good price, so we went for it. Couldn't pass it up. If we had to sell off the collection one piece at a time, it could take years and because of our age and arthritis, the vintage Contenders have been getting harder and harder to open, same as working the semi autos. We still have Encores to shoot, though, and unlike Contenders, Encores are always easy to open.

Our plan is to invest the earnings in more air guns, revolvers and lever guns and we've already begun. These are the types of guns we can handle and shoot, comfortably, arthritis or no arthritis. More revolvers and lever guns? What's a cowgirl to do? Yeah, twist my arm.

Will be sharing some of our finds, soon. Stay tuned.

Can’t wait for the future reports.

On the edge of my seat, waiting to see what beautiful gems you will share.

Ill be interested to see what leverguns you come home with. I’ve been changing caliber choice for a while. I still like my CZ 9mm’s but I have really been enjoying the 10/22 again. I should also mention the PC Carbine they are a blast to ring steel with

North Country Gal wrote: ↑

Sun May 25, 2025 6:51 pm

We sold off our TC Contender collection this week along with most of our semi auto handguns. The Contenders have been great, but we got an offer to buy the entire collection in one sale and at a good price, so we went for it. Couldn't pass it up. If we had to sell off the collection one piece at a time, it could take years and because of our age and arthritis, the vintage Contenders have been getting harder and harder to open, same as working the semi autos. We still have Encores to shoot, though, and unlike Contenders, Encores are always easy to open.

Our plan is to invest the earnings in more air guns, revolvers and lever guns and we've already begun. These are the types of guns we can handle and shoot, comfortably, arthritis or no arthritis. More revolvers and lever guns? What's a cowgirl to do? Yeah, twist my arm.

Will be sharing some of our finds, soon. Stay tuned.

Knowing you, the person that purchased the whole collection got lucky. I know those were some fine firearms in great condition!
I'll be looking forward to hearing about your future acquisitions.

Yep, we all are getting older and changing up our shooting habits. I look in the safe and I see mostly lever action rifles and rimfires. No more big booming magnums either in the handgun dept.

Sad your contender collection is gone as from reading your posts it’s clear you really enjoy owning and shooting them. Awesome you were able to find an interested party to sell the entire collection on one transaction.

Thank you all for the nice comments and the way you understand. The buyer and I have been Contender friends for many years, so it worked out for both of us. Contenders are a specialty pistol and we oldsters that shot them are disappearing. It's always been a niche market and its getting smaller with each passing year. It was time.

As I mentioned, we kept our Encores because they don't have the hard opening issues you get with the original Contenders and in some ways, the Encore platform is even more versatile than the Contender platform, not to mention being a better platform for handling recoil. Also, as some of you have heard, Thompson Center is in business again at the original Rochester plant and are already shipping Encores, so if I ever need support for the Encores, I'm covered.

For Bill and I and as many of you have shared as far as dealing with old age, you adapt and keep shooting. I've actually been spending time working my DA revolvers, practicing opening and closing them in alternate ways should my arthritis flare up. Lever guns are even easier to open, probably the easiest manual repeater to operate and we've always loved them, anyway. For us, staying lever gun is a no brainer. Have to say, too, that lever guns seemed to have survived and are doing well in this tactical, semi auto everything era.

Well said NCG. Good for the both of you.

Congratulations on finding a take it all buyer. That was a good omen.
I too am looking forward to your new airguns and firearms.