What Mike says has merit! There is also another potential problem on the T/C Contender. The older barrels have a 2 pc bolt and the newer ones have a 1 pc. If the barrel was fitted to the frame by the factory, then there usually is no problem. However when one tries to use a barrel other than the one that came with the gun... Sometimes problems arise.
The other potential problem, is that the design has a safety mechanism incorporated into the design.
If the barrel is not fully locked up, then the gun will NOT fire! Sometimes you will see light primer strikes...
This problem is easy to see. Merely close the action on an empty chamber and cock and squeeze the trigger. Look at the hammer and see if it is against the frame (Look at the gun sideways) If the gun is not properly locked in battery, the hammer will have about an 1/8" gap between the hammer and the firing pin. A good habit to get into, is to smartly close the action! This will minimize the lock-up problem. This is especially true of older frames (Pre Easy-open... Serial #s below 192,000... Or maybe it's 191,000, memory is a bit fuzzy...)
Another way to tell if a frame is an easy-open is to look at the frame with the fore-end off. An older frame will have the trigger guard hinge pin at the front of the trigger guard. An easy-open frame, will have the hinge pin in the middle of the trigger guard.
T/C contenders are great guns, but like anything else, they DO have their quirks...
Hope this helps...
GH
