I just read that Thompson Center frames are made by Smith & Wesson. Has this always been the case or is this something new in the last few decades/years?

S&W owns T.C. and has for several years.

I didn't know S&W owned TC. Thanks.

S&W bought T/C 12/18/2006.

A sad day indeed.

It sure was!

T/C pre Greg Ritz was a magnificent company with a fantastic custom shop. The employees were fiercely proud of the product and the product support second to none. I don't know why SW purchased them only to gut the company. That barrel making story floating around is a hoax.

Another sad story about a great, small gun company bought out and ruined.( Marlin, H&R/NEF, etc.).

I was lucky to find this barrel after a long search. The custom shop produced some excellent barrels!

I have a 17 Remington from the TC custom shop, it's a sweetly and shoots great.

How is MGM doing with their production times and quality?

I tried to buy a 28 guage Contender barrel from them for a present to a fellow Contender nut and was told that they 'won't be making shotguns for the foreseeable future." Hope that's not a bad sign--I have several of their barrels and have had great service from them. Their barrels just drop onto my two Rochester-made G2 frames and make little groups! And the .410 and 28 bbls. are great small game and quail killers. Pricey but deluxe!

MGM makes a great product , They have a four month backlog.

They have not ruined TC, they have simply focused more on bolt actions then single shots. I bought a recent pro hunter and it is beautifully made, same quality as one I bought 10 years ago.

Never cared for the Encore.

We don't know how good we had it when the custom shop was up and running.

I have been very happy with my MGM barrels.

That's sort of like if Ford bought Honda, then stopped making cars and motorcycles and started selling golf carts. They didn't ruin Honda...

I have the same cartridge except in a stainless sporter weight. A joy to carry and very accurate.

They are still making them right? They could do what a lot of companies do and discontinue the lineup. Why use their custom shop when MGM makes better barrels?

I just read an article this past week that said S&W plans to divest itself of the TC line to focus more on new S&W items. The said no buyer has been identified so there is an opportunity for someone to jump into the biz if you're feeling entrepreneurial.

and don’t mind fixing everything S&W futzed up.....

I decided to go back to original Contender.
G2 was Ok but after 20 plus yrs w originals, I just like the looks and feel of em better.

Chuck rig is set up.
Ingram .22 mag w Burris 3-12X



Yeah the Burris posiline Zee look better but its already a pig w that scope.

LGS got a stainless rig in used so I bought it for the frame.
Have about $ 250 in the frame/ grip which I thought tolerable. Def like the perched cougar on blued rigs but a screamin puzzy on stainless is no big deal.

Is there much weight difference between the original and G2 frames?

I didnt think so. The grip angle and Pachmayrs of the G2...the gun felt different.

Dislike the looks and feel of the trigger.
My G2 had a good trigger, weight/ break wise.
But it felt funky on my finger.

Just always liked the feel of the original.

Suppose if one had no history w an original the G2 might be dandy. It wasnt bad, was just different. Could tolerate a G2 if I had to.

No way an Encore though.