Thompson Center is Now Shipping - They Have Started with the Encore

 Thompson Center is finally fully back and selling guns. They have started with the Encore platform specifically and are offering three versions. First up is a muzzleloader with a .50 caliber barrel featuring a 209 priming system. Second are the centerfire options. The shotgun version is specifically a rifled barrel in 12 gauge and 20 gauge intended for saboted slugs. Finally, they have the traditional rifle setup. The cartridge list isn't available on the website that I can see but I remember seeing it on their Instagram page. The starting list was pretty large for the rifles and the shotgun list pretty complete including a 45 Colt / .410 option which I find very interesting.

Focusing on the rifle cartridges, they have a large number a typical bottlenecked options with all the usual straight-walls but they do have some new stuff like 22 ARC and 400 Legend. I'm sad to see they don't have .30-30 on the list but I do see they have 360 BuckHammer. The coolest options are the .460 and .500 Magnum cartridges. While I have no interest in the 500 I do have an interest in the 460 for use with 45 Colt handloads. 

I'm very glad to see that Gregg Ritz and his team took the chance to bring T/C back. I'm holding out for when they bring the Contender back so I can start experimenting with different cartridges. I've been day dreaming for a few years about buying a .357 Mag Contender with a 10 inch barrel. I want to use a 10 inch .357 Mag for testing handloads and jacketed soft points to build a more complete picture of my on-going saga of the .357 Magnum for General Purpose. The Contender is the best choice for that testing I want to do.

Thompson Center's Return - Proposed Timeline

 For those of you who have not yet heard, Thompson Center, the makers of the single shot pistols and numerous muzzleloaders, are returning. In an interview with Gregg Ritz, conducted by Ethan Yazel of "I Love Muzzleloading," Mr. Ritz laid out the roadmap they are working toward to bring products back. The first thing they expect to have return in the Encore platform. Mr. Ritz is pushing to have the single-shot platform available around the October timeline. This is a great as this should put the platform back into hunter's hands for the 2024 deer season. They also expect that next year, they will have some type of muzzleloading platform. They seem to be focused on bringing an Encore based option out first. This makes sense as it can be a simple barrel swap and noted that it would likely be based on the Federal FireStick system for compatibility reasons. They also hinted at hoping to have a Hawken out in 2026 but we shall see what they are able to swing.

They did specify that as they bring out legacy products like the Contender and Encore, they are pushing for backwards compatibility to maintain the interchangeability with older guns. That's a huge deal as the main feature of those platforms is the simple barrel swap system. In fact, it's the reason I want a Contender. I have some ideas and I very much want to do some handgun hunting.

Stay tuned.