![]() ![]() ![]() “In 1971, when the National Rifle Association hit its century mark, gunmakers across the country vied for the honor of producing the official NRA Centennial Commemorative Handguns. A collector, however, assures us it’s closer to twenty-five.” According to Warren Center, only four to six eagle-sided Contenders were produced. Up until then, the only critter on the Contender was the puma, the same animal they named their first scope after. “Somewhere around serial 1638, a handful of Contender pistols were made with an experimental engraving pattern that replaced the second puma on the right side of the frame with a defiant-looking eagle. There’s damn few of them around, and if you can find one, for heaven’s sake, rathole it away somewhere.” “The original Contender was made with no photoengraving or etching on it, and many of us thought it more visually appealing than the guns that quickly followed it. At the end of the chapter, he makes a strong case for collecting Contenders and identifies “four eminently collectible variations of the Contender.” In his just-released book, Greatest Handguns of the World, Volume 2, author Massad Ayoob includes the Thompson-Center Contender as one of the great firearms that made a difference in the handgunning world. Ayoob’s first Contender, a 1970s model with T/C scope and elegant octagonal barrel. ![]()
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