Thompson Center Contender Q's?

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Captain*kirk

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Hello all, I own a T/C Contender, bought new in the late '90s or early millenium as a "hunter package" which included the case, a sling, TC Super 14 in .35 Remington with muzzle brake with scope and rings. I've shot it very little since new, probably less than 100 rounds. One of the main reasons is due to the ejector. Cartridges load OK, but after firing and opening the action, the ejector pops the case out a fraction of an inch but won't let go. Grasping it with your nails usually doesn't work, or if it does, it's a struggle. I can slip a cleaning rod down the muzzle and tap the brass out, but it leaves gouge marks on the case head and long scratches in the brass. .35 Rem brass is neither cheap nor plentiful, so I don't shoot it at the moment.
It doesn't look like it would be a huge task to pop the roll pin and remove the extractor to smooth and blend it for a little more relief, but I'm wondering if the extractor could actually be bent? I've never owned another TC and I'm not exactly sure how the extractor is supposed to work? Does it just hand you the shell and say "Thanks, boss?" or is it supposed to kick it out past the extractor? Are parts still available, and if so, through whom?
I was watching a program on silhouette shooting this week and got all fired up about the TC, but playing with it again trying to eject spent brass was an exercise in frustration and has left me disappointed once again in what could be a really fun silhouette gun or hunting handgun.
Any advice/opinions? I can maybe provide some photos, etc later...
 
I don't have my Tender anymore, well I have the frame but I've traded off my barrels. I've had a 357 Maximum, 45-70, 30-30, and 375 JDJ and I've never experienced the issue you describe.

The extractor should pull the case out of the chamber far enough to grab it with the fingers and pull it free very easily, at least that is the case with the barrels I've owned, BUT, all of mine were for rimmed cartridges. The Rimless 35 Remington may be the issue. I've read quite a bit about 35 Remington barrels being problematic, but it seems most of it was due to headspace issues rather than extraction.

The contender is a fantastic little firearm. I hope you can get it figured out!
 
Thank you, sir! I'm pretty sure there is somewhat of a design issue with the .35 Rem "rimless" case; I see all yours were rimmed. And it's done this since Day One, only worse now.
 
Contenders don't eject. My .222 and .233 both extract enough to remove shells easily. You may have a rough chamber or an improperly made extractor. A good smith should be able to cure it fairly cheaply.
 
Captain*kirk,
You've got an extractor for a rebated rimmed casein your reciever... similar to the .223. Removal can be tedious.
Mike Bellm offers a rim reaming of your barrel to accommodate the use of a rimmed version of the 35 Rem using 303 British or 30-40 Krag brass.
I would hope that your'e already reloading to facilitate this change. It'll extract MUCH easier.
 
Yes, sounds like an overly tight extractor. I expect you should be able to "tune" it to release the case a little easier. It should not be gouging the cases.

One trick I do when shooting rimless cartridges (.233 and .221 Fireball) in the Contender is to use the rim of another cartridge to hook the rim of the empty to pull it out with. It works better for me than trying to grab those little case heads with just my fingertips.
 
I have had a 44 Mag for decades, Mine pushes the case out far enough to pull it out by hand. Never had an extraction problem. I have a friend who had a 35 Remington who never had any extraction problems. Can you load a round and extract it if you don't fire it? If so, I suspect the problem is somewhere other than the extractor.
 
Can you load a round and extract it if you don't fire it? If so, I suspect the problem is somewhere other than the extractor.
No; even if I am able to grasp the rim and pull it out (seldom) it still gouges the crap out of the case. I was playing around with full-length resized brass (for obvious reasons over a loaded round) and the only way I could reliably get it out was to tap it with a cleaning rod through the muzzle. It still scratches the brass, though.
 
A common problem for factory TC barrels is a rough chamber that doesn't allow the fired brass to extract without considerable force or a cleaning rod. I'd at least take a look at the chamber and the spent brass.
If it was a rough chamber, wouldn't the extractor get out of the way so as not to gouge the brass?
 
No; even if I am able to grasp the rim and pull it out (seldom) it still gouges the crap out of the case. I was playing around with full-length resized brass (for obvious reasons over a loaded round) and the only way I could reliably get it out was to tap it with a cleaning rod through the muzzle. It still scratches the brass, though.
When the round fires the chamber pressures swells the brass to exactly fit the chamber wall.If there's a protrusion in the chamber it will indent the brass when this happens. When you pound the brass out that will cause a long scratch. I agree with cougar1717, Sounds like a rough place in the chamber.
 
How bout extracting unfired rounds, or fired brass when removed and placed back in the gun.
My contender is a 7-30 so rimmed, but i did have a .223 barrel and had no issues with extraction on it.
 
Follow-up:
I spoke with Mike Bellm at Bellm T/C today and discussed the issue I was having in detail. He concurred that it was an issue with the extractor based on my description of the problem. He concurred that I should pull the extractor and look at it and clean up/smooth any sharp edges.
Pulling the extractor was simple and involved driving out one tiny little roll pin. A quick examination told me all I needed to know; yep...the extractor was bent. Being fairly soft metal, it didn't take much to bend it; I inserted the extractor back into it's housing just up the the point of the bend (about 1/4"), then applied downward pressure with a piece of scrap wood. A couple tries and it was straight to the eye, anyway. Inserting the empty brass showed a much more user-friendly gun, but it still felt rough and scratchy. So I pulled the extractor again and gave it a real work-over, filing the rough bearing surfaces smooth, then polishing with 400 grit wet-or-dry and Rem Oil until they were smooth as a baby's, umm...behind...and gleaming. This took roughly an hour at best. I reassembled the extractor making sure it was well-lubed with Lubriplate AAA630 and reassembled the gun. I placed the same resized brass in the chamber, closed it (it snapped closed much better too) and on opening, the TC handed me the brass as politely as you please (and may have even said thank you)...no drag, no scratches, no roughness or hesitation. I may go back and apply some Oxpho-Blue at a later date to the polished surfaces, but for now I'm not worried about it.
I have no idea how or when that extractor got bent, but who cares, now? It works great and I'm a happy camper!

In this photo you can clearly see the bend in the end of the extractor...

35777301331_f0cea7259e_z.jpg

...and after straightening.

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The rough 'bearing surfaces' as cast...

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...and after polishing.

35099764933_1dff427eb4_z.jpg

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All is well!

35868233456_070112f335_z.jpg
 
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