Break Barrels

I'm beginning to get enthusiastic about break open guns, only have 1 now. An old ( 50s) H&R Topper 12 gauge. I'm hopefull I can source a different compatible bbl, in a center fire caliber that I could use with it.

Risky buisness said:

I'm beginning to get enthusiastic about break open guns, only have 1 now. An old ( 50s) H&R Topper 12 gauge. I'm hopefull I can source a different compatible bbl, in a center fire caliber that I could use with it.

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If you have a fifties era shotgun receiver, you cannot safely fit a center fire rifle barrel to it. The old Topper receivers, pre SB1 and SB2 receivers, were made of ductile iron and cannot handle centerfire rifle or pistol cartridge pressures.

These show the difference between the SB1 (shotgun) and SB2 (rifle) receivers. Unless you have an SB2 receiver, fitting a rifle barrel is ... risky business.

3Crows said:

Yes sir, and the TSS adds about 15 yards to my range for the same shot density and impact effect.

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I just looked up the specs on the TSS shot shells. At $8 a shot I think I'll pass . I can go down to my stash of 12 gauge shells find a handful of either Remington or Winchester number 6 ounce and a quarter loads. Grab a little H&R 12 gauge that I have. And double the range of a 410 and not spend anything out of pocket. Or I can just wait till the turkey gets inside the 22 paces I am confident of making a clean kill at if I want to use a 410. I will not starve if a turkey lives to duel another day. If I feel that I absolutely have to have a turkey for food there is a single shot 32 in barreled 10 gauge around here a couple of boxes of three and a half inch two and a quarter ounce number four shot shells around here. Or if I honestly need them for food then I'm probably not worried about the law and I'll just build a trap and catch the whole flock. But of course I am 59 years old now, and when I was 20 years old I had a totally different view on hunting.

Henry is making some good looking break actions...they have spectacular wood.
Here are some Handi-rifle and shotguns :
.204, .223. 12 rifled, 12 full,

3Crows said:

I am trying to figure out Thompson Center, never owned one, from the website I cannot understand what barrels go with what action/receiver?

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The simple answer is that there are two generations of Contender, Original and G2 (as in Generation Two). Unless you happen to buy an older, used Original Contender, any current production Contender barrel should drop into any of the current G2 Contender frames. G2 frames have a thickened web on the upper part of the receiver (top), while the originals had a flat-sided decorated receiver (bottom):



The Encore is an enlarged Contender, designed for higher-pressure rifle cartridges. The Pro Hunter Encore has a different finish and a swing hammer from the standard Encore, but uses the same barrels. There's only one generation of Encore, so any Encore barrel will fit any Encore frame.

To me, one of the best things about the Contender/Encore family is the large aftermarket support -- you can find a lot of non-factory stock and barrel options. There are several custom barrel makers for the Encore/Contender family, and they are probably the cheapest route available (around $500) if you want to try making a new rifle for an obsolete or wildcat cartridge. One of these days I'm going to order another carbine barrel in .327 Federal. Personally I like MGM for this -- they've made a couple of Encore carbine barrels for me. https://matchgrademachine.com/product/build-a-custom-barrel/

The main downside of the system, if it's something that bothers you, is that the frame lug for the stock has a rather acute angle for use with a pistol grip, so a Contender/Encore rifle necessarily looks like a converted pistol. This doesn't seem to bother most shooters, especially those who like like thumbhole stocks, but conservative traditionalists like me wince a bit.

For some examples, here are my pistol and rifle configurations chambered for the same custom .357 Magnum cartridge necked down to .308:




And this is my setup on the same frame in .22 K Hornet (a tackdriver, BTW):



It takes me under 10 minutes to convert between pistol and rifle configurations, and a bit less just to change barrels. TC fans tend to buy extra receivers and just leave one barrel on each rather than swapping components around.

BTW, right now Contenders and Encores seem to be backordered at the factory.

I only own one G 2 frame and have several barrel/scope combos that I use it with. It has an exceptionally good trigger and I can do a barrel swap in less than five minutes. I like the regular factory stock grip but the comb is too low and I really don't care for add on comb risers so I went with a thumb hole stock which is excellent for a scope. Since about all my shooting is done off a bench now days I made a straight line fore end for it. I have found the contender prefers to be rested right in front of the trigger guard to produce it's best accuracy.

I have owned two of the NEF versions of the handi-rifles, one in 17 HMR and the other in .223. The 17 was fairly decent but nothing special at all in accuracy while the 223 version was the absolutely the worst piece of junk rifle I have ever owned. It and accuracy didn't belong in the same sentence. I spent much more than the rifle cost in reloading components and never got it to do better than about 8" group at 100 yards. I bought the contender and got less than 1/2" groups with some of the loads that wouldn't shoot worth a darn in the NEF.

I was just thinking about a 30-30 top break. I seldom need a second shot, but at my age I do need a scope bc of my bad right eye. I think the top break would be excellent for my still hunting.
Now to find one!

TC Contender / Encore are the Cadillacs. My BP .50 Barrel tore an absolutely ragged one hole 40 yard group offhand with 15 patched round ball shots. I have a few muzzleloaders and it was stunning.

How about a .22 over 20ga/357 mag?



After I started machining lugs and barrels for them, I expanded my break open calibers.



One of my favorite ones.

Take a walk on the wild side, 7mm TCU. Its a .223 necked up to a 7mm, high sectional density with a 120 gr soft nose and moderate velocity to penetrate and fly flatter than a .300 Blackout.

I do believe ya may be mistaken... old toppers were available in 22 hornet 30-30-357 357 max and 44 mag n maybe 45/70 I believe... I have a 357 and a 357 factory topper
the experts on the h&r's seem to be here H&R Centerfire Rifles | Graybeard Outdoors (go2gbo.com)
careful they are addictive the sb1's handle some centerfires and sb2's handle rifle class round like "06 35 whelen etc... I havent seen one in mag rifle ...

DocRock said:

If you have a fifties era shotgun receiver, you cannot safely fit a center fire rifle barrel to it. The old Topper receivers, pre SB1 and SB2 receivers, were made of ductile iron and cannot handle centerfire rifle or pistol cartridge pressures.

These show the difference between the SB1 (shotgun) and SB2 (rifle) receivers. Unless you have an SB2 receiver, fitting a rifle barrel is ... risky business.

Click to expand...

I am a frequent participant in the GBO forum to which you refer. The ductile iron shotgun receivers that preceded the SB1 receiver are not capable of handling centerfire rifle or pistol pressures. Pre SB2 rifle receivers, not Toppers, were steel and could handle a number of centerfire rifle and pistol chamberings, I believe (but cannot offer certainty) that the steel ore SB2 receivers were rated up to 45k psi but not high pressure chamberings. If you have a fifties era shotgun, it is almost certainly a ductile iron receiver.

If you have a ductile iron pre SB1 receiver you should not fit a centerfire barrel to it. SB2 receivers trade for about $100 on GBO (at least pre-pandemic). Be safe.

I was offered a TCR hunter in 22 hornet.
The safety is awkward as heck and since most varmints are shot prone......such a rig in break open.....brought me dang near to hives.

Hard pass.

Pops still has it.

He said......the safety sucks.

Falling block is the way to go IMHO

219 Savage 30-30. It also had a 16ga barrel. My dad bought it used in the early 60s I think. A great handling rifle, light weight and beautifully balanced. It has accounted for a great number of northern Michigan whitetails

Great thread, with lots of good pictures.

I really like the little H&R .30-30 I have. I put a youth stock on it and added, yes, a single point sling. It carries and shoulders great, and I can just let it hang when I need hands free.



It breaks down with a dime and fits in this Skinner case, with a 22" 20 guage barrel (from the youth model I got the stocks from). Definitely the rifle/shotgun I grab most often to have something along.

3Crows said:

That is one of the advantages of a break barrel rifle/shotgun, that they come apart into two smaller assemblies with no tools usually, the original survival gun.

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Agreed, I plan to make a thumb screw for the forend at some point to make it truly tool free. I know the Contenders are easy to break down. Not sure about the Henry's.

They are very nice for new shooters for the safety aspect. If it is open, it is safe. Plus, they are about as non-threatening aesthetically as a rifle gets. I load up cast bullets over a light charge of unique for some cheap, quiet, low-recoil plinking.

G1 and G2 contender barrels should interchange. But even within version, sometimes they dont. Get to play the locking lug game and possibly firing pin bushing. Barrels and frames varied, some combinations more suitable than others.
My easy open G1s were not problematic.
Couple oldies were picky on what barrels worked.

G1 frames and stocks feel best to me. But they arent strong enough for some cartridges ( some barrel makers have G2 only chamberings ).

I cant stand the Encore. Passed up a couple screamin deals......couldnt do it.

The G2 doesnt have the quirk of the G1, where you have to reset it if you lower the hammer

The Encore is bigger, the trigger and hammer dont feel right to me ( location and shape ). My hands are not small, nor are they big. The Contender just feels better to me.

The Encore by size and weight, even w different stocks.....makes me break out in hives.

FWIW i dislike vertical grips on bolt rifles ( all the rage these days it seems ) and a thick wristed shotgun might as well be a canoe paddle.

With G1 walnut being easy to crack and laminates too fat ( Boyds ), my preferred stock for a G1 is the rynite factory one. But it needs a cheek riser for scope usage. Easy to make w Kydex

I am not a switch bbl type. Had three Contender bbls at one time, each had its own frame.

DocRock said:

I am a frequent participant in the GBO forum to which you refer. The ductile iron shotgun receivers that preceded the SB1 receiver are not capable of handling centerfire rifle or pistol pressures. Pre SB2 rifle receivers, not Toppers, were steel and could handle a number of centerfire rifle and pistol chamberings, I believe (but cannot offer certainty) that the steel ore SB2 receivers were rated up to 45k psi but not high pressure chamberings. If you have a fifties era shotgun, it is almost certainly a ductile iron receiver.

If you have a ductile iron pre SB1 receiver you should not fit a centerfire barrel to it. SB2 receivers trade for about $100 on GBO (at least pre-pandemic). Be safe.

Click to expand...

my toppers were factory... I know they used a few lower powered centerfire chamberings on the old receivers - not sure if they were fifties models or not..... I'll have to dig my two out n see what they were/are