Thompson/Contender Pistols

[orchard frank]

Thinking about getting one for deer hunting. I pretty much lost the use of my right eye due to retinal detachments, very limited vision. Great hunting on our property, orchard/riverbottom through farm country. I can get the safety on my .270 Browning auto rifle switched for left hand use, but thinking about getting one of the Thompsons for hunting in a few of the thicker areas, cedars, etc. Would appreciate any experiences or thoughts. I know there are a ton of calibers available, this would be for deer only, have some other pistols for plinking, target, woodchucks, and defense. I see on their site that they make a hunter special with a 15" barrel, scope mounts, etc. Anyway, appreciate your thoughts, Thanks, Frank

[RJmjZ]

Hi Frank, Thanks alot for inviting me deer hunting on your farm. ;>) This is the guy that makes "Teazers".

You can find all the following info by Googling.

Before you buy a Thompson, determine what all around bullet you want to shoot. If you want to stick with a single shot weapon that's up to you. Also look at bolt action short guns. In my humble opinion it has to be at least 100 grains. . . heavier for thin brush. If I remember Northern Wisconsin/Michigan right your average shot will be 50-75 yards. Get a bullet/cartridge that will have "at least" twice the foot pounds down range power of the average weight animal you intend to shoot (see bear note further down the page). (Whitetail Deer = 200 pounds) at that range of 50 to 75 yards. Doing so will keep you safe on cartridge selection out to those rare shots at say 150 yards.

Then see what lands and groves rate of twist give you the best bullet in flight stability for the cartridge you shoot. You may not need a long barrel. Rotating more than one full turn is overkill except for long skinny bullets. For example if "your" bullet is long you need more rate of twist. Since this is a handgun we want to keep the felt recoil within reason. You may want to consider Mag-na-Porting the firearm. If you want a rifle cartridge instead of say a .44 Magnum, look at .243 cal minimum, with a rate of twist higher because of the skinny longer 100 grain bullet. At approximately 2600-2700 feet per second at muzzle, and a ballistic coefficient of say .43, and a rate of twist of 1-10, that set up will give you at least 1000 foot pounds at 150 yards . . . more than you need. . . except for those close encounters with those 500 pound black bears that will happen upon you occasionally and just ruin your day if you don't have enough knock down power just in case.

Because you are an old fart like me, and we can’t see as well as we once did, look into a 2 to 4 power scope.

Unless you carry another double action side arm for emergencies like that bear scenario, please look into a multiple shot revolver capability. I shoot a Ruger Super Blackhawk Hunter at 7 &1/2 inch barrel. 240 grain bullet. It's plenty out to 150 yards for game up to 400-500 pounds.

[orchard frank]

Thanks for the reply. Been giving the Teazers a try on some salmon rigs. Had one hit a spoon off a full core with the glow teazer about 2' in front. Fishing for the salmon is just starting to take off good, unstable weather and cold cold temps have goofed things up some for me, but we're getting there. My lovely, yet formidable, wife has an incredible record on deer with a .260 Remington in a Browning A-Bolt, 16 deer, 16 shots over the last 7 years. Never hunted (or shot a high powered gun) until that stretch. 120 gr. Ballistic Tips are lethal, although she is very careful with shot selection and accuracy. Still looking over the options for me. One guy I talked with swears by the Thompson in a 7mm/08. I'll post any teazer results on salmon or walleye when we start fishing them again.

[RJmjZ]

Frank, here's the scoop on rate of twist. It's a chart whereby you enter some numbers and the program gives you the answer.


http://drop.io/unclenick

[RJmjZ]

That dern link don't work. If you are still interested here's the formula.


The fomular to determine the twist is:

CE/(L*C)*C

CE = Col effic. (or 150 for a jacketed Lead core bullet)
L = Lenght
C = cal

So: 150 devided (the lenght devided by the cal)
multiply that number by the cal.

So basicly measure the bullet you want to use, devide that by .243
Devide that number into 150
Multiply that number to come up with the recommended twist.

Now you just have to work backwards until you come up with the bullet you need.