# The Early T/C Contender



## blackbear (May 13, 2012)

Is the early t/c contender the "hard to open" one and to identifi it you look for the hammer that has  aslide that goes left to right?
I ran into a really hard to open onetime and dont remember


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## HandgunHTR (May 13, 2012)

Yes.  The first generation Contender came in three distinct styles.

The first was what is commonly referred to as the "Hard-open" frame.  It had a wide trigger and a slide safety located on the hammer.  The hammer also has a flat head screw head under the hammer shoe in the back that was used to switch from rimfire to centerfire.

The second iteration was also a hard-open frame, but it came with the updated fire-control group, which consisted of a thinner trigger that had a striker engagement screw that went through the top of the trigger and could be used to easily adjust trigger pull.  TC also equipped these frames with the newer hammer which got rid of the slide safety and put a selector switch on top of them to change from centerfire to rimfire.

The third style was the last one before the G2 came out.  It is what is commonly referred to as the "Easy-open" frame.  It has the same fire control group as the second group, but the pivot point of the trigger guard was moved back to facilitate easier opening/resetting.

Hope this helps.


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## rosewood (Oct 30, 2012)

Easiest way to tell, the trigger guard on the "easy-open" version pivots around the middle of the trigger guard, the non-easy open pivots at the barrel end of the trigger guard.  There will be a screw or pin where it pivots that is visible.  If there is no pin visible just above the trigger, it is not "easy-open".  TC does a conversion to "easy-open" for a fee so you could possibly have one with either style hammer and both be "easy-open".


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