Can you change an Encore rifle to a pistol and vice versa? That was my initial question when I started to research this weeks blog subject. My first experience with this question came about 5 years ago when I went into the local gun shop. I had asked the attendant if the pistol and rifle stocks on the Encore series were interchangeable and the answer was simply no. There was no explanation or question of conviction in the answer, just NO. Being that I was more naive than I am today and easy to influence I took this for the answer and left the shop disappointed. I really liked the idea that not only could you have multiple calibers in one firearm but that you could own both a pistol and a rifle in one firearm as well.

     Five years later, I am looking at the Encore again still keeping in mind the information previously given me and seriously considering purchasing one in the rifle. I was talking to a friend at work about this idea and he had expressed a long time wanting for the series as well. He began to talk about a friend who had the pistol was going to get a rifle stock for it. I tried to inform him that you could not do this and he informed me that he was positive that it can be done. After telling him of my experience at the gun shop he was still pretty sure that it could be done but we were both curious to the implications one gun shop owner had made.

     I started with the Thompson Center Arms website at www.tcarms.com. I found a load of information there which I will share with you. The first pistol with interchangeable barrels was the Contender in 1967. The riflecalibers in the Contender series followed shortly after. In 1997, T/C introduced the Encore series with a thicker frame to accommodate larger calibers that were unsafe for the Contender. Then in 2003, the G2 Contender (Generation 2) was unveiled with bold new styling. The barrels and fore ends of the old Contender will fit on the new G2 but the grips will not because the angle of the grips on the G2 frame were changed to give a better hold of the pistol. Finally, this last year the Encore Pro Hunter was introduced with some new and innovative technology. The hammer spur is rotatable and the stock has been designed to accept more recoil without discomfort to the shooter.

     So what about the rifle and pistol stock question? The website was unable to confirm or deny the ability to change a rifle stock to pistol or pistol stock to rifle. T/C Arms does have a custom shop which is extremely handy for those wildcatters out there who want a barrel in a caliber that is otherwise unavailable. So if you could build a whole firearm in the custom shop I should be able to find what I was looking for. In the custom shop, I learned that you can choose if you want the G2 Contender frame or the Encore frame but there was no choice between pistol or rifle frame. Did this mean that the frames were the same? I tried to call the customer service for T/C Arms but it was after hours and I could only get a machine.

     So I did some checking into the forums and search engines with no luck until I came upon this website, www.eabco.com/encore.html. At E. Arthur Brown Co. this statement was made,"The frames themselves are identical. What differs are the butt stocks, fore ends, and grips that they come with. That said, once you own an Encore frame, you can convert it to any Encore based firearm by simply purchasing a different barrel and stock combination." So if this is true then you COULD convert a rifle to a pistol and back.

     But wait, isn't this illegal? Federal law mandates that you only need to be 18 to purchase a rifle, shotgun or muzzle loader. It also mandates that you need to be 21 to purchase a pistol. So a person who is only 18 could purchase the Encore rifle and with a little conversion could own a pistol. Seems as though this shouldn't be possible legally. So does T/C have some sort of special permit to produce the frames with such versatility? It was time to find out the total truth.

     So once again I tried the T/C customer service line. I spoke with a very helpful lady named Diane who informed me that you can in fact change the stocks from pistol to rifle and back. She was unable to answer why this was legal and so transferred me to the Sales Supervisor Brandon. Again, Brandon was very helpful and had no problem answering my questions. As it turns out, I was asking the wrong questions. How was T/C able to make a rifle that can be converted to a rifle? Wrong question. Is it legal to own a rifle and convert it to a pistol? Right question. The answer: No. Federal law also mandates that a rifle barrel cannot be shortened to less than 16 inches nor can a shotgun barrel be shortened to less than 18 inches. So, again, why is T/C able to make a firearm that can do this? Because the law mandates that the consumer cannot shorten the barrel. The manufacturer is not regulated by this law, the consumer is! It is the consumer who breaks the law if he/she purchases an Encore rifle and put a handgun barrel and stock set on the frame.

     So interchangeability is illegal? Yes and No. Law mandates that you cannot shorten a rifle or shotgun barrel but it does not mandate that a pistol barrel cannot be lengthened. If you purchase an Encore or G2 Contender pistol, which means you have to be 21 years of age, it is perfectly legal to convert it to a rifle or shotgun or muzzle loader and then back again. If you want to have a frame that can accommodate both rifle and pistol without breaking the law, you need to make your first Encore purchase a pistol.

     I am looking forward to making that purchase here soon as E. Arthur Brown Co. has a stainless pistol frame set without barrel for the low price of $335. Then adding a .223 Rem. 15" barrel for $226. A complete handgun for the rock bottom price of $561. Unheard of in today's market.

Comments? Questions? Feel free to leave you comments or questions about this blog using the comments section of the blog or by emailing me at billy_the_kid43@hotmail.com

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