STOCKS FOR TCR-87 AVAILABLE

[IOWA DON]

I am having Macon Gun Stocks (660/438-4699 and they have a website) of Warsaw Missouri make a stock for one of my TCR-87's. They are duplicating a factory rifle butt-stock with fancy wood I provided, but are leaving some extra wood so I can make a monte carlo cheek-piece. They are also duplicating a 10-ga forend and making an additional forend with a narrower barrel channel. I think their price is real reasonable, and they will have it done in a couple weeks.

This is good for me, but this is what is good for other TCR-87 owners looking for a new stock. When they duplicate a stock, they do four at a time. They will sell the other ones. They will probably make the others from plain wood. However, if someone would want one made with fancy wood and get it ordered in time, they would probably make one for you with the grade of wood of your choice.

Note that this is for for a TCR-87, not a TCR-83. Barrels and forends interchange between the two guns but not butt-stocks. At least the butt-stock on my TCR-83 is different than the butt-stock on my TCR-87's. They look the same, but the angle of the attachment bolt is different.

[schuetzen]

Interesting.  Would be interested in seeing pictures of TCR 83 vs 87 stocks.  Also would like to see the results of your new stock.

[IOWA DON]

SCHUETZEN - I think most of the TCR-83's had double triggers and the stocks had more drop than the TCR-87's. It's like the TCR-83 stocks were set up for iron sights and the TCR-87's were set up for scope sights. I think the TCR-87's are like modern stocks for scope sights, but I prefer an even higher monte carlo cheek piece. But what fits me well does not work for everyone. I will post some photos when the stocks are all done. A local guy finish up the final inletting. After that I will shape the cheek piece and do the final sanding and finishing. Completeion may be next year. - DON

[IOWA DON]

SCHUETZEN - Here's the difference in stock bolt angles between the TCR-83 and TCR-87.


The top photo is for an 87 and the bottom is for an 83. The top photo is half the stock I replicated in fiberglass for a 87 and the stock bolt exits the stock higher than the bottom photo which was the stock from a 83 which I made the mold to fabricate the above stock. The difference in stock bolt angles may be an inch or less, but the two will not intercange. Otherwise the 83 and 87 stocks fit to the metal the same even though the drop may be different. - DON

[IOWA DON]

bottom photo

[schuetzen]

Thanks for those photos.  More great info to keep in mind.  I assume mine is an 83 as it has a dual trigger and a red rubber but plate, but I am not certain.  I will try removing the butt plate sometime to see which bolt hole pattern I have.

[IOWA DON]

SCHUETZEN - The bottom photo somehow got out of proportion as it has the same outline as the fiberglass one. However, it does show how the 83 stock bolt hole would exit in the middle of the butt plate and the one for the 87 is closser to the top. I have one TCR-83. I bought it used and at least the seller said it was an 83. Its serial number is 9,000+. I have four TCR-87's. The serial numbers on two of them are around 13,000 and of those I bought new so I know it is an 87. The other two have serial numbers of around 16,000. My 83 has double triggers and my 87's have single triggers. I have a friend who says he has an 87 with double triggers but I think that is uncommon. It also has a stock with real nice wood and a cheek piece. After breaking a stock on one of the 87's from too much 10-ga mag and .50-140 shooting, I sent it back to Thompson Center for a new stock. They gave me one for free! The new stock has a cheek piece and is shorter like for double triggers. It also has a lot of drop. However, it has the correct stock bolt angle for an 87, and it does not appear to have been modifed. Also, some 87's, called the Hunter Model had uncheckered stocks with more drop for shooting with shotgun barrels. - DON

[schuetzen]

If I remember correctly, my TCR has a serial number in the 10,000 range and has double trigger.  I bought it used in the early 90's.  Was your repair by TC on the broken stock in recent years?  Do you know if TC still repair TCRs?

I am presently working to have a peep sight modified for it.  I recently got one of these PeepRib sights that I am going to work with a machinist-friend to mount on my 23" 308 barrel. I also picked up a taller Williams streamlined ramp and higher front sight to compensate.

PeepRib sight:
http://www.eabco.com/Muzzleloader03.htm

I am in need of getting a couple of gunsmithing screw drivers.  I broke a screw recently using a regular screw driver and I don't want to make this mistake on my TCR barrel.  Luckily I was still able to remove the broken screw.

[IOWA DON]

SCHUETZEN - Unless Thompson Center changes changes its attitude a lot I think they will always service their older guns. I think the stock replacement was about 4 years ago. Also, I had a buildup of primer metal in the firing pin hole of one TCR a couple years ago or so, so much that the firing pin movement was so slow it would not set of a cartridge. If one uses either hot loads or cartridges that are a little short there will be some cratering into the firing pin hole. Upon opening the action some metal will get sheared off and may eventually result in the problem I had. They removed the insert with the firing pin and cleaned it out. I thought it would be a reoccuring problem so had a machinist make a spanner wrench so I could remove them myself. It's easy to have one made and maybe cleaning the firing pin hole should be regular maintenance on a TCR. Besides those repairs, ther have been at least a couple others, all done with no charge. I think one will get service for TCR repairs, but eventually that may be subject to what parts they have on hand. Over the years they gave me some .22 Hornet extractors, but have since ran out of them. I wanted ones which could be either used for .22 Hornet based cartridges or which could be modified for larger cartridges. I've had a number of barrels pulled from the monoblocks to be replaced with barrels of various caliber. Also, fairly recently they gave me some of the wood parts for 10-ga forends. - DON

[Sourdough]

I bought a TCR-83 in 1984 with the double set trigger, and love it.  In 87 they came out with the TCR-87 with a single trigger, and dropped the 83.  In 1992 TC came out with the Mag conversion and brought out the Aristocrate, with double set triggers.  I always thought the Aristocrate was a remake of the 83.  Never knew the stocks were differant, my 83 has a Monte Carlo stock set up for a scope.  None of my six barrels have sights, except the 12ga. 

I carry my 83 every fall during Grizzly/Moose season.   

[IOWA DON]

SOURDOUGH

It sounds to me like the TCR-83 and the TCR-87 Aristocate were very similar except for the different angle of the stock bolt which would not show up unless the butt pad is removed. I think I have a TCR-87 Aristocrate stock on one of my TCR-87's, but it was not original. The original stock was the Hunter Shotgun Model which did not have checkering and had more drop for shooting with shotgun barrels. It split after shooting it with a 10-ga magnum barrel (with full 2-1/4 oz loads) and with a .50-140 barrel (575-gr bullets at 1600-1800 fps). The folks at Thompson Center said they would replace it, which they did. The replacement stock has a more drop like the Hunter Shotgun Model but has a cheek-piece, is checkered, and is a little shorter, which I think is for the correct pull for the double triggers of the Aristocrate. And it will interchange with my other TCR-87's.

In summary it looks to me like there were four different stocks for the TCR's. (1) All TCR-83's had the same stock which was short to accomodate the double set triggers and which had a different bolt angle than the TCR-87's, (2) there was the TCR-87 Aristocrate stock which outwardly looked like the TCR-83 stock but shared the bolt angle of the other TCR-87 stocks, (3) there was the TCR-87 Hunter Shotgun which had more drop for a scopeless shotgun barrel or iron sights on a rifle, and finally, (4) there was the TCR-87 Hunter Rifle stock which had less drop to better accomidate a rifle or shotgun barrel with a scope.

Also, one of my old catalogs shows that one could get a TCR-87 butt-stocks and forends made of extra fancy wood for $225 and $75 respectively. And one could get the stocks checkered with optional patterns. My first TCR-87 had pretty nice wood in the buttstock. For that I paid the distributer an extra $25, which I thought was a bargain. I later bought a "heavy barrel" and "heavy barrel forend" from the Custom Shop and asked for nice/dark wood to match my butt-stock. They gave me a forend of nice figured wood. Finally, I have seen a number of TCR's with real nice wood, but also some with very plain wood.

DON

[IOWA DON]

Here's the duplicated buttstock and one of the forends from Macon. The original had no cheek piece but they put one the duplicate at my request. I will probably cut it down a little in both length and height. It is now at a local gunsmith for final inletting. Again, the wood is from a dead tree my son-in-law found on their acreage.

[IOWA DON]

Here is the other side of the buttstock and another view of the forend.