Thompson/Center Encore ProHunter Pistols Are Back

As Thompson/Center makes its comeback, one thing that longtime fans of the brand wanted to know was: What about the pistols? And after launching (or is that re-launching?) multiple lines of rifles, Thompson/Center has indeed brought back its hunting-oriented handguns as well, with the Encore ProHunter pistol series rebooted.

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A classic hunting handgun

For decades, revolvers have been the most popular and common hunting handguns, with a few automatics used as well, mostly for small game hunting rather than big game. But one company made a handgun that worked well in either category. Thanks to its interchangeable barrels, Thompson/Center’s Encore ProHunter pistol was capable of hunting anything its owner desired, and with excellent accuracy and ease-of-carrying to boot.

That’s because the Encore ProHunter pistol was a break-action single-shot with the same barrel-swapping capability as Thompson/Center’s rifles. If you wanted a different caliber, just pop off the old barrel and swap in a new one, even a shotgun barrel if that’s what you wanted, with no gunsmith needed.

Back in business

Now that Thompson/Center has returned to business, they focused on getting rifles to market first, and now they’re on to restoring their pistol business.

The ProHunter pistol is, as the name implies, built on the same action as the Encore rifles. Thompson/Center will sell the frames, and buyers can add whichever barrel or barrels they want (currently, Thompson/Center has 12-inch and 15-inch barrels available). The pistol frame comes with a stainless steel/rubber grip and forend, and is CNC-machined for accurate dimensions (kind of important when you want quick-swap barrels with no gunsmith involved). MSRP for the frame is $530.

"The ENCORE platform has long been respected for its flexibility and accuracy," said Gregg Ritz, former big boss and once again the owner and commander-in-chief at Thompson/Center. "With the launch of the Pistol Frame Assembly, we're reinforcing that legacy while giving shooters a dependable, purpose-driven option to build their ideal pistol configuration."

You can see more details on the pistol here, but there isn’t really much info, and based on a conversation during a recent visit to a dealer in New England, it sounds like you might have a bit of a wait before you see one in a store. But T/C is very much back in business, and you’ll be back to blasting bucks with a handgun soon enough.