Thompson/Center Arms Impact

The History of Thompson/Center Arms

Not to be confused with the makers of the famous Thompson gun (originally made by the Colt Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company), the Thompson/Center Arms is an American producer of firearms, established by K.W. Thompson and Warren Center in 1965. Initially, they focused on manufacturing single-shot firearms with interchangeable barrels. This led to the introduction of a unique single-shot pistol in the late 1960s which later became known as the Contender. The production facilities were set up in 1965 with the first large orders leaving the factory in 1967.

The Contender allowed for switching between different calibers only by changing the barrel, which was a good selling point at the time, even compared to some of the popular bolt-action rifles. It offered great precision for a break-action pistol and was powerful enough for different hunting scenarios. Over the following decade, they also presented the second generation of Contender, named the G2, and the Encore model which used a different trigger mechanism and featured a bulkier, more rugged design.

In the early 1970s, the company first introduced their Hawken-style black powder muzzle-loading rifle which was followed by several different muzzleloader models such as Cherokee, Seneca, Cougar, Hawken, New Englander and many others. For some time, TC Arms also made 2 muzzleloading pistols, but the fire that demolished the factory in the 1990s made it impossible to continue production. The company did, however, also produce some bolt-action rifles such as the Venture and Compass, available in various configurations.

In the 1990s, Thompson/Center Arms faced a legal issue regarding a rifle conversion kit for the pistols they sold. The AFT claimed that the kit could be used to create an illegal DIY firearm, however, The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of T/C Arms, stating that the company would not be held responsible for how people might misuse the kit.

In 2007, T/C Arms Co. was obtained by the Smith & Wesson company and the production was moved to Springfield. In 2021, S&W announced their plans to sell the T/C Arms brand, fully ceasing the production of firearms. However, as of 2023, a definitive buyer is yet to be determined. The company continues to list various models on their T/C Arms USA website, likely selling off the remaining inventory.

Thompson/Center Arms Impact Muzzleloader Review

Introduced in 2010 at the SHOT Show, the T/C Impact muzzleloader quickly became known for its lower price point in the T/C rifle lineup and thus has gained a lot of popularity. The rifle features an adjustable stock length, complete with a removable spacer at the butt pad end and a soft rubber recoil pad. Underneath the barrel, there's a ramrod and a factory-preinstalled base on the receiver allows for scope mounting which is attached by four screws.

The trigger mechanism of the T/C Impact is factory preset at a pull weight of 1678 g (3.7 lbs). There are three hammer positions available on the Impact, T/C naming them ‘at rest’, ‘cocked’ and ‘fired’. The carbon steel barrel measures 660 mm (26 inches) in length and has preinstalled Williams sights with fiber inserts. In comparison to earlier models like the Triumph, the Impact offers better balance and includes an updated action design. Instead of a trigger guard lever, the action is opened using twin ears at the receiver's rear end. This exposes the breech plug which can be removed by turning it counterclockwise using the proprietary tool. The plug is conventionally designed and comes with triple lead threads for easier removal.

Certain components do, however, reflect the rifle's budget-friendly nature. For example, the trigger guard is constructed from plastic, and the frame is made from a lighter alloy. The stocks, crafted from synthetic polymer material, have sling swivel studs. T/C Impact rifle comes supplied with a primer tool and a cleaning jag.

T/C Impact, chambered for .50 cal.

Figure 1: T/C Impact, chambered for .50 cal. (Source: https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1020803416)

T/C Impact Calibers

The rifle can be chambered for the following calibers:

.50 cal.

The W209 shotshell primers are recommended for the ignition system on the T/C Impact models.

T/C Impact Variants

The rifle is available in the following variants:

T/C Impact X7
T/C Impact Z5
T/C Impact Dream Season
T/C Impact Hardwoods Camo Synthetic Stock
T/C Impact Black Synthetic Stock
T/C Impact Laminated Thumbhole Deluxe
T/C Impact Real Tree Camo Stock-Stainless Barrel
T/C Impact Laminate Stock-Stainless Barrel
T/C Impact Black Composite Stock-Blued Barrel
T/C Impact Black Composite Stock-Stainless Barrel

The receivers of T/C Impact come with four drilled and tapped holes which can be used for scope mounting purposes. There are two holes at the front and two at the rear end of the receiver.

The receiver of T/C Impact, chambered for .50 cal.

Figure 2: The receiver of T/C Impact, chambered for .50 cal. (Source: http://www.gunzinc.com/tc-impact-muzzleloaders-will-get-you-ready-for-black-powder-season/)

T/C Impact

A: 7.9 mm

B: 21.3 mm

C: 7.9 mm

BHU: 0 mm

Ø: 6-48

Scope Mounts Interchangeable With T/C Impact

Rifles That Have One-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable With T/C Impact

For one-piece mounts to fit on a rifle, mounting surfaces on these rifles must match in every dimension. Firearms that share one-piece scope mounts with T/C Impact are the following:

Rifles That Have Two-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable With T/C Impact

To meet interchangeability conditions, two-piece mounts must match in all dimensions except the B distance. B distance can vary because two-piece mounts can be installed and adjusted closer or further apart. Firearms that share two-piece scope mounts with T/C Impact are the following:

Should you happen to own this rifle and would be willing to share with us more information regarding interchangeability, we kindly ask you to contact us at info@optics-trade.eu

Thank you for your help!

Best Scope Mounts for T/C Impact

Picatinny Rails for T/C Impact

If you want to expand your scope mounting options, consider installing a Picatinny rail on top of your T/C T/C Impact's receiver. This rail manufactured by the American company EGW is made of high-quality aluminum and comes with a 2-year warranty.

Weaver Bases for T/C T/C Impact

This Weaver base is produced by the American manufacturer Warne. It is milled from high-quality steel and designed to fit onto the receiver of your T/C T/C Impact. The rail comes with a 10-year warranty.

Help Us Build Our Riflescope Mounts Database

If you happen to own this or any other rifle, we would appreciate it if you could help us expand our database by sending us some photos of the rifle receiver (the bare mounting surface of the rifle without the scope mounts installed). For your help, our company offers a fair return in terms of practical rewards.

Please send us an email for more information. You can contact us here: info@optics-trade.eu

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EGW T/C Contender Picatinny Rail

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EGW T/C Contender Picatinny Rail, 20 MOA

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EGW T/C Encore, Omega, Triumph, Impact, Picatinny Rail

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EGW T/C Encore, Omega, Triumph, Impact, Picatinny Rail-Black - Matte, 20 MOA

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VIDEO

Introduction

In recent years we can observe that a trend of Picatinny rail has become widespread and global. It is driven by the NATO standardized rails, more commonly known as the Picatinny rail standard. Picatinny rail being the New Jersey Arsenal that developed it in 1995.

These mounting options are revolutionary. The biggest and best advantage being that the Picatinny rail can be used its entire length and not bordered to a few pre-designed slots like for example the Weaver rail standard was before.

The other main advantage is the ease of use and interchangeability. If a product is meant for a Picatinny rail design it will fit all Picatinny-rails, no matter the manufacturer or date of production.

Picatinny/Weaver Rail

Picatinny Rail and Weaver rail profile

Design

The Picatinny rail is almost exclusively crafted from a single piece of metal (in some cases aluminum). In this manner, the axis of the Picatinny rail is perfectly straight and aligned with the axis of the firearm. Therefore the rifle scope which is mounted onto this kind of configuration is certainly aligned with the rifle / gun and the trajectory of the ammunition.

Weaver rail design on the other hand is usually manufactured in two separate pieces, greatly increasing the possibilities for the axis to be crooked, overlapping, and out of line.

It is always harder to align two separate pieces to a third line than it is to align one piece to another. In this way, the lapping of two mounting rings on a single-piece Picatinny rail is no longer required.

The single-piece rail will assure that both rings are perfectly aligned to each other and that no unwished stress is transferred to the riflescope.

Picatinny compare to Weaver Rail

The Picatinny rail itself is an evolutionary step forward from the older Weaver rail. The main difference between Picatinny rail and Weaver rail is the spacing of the slots. Picatinny rail design has them evenly placed exactly 5.23 mm from one slot to the other, 3 mm deep. For this reason, the mounting options are repeatable and the same as other firearms using the Picatinny rail standard.

Interchangeability was a major driving force in the development of the new standard as different NATO armies need to be compatible with each other.

Weaver rail has 3.8mm wide slots and these slots can be placed anywhere on the Weaver rail and in any number that the producer wished.

Advantages of Picatinny design

A big advantage for using the Picatinny rail design is the ever-present recoil stop. Furthermore, the manufacturing of the rail is not very technically demanding and can be done without the use of state-of-the-art machines which greatly reduces the cost of the finished product, making it very affordable.

The Picatinny rail is easy to mount and usually, this type of configuration does not transfer negative stresses and forces from the fired weapon to the rifle scope.

In addition, the Picatinny rail with its very long useable surface works well for mounting longer rifle scopes or to achieve optimum eye relief.

The durability and toughness are other big pluses for this solution.

Manufacturers of Popular Models

A majority of the Picatinny rings are fixed, but a number of best rated European manufacturers (EAW, MAK,..) have, in recent years, put a lot of effort into the development of detachable ring with100% repeatability, with which it becomes easy to remove the scope from the weapon without the use of tools.

No re-zeroing is needed with such mount options, but these models tend to be expensive.

Weaver and Picatinny Rings

Picatinny rail and weaver rail share one more thing. It is possible to use the Weaver ring and the Picatinny ring on the Picatinny-rails, but it is usually impossible to use the Picatinny ring on the Weaver base. The reason being the above-mentioned positioning and spacing of the slots.

Picatinny mounts have a 5mm recoil stop that goes into the rail slot and since
Weaver rail only has 3.8mm wide slots such rings do not fit on Weaver rails.

Due to this reason, the Picatinny-rails are popular and prevailing on the market in recent years and eventually, these options will completely oust the Weaver rail from the market.

Thompson/Center Arms Impact

The History of Thompson/Center Arms