I've never owned a T/C, but from what I gather on their website, my options are the contender in 30-30 with a 14" barrel (read some decent reports of the hornady lever-e ammo in this gun), or an encore prohunter with a 15" barrel, and larger caliber options. The only rifles I have left are 30-30, so it'd be nice if the contender would do the job, but I wasnt sure about the ranges using 30-30 ammo from a 14" barrel. How is the recoil in a 15" encore shooting 308? Does it compare to hot 44mag? 454? 500s&w? All the power in the world won't do me any good if its not comfortable enough to put in alot of practice. That'll get some heat from the recoil junkies I know, but I aint a real big fella to begin with, and years of working on heavy equipment, have left me with a little arthritis in my hands.