Contender Accuracy?

W

William Suter

Active member
I'm getting ready to sight in my Contender. Its a 357 Mag with a 10 inch barrel. I planned on using a 50yd zero as that's about a normal shot where I plan to hunt deer this year. The Contender isn't going to be my main firearm but thought I would bring it along hoping for a close up shot in heavy woods. I was just wondering how accurate is good enough? I'll be using a 2x scope shooting 158 grain XTP's, at least for now. I think 50yds is a good base for the short barrel and pistol round.
 
Like any other deer round the distance you can put he first cold barrel round in the kill zone from your field position and have enough energy to do the job. For each it may vary even with the same weapon and round.
 
Id just take a guess n say if you shot 2” groups @50yrds from the bench you would be set. Like mentioned…..do a little field position practice at a paper plate and see how you do.
As far as rifle cartridges in the contender they are capable of amazing accuracy.
Here is a pic of 5 shots @100yrds with my 6x47 handgun.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1642.jpeg
    IMG_1642.jpeg
    72.4 KB · Views: 8
I loaded 50 rounds this evening just for practice. Actually I'm hoping for a little better than 2" groups but that will be good enough to take the lungs out at 50yds. I have a friend, the one I got the barrel from, and 50yds is what he recommended. He has a lot of Contenders and barrel combo's.
 
I think it would be very possible to do better with a good load, yes. I just arbitrarily selected 2” because thats about what my redhawk revolver has shot in the past with a 2x scope.
As far as sight in….Ive always set short range arms(revolvers, black powder etc)roughly 2” high at 50 yrds, and longer range arms(rifles, and rifle cartridge contenders etc) similar at 100 yrds.
I do have one straight wall cartridge in a contender, a 14” 357 maximum. Its just been on the back burner a long time and ive not worked with it much yet.
 
KYODE said:
I think it would be very possible to do better with a good load, yes. I just arbitrarily selected 2” because thats about what my redhawk revolver has shot in the past with a 2x scope.
As far as sight in….Ive always set short range arms(revolvers, black powder etc)roughly 2” high at 50 yrds, and longer range arms(rifles, and rifle cartridge contenders etc) similar at 100 yrds.
I do have one straight wall cartridge in a contender, a 14” 357 maximum. Its just been on the back burner a long time and ive not worked with it much yet.
Click to expand...
I have owned several Contenders off and on since they first came out, with good ammo, if it doesn’t shoot an inch at fifty, it’s not the guns fault
 
Never shot a deer w/a handgun, but came real close one time.
It was a very windy morning, early in our 6-8 week deer season. I was overlooking a brushy draw which the deer used regularly when I spotted a buck in the heaviest part of the brush and decided to see if I could stalk it. Figured the wind was right and would cover any noise I might make and, what the heck, didn't have anything better to do.

Eased down into the draw and managed to get pretty darn close without being busted. Eased rifle up, got a better look at him and decided he was a young deer w/a small, but promising rack but the thought entered my mind that I might take him w/the .357 Ruger thumb buster. I was behind a large, thick bush and the deer was slowly heading in my direction when he disappeared in the thick brush. Had the pistol out, rotated cylinder to clear the snake shot in first two chambers, cocked the hammer and had gun at the ready when the buck suddenly re-appeared. He was less than 15' away, on the opposite side of the bush! He knew something wasn't right and was stretching his neck to look directly at me over the bush! I lowered the muzzle of the pistol, aimed between his eyes, then remembered what a nice young buck he was and that I did have the whole season in front of me. Smiled and said bang as I lowered the hammer and had a good laugh watchin him quickly melt into the brush. That satisfied my desire to hunt deer with a handgun.

Not the same buck, but very similar pose
1717430865235.jpeg
 
Well, I got the 357 mag Contender dialed in at 50yds today. WOW!! It was a PITA getting on paper. I had bore sighted it before I got to the range so I thought I was good to go. After about 6 rounds and not on paper, I saw a rock laying in the dirt so I took a shot at it. Low and right so I gave the little 2X a few turns and finally broke paper at 50yds. I gave it what I thought would get me centered and the next shot hit at 12 o'clock in the bull. Fired a second shot and it cut the first hole. Then a third and it went through the first hole. A three shot group with two holes and under half inch at 50yds. I'm stoked!!! Waay better than I ever thought it would shoot.

I measured the 3 shot group, .293. That's after deducting the ..357 bullet diameter. Even hard for me to believe and I shot it. It may be the first and last time it shoots like that but we shall see.
 
Last edited:
Don’t be afraid to step on that 357. I have a fondness for a 170-180 cast bullet in mine and shoot the same load in my GP100.
A 2x optic never did much for me. Always seemed like a tube with cross hairs and a couple of lenses. Fixed power I like a 4X bare minimum. I have looked through some 1.5 and 2x and it makes the critter look smaller an further away to my eyes.
 
My single favorite of all contenders was a 10 inch in 357 max with 200 gr hard cast (1 part soft lead and 2 parts Linotype) 2 power Leupold. With a bunch of 296 I get 1950fps
 
hm1996 said:
Never shot a deer w/a handgun, but came real close one time.
It was a very windy morning, early in our 6-8 week deer season. I was overlooking a brushy draw which the deer used regularly when I spotted a buck in the heaviest part of the brush and decided to see if I could stalk it. Figured the wind was right and would cover any noise I might make and, what the heck, didn't have anything better to do.

Eased down into the draw and managed to get pretty darn close without being busted. Eased rifle up, got a better look at him and decided he was a young deer w/a small, but promising rack but the thought entered my mind that I might take him w/the .357 Ruger thumb buster. I was behind a large, thick bush and the deer was slowly heading in my direction when he disappeared in the thick brush. Had the pistol out, rotated cylinder to clear the snake shot in first two chambers, cocked the hammer and had gun at the ready when the buck suddenly re-appeared. He was less than 15' away, on the opposite side of the bush! He knew something wasn't right and was stretching his neck to look directly at me over the bush! I lowered the muzzle of the pistol, aimed between his eyes, then remembered what a nice young buck he was and that I did have the whole season in front of me. Smiled and said bang as I lowered the hammer and had a good laugh watchin him quickly melt into the brush. That satisfied my desire to hunt deer with a handgun.

Not the same buck, but very similar pose
View attachment 8136
Click to expand...
I have taken three deer with my Colt Anaconda 44 mag. It has the 8 inch barrel and balances beautifully. All three where taken with 240 grain hollow points and all at under 50 yards. My favorite was a medium sized 8 point back in PA in the pouring down rain. He was in a little swamp on my brother's property. The other two were does. I know a lot of guys who really love those Contenders. Every time I ever thought of buying one, something with a longer barrel catches my eye.
 
I've taken 2 deer with a Contender.
One was in a Christmas tree field behind my house, back when you could take a spike in PA. 14" .44 magnum @ 80 yards. He had a broken antler and a spike. The other deer was a doe at about 35 yards in Susquehanna County, with 14" 7-30 waters. Both shots prone from a rest.
Now there's houses where the tree farm was!!!
Lest we forget-those that gave their lives in Normandy!!! JUNE 6,1944
Semper Fidelis
Soup

"Down South 68-69"
 
I bought my Contender with a 45ACP barrel on it. I looked through Okla regs about hunting with the 45 barrel and its not a legal cartridge for deer here in the state. This really limited the use for this barrel. I have a friend that owns a reloading store and is also an avid Contender guy. He said he had the 357 Mag barrel he would trade me for the 45 ACP. I figured may as well, at least it would be legal to hunt with. After getting the 2x scope mounted, I loaded up 50 rounds of 158 XTP's and headed for the club. All the way out there I kept looking at the little short barreled Contender thinking why am I doing this to myself again? (Been down the Encore money pit once before) After shooting that tiny group I thought, (with a grin on my face) here we go again. LOL, I showed my friend the target, He said he had never shot it. Now he wants the barrel back.
 
Back
Top