Henry Rifle Forums

Contenders and I go way back to the 80s where I used then for a short time in the silhouette game. Since, then, I've rarely been without a Contender and an array of different barrels to shoot. Last year, though, sold off out of my Contenders to finance other guns and, of course, missed them too much to resist when I found this one, earlier this month, with two 10" bull barrels, one in 357 and one in 44 mag.



The Contender frame is a 1979 vintage, making it a pre-easy open vintage, meaning it was a vintage just prior to TC making mods to the frame to make it easier to open the barrel on the gun. Do prefer the later easy open versions, but this one was pristine and I've been working with Contenders for so long there's nothing I can't fix, if need be, including work to the barrel locking bolt to make opening a bit easier.

I did get the original stocks with the frame, but when shooting 44 mags, the Pachmayr grips you see are a big plus for handling recoil with the 44 mag. Ugly? For sure, but they work. Keep in mind that recoil is a big factor when shooting big mags in a Contender. No cylinder gap and the longer barrels means more velocity for a given cartridge, compared to shooting the same cartridge in a revolver. More velocity, of course, translates into more recoil. Also, the original Contender grip and frame design is not especially recoil friendly, anyway.

These two barrels both wear an identical Ultradot 25 red dot, which I have come to trust on all my magnum guns. Have used UDs on MUCH nastier shooting magnums than the 44 mag on Contenders and Encores and have never had one fail.


This rig, with either barrel, will be used for offhand shooting almost exclusively. Much prefer the 10" bull barrel for this type of work. Unfortunately, winter pretty much shut me down before I could get much range time in with either barrel, but I was able to shoot them from a rest just enough to sight them in at 50 yards.

Accuracy with both barrels was EXACTLY what I expected, which is to say, excellent. The limiting factor, here, is really the red dot. Given the inch and half groups using the red dot you see, here, and my experience with this class of TC Contender barrels, I fully expect both barrels to shoot an inch or less with a scope. Not going that route, however, since these will be offhand shooters.

357 barrel shooting factory PMC bulk 158 grain JHPs.



44 mag barrel shooting with factory Mag-tech 240 JSPs.



Note that this accuracy was obtained with bulk factory stuff, not premium ammo or fancy reloads. Yes, I could tuck those groups in with better ammo, but, again, this rig will be purely a range gun for offhand fun and, yeah, a bit of a trip down memory lane. We'll see how close I can get to these groups from an offhand position - when the weathers warms up, that is.

Sure hope warmer weather is on its way so we can see another range report. When you shoot offhand do you use one or two hands?

That is very impressive shooting, NCG, and your 'new' Contender looks like a work of art!

Thanks, guys.

With a Contender or Encore, offhand, a two hand hold is almost a must given the weight and balance of these things with a 10" bull barrel, all the more so when you go wit a 12" or 14". Now, with the original Contenders with the slim, light octagonal barrels, the Contender is very shootable with one hand. Rigging a Contender that way is very reminiscent of shooting an old dueling gun. Turns the Contender into a completely different gun. The one caveat, though, when shooting these trim little octagonal barrels is to avoid 44 mags and 30-30s and such like the plague. The recoil of these chambering in those light barrels is pretty horrific.

This has been an education for me, NCG. Thanks. You've kicked the forum up a notch and for me, that's a long way up! Glad you're here.

very interesting indeed .... I've never held or fired a Contender, thanks for relating the shooting characteristics

You are all very welcome, folks. Glad you enjoyed this.

One of the reasons I did post this is the fact that Contenders and Encore pistols are slowly fading away in the shooting world and have been for some time. A lot of shooters, especially younger shooters, will probably never shoot one, so thought it might be nice to do a post on the Contender. The Contender and other specialty pistols were hot back in the 70s with the rise in popularity of handgun hunting followed by the advent of silhouette shooting. Both handgun activities are nowhere near as popular as they once were, pretty much small niches in the shooting world, these days. Shame, really, because they truly are amazing handguns, but times change, especially the handgun segment of the shooting world. Not much interest left in single shot pistols.

Thanks for the fun reading information. I've followed your TC shooting for a few years and am amazed at what you can do with them.

You've done it again, amazed me with you skill and knowledge.
As well as once again proven that you are "The Gun Whisperer".
These really cool firearms just seem to be drawn to you.

Nice review NCG, never had the pleasure.
I do know TC was one of the few manufacturers to make handguns in Super Mag calibers, designed for Dan Wesson Arms by Elgin T Gates.
357 Maximum and 445 SM were developed mainly for IHMSA shooting and had the extra punch needed to knock down silhouette targets at 200 yards.
For single shot pistols, there's probably none better than TC !!