I've been a Contender guy for nearly 20 years now. I love the thing for hunting. Killing a deer with an open sighted revolver is sort of a stunt, fun, done it, but the Contender gives me CONFIDENCE. The things shoot better than a lot of rifles off a rest. I've taken 5 deer now, longest was 90 yards, a shot I wouldn't attempt with an iron sighted revolver and would be on the edge of range for a scoped one. This thing is effective right out to 200 yards on paper, but you have to have a solid rest, of course, when shooting over 50 yards. Mine is chambered for .30-30 and I shoot 150 Nosler BTs in it over a near max charge of IMR3031. It's 3" high at 100, dead on at 200 and still packing just under 1000 ft lbs. It kills like a rifle, too, and Nosler BTs really work at the lower velocities I'm getting, 2100 fps MV. I have a 12" compensated hunter barrel on it and recoil is VERY light though the noise will wake the dead. Hunting in box blinds, I take my muffs. Learned that the hard way.
I originally didn't much care for contenders, didn't look like handguns to me. But, they're as compact as any long barreled revolver, lighter and more compact than X frames. They fit in shoulder holsters, something one of those XP100 type things won't do. Yes, Virginia, it IS a pistol! LOL They are very well built quality hunting guns and with a variety of barrels in the system, I hunt everything from squirrel to hogs and deer with it. I even got into IHMSA for a while with the 7mm TCU barrel and a set of dies. That one's a 10" bull barrel to qualify for stock gun in IHMSA and has a TC IHMSA rear sight on it. It'd make a good hunting barrel, too, and I've thought about scoping it, but the .30-30 does a great job at killin' deer. Why fix what ain't broke?
I also have a .45 Colt/.410 barrel which is way fun to play with if sorta useless and a .22LR 10" bull match barrel which out shoots most .22 rifles that I like to hunt squirrel with, though I got this new Ruger Mk2 with a scope I think I'll start using that's pretty accurate, accurate enough, though not AS accurate as the TC. It shoots 1" 50 yard groups off the bags and the TC shoots sub half inch 50 yard groups. But, 1" is good for squirrel.
My contender rides in an UMs shoulder rig. I've even walked in stores with it under my hunting coat CCW.
It's a LOT easier to carry than a rifle, yet just as accurate. I love it. I've given thought to a bandoleer holster for it, might do that sometime, but the UM's gets the job done.
BTW, regards to that 1.4" minimum case length thing, I just laid a .30-30 round on my multitool and it case length is slightly over 2". 7mm TCU looks like 1 5/8 or so inches. Seems STUPID to limit the case length. I'd go with the .45-70 barrel, probably, given those goofy rules, the 150 yard sledge hammer.
Fortunately, we don't have to put up with such in Texas, can even hunt with rifles here, amazing, eh?
