How well can you shoot your Contender offhand ?

[ratgunner]

If under hunting conditions you would need to shoot without a rest,how accurate and at what range could you be sure of making the shot ?

[bkraft]

Personally, I WOULD NOT take the shot. I have passed shots before and will again. I can honestly say I have never regretted not pulling the trigger. But that's me

[josiah712]

I can shoot seven MOA offhand with an open sighted ten inch Contender, under field conditions.  About four and a half scoped.
 
Not much to brag about, but at least it's honest.

[Curtis]

I would shoot deer at 50 yards offhand with any of my 10" barrels, 75 yards with some.  Smaller game would need a rest.  I would NOT shoot any of my 14" barrels at any distance over 25 or so without at least a tree or something like kneeling using my knee to steady me.  I just can't hold the longer barrels out there.
 
I hunt deer with my 10" 357 Herrett mostly, but have hunted from a box stand (with a rest) with my 14" 7-30 Waters.  With a good rest and the right conditions, I would take a 150 yard or more shot with the Waters.  That is what I am comfortable with.
 
Curtis
 
P.S.  All of my hunting barrels are scoped.

[Junior1942]

50 yards offhand, iron and scope.  75 yards off the side of a tree, scope.

[Ladobe]

Folks put way too much emphasis on "how far" and "best".   An ethical hunter learns the skills to get as close as possible to game to increase the chances of making a good hit and clean kill, and doesn't take ANY shot ANY further than they are very confident that they can make on game. 
 
That said there are far too many variables involved for a pat answer IMO as one who shot Contender's ALOT for around 40 years, and other handguns ALOT for over 50 hunting most game species in NA, shooting formal IHMSA and CAS for many years, endless range work developing loads, target shooting at all ranges for practice, plinking, etc, and much of it at long range because much of the hunting in the west is long range.   Hunting confidence is earned by how well you develop your technique through constant practice in field positions, how well you've matched your load to the task, sighted in for BPR and know that handguns exact ballistics at all ranges with that load, how much experience you have hunting each species and your abilities to close the range gap on them before shooting, how well you can adapt to each set of circumstances and conditions you might encounter when hunting, and how well YOU are up to it on that day at that exact time all have a huge impact on what kind of results you can count on.   I considered myself an exceptional handgun hunter that on a good day could make any shot I was confident in, but I also could make a less than stellar shot if I didn't stay focused.
 
Some of the shooting classes in IHMSA are excellent practice for offhand hunting, and in time shots on medium to big game are a gimme at least to 200 yards offhand with open sights if the handgun being used can kill cleanly at that range.   And maybe contrary to what some folks believe, a scoped handgun shooting appropriate cartridges can be shot offhand very well to longer ranges if you have a lot of practice doing it with that firearm using that ammo.   I never took offhand shots I was not confident I could make on game, left some longer ones to only with a lean and the longest to only shooting off a solid rest.   Yeah, I made some amazing handgun kills at amazing ranges on big game and predators when the circumstances gave me the confidence I could get it done.   But I also passed up far more and instead tried to get closer before shooting out of respect for the game.    No ranges are given, they are not important and are always just accepted a brag anyway.   How far is an individual thing, what each individual has earned the ability to do consistently and ethically.
 
I've owned handguns I could only count on to 7 yards for CCW, and a truck load of others all the way up to target specialty handguns that could get it done to a 1000 yards off a solid rest unhurried IF I was also up to it.   Even so I limited my handgun hunting ranges to what I knew I could do consistently whether offhand, with a lean or off a solid rest.
 
FWIW-YMMV
 
 

[Hank08]

Ladobe is right, Silhouette has changed a lot now but I think they still have "standing offhand production" and the Contender is the gun to beat . You have 10 chickens at 55 yds. 10 pigs at 110 yds. 10 turkeys at 165 yds. and 10 sheep a 220 yds. you have 2 1/2 minutes for each 5 shots and the target has to be knocked down. I broke the world record in 1975 with a .44 Super Blackhawk. it was 27 and I shot a 29 (my 1st match) couple yrs. later it was 31 and I shoot a 32 with a Contender 7tcu then in 83 it was 34 or 35 and i shot a 36 then at an unsanctioned match I shot a 39, missing only 1 turkey (the hardest target) but that didn't count toward the record and the official record now is 38, I think. Once I took a neighbor, who thought he was quite the shooter.  He shot a .41 mag. after the 40 shots he had only hit one, it changed his thinking about shooting.  Most shooters use a spooter to tell them where they hit.  I never used one, didn't want anyone talking to me or breaking my concentration. you should know where the sights were when the gun fired and that's where the bullet went. I got a "do not disturb sign" in 6 languages and put it on the back of my hat.  Most folks can't maintain the needed concentration for the 40 shots. Try it. H08 Forgot to say this is with iron sights and with the Contender they have to be FACTORY iron sights.

[Ladobe]

Hawk,
It’s been about 10 years since I shot IHMSA.   I only shot handgun silhouette, not rifle.   At my last private gun club that held the sanctioned matches here back then we had an IMHSA ONLY range.   The regular gang were all good friends (but competitive) and we had some exceptional shooter’s, including a couple that also competed very well in regional and national matches.   We had big bore weekends and small bore weekends every month, and could use the range any other time for practice with a key to stand permanent practice targets up on the end of every rail.    Some of us also had keys to all the regular sillhouttes as well if we wanted to haul them out.    I didn't shoot in every class I liked every weekend, but usually did shoot several matches on any given day.   In big bore I shot the production, revolver, unlimited any sight standing and unlimited free style any sight classes; for small bore usually the same classes; in field pistol both production and any sights standing.   My thing was Big Bore though, especially with the biggest/baddest I could use without damaging targets.   My favorite big bore, a 375JDJ Contender was banned after one ram at 200, and when I showed up with my Encore 416 Rigby sometime later the match director banned it on sight.       At our club shoot-offs were commonly the smallest target set at the maximum range using 10 targets per shooter, and sometimes  it took 20 to declare a winner in the unlimited free style any sight classes.   I actually favored shooting standing for the unlimited free style classes after shooting Creedmore had become way too easy for me to alomost always get 40/40’s.   I did get razzed in jest about it though when everybody else was shooting Creedmore.    Sometimes I shot one handed standing (and was almost  as competitive) just to get back at them, also in jest.   We also had unlimited freestyle any sight big bore handgun fun matches once a month on an adjacent range shooting 6” pieces of 2X4 at 300, 400 & 500 yards.   If we needed a tie breaker either the 2X4’s turned on edge at 300 or at a permanent gong set at 600 yards.   I only used a spotter in my early IHMSA days as my main reason for shooting silhouette was to sharpen my shooting for hunting (which I almost always did alone).  So I agree with you on spotters, in time you know where you hit on every shot and don’t need the endless chatter to break your focus when “on the line”.     I saved chit chat for when targets were being reset or changing range stations during a match, or for before and after a match.
A TC Contender or Encore handgun set up right with the right cartridges are easily capable of excellent accuracy at amazing ranges if the trigger jockey is capable as well.   Maybe easier to say because i owned so many custom barrels and didn't rely on just factory fodder.   I also shot Remy XP-100’s, Wichita’s, Anschutz Exemplar’s and a couple of big bore full  custom specialty handguns for IMHSA unlimited free style any sight, but some of my Contender’s and Encore’s could out shoot them hands down Creedmore, off a bipod or bench, and easily offhand.

[Hank08]

Ratgunner, sorry, forgot to answer your original question but I believe I would take an off hand shot at 200 yds.with iron sights and I know I'll get flamed by those that aren't familar with long range shooting.  I've killed several Bucks between 150 and 200 with a Super Blackhawk with iron sights. At a match in Las Vegas, there were 2 targets, about 12 to 15" square. one was about 100 yds. the other at about 150 yds. we weren't told how far exactly. You were required to alternate, 100 yd.er then 150 yd.er then 100yd.er, etc for 5 shots then reload and do it again, shooting a single action revolver. you were timed and time was the tie breaker, this was offhand, iron sights, there were over 400 shooters, I was the only one to hit all 10.
Ladobe, I only shot the Big Bore Standing offhand production.  Most of the places I shot had targets of T2 steel that a full power .308, even at 50 meters, would not scratch them, hard stuff. I still have my XP and a whole flock of Contenders, haven't shot the XP in yrs. H08