Introducing the Denali® CONTENDER Chest Holster.
After a whole lot of asking, it's here: the Denali® CONTENDER Chest Holster — the first holster built from the ground up to carry a scoped Thompson/Center Contender, Encore, or CVA Scout hunting handgun comfortably, securely, and ready all day in the field.
If you hunt with a single-shot handgun, you already know the carry problem better than anybody. A Contender or Encore wearing a long barrel and a handgun scope doesn't fit a hip rig, rattles around loose in a pack, and is slow to get into action when the moment finally comes. For years there simply hasn't been a good answer. So we built one.
The First True Thompson/Center Contender Chest Holster
There are plenty of chest holsters out there for revolvers and semi-autos — we make some of the best ones going. But a scoped, long-barreled hunting handgun is a different animal, and almost nobody builds for it. The new Denali® CONTENDER chest holster changes that. It's purpose-engineered to carry a Thompson/Center Contender (both G1 and G2), the Thompson/Center Encore and Encore Pro Hunter pistol, and the CVA Scout pistol — the guns serious handgun hunters actually pack into the backcountry.
Built to Carry With the Scope Mounted
Here's the part most "solutions" get wrong: nearly everyone runs an optic on these guns, and then has to fight to carry it. The Denali® CONTENDER is cut to carry your handgun with a standard handgun scope mounted — no pulling the optic off, no re-zeroing before the hunt, no compromise. Your gun rides high and tight on your chest, up out of the brush and off your hips, and it's in your hands the instant you need it.
Same All-Day Comfort as the Original Denali
The CONTENDER is built on the very same platform as our flagship Denali® Chest Holster — the rig thousands of Alaskan guides, hunters, and outdoorsmen trust season after season. That means the same broad, comfortable harness you can wear from dark to dark without fatigue, the same rugged construction, and the same all-weather security. We kept everything you already love and re-shaped the holster body to cradle a long, scoped, single-shot handgun.
Two Sizes Cover Nearly Every Setup
We kept it simple with two sizes that, between them, fit just about every common configuration:
Not sure which size you need? Measure your barrel length and pick the size it falls within — and remember to account for your scope. If you're between sizes or running something unusual, give us a call at 907-205-4429 and we'll help you dial it in.
A 6-Round Reload Right on Your Shoulder
Built into the shoulder strap is an integrated 6-round ammunition reload, keeping spare cartridges secure, quiet, and within instant reach. Whether you're loaded with .44 Magnum, .35 Whelen, .45-70 Government, or anything in between, your follow-up rounds ride right there with you.
Works With Every Caliber You Can Run
Because the Denali® CONTENDER fits by barrel length and scope — not by caliber — it carries any chambering offered in these platforms. That spans everything from rimfires like .17 HMR and .22 LR all the way up to hard-hitting hunting cartridges: .223 Rem, .243 Win, 7mm-08, .270 Win, .30-30 Win, .308 Win, .30-06, .300 Blackout, .350 Legend, .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, .45 Colt/.410, .444 Marlin, .45-70 Government, and even the big .500 S&W Magnum. If your barrel fits the length, your caliber fits the holster.
Made in the USA. Backed for Life.
Every Denali® CONTENDER is cut, stitched, and assembled right here in the USA from the same premium materials and craftsmanship behind everything we make — then shipped straight from our shop in Alaska. And like the rest of our line, it's covered by our Lifetime Warranty. Buy it once, hunt with it for good.
The wait is over. It's time to carry that heavy hunting handgun the way it always should have been carried.