Welcome aboard! What Mac said!! I have a bunch of NEF/H&Rs, over 30 to be exact. I also recently aquired a used Encore frame and built a Prohunter around it, haven't shot it yet, but I find a lot of the same issues with it that are found on the Handis/Ultras.
Most current production triggers on H&Rs for the last year or so have been reported as very good out of the box, for older models that wasn't true for the most part, but H&R has always done free trigger jobs on those rifles if requested, usually when a frame is sent in for an additional barrel, they make it a 3-4lb, smooth and crisp pull, right now, that's how they come from all reports, seems they might have figured out that it was more cost effective to produce them with decent, but safe triggers out of the box instead of doing it for free later.
My Encore frame had a 7lb-2oz trigger, so it wasn't as good as current production H&Rs and a trigger job by a gunsmith will cost $40 to $90 for the Encore, although it can be done at home if you are the DIY type just as an H&R can be done, H&R trigger instructions are in the FAQ. From research on Encore triggers here and on the net, 6-7lbs out of the box is pretty typical, and there is no adjustable trigger on the Encore as there is on the Contrender, but there is an overtravel adjustment in the trigger guard..
There are several other issues that are similar that I won't get into right now as I haven't shot mine yet, and don't feel I can offer opinions on accuracy as of yet, but do an internet search on failures to fire, the Encore forum alone here will yeild a fair amount of info on that subject. There's also several threads on unhappy TC Customer and poor accuracy.
You can also read a very good article at
www.6mmbr.com on the Encore, just type Encore in their search box.
In my opinion
so far in making a comparison of the 2, being able to buy additional barrels is one of the fortes of the Encore, but that has a price to it considering a blued Encore will cost well over $500 compared to less than half that for a Handi or Ultra, so far I wouldn't do it again, but that's just me.
There's a thread in the single shot forum that's got a lot of good posts in it from both sides of the fence with many from owners of both, be sure to check it out.
Tim
