Author Topic: Encore for my daughter. (Read 611 times)

Wild Man · « **on:** December 01, 2005, 05:07:04 AM »

Hellow everone,
I have been reading post on this sight for a couple of weeks now and thought I would register and become a member. First of all I would like to extend a big Well Done to all of the members and moderators for having on heck of a good site. This site is imformitave, well layed out, and the members all seem to be top notch, and willing to share information with each other without hesitation.

Now for my question. My 10 year old daughter shot her first deer this year, a doe at 120 yrds. She made a great shot and droped her in her tracks. The next day she shot a sow pig that weighed in a 180 lbs. She was shooting my grandfathers Rem. 742 in .243. She said that she wanted her own gun. I told her that if she made the honer roll at school that I would buy her a gun. Well she made the honer roll and now I have to keep up with my end of the bargin. I was thinking about a TC Encore in .243. This way as she grew and got bigger we could up grade to a larger cal. 7mm-08 probably. What are your oppinions about the Encore as a youth gun?

Wes

PA-Joe · « **Reply #1 on:** December 01, 2005, 05:19:01 AM »

You should look at a H&R Handi Rifle or a Rem Model 7. The Encore is very heavy. 7mm08 is a good starter and doesn't have that much more recoil then the 243. Savage also makes a nice youth model with 20 inch barrel.

southern utah · « **Reply #2 on:** December 01, 2005, 06:16:08 AM »

I have a H&R Ultra the is heaver than my Encore. I have gone to stainless with composite Encores. This is lighter than the same with wood stocks. A barrel 16 1/4" to 18" would make it even lighter.

Wild Man · « **Reply #3 on:** December 01, 2005, 06:42:50 AM »

I have considered Savage, Rem mod 7, and Win mod 70 youth. All are great guns but I like the flexability of the Encore being able to change out the barrels to different cal. I was worried about the exposed hammer and the issue of a child having to let the hammer down to disengage it if it were pulled back and there was not a shot taken. I worry about my daughter having the strength to release the hammer without dropping it and having the gun go off. If I don't go with the Encore I would next chose the mod 7.

Redhawk1 · « **Reply #4 on:** December 01, 2005, 07:04:29 AM »

I think the Encore is a great setup. The good thing is, if she decides to go muzzleloader hunting or even shot gunning, all she would need is different barrels. Just my opinion though.

And welcome to Graybeard. :-D

armory414 · « **Reply #5 on:** December 01, 2005, 09:02:15 AM »

Releasing the hammer is an issue for adults as well as children. Cold fingers, a little rain on the hammer, or bulky gloves can contribute to an accidental fire for anyone. Safe gun handling, for a youngster or adult, is the important thing here. My first hunting experiences were with single shot shotguns with exposed hammers.

Redhawk1 · « **Reply #6 on:** December 01, 2005, 09:16:18 AM »

Quote from: armory414

Releasing the hammer is an issue for adults as well as children. Cold fingers, a little rain on the hammer, or bulky gloves can contribute to an accidental fire for anyone. Safe gun handling, for a youngster or adult, is the important thing here. My first hunting experiences were with single shot shotguns with exposed hammers.

The hammer should not be cocked until ready to shoot.

poncaguy · « **Reply #7 on:** December 01, 2005, 09:35:10 AM »

Encore would be just great............I have a SS Synthetic 7-08, handles and shoots great, my 204 barrel even better. 7-08 wasn't too accurate at first, but the more I shot it, the better it became.

Gitzit · « **Reply #8 on:** December 01, 2005, 09:44:13 AM »

The Encore is a great choice for all the reasons you've already stated. I just purchased a G2 rifle for my 11 year old in 6.8 Rem and we love it. If weight is an issue the G2 will be about 1 pound lighter than the Encore. With a standard barrel and synthetic stock the Encore is not too heavy IMHO. I actually view the exposed hammer as a big plus when training younger hunters as a quick glance at the hammer position tells me if the gun is safe or not. With the bolt guns I must continually ask the young hunter, "is your rifle on safe"? With a little practice on an unloaded gun before going to the field the young hunter can easily be taught to safely lower the hammer. But as Redhawk1 has already stated the only time the hammer should be cocked is when you are ready to fire.

armory414 · « **Reply #9 on:** December 01, 2005, 10:16:55 AM »

Redhawk1,

No, the hammer should not be cocked until ready to shoot. But the hammer can slip while cocking, and, I have had hunting situations where I've cocked the hammer and the situation changed and the opportunity to shoot was lost, or at least delayed long enough that I did not want to keep the gun cocked.

iiibbb · « **Reply #10 on:** December 01, 2005, 11:40:14 AM »

I'm going to go home and check this... but doesn't the hammer block prevent discharge until the rifle is cocked?

Decocking I suppose it could slip... but there are plenty of scenarios where a kid can accidentally fire just about any gun.

----------------------------
Wildman.... If you get the Encore... note that the synthetic stock has a shorter length of pull than the walnut stocks.

Redhawk1 · « **Reply #11 on:** December 01, 2005, 03:52:37 PM »

Quote from: armory414

Redhawk1,

No, the hammer should not be cocked until ready to shoot. But the hammer can slip while cocking, and, I have had hunting situations where I've cocked the hammer and the situation changed and the opportunity to shoot was lost, or at least delayed long enough that I did not want to keep the gun cocked.

On the Encore the trigger would have to be pressed to make it fire when cocking. If it slipped during cocking and your finder was not pulling the trigger the safety bar prevents that. Second thing, an adult is usually with the child to help prevent accidents. But it is not a perfect world and stuff can happen.

Wild Man · « **Reply #12 on:** December 02, 2005, 03:43:32 AM »

I agree with you Redhawk that the only time you should ever take a gun off of safety (cock the hammer) is when you are ready to take a shot. But as stated by others there are situations which could occur that would not allow for a shot so the hammer would have to be released. I know form experiance that it is possiable for a hammer to slip off of a cold finger and the gun fire. I was on a hog hunt in Dec. using a Win. 94 30-30 and I had it happen to me. I loaded a round in the chamber and when I went to let the hammer down to the safe position to get ready for the hunt the hammer slipped off of my thumb and the gun fired. Fortuniately no one was injured, but these things happen. I am confident in my daughter's ability to handle bolt action rifles in a safe manner, but I also feel that a single shot with exposed hammer is a safer system than a bolt gun. Just my .02.

iiibbb · « **Reply #13 on:** December 03, 2005, 02:29:03 PM »

When you decock, if you take your finger off the trigger before lowering the hammer manually... the safty block should prevent discharge. Hammer won't hit the pin if you take your finger off the trigger while lowering it.

Gitzit · « **Reply #14 on:** December 04, 2005, 10:33:23 AM »

It is impossible for the Encore or G2 to fire if the hammer slips while cocking or decocking. The hammer block safety on both require the trigger to be pressed to fire. The proper decocking procedure is to pull the hammer back ever so slightly with the thumb, pull the trigger to release the hammer, remove the finger from the trigger and lower the hammer with the thumb. Even if the hammer should slip from the thumb as long as the trigger is not depressed the gun cannot fire because of the hammer block safety. The safety mechanism in the Encore and G2 is very different from the Win 94.

Redhawk1 · « **Reply #15 on:** December 04, 2005, 02:00:40 PM »

Quote from: Gitzit

It is impossible for the Encore or G2 to fire if the hammer slips while cocking or decocking. The hammer block safety on both require the trigger to be pressed to fire. The proper decocking procedure is to pull the hammer back ever so slightly with the thumb, pull the trigger to release the hammer, remove the finger from the trigger and lower the hammer with the thumb. Even if the hammer should slip from the thumb as long as the trigger is not depressed the gun cannot fire because of the hammer block safety. The safety mechanism in the Encore and G2 is very different from the Win 94.

Good explanation.

Thanks

Wild Man · « **Reply #16 on:** December 05, 2005, 06:54:38 AM »

Thanks for all of your input. I guess it will come down to what she likes. When I asked her why she did not like the Rem 742 that she had been shooting she said that it was too heavy. So if weight is the deciding factor for her we may go with a bolt gun over the TC. When we go shopping I will let her hold several makes and models and let her decide which one she likes. Again thanks to all for your help. I will let you all know what we get.