Encore in .454

[ledz]

here's a question....

i've searched for [and found] a lot of stuff on the 'net about the .454 Casull, and a lot of stuff about the Encore, but not much on the Encore in .454 Casull...

seeing how this seems to be a fairly busy T/C board, does anyone have any experience with this particular combination....?

how is accuracy?  read one thing from a guy that claimed it wouldn't "group" less than a foot at 50 yards, but i suspect maybe it was not the gun at fault?

recoil?  i suspect that at ~70 oz (w/o scope), it's going to be a tad tamer than revolvers of the same caliber?

also read that T/C chambers the .454 with a longer throat - does anyone have any thoughts about this?

thanks for any info that you might be able to share...

ledz

[hooligan]

if you are lookin for a 150 yard deer killer the 454 is a fine choice,dont get a tc barrel they tend to not do to well.ive seen custom barrels shoot 1.5 inch groups at a 100 yards.also best to get one with a muzzle brake on it.

[thomas]

Mine is a factory Encore in 12"
with 296 will shoot 1" groups at 100yards
use the heavier bullets as they seem to be more accurate.
recoil is NOT very bad the Encore is Heavy and handles it well.
tom

[Selmer]

I'll echo what Tom said, my factory .454 barrel is very accurate, well under an inch at 50 yds.  I'll be doing some accuracy testing with loads over the Easter weekend, I'll try to get some targets up.  The throat is very,very long, so long that trying to seat into the lands is impossible.  I use a factory crimp die and seat to just above the last lube groove, then give a god crimp there, it's not in the crimp groove, but with cast bullets and a Lee factory crimp die, it makes its own groove.  Recoil is stout with heavy bullets and heavy powder charges, but not unmanageable.  I'm a saxophone player by trade so I like to protect my hands, so I bought a set of Denzel Roberts grips and they cut the felt recoil down considerably.
Selmer

[ledz]

hey selmer - what's the difference between a sax and a trampoline?

...you take your shoes off to jump on a trampoline.

haha       just razzin ya.  i play trumpet myself.. have to respect anyone that can manage all those keys with both hands....


your and tom's claims about accuracy are reassuring - i was a little hesitant to go with a factory barrel, but at the moment, it's all i can afford.  would love to go custom, but simply can't pony up the extra money to do it.  so if your factory barrels can do that well at 50/100 yards, then i am sure i can do minute-of-deer with anything that i pick up.

another thing... what's the deal with the throat?  maybe it's a dumb question, but everything i have read says that the throat is REALLY long, longer than even the longest/heaviest bullets.   i know most mfgs do a long throat to accomodate all bullets, but it seems that T/C goes even longer than that?

thanks to all that have replied - you're most helpful - truly one of the best (the only?) T/C board that i have found.

ledz

[Selmer]

Hey ledz, how many trumpet players does it take to screw in a light bulb?  Five
One to do it and four to tell him how much better THEY would have done it, and faster, and louder, and higher....

Anyway, I tried to put a 370 gr. cast bullet just setting into the very end of my .454 case and touch the lands, no dice, didn't reach them, so I know the throat is very long, I haven't cast it yet, but I see no point if it will still shoot accurately for me.  Good luck with yours, let us know how it comes out.   If you want recipes for loads I'm doing quite a bit of testing with Unique and H110, mine really likes Unique for light loads.
Selmer

[ledz]

mine really likes Unique for light loads.

hahaha.  i've actually never heard that one in that exact form - good stuff  :-)

as for the unique, that's also good to hear - have a truckload of it for other stuff - 20 ga, .357, so will probably start there for lighter loads.

still have to finish the semester and get started with work for the summer, but hope to have everything bought by May-June....will definitely check back for any loadings that you might have by then.

thanks again!
ledz