How many bolt actions mounted in rock solid bedding systems are not capable of 1.5" 100 yard accuracy for 10 shot groups? Plenty! My old 30-06 Remington 700 BDL (1974) was capable of 1/2" 100 yard accuracy, but with throat wear, it opened up to 1.5" at 100 yards. My old 30-06 Ruger 77 Mk2 was a consistent 1.5" group gun. My 308 Win Browning Micro Medallion has been a consistent 1.5" gun until 20 years after purchase, when I finally found a load breaking the 1" barrier. I have seen many rifles that simply will not break the 2" barrier, consistently shooting 2.5" to 3", including a Ruger 77 308 Winchester and Marlin lever guns. Even with a rock solid structure of the Ruger No. 1 single shot has a reputation for variable frequently very poor accuracy- so much so that E A Brown Co. sells a forend tuning system for the Ruger No. 1.
For an off the shelf, break action rifle, interchangeable system to be as consistent as the Encore actually is- well I do find that pretty amazing. The barrel is not free floated. The tension on the forend screws change every time the barrel is replaced (unless you are using a torque driver). The hinge pin tends to move left and right and doesn't go back exactly the same every time you replace the barrel. Every barrel is different in the way it shoots. Considering all the variables, how can you not consider this an amazing system? What I find amazing is that these are not consistent 3" to 4" 100 yard guns. Instead, every now and then a cantankerous barrel shows up shooting 3" to 4", and T/C typically replaces these barrels.
I think that the Encore is a pretty great system, but I don't think that it will ever be capable of competing with a Tikka T3 in terms of pure accuracy. How many other out of the box sporting rifles are capable of consistent 0.5" to 0.75" accuracy with off the shelf ammo such as Remington Core Locks? Mine is so accurate, that there is little point in load tuning for it. If I were to find a 0.5" handload to equal the supposedly inaccurate Remington Core Locks, I would be delighted. In fact, my handloading experiments have produced accuracy in the 1" to 1.5" range and I have yet to equal what I get with Remington Core Locks. I don't think that I have the scope or the nerves to find the true accuracy potential of the Tikka T3.
Consider the fact that my Encore produces 1.5" to 2.5" groups while my Tikka T3 produces 0.5" to 1.5" groups, both with 5X scopes. That 1.5" common ground is a pretty good point of comparison for an interchangeable system versus a pure accuracy machine.
