New barrel for this season

[Gdbyrd]

Last year I used a SRH in 44mag since I couldn't get the cash together for a new barrel.

Now I have the money.  I do not reload, and for now need a readily available caliber.  I'm hunting deer in deep S. Tx.  They are not the biggest animals but the brush is no fun to track in.

I'm looking for a longer reach caliber over the .44. 

Please, don't suggest the 7-30!  You guys torture me with that caliber, lol..I just don't have it locally.  I need something readily available, stuff like 30-30, 30-06, 308, 243, etc.  I plan on practicing a lot with it so I don't want to have to order ammunition.  I own a 460, but ammo is hard to find here and really expensive.

Thanks guys.  How was your season last year?  I didn't even see a damn thing!  But thankfully I got a lot of play time in with the 44.  I'm on a new lease this year and it looks great, so I'm really excited about it.

[I make oil]

14'' 30-30 Win.  Ammo cheap and plentiful very good round and Great in a Contender.

[Dezynco]

+1 for the 14" 30-30 in a Contender.  One of the best barrels ever made for the Contender!  Ammo is cheap and easy to come by, plus they are amazingly accurate!  Mine will outshoot most of my rifles @100 yards!  On a good sandbag rest, and if I do my part, I can get consistent little 1/2" groups with 150 grain bullets!

[Gdbyrd]

I should mention this is for an Encore, completely forgot.  I own a contender as well, but have wanted to use my Encore for awhile as it was a gift.

Looking around, I can't seem to find a 30-30 barrel.  Everywhere says out of stock.  Is it not a commonly made barrel for that frame? 

[shot1]

For an Encore I would go with the 308 Winchester and most any soft point 150 gr bullet for deer. It does not have much more if any recoil than the 44 mag and it will reach out there to 200 yards and tag a deer easy without any hold over with a 1 1/2 inch high 100 yards zero.
If some bullet maker would load the 125 gr Nosler ballistic tip with 46 grs of IMR 4895 and sale it they could make a mint once people tried it on deer. It is deadly, bang flop.

If you don't want to have to track a deer shoot it through the front shoulders about 2/3 up from the belly line.

[luckydawg13]

your 460 is this in encore barrel if so skip the new barrel and reload for it love my 454 barrel 460 better yet if i could redo 460 all the way

[TommyD]

I would also recommend the 308 Win barrel for the encore.
Lots of commercial ammo with a variety of bullet types.
Flat trajectory. I have mine zeroed at 160 yards. An inch high at 100 and 2 inches low at 200 with my handloads.

It is more accurate than I can hold it. I can consistently keep my groups within a 3 inch circle at 160 yards, but I admit that the crosshairs of my scope are jiggling all around that 3 inch circle. I just can't seem to hold it quite as steady as a bolt action rifle. :-)) But it is still "minute of deer" at 200 yards.

For those who are stuck in a Condor area, it shoots the copper Barnes triple shocks (168grain) well. Unfortunately, mine doesn't shoot the Remington Core-Lokt bullets well. Too bad, as the Remington components are relatively inexpensive. But I suppose you get what you pay for.

Recoil is not bad at all. The heavy pistol absorbs it well with the rubber grips and my perception of the recoil (albeit subjective) is that it kicks less than my Blackhawk with heavy .45 Colt loads.

If they don't open up my hunting area for rifle this season, I will be using the encore 308. Then again, the family has 3 doe permits, so after I get the first deer with rifle I may use the encore for more meat in the freezer. Only got one deer last year and we ran out of venison in late May or June.

Last year used a muzzleloader. At 140 yards dropped a nice deer on the spot. There was a group of 4 others with her and the just stood around wondering why she suddenly collapsed. If I had the Encore at the time I would have really filled my freezer right then. But the muzzleloader is far slower to reload than even a single shot pistol, and by the time I got it recharged, the deer had dispersed. Oh, well.

[shot1]

I just found out than Nosler custom ammo is loading the 125 ballistic tip in their 308 win ammo. It is around $50.00 a box though. This is a deer hammering bullet.