Author Topic: Advise For A New Guy (Read 592 times)

Drifter_56 · « **on:** January 04, 2005, 06:45:48 PM »

Hello everyone! I can't tell you how glad I am about being here. I've been "lurking" for sometime now and have decided it's time to get active.
I'm getting ready to purchase my first TC. I'm going to get a .50cal Black Powder Encore for BP season here in NC. I also want to get set-up with an Encore pistol to hunt deer with. This is where I really need your guidance. I've been thinking about a .45 cal Long Colt, only because I have access to all of the reloading equiptment I might need for that cal. and I've heard it wasn't a bad round to shoot. How would it be for white tail? What range can I expect to hunt with it? What bbl. length should I get? 12", 14"? How is the recoil? Any suggestions on optics for both? Last of all, I've read on the forum about "Hunter BBLs./Packages" What are these?
I know I'm rambling, sorry.
Thank you for any and all advice you might have!

buckenbass · « **Reply #1 on:** January 04, 2005, 07:21:59 PM »

welcome Drifter_56 glad to have you with us..

first if you buy the encore as a rifle I belive you not suppose to convert it to a pistol.. but a pistol to a rifle is ok...

second if you are considering a 45 in a encore you will do good to get a 454casull and load down.and recoil will be what ever you make it (kick the hell out of you if you want it to) .for white tail great up to 100yards (and this depends alot on you) and I like using t/c optics on my guns I hunt with..

hope this is a start..

flatlander · « **Reply #2 on:** January 05, 2005, 03:07:43 AM »

I guess the first thing we need to know is what kind of ranges are you likely going to be shooting your deer at and what kind of regulations are you under? If you need more range and if it is legal where you hunt, your encore pistol might be better with a smaller rifle caliber than a larger pistol caliber. I know a lot of the guys like 7-08 and I would think a 6.5x55 or 257 Roberts might be light on recoil as well. Plus you wouldn't have to reload necessarily. But if you don't need over 100 yards, your 45 LC would be fine. The only problem you might have is that the 45 comes as 45/410 from TC, and I don't know how accurate those barrels are. Someone will probably be able to give you some more specific info there.
The hunter barrels were something that the contenders used to be offered in. It is just a barrel with a brake at the end. I bought my contender as a hunter package and it had the frame, hunter barrel, tc scope, soft case and sling. It is a pretty good setup. The only thing I've done is change the TC scope to a Leupold EER because I didn't like the TC eye relief. I don't think that they are offering hunter packages anymore. You can get the muzzle tamer brake for contenders or encores from the custom shop, though, if you think you need it.

miller64 · « **Reply #3 on:** January 05, 2005, 04:09:37 AM »

I have a 12" 45 Colt Custom shop Contender Barrel that i picked up from ED's Contenders.
I mounted a red dot on it because I plan it it being a 100 yard setup.
With a fairly mild load I can shoot 1.5" groups at 50 yards, I can hit pop cans at 100 yards.
I bought some of the PMC 300 gr P+P to try but haven't got to them yet.
I think it makes a great setup for deer or hogs.
Of course I think 45 Colt is great, that is why i own two Smiths and a Ruger too.
Good shooting Kris

Drifter_56 · « **Reply #4 on:** January 05, 2005, 07:34:22 PM »

Thanks for the input. It's giving me allot to think over. I'll probably be looking at 100 yrd. shots, and would like to get out to 200 yrds. (in time and with practice). From what I've read,the law here requires a min. of a 6" bbl. with no real restrictions on caliber (.357 and up). I have seen allot of comments on the 7-08. How is it as a pistol load?? I might be asking too much out of a round, but I would like to be able to spend a good amount of time on the range with out "beating" myself up too bad... Which would be better a 12" or a 14" bbl.? Is there any real advantage in the longer barrel? I don't know anything about the 6.5x55 or the 257 Roberts. How easy are these to reload (7-08 included)? In your opinion which would provide more knock down power? Deer season is over so there'll be lots of time to develop loads and practice. With these calibers how far out will be able to shoot (targets too)? I know I'll end up with a .22lr before long just for fun.
I guess I'm just wanting to do this right the first time. I know with the help here I can.
Thanks again.

nfmMike · « **Reply #5 on:** January 06, 2005, 02:23:38 AM »

One T/C newbie to another:

If you like the .45 caliber so much, and have the access to reloading for it, as mentioned above, you may want to consider the .454. Most of the disadvantage to the .45 Colt/410 barrel (as I see it) is the amount of freebore because of the 410 chambering. I think, and I am by no means a qualified expert, that accuracy would be better out of a single caliber/cartridge barrel. And "cowboy" level loads are a hoot to practice with, that I know!

I recently got a Contender with four barrels, two of them I took right out for pistol familiarization - .44 Mag and .222 Rem. Shooting the .44 Mag with factory ammunition was entirely too hard to start out with, and I could not even think of developing a good hold. It was just to much out of a 10" Octagon barrel (fairly light). The .222 Rem was also a 10" Oct, but easier to control and didn't beat me up so much.

After going back to the computer and doing a slew of reading, I decided to follow the practice of getting a barrel I can shoot and have fun with, firstly to develope good shooting practices with the pistol, secondly to get totaly familiar and comfortable with it, lastly, be successful hitting the target where I want to.

I traded off the .222 Rem and a .357 Herret barrel, and got a 12" .22 Hornet bull barrel and a forend, and alot of advice and instruction on the disassembly and inner workings of the pistol. The Hornet is a cartridge I know I will be able to control, developing the familiarity I want, and be useful as a small game/varmint caliber. My aim is too work up to a 7-30 Waters for this pistol for hunting of all sorts.

Check out this article http://www.handgunhunt.com/feature/s30/index.html, and then take a look at the others on this site, I found the information there made entirely TOO MUCH sense!

Good luck!

flatlander · « **Reply #6 on:** January 06, 2005, 02:33:00 AM »

With what you are wanting, I would suggest that you also look into a contender or G2 for your pistol. If you are going to reload, and are looking for 200 yard range with low recoil and a 22 barrel, the contender/G2 might be a good option. A 7-30 Waters reloaded with spirepoints can meet all of your criteria fairly easily. The contender/G2 is a bit easier to convert to rimfire rounds (the encore takes an adapter or a custom barrel). My 7-30 hunter barrel is one of the most pleasant shooting guns I have and is accurate and easy to reload. The hunter brake is a little noisy, and can't be shot without hearing protection, even in the field, so you might opt for a std barrel or electronic muffs. I love mine and wouldn't trade it for any other barrel out there, even from a high dollar custom shop. I'm sure there are other contender calibers that would work just as well such as the 30-30AI. Also, I've been hearing a lot more stories about the encores being finicky and difficult to get dialed in and tuned to shoot good tight groups. You just don't hear as many stories about the Contenders/G2s having the same problems. Not to change your mind, but just putting some more options on the table.
If you go with the encore, they come in 12 or 15" barrels, and I would probably say stick with the 15" to get the most out of the rifle rounds that you are looking at. Plus the extra mass will help a little on your felt recoil IMO. I don't think any of the rounds you are looking at will be tough to load. They will kick more than the 7-30, but you can get an encore chambered in 7-30 from a custom shop. The other guys will have to give you effective ranges on the other rounds, but I would think that they are capable past the 200 yard mark that you want to shoot at.