Very confused about getting my first Encore pistol

[CBM]

I have been a bowhunter for a long time ............but picked the rifle back up and it was fun.........so now I am looking into a hunting pistol ! Getting this pistol ordered is about to drive me nuts ........however!!

Basically -I want a good deer/hog caliber Encore pistol. I will put a scope on it . And I will probably shoot less than 150 yrds(most between 50-100 for my stands) .I don't reload or have any plans to anytime soon. I would prefer a lot of knock down power and don't mind dealing with "some" recoil to get it !! 

Stuff I am not sure about :

Negatives I have picked up on...........evidently a lot of guys get barrels from TC that don't group well (true/not so true ??)

The .460 S&W is not all that accurate with factory ammo out of a Encore pistol (true/not so true?? ).

What is the difference between a regular Encore and a Pro hunter Encore ? I got a quote on a regular blued/sythetic pistol @ $569. I have seen "frames only" in stainless/sythetic from $275-$289 various places on the internet. But one local store wants over $400 for a stainless/sythetic frame only "Pro hunter" + $350 for a fluted pro hunter barrel !!

[kennisondan]

pro hunter is the same product except for cosmetics.. interchangeable and not where I would spend my money.
I have a 308 it is plenty accurate for 150 yards and more, easily and has a good measure of knock down power.
I have a 460 nnot shot yet, but understand that some of the older guns did not like factory loads... I bought some of the factory fast loads and cannot wait to try them...
I have a 358 that has more knockdown than the 308 larger and heavier bullets are the norm... I do not think the 308 would be too little gun for a hog or a deer... you can shoot fairly heavy bullets in it for elk so it should suffice.
it is very accurate.
dk

[Harp98]

I have the regular stainless encore pistol in 7mm08 and it is enjoyable to shoot and potent medicine on hogs, I am going to try deer real soon.

I have seen Pro Hunter encore pistols for sale around here in the $600-650 range.


Harp

[tn_junk]

I have both a .243 and a .270 15" Encore barrel. The .243 is really sweet to shoot, haven't tried the .270 yet. I have shot both .308 and 45/70 15" barrels and they weren't too bad.
I just bought a blued/wood pistol frame for $299.95 plus tax here locally.

alan

[GRIMJIM]

The only encore pistol barrel I have is a 14" 30-30, shoots great and not as much recoil as I was expecting.

[southern utah]

I second the 308. I shoot a Virgin Valley 16 1/4" Encore with composite stocks. Forearm is for a rifle.

[CBM]

Thanks.............I am leaning toward the .308 pretty hard ......but that .460 just keeps biting at me !! 

[daveb]

Get 'em both!

More seriously, you should plan ahead for your next three barrels before you buy your first.
I have four barrels so far, and might have stopped buying them for a while.  Since you want
something for deer and pigs, and since I suspect you'll want something reaching out to 200'
someday, I'd plan for either a 308/7-08 that is a great do it all caliber for factory loads.  Then
I'd think about a barrel like a 223 that uses cheap ammo.  Finally for something bigger like either
a short range thumper (454/460 ...) or something big in a rifle caliber if you want to hunt big
stuff at longer ranges.

My 15" barrels start at a 223, then a 7-08, then a 338 Win Mag.  The 223 is for the range and
for coyotes, the 7-08 is for deer and lions, the 338 is for elk, moose, bears, and Africa.

Have a great time with the Encore pistol.  I know you'll be hooked.

Dave

[poncaguy]

I have the stainless Encore with 7-06 and 460 barrels. Accuracy is very good with both...........1"----1 1/2" at 100 yards. Much prefer the 7-08, recoil is good, the 460 is wicked!! I usually shoot 454 Casulls or 45 Colts in it .........

[CBM]

Well I ran up on a Match Grade Machine 12" .460 barrel...........so I ordered it !! Now I have have to get the frame ordered.

Is it hard to get a blued/sythetic frame ?? I have been looking into what is available through local dealers and so far it seems like blued/walnut or stainless/synthetic .

And I want a really good set of rings/mounts .............any thoughts on Leupold's for this caliber............or the TC 3 ring set up vs the TSOB 3 ring set up ??

I do want a 125-200 yrd shot to be a possibility(caliber capable of it).............but most of my shots will probably just fall into the 50-100 yrd range !!!

Yeh............I am super excited about getting this pistol going !!!!!!!!!!!

[poncaguy]

Good luck! I would (and did) have went with the 15" barrel. I plan on having a muzzle brake put on mine........

[Grumulkin]

The .460 S&W is not all that accurate with factory ammo out of a Encore pistol (true/not so true?? ).

I've never shot factory ammo in mine.  I had to work about the hardest to get my 460 S&W Mag. to shoot well compared to any other hand loading project I've tried.  I finally got excellent accuracy with a load I cooked up with 2400 and Hornady 250 gr. SST muzzle loader bullets.

After suffering through a couple of broken scopes, scopes slipping in the rings and a loosening base, I had SSK Industries install a 4 ring T'SOB base and a Leupold 2.5-8X scope.  I've had no more problems with it.

[irold]

Good Luck....as has already been said...the 460 is wicked in a closed breach !  I had mine shortened to 12 inches with a muzzle tamer added....helped, but the concussion still blows the snow off the roof of the shooting bench....target practice quits being fun after 40 or 50 rounds.   The 45 colt or 454 sounds like a good idea....not sure what  the others found, but with mine there's a 6-8 inch  difference in POI when sighted in with the 460....its too painful to keep shooting to readjusting the scope.   As always this is OMO !   



 

[tn_junk]

I shot my .460 Carbine for the first time this weekend. Glad I decided to go rifle instead of pistol.
Don't know about accuracy yet. Looked pretty decent with a starting load of H110 and 300 grain bullets. Gun shoots at least as good as I do.

alan

[Rog]

Stuff I am not sure about :

Negatives I have picked up on...........evidently a lot of guys get barrels from TC that don't group well (true/not so true ??)

I have owned several T/C brand barrels - over 10 barrels in fact.  None have ever given me a problem.  In fact, all of them have been very accurate with the right load. 

My T/C Custom Shop barrels have been really good.

Regards,

Rog

[Keith L]

It would be nice to say that they were trouble free, but like any human enterprise there are problems from time to time.  Lately I seem to hear more Encore problems than Contender problems, and more pistol than rifle.  It may be because there are more Encores sold now (I assume, I don't know for sure), or that the larger calibers are more likely to show problems.  And it may be that rifle shooters are more likely to expect precision than pistol shooters.

TC is not the only gun manufacturer that has occasional quality problems.  My last Winchester 94AE was so poorly made I was one grateful guy when the market for them took off a couple years ago and I got my money out of it.  And ten years ago or so I bought a brand new Remington 700BDL that the chamber was so rough that once fired the empty had to be pried out.  Remington stood behind the gun and replaced it.  TC has also taken care of the hand full of problems I have had with them over the years.  I hope that continues.

There are lots of happy shooters with their factory Encores, many of them we never hear from.  If you have problems then TC will take care of it based on past experience.  I would not be concerned about spending my money on one.  I currently have 11 factory Contender barrels, and a couple custom ones.  And I have 7 TC muzzleloaders of different styles and sizes.  And I am likely to have more before I am through.

[CBM]

Thanks for all the info. fella's !!

I whimped out on the .460 (as far as my first ercore barrel) .

So I have ended up with a blued encore frame, blued pro hunter .308 barrel , pachmayr grip/forend, Stratton base, 3 Burris Zee medium rings, Bushnell 2x6 3200 FF , Stratton hammer extension , and I will get the trigger worked down to the 2# range !!

I hope this gives me a bearable recoiling ........good deer and hog caliber pistol !!

I got a box of Federal power shock 150's and a box of Winchester Silvertip 150's to start off with !! Hope it all comes together fairly easy !!

[Keith L]

Shoot it before the trigger work.  You may not need it.  I have never had to do a trigger job on any of my Contenders.  I take any new (to me) gun appart and clean it completly.  When apart I deburr all the parts and clean up any rough edges.  That is all I have had to do to get triggers in the 2-3 pound range and crisp breaking on Contenders.  I know others that have need more.

It is always surprising to me the amount of junk (filings, chips, etc.) I wash out of any new gun.

[youthpastorjon]

I would just go with a 15 inch, ported 30-06 barrel.  It is a heck of a cartridge and reasonable to shoot since you aren't planning on reloading.

[dakotashooter2]

I have a 308 and it seems to get things done though I got the 308 to replace a contender in 35 rem and it was probably one of the poorer decisions I have made. That particular 35 rem barrel would shoot 3/4" groups all day with just about anything I fed it and put down everything I hit with it.. My 308 barrel is a finicky beast. Unfortunately 35 rem ammo is getting harder to find and I have not seen a "factory" barrel in 35 rem. for the encore. But for your range the 30-30 or 7-08 would get the job done.

[LeeH]

CBM.

I have experience with the Encore pistol in two caliibers, the .30-30 Winchester and .480 Ruger. 

From the bench, with a scope...the .30-30 I am able to get sub MAO groups at 200 yds, and the .480 1 1/4" at 100 yds.  The .30-30 has the T/C factory brake, keeps the recoil way down, but the noise way up.  The .480 is an unbraked barrel, and there is no question at all as to when the round goes off!  Actually the recoil is not that bad, but no shooting with "soft hands".

I've not used the .30-30 on game, but dropped a small buck with one shot at 75 yds this fall with the .480.  No complaints at all.

The .30-30 is a Custom Shop barrel, and the .480 straight from the factory.

I have nothing but good to say about T/C products and services.  My experience, others may differ.

[skarke]

CBM,

As you can see, there are many opinions on this subject.  A couple of recommendations, if you please.

1.  Wear ear protection and get the hand cannons braked if you want any sort of remotely comfortable shooting experience, being new to the Encore in heavy recoiling calibers
2.  Consider as a second barrel a .223, or something like it.  They can be shot all day into really small groups, and are a joy to practice with.  I don't know too many who can shoot a 308 more than a few times before beginning to flinch, a really bad habit for pistol shooting.
3.  Did I say ear protection?

Have fun, these things are a blast, no pun intended.

[skarke]

By the way, a 7x30 waters blows huge holes in whitetails and pigs, and doesn't kick much.  I love mine, and it drives tacks (stock super 14)