Author Topic: New to forum and have a question! (Read 1166 times)

patrick.hover · « **on:** October 09, 2005, 06:48:51 AM »

Hi, glad to be a part of what looks to be a great forum. I live in Montana and really love to Elk and Mule deer hunt. I have never shot a T/C Encore before, but I am also a avid big bore handgun shooter and not to particularly recoil sensitive. To my question. I want to buy a SS Encore with either 30-06 or 308, 15" barrel. I have talked to SSK industries on the phone and they push the 30-06 JDJ. They also chamber the standard 06 and 308 as well. They use shillen barrel blanks and seem to be pretty picky about barrel quality.
I looked at the Fox Ridge Outfitters(T/C custom shop) and they have a 15" heavy barrel in 30-06 with no muzzel tamer in stock. they can add a brake to it if I want .

My specific question is ; Has anyone shot a Encore in 30-06 Springfield 15'' barrel, Heavy or standard taper? Have you been pleased with the accuracy?

I have read so much about the 308 vs the '06 its killing me .

I shoot 165 grain bullets out of my Mod 70 '06 and never had an '06 that shot 180's very well anyway.
Does the 308 in a 15 inch barrel lose anything to an '06 shooting 165 grain for both ?
What would be a better chambering to go for with for 165 grain bullets 308 or '06? Does the T/C custom shop make as good a barrel as the folks at SSK or Brown..
I only want to do this once and get the best I can.
How much velocity will I lose with 165 grain bullets in the 308 vs the 165 in the '06 wtih 15 inch barrels?
Sorry for such a blah, blah, blah, post but I need your" been there done that " expertise .

Thanks in advance.

Pat Hover
Montana.

poncaguy · « **Reply #1 on:** October 09, 2005, 09:51:22 AM »

Can't help you there, but I really like my 15" Encore 7mm-08 and 460 S&W barrels........... :grin:

Graybeard · « **Reply #2 on:** October 09, 2005, 10:13:16 AM »

Brown doesn't "make" barrels even if they tell you different. The company that did make them for Brown went out of business. I believe now they offer only what TC makes.

You'll get lots of responses likely but SSK is as good as it gets and they are a sponsor of this site. As is Ed's TCs if you decide to buy a TC factory product.

In a 15" barrel you really gain nothing of value in the standard '06 over the .308. I think SSK's .30-06 gains you about 200-250 fps if that's enough to matter to you.

Generally the factory barrels will give you all the accuracy you need. Some times you'll have a problem but not often. My recommendation has always been to go with a factory barrel if it's chambered in the round you want. If not go with a Custom. For you a factory .308 barrel would do fine. Since you load for the '06 already if you'll like to stay with that it will do just as well. If you want it to pretty well match your rifle's performance go with the JDJ version.

Catfish · « **Reply #3 on:** October 09, 2005, 12:21:18 PM »

The reason none of you 06`s would shoot accurately with the 180 gn. bullets is that the twist rate was to slow in all of them. The heaver, actucallu longer the bullet, the faster you have to spin it to stablize it.

Lone Star · « **Reply #4 on:** October 09, 2005, 03:05:22 PM »

Quote

The reason none of you 06`s would shoot accurately with the 180 gn. bullets is that the twist rate was to slow in all of them.

Sorry, but this is the silliest thing I've read in a long time. The standard twist rate for a .30-06 is 1:10" (according to the Speer #11 manual, only Huskvarna and the Browning M78s were given a slower twist of 1:12") Original .30-03 barrels (precursor to the '06) fired long 220-grain bullets and did just fine with the 10" twist. The military '06s fired very long 172-grain Boattailed bullets between the wars and did just fine with their 10" twists too.

I could not find a single factory .30-06 rifle maker who uses a twist faster than 1:10". Long range target shooters firing very long 168-grain target bullets out to 1000 yards often use a rifling rate of 1:11". If a particular .30-06 rifle doesn't like 180s, it's not because of the twist rate.

patrick.hover · « **Reply #5 on:** October 09, 2005, 04:14:38 PM »

Any and all opinions are welcome by me!

Graybeard and others...Thanks, I will buy the heavy ss '06 barrel from the Custom shop on your recommendation and the other factors. Do I need a Brake for the old '06 , I would think that it would be too loud to shoot in the field even without a brake figure I might as well get one....so what do most of you guys have.

Patrick. :biggun:

wheelgun · « **Reply #6 on:** October 10, 2005, 01:45:56 AM »

Quote from: Catfish

The reason none of you 06`s would shoot accurately with the 180 gn. bullets is that the twist rate was to slow in all of them. The heaver, actucallu longer the bullet, the faster you have to spin it to stablize it.

I have a Remington 700 in 30-06 and it shoots everything from 110gr to 220 gr bullets fine.

Redhawk1 · « **Reply #7 on:** October 10, 2005, 01:54:20 AM »

I had a Encore 15 inch 30-06 barrel. It shot extremely good. I took a deer with it using 150 gr. Nosler bullets. The only reason I no longer have it is, I sold all my handgun barrels.

bigbore442001 · « **Reply #8 on:** October 10, 2005, 03:33:01 AM »

I don't think you can go wrong with a 30-06 Encore. I am not a big fan of wildcats. I want to buy the stuff off the shelf if needed. I don't have a problem with mine. As a far as a muzzlebrake, I dont like them for hunting. They are too loud and create a lot of blast. I hurt my ear drum with a brake and I will never have one on again.

Redhawk1 · « **Reply #9 on:** October 10, 2005, 03:39:23 AM »

I forgot to add, in my opinion the muzzle tamer is not needed. My 454 Casull has more felt recoil in my opinion.

rickyp · « **Reply #10 on:** October 10, 2005, 03:40:43 AM »

the only reason I can see to get a 30-06 over a 308 is that you are already set up for the 30-06.

you will burn more powder for only about 200 FPS gain. a deer can tell the difference between a bullet fired out of a 308 or one coming from a 30-06 at 200 FPS faster

Graybeard · « **Reply #11 on:** October 10, 2005, 05:59:03 AM »

Even in a rifle the difference between the '06 and .308 is closer to 100 fps. In a handgun barrel it is even less.

A brake is not needed on either.

Do yourself a favor. Buy the barrel from Ed of Ed's TCs and save yourself both time and money. He can get them faster than you can if he doesn't already have it in stock and will sell it to you cheaper than the Custom Shop will. Click on his banner at the top of forum to go to his website for contact info.

rickyp · « **Reply #12 on:** October 10, 2005, 06:23:10 AM »

I think the 30-06 will work better with the heavy bullets then the 308 will. you do not see as many 180 gr factory loadings for the 308 as you do the 30-06 (I only could find 3- 2 from Remington and 1 from Federal and none for the 200 or 220 gr bullets), most of the factory 308 loads are 150-165 gr. I am sure that supply and demand has a lot to do with it. but if the heavy bullets work well then people would want them.

As for Ed, I have bought quite a bit from, I will tell you that he will save you money, but maybe not as much time. at times he can be hard to get in touch with. it is always a hit or miss deal. the T/C's are a side business9 hobby) for him so he doesn't have much time for it. but once you get him he is very nice, and ships your order as fast as he can. the last thing I ordered from him got to me before it cleared my visa check card :shock:

patrick.hover · « **Reply #13 on:** October 10, 2005, 07:35:06 AM »

Thanks Rickyp and Greybeard(and all others)....I called Ed's and he did not have anything in stock in 308 or '06 and said it would tke 4-6 weeks...I am in a pinch for time so I went ahead and bought the 15 3/4', ss, Heavy, non ported, 30-06 with the 3 ring TSOB mount from the T/C custom shop that they had in stock.. I paid 357$ for the complete setup including the TSOB and 3 Rings. I hope this will be a good barrel.

I will no doubt buy a 45-70 next year from Ed.

any pet loads you '06 shooters have feel free to share !

Pat Hover
Montana

Redhawk1 · « **Reply #14 on:** October 10, 2005, 08:49:38 AM »

Quote from: patrick.hover

Thanks Rickyp and Greybeard(and all others)....I called Ed's and he did not have anything in stock in 308 or '06 and said it would tke 4-6 weeks...I am in a pinch for time so I went ahead and bought the 15 3/4', ss, Heavy, non ported, 30-06 with the 3 ring TSOB mount from the T/C custom shop that they had in stock.. I paid 357$ for the complete setup including the TSOB and 3 Rings. I hope this will be a good barrel.

I will no doubt buy a 45-70 next year from Ed.

any pet loads you '06 shooters have feel free to share !

Pat Hover
Montana

My 15 inch Encore like 50 gr. of IMR4064 under a 150 gr. Nosler partition.

patrick.hover · « **Reply #15 on:** October 10, 2005, 09:15:05 AM »

Redhawk1 ,
with that load what velocity do you get and how is the group size, how about the recoil?

rickyp · « **Reply #16 on:** October 10, 2005, 09:20:23 AM »

pat make sure you let us know mhow that barrel looks and shoots when you get it

patrick.hover · « **Reply #17 on:** October 10, 2005, 09:55:40 AM »

I know I am getting ahead of myself but when talking to the T/C custom shop ordering my frame and barrel, I asked if the heavy barrel needed a different rubber forearm. Tthe reply was that the standard black rubber will "snap" around the heavy barrel just fine.

This causes me some concern but I do not know if it is warranted or not.
Do any of you use a heavy barrel with the rubber forend? Did you modify it to accept the heavy barrel or was all that contact a factor or not?

Thanks
Patrick.

xphunter · « **Reply #18 on:** October 10, 2005, 10:21:12 AM »

Patrick,
Congrats on choosing your first handgun Encore barrel. I also enjoy elk hunting with SP's. I hunt in SW CO though, and not in your part of the country. I would of agreed with the guys that suggested the 06 over the 308. A bullet that has been good for me with elk and deer is the 180 SGK. It performs well over a wider velocity spread.
150-165 grain Partitions will work well also.
When doing a lot of practice if you seem to develop flinch habits you may want to get a brake. If so, get one that is removeable and also order one with an end cap (thread saver) so you can do your hunting non-braked. The Holland QD (Quick Discharge) and the Vais are my two favorites.
My current elk cartridge is a .308 caliber, but is chambered in a round beyond the capabilities of the Encore.
I will be soon going to the 7mm for elk hunting.
If I was to choose a round for elk in an Encore today I would go with a 280 Remington Improved.
Keep me updated either by posting or email.
The burris 2-7 or 3-12 with the BP reticle is awesome for hunting in spot-n-stalk areas or stand hunting in large meadows.

patrick.hover · « **Reply #19 on:** October 10, 2005, 03:09:17 PM »

Quote from: patrick.hover

I know I am getting ahead of myself but when talking to the T/C custom shop ordering my frame and barrel, I asked if the heavy barrel needed a different rubber forearm. Tthe reply was that the standard black rubber will "snap" around the heavy barrel just fine.

This causes me some concern but I do not know if it is warranted or not.
Do any of you use a heavy barrel with the rubber forend? Did you modify it to accept the heavy barrel or was all that contact a factor or not?

Thanks
Patrick.

Thanks Xphunter, and I will let everybody know how it works out.

If any heavy barrel owners out there can read my quote above and comment on it I would appreciate it.

Keith L · « **Reply #20 on:** October 10, 2005, 10:36:40 PM »

I haven't seen the Encore rubber forend, but I use the Pachy rubber forend on my centerfire contender handguns and it works great. There is pure contact with the barrel on them and it doesn't seem to make any difference. Groups and poi are the same with the rubber forend and with a floated wood one. I expect the Encore is the same.

encore3006 · « **Reply #21 on:** October 11, 2005, 10:32:19 AM »