T/C Encore advice and info

[rjm158]

I don't have a single shot of any sort in my rifle collection. I've always thought I wanted one but ended up with repeaters one some sort. I have tried three different ones in the past 3-4 years and none have worked out. They would all shoot minute of deer but that is being wishful.
My local LGS bought a collection of T/C rifles, pistols, barrels and, frames from someone and two of them are complete rifles. Both have the camo furniture with stainless barrels and actions. One is a 7 Rem Mag and the other is a 280 Rem. The 280 is what caught my eye. It is topped with Leupold Vari-X II 4-12.

Could anyone with knowledge and experience with similar rifles give me any any insight into them, pros/cons, etc? Note I didn't ask if I should buy it because on this site the answer is almost a forgone conclusion.

Ron

 

[JD338]

Ron,
The T/C Encore is a solid design and they are accurate rifles. A 280 Rem would definitely be a solid choice. And if you ever wanted more, it could be rechambered to 280 AI.

And yes, you should buy it.

JD338

 

[DrMike]

Note I didn't ask if I should buy it because on this site the answer is almost a forgone conclusion.

Ron

What? Are you accusing the noblr souls on this forum of enabling the acquisition of firearms?

 

[rjm158]

What? Are you accusing the noblr souls on this forum of enabling the acquisition of firearms?

Well, since you asked, YES!!

 

[DrMike]

Buy it. T/C fire arms are a good buy. You won't regret the 280, or the 7 RM. Both are excellent cartridges and the firing system is first rate.

 

[JD338]

FWIW, I've never heard of a T/C that didn't shoot

JD338

 

[xphunter]

If you are going to reload, I prefer to stay with the 308/06 case head size cartridges

 

[SJB358]

Buy it. T/C fire arms are a good buy. You won't regret the 280, or the 7 RM. Both are excellent cartridges and the firing system is first rate.

That 280 might be pretty sweet. Even with a 24” barrel it would still be quite handy I’d think.

 

[JD338]

That 280 might be pretty sweet. Even with a 24” barrel it would still be quite handy I’d think.

I would agree with that.

JD338

 

[elkeater2]

I own one frame, and several barrel/scopes for it. I have enjoyed the system and they shoot pretty well. The 7-08 and the 25/06 have been easy to load for, as has a heavy .223. All the rest depends on you and what your inclinations and interests are. I am a constant tinkerer and have found a wealth of knowledge and a few bona fide experts willing to help. Not dealing with actual problems as much as just me wanting to learn and try to improve already acceptable performance.

 

[rjm158]

Elkeater, that's the info I was looking for. I've never heard of T/C' s being problem children but I don't know anyone who has personal experience.

Scotty, the 280 is the one I was interested in. I already have two (Remington 7600 and Sig SHR 970) so I have the reloading stuff for it.

Thanks to everyone who shared (even Dr. Mike, I guess). I'll see what the guys at the LGS have to say .

Ron

 

[grry10]

The Encore is a great platform. I'm looking forward to hear if you ended up buying one of them, which one, and how does it shoot.

 

[Hunter26]

I've been shooting Encores for over a decade, mostly pistols. I own several barrels and got my first rifle barrel a few years ago, a 7 RM. Every barrel I've ever had, even in 15" pistol barrels, have been sub-moa. One thing too you don't think about until you get one, is their overall length compared to other actions. My 7 RM is a 28" barrel and it's shorter than my 30-06 Model 70 with 22" barrel. I've never regretted having an Encore!

 

[Balthazar]

I've owned an Encore Muzzleloader since it first on the scene and use it yearly for deer meat harvesting.
At one time I had two, the ML'er and a 300 Win Mag. Excellent platform to build off with the multitude of barrels
and the availability of aftermarket items, allowing you to have several rifles by buying a barrel.

If you do pull the trigger on the purchase, I suggest you take a peek at Mike Bellem's website. He is Mr Encore
and has a ton of good info, including how to tweek the trigger system [which I've done and highly recommend].
He also sells springs and oversize pins and a whole bunch of other cool stuff specific to Encore. Probably
the Encore has put more meat in my freezer than any other gun in my safe, both ML'er & centerfire.

 

[xphunter]

Several things about break open actions that I have learned since the mid 80s. Number one, the larger the head diameter of the case, the greater the thrust against the frame will be. In a contender, you can shoot a 223 Remington or a 204 Ruger or a 17 Remington , and safely run high pressure safely in safely in it.
Try running that same amount of pressure with a 3030 case(30-30), and you were gonna find yourself in the world of Hurt.
Oddly enough, you can take a standard 30-30 case in one factory barrel, and do a 30–30 Ackley improved in another barrel and have the chamber slightly rough, and the back thrust of the Ackley improved will be noticeably less than the standard 30-30 case.
The difference?
Case design.
The first year the encore frame came out they Promoted it has been able to handle the very same pressure that a bolt action rifle could with the magnum cartridges.
This lit up my world!
I had the frame, and I ordered a custom barrel from Bullberry. 338 Winchester magnum. I was gonna shoot a Barnes bullet through it. It seemed to me an ultimate fairly inexpensive, compact elk pistol that would also deal with distance if needed.
The results were destructive, but I was not hurt, but I definitely learned, or relearned some lessons…
First, don’t believe everything a manufacture tells you about their gun. It may not be true.

Second, a break open action is just a break open action. It does not have the rigidity that a bolt rig does.
As I mentioned before when you add a larger case head and keep the pressure the same, that action is going to flex more.
Even though I was under the max loading for the cartridge and that bullet, I noticed that my action got harder to shut. What was happening, is it every time I fired the pistol the action flexed so much that the length of the case increased, until The action sprung open in the midst of firing. There was a case, head, separation, and head of the case, hit me in the middle of the forehead.
I wasn’t sure what happened at first then, I began to put things together.
Several things happened in the midst of all of this before the gun actually opened in the midst of firing. First of all the Steel base and rings were bowing up word on the tips and it literally skinned my Leopold 4x power pistol scope. When I contacted Bullberry, he called me a liar. I sent him pictures and then sent him the barrel. The accusations of lying stopped.
The dovetails underneath the barrel, came loose. Sending it back a second time and he welded them to the barrel. Then a SSKTSOB mount was installed. We also learned that the finger that should not have let the hammer to be pulled back, Was not the right length and was letting me pull the hammer back, even when the action wasn’t closed all the way.
Another factor which some of you were probably already thinking about as you’re reading this, is that Barnes all copper bullet wasn’t squishing like a typical cup and core bullet would and was adding pressure.
I could’ve started all over, bought new brass and just loaded it down. But that wasn’t why I purchased it to begin with. With factory ammunition, it was fine because any stretching of the case that took place didn’t matter because every time the gun was fired was a brand new piece of brass. I sold it to a guy who like to hunt Moose and elk, I told him the full story, and told him as long as he used factory ammo, and I encouraged him to stay away from the all copper bullets, he would do great. You after year he used to email me telling me about the animals that he killed with it. He loved the pistol. I use the money and had to add more, and had Greg Tannel of GreTan Rifles. build me a 7.82 patriot XP that was a rockstar and shot itty-bitty groups at four and 500 yards.
This is why I am not a fan of Magnum head size cartridges in the encore, if the hunter or Shooter wants to run it to maximum velocities like you can probably get by with safely in a bolt action.

 

[xphunter]

Sorry for the misspelling and everything. I was doing this while I was walking at our recreation center. I edited some things, so hopefully it makes more sense. For a period of time I would not own a TC product because of that experience. But time, changes things. I have a G2 frame, and one of the SSK 50 frames. I enjoy them, they are a cool platform with a lot of flexibility, and they work well for a lot of hunting situations.

 

[Hunter26]

I wouldn't let any of the above scare you off, the 280 will be great. I've had excellent luck and accuracy in my 7 Rem Mag rifle barrel. I have a 223, 257 Roberts , 6.5-270 JDJ and 30-06 pistol barrel. All have been great and I reload for all of them. All but the 223 have killed deer and hogs from spitting distance to a couple hundred yards. I'm looking forward to what TC has for the future and adding a new barrel or two!

 

[xphunter]

I completely agree. If I was going to get an encore, the 280 Remington or the 280 Ackley would be my go to cartridge.

 

[grry10]

I've been watching to see when Encore frames are available again. They are supposed to be out sometime in 2025.

 

[xphunter]

I've been watching to see when Encore frames are available again. They are supposed to be out sometime in 2025.

I thought they were already available or very soon, from what I have been seeing on FB