First of all, please excuse me for posting this question in this forum, however I consider the guys that frequent this forum to be extremely knowlegeable and I will be reloading for it anyway. I am considering purchasing a TC Encore because I like the idea of being able to switch barrels for different calibers. What are your experiences with acccuracy, form, fit, function, optics, etc. with the T&C's? Are the factory barrels any good? It would be nice to pay a couple of hundred bucks to get a new caliber versus buying a new rifle. Thanks!

I have a T/C Encore and really like it. I only have a 15" .308 barrel and a 26" 209X50 barrel - both factory. Both barrels are capable of good hunting accuracy. The .308 will shoot 150 grain BSTs or SSTs into an inch (3-shot group) from 100 yards. It would probably do better with an experience pistolero at the grip. I haven't worked too much with the ML barrel, but it shot 295 grain Powerbelts into a couple inches with the first load I tried (three 50 grain Pyrodex pellets). That was good enough to shoot my cow elk with last month.

Overall I've been very pleased with the Encore. Fit and finish is comparable to any mass-produced bolt action. Ease of operation is a no-brainer with a break open single shot. Scope mounting is easy and quick (I use Weaver bases and Burris Zee rings). Field handling is pretty nice, though the stock on the rifle does take a littl getting used to since it's configured a little differently than a more traditionaly bolt gun. If you're interested in switching cartridges a lot, consider a good steel base (like Virgin Valley) on each barrel and a single quality scope with QR rings. Then you would really be able to get into a new cartridge for the cost of new barrel.

I have Contenders and Encores in calibers from .22 Hornet to 45-70. The only problem with them is that buying the first one turns into an addiction that is hard to kick (if you even want to). Plus it is funny to watch people's faces when they ask what the Hell you are shooting out of that pistol and you tell them it's a .308, .270, 30-06, or 45-70. The only bad thing I can say about the Encore is that the factory trigger sucks, I bought mine from Ed Kirkpatrick at a gunshow in Tulsa and had him do a trigger job on it before I ever took it home (best $25.00 I ever spent). I can't say anything bad about the old Contender frames and I haven't handled enough of the G2 frames to form an opinion. Take the plunge, I don't think you will be disappointed.

Thanks Dennis. Do you shoot any of the rifle length barrels? Is the accuracy good? Thanks again!

Very happy with my T/C Encore. It's a factory 24" SS with synthetic stock. Caliber 7mm-08. Very accurate with factory Federal 140 grain Partitions(under 1"). Will be testing handloads out this spring. I didn't feel any need to adjust the trigger(I'd guess it's 4 lbs.). It's the first of many rifles I have owned that I can say this about. Also did not have to dink around with floating the barrel or bedding, etc. I'm using a weaver base and weaver rings with a Leupold VX-1 2-7x. It has been a very handy rig for carrrying up in the mountains. Using a safari sling too. Killed my first bull elk this fall with it. I have no regrets with T/C. I wanted a 24" barrel and like single shot rifles so it was a no brainer for me. I also like the custom barrel alternatives so that you can specify length, rate of twist, etc. If I was ordering a more stout caliber I would opt for a heavy contour barrel to help increase weight and take out some of the kick. Hope this helps.

Steve

I looked very close at the T/C Encore, but opted for the H&R Ultra varmint .243 Bull BBL. Also a break action, single shot w/ accessory bbls. Good reputation for accuracy. Factory accessory bbls are under $100. Custom bbls available. Much less expensive. You can get .50 cal. muzzle-loader bbl, 12 ga. turkey bbl, 20 ga. heavy rifled slug bbl, .243, .30-06, and .450 Marlin all for the price of an Encore w/ maybe one extra bbl. Only drawback is that it's not meant to be a handgun.

I don't have any Encore rifle barrels at the time but I have a .22 Hornet, 7-30 Waters, and .308 Bellm for my Contender. The .22 Hornet was picky until I started using Hodgdon's Lil Gun, the Waters has always shot good with W748, and the .308 Bellm shoots outstanding. It started life as a 17" Fox Ridge 30-30 barrel and shot fine for hunting, but I never could get it to 1 moa or under. I wanted something a little different so I sent it to Mike Bellm and had him rechamber it, it puts a Hornady 130 grain SSP bullet out at between 2650 and 2700 fps.



glichti is right about the H&R rifle. It is much cheaper than an Encore and you can get extra barrels for it and they shoot very good, but if it is like the NEF that I have you have to send the receiver in to have each barrel custom fit, no just buy a new barrel and stick it on.

This is just my two cents but I wouldn't touch an NEF/H&R rifle with a ten foot pole. Go to the forum on their website and do a search for "ejector problems". They have a very BIG problem with failed extractions. I owned one once in 30-30 and it would fail to eject/extract the brass after 10 shots. I needed to use a cleaning rod to knock it out. After reading what people go through to try and make these guns work properly I would not recommend them to anyone except a chronic tinkerer who will spend his days trying to make a poorly designed rig work minimally. You just might get one that works fine but if not I'd sell it quick. I did.

Never owned an Encore but I went through the Contender thing twice. They are good guns, very clever and pretty to boot but remember, unless you love to shoot iron sights you will be buying a scope and mounts for each of those calibers which raises the price considerably. One day you wake up with A LOT of money tied up and you can still only shoot one bullet at a time. Nothing bad about this, just wanted to bring up the point for your consideration. I solved the problem by buying a Sauer 200 (Now 202) and waiting for additional barrels to pop up used. One kick-ass scope works on them all. My net investment is about the same.

In many years of going to the range, I have only seen sub moa shooting, besides me, four times:
1) Win 70 varmint .223 stainless, laminated
2) 91/30 Mosin Nagant with sewer pipe barrel, Fajen
3) Thompson Contender rifle
4) .270, stainless, synthetic

I have seen guys tell me that their gun is sub moa, but I notice none of their targets look like it.

So never mind all the BS that guys say, just looking at the reality of my years of observations, the Contender is in the highest class.

Have only seen one TC Encore in 223 that grouped well. Being a bolt action rifle fan never understood why the break open rifle action was so popular. Every time you fire the rifle it must raised off the shooting rest to remove the spent round, then load the darn thing, then reset to the rest to fire. Just don't have any use for one of those break open hammer style single shot rifles. The variety of barrels available may appeal to some but changing barrels means resighting the next rifle barrel. I just don't see any posotive reasons for owning a TC Encore. No break open action I know of can equal the accuracy or strength of a quality bolt action rifle.

I would guess those who shoot the TC Encore feel they save money by buying extra barrels for the one action. I can see how it is possible to spend less money per caliber, but don't care for the break open hammer style single shot action in the center fire rifle format. The absence of a bolt and a machined action should cost less and the rifle will be shorter. Accuracy and smooth easy operation while in the field eliminate the TC Encore as my rifle of choice. You must take your eyes off the target to reload the rifle before you can get back on target should a follow up shot be needed.

Aside how well my Encore fit's me, the ability to try different calibers appeals to me. So when I got the 284 bug, I could scratch it with a custom stainless 24" barrel for around $260.(Try doing that with a bolt gun!) If I get tired of it,I can sell the barrel without going through a FFL agent(In MN).If I want to hunt with a muzzle loader during the special season, or hunt with slugs, or a handgun, in that part of our state that don't allow rifles, I can scratch those itches for comperable costs. I enjoy a number of bolt action rifles as well, but Encore gives additional flexibility and is sporting to boot..one shot!
By the way, even though it's very easy, you don't have to switch scopes. Just leave one on each barrel that needs one. That way you can take a different caliber for different aspects of the hunt, and have a spare scope along to boot.
If scope cost or preferance is a factor, you can use quick detach bases and rings and zero the scope for more than one barrel. Just keep track of the retical settings and dial them in for the specific barrel.
Did I mention you can switch from wood to composit stock in nothing flat?
And, like all other guns I have owned, accuracy is most affected by how that barrel shoots a particular load; not the kind action.
You don't HAVE to take your eyes off the target to reload, any more than you do to work a bolt. Just keep several spare cartridges in a wrist mounted bandolier. Admittedly, it's a little bit slower that a bolt(just like a bolt is slower than an auto)but no less fun.

I find the with most swicth barreled guns they are a neat idea but you ended up using just one barrel. I brought a contender with 5 barrels I am selling them off but one. It just a pain in the ass to swicth back and forth extra scopes mounts ect. For the cost of the extra barrels you can go out and buy some real nice use rifles in the calibers you like and be ready to go.

I have owned and extensively shot handloads in the Encore rifle in 22-250, 300 Win Mag, 243 Win and 270 Win. I like them for the following reasons:

1. Size, weight and fit. A 24 inch bbl nets you a 36.5 inch rifle with an uncanny balance. All are a joy to carry. A true carbine with a 24 inch bbl has many advantages.

2. Basic accuracy. Unlike the longer, less wieldy bolt guns the optics bolt right to the barrel, not to a receiver, so there is one less variable to deal with.

3. The ejector has NO spring, and a very powerful camming action... the NEF problem is not in evidence.

4. Simplicity - take it down and work with just the bare barrel to obtain seating depth for handloads, cleaning, etc.

5. Custom barrels with excellent accuracy in any caliber you can dream of are available from many sources.

Mule Skinner...



I had composed a reply, and then tried to edit right before posting...bad idea, as it wiped the entire thing out. Oh, well, I'll try to reconstruct...



Last summer, I went on a prairie dog hunt to North/South Dakota. I brought with me 4 bolt action rifles, an Encore that I had just purchased for the trip (had to, being from NH and all), and a Mossberg 500 .410 just in case I saw any rattlesnakes.



I had what I think is some pretty neat bolt action hardware...a Remington 700 VSSF in .223 with a Jewell trigger, a Savage 12VSS in .22-250 with a Sharp Shooter trigger, a Savage 12BVSS in .243 with the new Accu-Trigger, and a Savage 93R17BVSS in .17HMR with a Rifle Basix sear. All of those have Leupold/Burris/Bushnell Elite 4200 optics.



My favorite prairie dog sniping rifle turned out to be the T/C Encore in .223 with a factory 26" heavy barrel and fixed 12X Leupold scope. It was shorter in total length than the others, and thus felt more handy and compact, while being every bit as accurate. I would rate the fit and finish as very good, although I opted to replace the synthetic stock material with walnut against the stainless, but that is just personal preference. I was thinking the same way that you are in that having a system where you could change barrels/calibers would be great as well as economical. I still like the idea, but I like the setup so much the way it is that I think I would buy a different rifle for a different application. I like the Encore now because it is a fine rifle; the fact that you can switch barrels/calibers is just an added bonus to me.



A couple comments if you are still considering one. Someone further back in the post suggested Virgin Valley steel bases. I agree that these are very good, although I have found that the stainless version, at least, is prone to very little minor surface rust, even with proper care, cleaning, and oiling. Probably no big deal to most, but since I am anal about the cleanliess and care of my guns, it was a little bit of a disappointment. Someone else mentioned that the trigger was awful (I am paraphrasing). While I agree that it is certainly HEAVY, I would not call it awful. To me, awful is a combination of heavy, creep, side to side movement, and/or inconsistency. Heavy can be fixed. As you can probably tell by the trigger modifications/replacements on all of the bolt actions that I listed above, trigger feel is important to me, as it is to anyone who shoots more than once in a while. My Encore came from the factory with a pretty heavy 4 3/4 trigger pull, no creep or movement from side to side. In comparison, my Remington 700 VSSF came from the factory with a 6 lb., 12 oz. trigger pull! Ah well, nothing the Jewell couldn't fix. You can "fix" the heavy pull of the Encore/Contender trigger very cheaply and fairly easily; I'll include a link to the website at the end of this post. I replaced the spring, and brought my trigger down from 4 3/4 lbs. to about 2 1/2 lbs. My fingers were sore by the time I got the replacement spring in, but it was well worth it.



I hope that helps...my point wasn't to try to impress you with tales of my wonderful hardware...it was simply to point out that in the midst of some really fine, accurate rifles, the Encore held its own, and actually became my favorite.



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