I'm thinking of loading Ballistic Silvertips in either 150gr or 168gr for my 15" Encore 308 Win.
Question is whether coated bullets would be better than non-coated in that short barrel?

There's no benefit gained from shooting coated bullets unless your barrel absolutely refuses to group anything else decently, which isn't all that likely. The plain-Jane 150 grain Ballistic Tip will do just fine in your Encore.

Thanks for the responce.
One of the 'benefits' I see in using the coated bullet is the potential increase in pressure which could help velocity gain in that short 15" barrel.
Any thoghts on that??

Actually, you get lowered pressures, not higher, with coated bullets. Thus, you can generally work up to top-end loads and see some gain in velocity as compared to conventional bullets. But it's generally not enough to discern in the field and certainly won't tighten your trajectory enough to make a difference.

With your 15" barrel and a 150 grain Ballistic Tip, you should be able to reach 2600 fps with no problem. Even 24-2500 fps will give you enough energy to cleanly harvest any deer inside of 300 yards. And at that velocity level, the BTs perform exceedingly well.

Thanks for setting me straight on the pressure issue. It sounds like there may not be a noticeable advantage in going with coated bullets in the shorter barrel. With this Encore pistol I don't see me taking hunting shots outside of 300 yards.