It looks like I have a torn rotator cuff and will be having some surgery soon. NOt sure on what the recovery etc will be and how long before I will be able to shoot my rifles and shotguns. So my question is for the upcoming fall seasons (mostly whitetail) what handgun might I take a look at to not have a shoulder pounding. I have not owned a TC contender or Encore and I am thinking they might be the way to go.

Thoughts?

My Uncle has an Encore in 7-08 and its supprisingly tame. I was really suprised. The thing shoots very good also w/ a t/c barrel.No he does not have a brake on it. It is really doesnt recoil all that bad. My Uncle loads them down a little for silloette shooting but factory loads are very easy to handle. It kicks less than my Super Redhawk with medium loads. Good luck Hikerbum

7-08 was probably about what I was thinking.

Does he have a muzzle brake on it?

Scoped?

Thanks

Good choice. But make sure you use the right bullet. Some rifle bullets will not expand out of a handgun. I would use the 120 gr bullets like the Hornady SSP bullet. Only experience will tell you which bullet is best for deer.

I used a 357 revolver on a small Mulie and it worked very well. It's very light recoil compared to the big bores.
There would probably be nothing wrong with a 30-30 in a Contender. A 250 Savage barrel on a Contender could be a rather sweet piece.

quote:

Originally posted by Lar45:
I used a 357 revolver on a small Mulie and it worked very well. It's very light recoil compared to the big bores.
There would probably be nothing wrong with a 30-30 in a Contender. A 250 Savage barrel on a Contender could be a rather sweet piece.

I've always preferred straight walled, rimmed handgun calibers. Might be old fashioned ). I use a contender barrel in 357 mag that I load 125 gr XTP's to @ 2000 fps, that is very effective at handgun ranges. It's 11" long slight taper, that I built from a green mtn blank. It carries easily in a shoulder holster and is very comfortable to shoot. I have both rotator cuffs bad, from rodeo wrecks & a plane crash; not to mention many years of 12 ga o/u competition shooting .
Handguns also put some challenge back into hunting. Heavy recoil ones can damage the rotator cuffs or exagerate inflamation.

Hey Hkerbum,

I had three shoulder surgeries for a torn rotator cuff so I know what you are facing, I would recommend 6.5 JDJ for the contender or the 6.5 mini dread naught for the Encore if you don't reload than the 6.5 x 284. I have both the 6.5 Mini Dread Naught and the 6.5 x 284 with arrestor muzzle brakes (mainly so my girlfriend can shot it she is 5 ft that's why the muzzle brakes) With the brakes there is very little recoil. I took a whitetail at 266 yards up in Wyoming a couple of years back.

Good luck with the shoulder.

BTH

hikerbum,

Go to reedercustomguns.com and get one of Garys great "mini beast" Encores. I have one in the 500 S&W with a full bull 8" barrel plus 2" muzzle brake. The minibeast is a dandy compact set-up too. He has some fantastic calibers. Check out the 410GNR, which is a necked down 454 Casull. Lots of power and small on recoil. I have a 410GNR in a scoped 5 shot revolver and I would not hesitate to take a 150-200 yd shot with it. You can get properly headstamped brass or loaded ammo for most of his cartridges at reasonable prices. You can also get standard rounds too.

Woody

If you want to go low budget.

There is the 45/410 Super Comanche by Rexico.
They go for around $150. You can even get a scope mount for them. Standard level 45 Colt loads are easy to shoot. Mine is reasonably accurate and I wouldn't hesitate to take a 100 yd shot.

Hey Lar, that is one fine looking pistol! I like the grip, it would be easier on the hand then the TC. Even a TC 30-30 without a brake can hurt like the devil if shot with one hand.
I have shot my .475 BFR with one hand many times with no problems but one shot from the 30-30 would mangle my fingers. I have very large hands and the TC and Bisley grips suck!
How does it group with a scope?

I had the same surgery 3 years ago (I was 51 at the time) & within 6 weeks, was shooting shotguns with slugs at the range, which really pound you. If you have the surgery now, you should be more than healed by fall. As a help, buy a sissy pad to protect yourself when you first start out. I did & it made a world of difference - shot over 30 rounds the first day without any side effects. I too though, sighted in several pistols before the surgery just in case.

I've had both shoulders worked on (though neither for rotator cuff). Unless you'll be hunting while still doing your physical therapy your shoulder should feel much better than it does now. OTOH if you don't have your range of motion restored come hunting season manipulating a pistol or handgun may be more difficult than working with a long gun. A well-balanced, light-kicking carbine might be a better solution (with a handy enough gat a fella can do most of the work with his left hand and simply pull the trigger with the right). I switched to a 243 for my second rifle course at Gunsite and passed on a chance to shoot "Baby" so as not to void my orthopaedic surgeon's warranty. Still, this sounds like a fine reason (excuse) to buy a Contender or an Encore.

I have a contender in 250 savage. It would be a freat choiuce. If strait wall rimmed is your mindset, then a 44 is the likely way to go. I have used the 250 out to 300yds on fox. On deer sized game it will do the job out to 250yds if you do yours

quote:

Originally posted by bfrshooter:
Hey Lar, that is one fine looking pistol! I like the grip, it would be easier on the hand then the TC.
How does it group with a scope?

I haven't put a scope on it yet. I found 2 sets of scope mounts on Ebay, but they've just been sitting in the safe. I have a couple of extra handgun scopes. I should put one on and try it.

Here is 3 shots at 25 yards with the 230 BD. It's not a load that I worked up for it, just some plinkers I had rolling around. The extra chamber area for the 410 has a slight taper from the 45 Colt mouth down to the rifleings. I think this takes 2.5" 410 shells. The barrel is terribly undersized at something like .448". I took a chamber cast awhile back, but don't remember exactly. The chamber is actually long enough to close on a 454 round with room to spare. I don't think that it would survive a 60,000 psi Casull load. The chamber is terribly rough also. I e-mailed the company about the long chamber, rough chamber and undersized bore. I don't know if they'll do anything about it. I also asked for one in 357 mag. I looked at their site and saw in the parts list, that they have a barrel listed at $30. I don't know if this is the whole assembly or what??? IF it is, you could whack the barrel off and use it as a monoblock to make a 357. For $30, I'll probably have to order one just to see.
With warm loads, the rubber forearm falls off under recoil. A wider washer would solve that.
It's only $150 though.

To follow up on my original post. I have ordered an Encore in 7mm08 and anxiously await its arrival. I will do some shooting with the open sights, but i think this round in a pistold deserves a scope. Any recommendations? I have not shot a scoped pistol before, so its new to me. Anyone use a Red Dot type on an Encore. I am not big on the looks of the Red Dots, but many appear to like them.

Input appreciated.
Thanks

Lar, can't expect a whole lot for $150 I guess. The design is nice though. Make a great muzzle loader for deer if they would offer a barrel.

$150 for the tools to tag a deer....hmmmm very economical.

quote:

Originally posted by hikerbum:
i think this round in a pistol deserves a scope. Any recommendations? Thanks

I have one of the TC lighted recticle scopes in a 2-7x and really like it. Idaho doesn't allow any electronic anything on a scope for hunting, so it just gets used for plinking. I have a few others, but my inexpensive Swift does really well as far as gathering light at dusk and being very clear.

You might look at the Nosler Ballistic Tips for your 7-08. They are supposed to open up and hold together well when pushed to around 1800fps(you might want to call and check on the velocity range, let them know you'll be shooting light loads) I have a bunch of 130gn 7mm Barnes X bullets that I was going to load for a friends 7 mag, but then life happened. The Nosler 120gn BT might be worth looking at.

I was using the 139 gr Hornady in my Lone Eagle 7-08 and my Witchita 7R. The deer I hit with the 7R only went 30 yd's into the thick stuff but there was not a drop of blood on the ground. I walked circles to find it.
I took some deer with the 7-08 without a problem, then I lost one with a perfect behind the shoulder hit. I found foam and lung tissue hanging from branches she ran past. She never stopped or laid down. I tracked her for a mile. She quit bleeding and her tracks went onto a trail full of other tracks.
It was a learning lesson so you really have to make sure the bullet will perform out of a short barrel. I figured the 139 gr would work because it was super explosive out of my .280-NOT!
I do all of my deer hunting now with revolvers and very large meplat boolits. I don't like the .357! A bullet that expands fast enough will lose penetration fast and one that penetrates deep will not have the frontal area to do enough damage. Shots must be close and precise. Bullet, boolit selection for performance is VERY tough.

I switched to handcannons a few years back due to heart surgery and pacemaker placement, couldn't shoot anything off of shoulder for a while. Liked the challenge and use of the handcannons so much that I gave the long guns to the kids and only shoot handguns now. The 7mm-08 is an excellent caliber in the encore, XP or HS. My preference is the HS handguns. Used my 7mm-08 in Wy last season to take a decent antelope buck at 115 YDS. used a 120 gr BT. I like the higher magnification scopes and use the Burris 3x12 EER. The handcannons do take some practice and I do not recommend trying to shoort off hand , it is always best if using a rest or shooting prone. here is a pic of my 7-08, good luck in using the handcannons, you may get hooked on them.
nmhunter
[IMG][url="http://www.hunt101.com/?p=310095&c=539&z=1"] [/url][/IMG]

I have picked up the 7mm-08 Encore and have shot a couple rounds. the grip is definitely different than any handgun I have shot before. Will take some practice to find the correct way to hold it, but I think it has lots of promise. Picked up a 44 nag barrel also. I think shooting sticks are in order for some shots.

shooting sticks will work or the stoney point system either. Pachmyer also makes grips for the encore now, that would help in the recoil dept. as well.

quote:

Originally posted by hikerbum:
It looks like I have a torn rotator cuff and will be having some surgery soon. NOt sure on what the recovery etc will be and how long before I will be able to shoot my rifles and shotguns. So my question is for the upcoming fall seasons (mostly whitetail) what handgun might I take a look at to not have a shoulder pounding. I have not owned a TC contender or Encore and I am thinking they might be the way to go.

Thoughts?

I just had rotator cuff surgery on March 22 and a full recovery takes 6 to 8 months according to my doctor and the people at the physical therpy clinic. I have more range of motion at this point than normal I am told and it ain't much.If it is your shooting arm don't expect to shoot any handgun with much recoil for quite sometime as a jerk or hard shove can re tear the rotator cuff. My doctor said that this type of surgery takes more recovery time than any other type of surgery..
Just my 2 cents.............

Georgia Jim grips will help you out ALOT!
I just couldn't get comfy with my stock grips, once I changed to GaJims my shooting improved, they also spread the recoil throughout your hand my stock grips made it feel like I was getting hit in the same place all the time. I love my T/Cs!

I've been useing a cane for several months now and found that it works pretty good for a rest in the kneeling position.