Also posted in the handgun hunting forum.

Anyone out there have any shooting experience with a 15"-16" 308 Encore pistol?

Looking for info/opinions on accuracy, recoil, barrel manufacturers (TC,MGM,Bullberry or others), forearms, grips, or anything else that might be of interest.

Thanks

Race,

I have a factory T/C 15" 308 on an Encore frame. It is plenty accurate for deer hunting. I have killed a buck at around 200 yards with no problem.

I use a Warne QD base and rings and switch between a aimpoint red dot and a Leupold 2.5X8 depending on the situation.

Recoil is right up there off sand bags which is the way I hunt. It is too muzzle heavy to shoot off hand.

I have one in 308. For a handgun length barrel the 308 based case is about as large as you want to go based on efficiency.

Similar to the previous posters, I have an Encore in .308 Win., factory barrel, using T/C Duo-rings to hold a Burris 2-7x IER scope. Have used it for deer, and African plains game. It works like a champ and finding good ammo is easy vs. some of the more exotic/specialized handgun cartridges. Accuracy is easily 1.5" @ 100 yrds. and potentially better depending on your rest and technique.

quote:

Originally posted by Race Bannon:
Anyone out there have any shooting experience with a 15"-16" 308 Encore pistol?

Looking for info/opinions on accuracy, recoil, barrel manufacturers (TC,MGM,Bullberry or others), forearms, grips, or anything else that might be of interest.

Recoil, not bad. With a good barrel and scope along with good technique, 3 shot groups of about 1.5 inches at 200 yards is doable. If you want the best, go with MGM.

If you are going to shoot it I would suggest reloading for the obvious reasons. Head space most importantly. 165 gr Nosler BTs and A-Bonds for deer and elk respectively. Although you don't want to be too far away from an elk when you shoot it. The 308 is marginal on horsepower. But that is just my opinion. Slim

Just for curiosity's sake (and I am not in any way disparaging what you folks do) why would one want to fire a high-powered rifle cartridge from a handgun? I have a .308 rifle (FNAR), semi-auto and it has a pretty serious kick with my shoulder to absorb it. One of my cousins has a Desert Eagle in .50 and says it has a hell of a recoil. He says that after just a few rounds his wrist is sore for days.

I would expect that a .308 would produce more recoil than a .50 pistol cartridge (even though the projectile is way smaller, the muzzle velocity is enormously higher) so firing the Encore would appear to be more damaging on the joints.

Please note that I am not saying you shouldn't be allowed to shoot anything your heart desires and pocketbook accommodates. I'm just curious why you do it. Course I'm curious why someone would hunt something like deer or elk with a handgun anyway. But I'm not a hunter.

Care to enlighten me? BTW, the Encore is an interesting LOOKING gun. With the right grip and forearm it could even be pretty (to my eyes).

If you think the 308 Winchester cartridge in ANY configuration has "a pretty serious kick" then you are not particularly recoil tolerant.

The Desert Eagle, being a gas operated semiauto handgun weighing as much as some rifles is really a woos in the recoil department. For recoil worth of the name, try an Encore handgun in 460 S&W Magnum, 500 S&W Magnum, 444 Marlin or 375 H&H Magnum (yea, I have all these). Comparatively speaking, the 308 Winchester cartridge in handgun is pretty benign.

My question concerned the reason someone would wish to fire large caliber rifle cartridges from a handgun.

As for the amount of kick on my .308, I have almost nothing with which to compare it other than a 12 gauge shotgun. Admittedly a 12 has more kick than my FNAR but I've fired 7.62x39 and .556 and the .308 has significantly more recoil - at least to my perception - than either of the other rifles I've fired. And certainly more than the .40S&W pistols I carried on duty.

Please note that I spent a good part of my opening sentence indicating that I was NOT disparaging your hobby. I just wondered why folks would want to fire rifle cartridges from a handgun. No need to call me a wuss or anything. At least that is how I took your "you are not particularly recoil tolerant" crack. If you have nothing to contribute, why take the time to post - especially to post an insult?

I wasn't insulting you I was just stating a fact.

The reasons one might like to fire rifle cartridges from a handgun:

1. Bottle necked rifle cartridges in general provide better accuracy and better range than handgun cartridges.

2. A handgun is lighter and easier to carry whilst hunting.

3. Some like the challenge of shooting a handgun. I guess that's somewhat similar to bow hunter's motivation.

4. If you're into the SCI trophy thing, there are separate categories for animals taken with rifle, handgun, bow and other categories.

5. If you travel by air to hunt, a couple of handguns can be packed in a regular size hard sided padlocked luggage container thus avoiding fees some airlines charge for special oversized baggage.

The recoil of the .308 Win is not all that bad. In the Encore, the recoil is more straight back into the hand rather than a upward twist of say a .44 Mag in a revolver. Like any high powered round, it is a bit lively but not painful.

I chose to use the Encore instead of a rifle to add some additional challenge when hunting. Plus the .308 gives some extra range when needed over a standard straight-walled revolver cartridge.

I have a muzzle break on my 15" .308 Encore and the recoil with max loads and 165 gr bullets is less than my unbreaked 10" 44 mag. Neither one is bad at all, as the pistols are over 5 lbs. scoped, they soak up a lot of the recoil.

I'm right-handed. I used to shoot big bore handguns quite a bit. A dozen years ago I broke my arm near the wrist in three places. I now have some arthritis in my wrist. I really feel it after shooting big handguns or any time my wrist takes a lot of jolting.

I can still get away with the 308 encore and my 480 ruger S. Redhawk. I just can't shoot all day long like I used to. Those are about the max handgun calibers for me any more.

My point being: the 308 encore is quite managable, moreso than you would think.

I have a ported 7-08 and it's a puppy. Same with a 6.5 wsm. With a brake it's next to nothing. Now I have an unbraked 260 and it pushes harder than both but totally manageable

I shot my 308 Win Encore this morning. Using Hornady Match cases, Fed match primers, 46 gr of IMR4064 and a Horn 150 gr BTSP groups were 1/2" at 100 yds. Scope is a Leupold 2.5x8 with friction adjustments. I find that recoil is very manageable more than my scoped Rugers and groups and range is much, much better. I am 68 yr old and hunt from ladder stands or elevated box blinds and find the Encore to be a challenging option to a 6 shooter.

I have a 15 inch 308 Win barrel and it is not bad at all to shoot. It is factory with just a crown job and it is very accurate with my reloads using RL 12 and 150 gr. Bal Tips. I managed to get a 4 or 5 lb jugs shortly after it was discontinued.

Steve E..........

Teh 308 in a 15"+ pistol barrel is pretty efficient. It loses some velocity compared to a rifle, but not as much as you think. It has been used in "carbine" rifles for years with 16.5" barrels but the drop from that to 15" is negligable.

Recoil in the heavy Encore is quite pleasant, and accuracy is on par with many rifles.

My preference for the 308 is a 16.5" handgun barrel as I notice no difference carrying it over the 15". It then doubles as a carbine with the addition of the buttstock. Versatile, compact and fun to shoot.

If you really want to know what the "specialty pistols" will do, look at what they are doing at the Cold Turkey shoot in Sundance Wy. From mild to wild for cartridges and platforms.

Even after well over a year and a half, the replies keep coming in.

I've had the barrel for some time but don't have a scope for it. I haven't even put a round through it to try it out.

Thanks for the info guys.
Keep on posting. I'd still like to hear more about this topic.

So, Race, have you shot it yet?

Not yet.
I don't have a scope for it so I'll be winging lead downrange with a faint hope of hitting something.
I should try it just to see what it sounds and feels like.
Might be a couple of weeks before I can do that though

Well?

Nope

Not a big priority at this time.
Trying to get other stuff taken care of before deer season.
Maybe sometime within a few weeks

Finally got a chance to shoot the 308.
The recoil was very manageable and not at all painful.
Nowhere near as bad as my Ruger 454 before I scoped it.

I was using factory Win 150 grain ammo.

I took it with me Texas to try to shoot a hog or javalina but found my bipod is not stable enough for me to stay on target.
Need to figure out something different for next time.

Good to see that you got out. Yup, they can be a bit tricky to hold steady without a decent rest. Even though it allows the gun to jump a bit more I've found that if I grip the gun lightly I get less quiver in my sights.

I have one of these barrels I would sell. NIB. I think it is 15 inches but that is from memory, and it ain't what it used to be. I am not sure of current pricing but I would take $165 shipped. PM me if interested.

Uh, the OP bought his barrel over a year ago......



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Well, , I was simply offering one for sale (at a very decent price, I might add) to anyone reading this thread who might want one.

I have the factory Encore 308win 15" barrel that I added the T/C muzzle brake to and drilled for a rifle forearm. I like it and have the forearm set up to take a Harris Bipod. Very accurate and works well with my handloads. I usually use 125gr Nosler BT, 150gr Nosler Partition or 130gr Barnes TTSX bullets in it.