fiftydriver;

Hi, I got me a 50AE barrel 10" factroy Encore.

Need some load data for it.If you can it is not been rethroated yet I don't know if I will.Any info will be appreicated.Also I still have that 300 WSM brass if you want it.

Wade

Handcannon,

What brand of barrel did you get?

My barrel is a 15" pipe but the 10" will not loose much velocity with this high expansion ratio round and will be a bit handier in the field in close quarter shooting.

My advise is to start with 32.0gr H-110 under either the 325 gr Speer Uni-Core or 340 gr hard cast bullets. If you are using the heavier 380 gr cast bullets then start with 30.0 gr. All of these with a magnum large pistol primer, I prefer CCI-350's.

When loading for the Encore, there are a couple things that should be done different when loading the 50 A.E.

#1 Since you are using a hard to ignite powder in a pretty large volume, we need some solid resistence to insure good ignition. The best way to do this in a handgun is with a heavy roll crimp but since the 50 A.E. has a rebated rim this is not an option. In fact since the Encore will easily handle +P type loads in the 50 A.E. we should not even use much of a taper crimp. Just enough to push the case against the bullet sidewall and no more.

This is a really poor way to get good powder ignition so we must load a bit different. Seat the bullet out so that it is solidly against the rifling when chambered, even .005-.010" crush into the rifling isn't all bad but not really needed.

With the bullet forcing the loaded round back hard against the breech face it does a couple things that really helps powder ignition. The first thing is that it does not allow the round to be driven forward when the firing pin hits the primer. This insures that the primer recieves 100% of the energy from the firing pin and will produce much more consistent primer blasts.

Second, the resistence of the bullet hard against the rifling forces pressure to raise a bit before the bullet begins down the barrel. The higher the pressure the better H-110 burns. Also it seems to force the case walls a bit tighter against the chamber and produces a bit less powder fouling out side the case in the chamber.

As far as load testing. The design of the 50 A.E. rim and the Encore extractor will not handle much in the way of sticky cases, this is a good thing. If the case is sticky at all the extractor will simply slip under the rim of the case and leave it in the chamber, its easily tapped out with a cleaning rod. If you see this, reduce your load by a full grain(1.0 gr) and consider that your max load.

Also increase your loads slowely, 0.5 gr at the most and even 0.25 gr near the top.

My load I use now in my 50 A.E. Encore is 36.0gr H-110 over a CCI-350 in IMI cases. This load is good for 1875 fps. I have gone up to 38.0gr of H-110 with an average velocity of 1988 fps but the severe muzzle jump opened the action from the resistence of my trigger finger on the trigger guard so I dropped it down 2.0 grains. A stiffer spring on the lever would have cured this problem but there is really no need I feel.

Remember that I have quite a long throat in my 50 A.E. and I also use coated bullets as well so my top loads will be more then a regular chamber will stand safely.

I have also found that if I leave the case mouth as long as possible and leave the outer edge almost knife edge sharp, I get a much better gas seal.

On another topic, just came back from talking with my gunsmith about rechambering my pitted 7-08 Encore to the 7mm STW so that it would clean up the pits. He talked me out of the STW and said I should go with the 7mm Ultra. He said that it has the same head diameter(same bolt thrust) but more square inches of case wall to grip the chamber. He said this along with the little amount of case taper should work fine in the Encore. I may not be able to load to 70,000 psi but thats fine.

About the 300 WSM cases, I am very interested in them. My E-Mail address is:

kballen@3rivers.net

Send me an e-mail with your address and the cost of shipping and I will get you a check in the mail ASAP. My 338 WSM XP-100 will be finished by the end of August so I am starting to get excited about that project and the upcoming big game season, should be fun.

Hows the 300 Ultra project going?

Drop me a line with your address and I'll get the check out to you.

As always, good talking with you!

50

fiftydriver;

You have mail.

My 300RUM is still on the bench,waiting for the barrel and the guys to catch up with there back log.

Was there Thrusday bought a VV base for my 375-06JDJ and it is flexing and to weak to hold up plus it never fit the barrel very good having them ploish a DUO ring and put it on it.

7mm RUM is that what you are rechambering the Encore in???? If so then that ought to tell me a little more about how my 300RUM is going to perform.What velocity to want with the 140gr bullet.I get 2700fps at the max and my load that I went with does 2650fps.Hopefully you will get 300fps out of it this is a 15" barrel with no brake right??

With my Contender and Encore with the heavy recoiling cailbers my trigger finger at the second knuckle on the side hits the frame really hard.Do you have this problem.Think I might have my gun smith dehorn the frame.

Wade

Handcannon,

I don't really know what to expect to get out of the 7mm Ultra in the 15" Encore. If it were in an xp-100 then I would be a bit disappointed with anything less then 3000 fps with a 150 gr Ballistic Tip but since it is in the Encore I hope to get anywhere between 2850 and 2900 fps with this 150 gr bullet. I have also found that in the bigger cases, its easier to drive a heavier bullet to good velocities then a light bullet to fast velocities. I may play with the 160 gr partition and 162 gr A-Max bullet as well just to see what happens.

I will not have a break on this barrel to start with, hopefully can stand her without one but that is yet to be seen.

As far as handgun ring/bases setups go, I have found one system that I would use on anything one could imagine, especially for the Encore Contender handcannons. This is using the Burris Double Dovetail bases with a set of Burris Double Dovetail, Signature rings. This set up is flat out the strongest set up I have ever seen. I have seen three ring setups from SSK let a scope slide while this two ring system held tight. The base goes for about $15.00 and the rings about $25.00. For any amount of money, this set up is hell for stout and is the only system I will use. It is simple, strong and clean looking on the handguns, no side screws or anything.

The performance I get out of my 7mm RUM will pail in comparision to your 300 RUM in the XP-100. Yours will be a bit more efficient then the 7mm and the action alone will easily add 100 fps over the Encore. If I can hit 3000 fps with a 150 gr bullet I would say you could hit 3100-3200 fps.

The new data for H-Retumbo says the 300 RUM will do 3600 fps with a 150 gr bullet, thats about 100 fps faster then other Hodgdon powders listed. It also looks good in the 7mm RUM so I think I'll try it.

If you sent me an e-mail, I didn't get it, please try me again.

About the trigger/frame/guard biting you, I have only had a problem with trigger guards tang cutting my support hands fingers it I hold then to high behind it, no problem yet with my trigger hand.

Took my 375 RUM out last night to chrony some loads. Here are the results in a 26" Rem M700 LSS.

260 gr Ballistic Tip
H-414
91.0 gr 2977 fps
92.0 gr 3043 fps

270gr Horn. SP
H-4831SC
102.0 gr 2919 fps
103.0 gr 2968 fps
104.0 gr 3029 fps
105.0 gr 3088 fps

All loads showed zero pressure signs at all. The Hornady 270 gr didn't shoot real well, most groups in the 2-3" range. The 260 gr ballistic Tips held good 1-1 1/4" groups. Will load some more up today and see where we can go from here. I think 3100 will be easy for the 270 gr and possibly 3150-3200 fps with the 260 gr. I'll let you know.

Good Shooting!!

50

fiftydriver;

Got your check today for the brass I think the amount was a little over board.

Nice Ram do you want the pic back?

Will get the brass of to you Friday or Tuesday.

Thanks Wade