I just got off the phone and have tracked down an Encore in .22lr, 10"barrel match chamber all stainless.

They want 532Euro for the stainless frame,
and 1040Euro for the barrel, stainless with match chamber.

That's $1695.06USD for a pistol in .22rl!

I may go for it all the same, I think I can wrestle that price down a little, but I would like to hear a little about the performance of this gun.

What sort of accuracy should it give at longer ranges(100m)

One thing I could do to get around spending $1,121 on a barrel is; I could buy and register the frame, then get a barrel from the States.
I must check up on the legality of this but I'm pretty sure it's ok as people here are always buying second barrels for shotguuns and I have a Drilling rifle in 7x65 + 20ga that has a second set of 20ga barrels that did not require any sort of registration.

Do these prices reflect what you pay for these gun in the States or are they the result of a sad monopoly here in Italy?

I can get a Browning auto for less than half that money, is it worth it?

Thanks.

Express, I have some property you may be interested in!! Actually you could get two(2) Encores for that price in the States and still have some left over to put into a brick of .22lr ammo.That price is really high for a US purchase!

Express, the person selling that Encore is more than a tad out of touch with reality I think! That is more than twice as high as we would pay here. I would keep looking. Russ

That is the price Bignagmi gave me. They are the principal importer for most of the big names here, they wont deal with the general public, so would have to pass it on to my dealer. That was their reccomended retail price.
He may not charge me a full mark up, but it will be similar.
I would be interested to see what paperwork I'd have to go through to get one from the states.

Would it be worth the trouble if I can get a Browning 7" target barrel auto for around 550Euro?

Express,

Look into the laws there, and see if you can order the barrel and accessories direct. It may be that all you have to purchase through the dealer is the frame itself, but I am not up on Italian firearms law

That price is highway robbery at its height! The only way I could see such a price as legitimate is if the import tarrifs are intentionally prohibitive on such an item as to discourage ownership.