I am a proficient rifle hunter for all types of big game. I have been recently introduced to the TC Encore Pistol and have purchased the Prohunter in 22-250 caliber for target shooting and varmit hunting. I enjoy the gun and shooting it, and I would like to use the pistol for whitetail deer in Michigan, but do not feel that the 22-250 has adequate stopping power.

I am considering 3 calibers for whitetail - 270 Win, 7mm-08Rem and 308 Win all in 15" barrel. I am leaning toward the 270 since I have that caliber in rifle and have reloading equipment. I would be interested in comments and thoughts on these three calibers, and any comments on recoil. The 22-250 recoil is low, and I have shot the TC COntender in the 35 Rem caliber and find it to have tolerable recoil.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Via google, please: Specialty Pistols.

The 7mm-08 would get my vote as it is more efficient than the .270 in a pistol-length barrel and affords plenty of power for the task at hand. A 140 grain Sierra Pro Hunter or GameKing will serve you well, expand sufficiently and penetrate more than adequately.

The 140 grain Accubond is another possibility and is well suited to the velocity range you'll be working at.

I had a .308 that was excellent. Used it for antelope and hogs with great success. I sold it after getting my .30-30AI Contender barrel. If I were to go with another Encore pistol barrel, I think I would do as Bobby says and get the 7-08. It seems like the perfect balance of performance, efficiency, and managability. I just love my little Contender too much to lug that big Encore around again.

If legal in MI the 22/250 will certainly do loaded with the a premium game bullet and you wait for careful shot placement. A wider heavier bullet will help take some of the chance out of the shot though. While I always pay close attention to anything Bobby Tomek says, of the cartridges you list I expect a 308 Winchester would be even more efficient in a short tube and there's an even wider variety of projectiles available, some of which will be better choices than anything of .284 diameter should you want to hunt something larger than whitetails some day. FWIW while hearing protection is a good idea with any firearm I strongly recommend you wear electronic hearing protectors when you're hunting with a 15 inch Encore, whatever chambering you choose.

One good thing about the pistol-length barrels and their more sedate velocities is that standard cup-and-core bullets perform exceedingly well.

And as nordrseta poined out, perhaps taking into consideration something larger you may want to hunt later on would play in favor of the .308. But either the 7mm-08 or .308 will do wonderfully on deer, and I can assure you they'll never know if it was a .284 or .308 diameter bullet that resulted in their demise.

Here are just a few that do well at the lower end of the velocity spectrum:

quote:

Originally posted by Bobby Tomek:
But either the 7mm-08 or .308 will do wonderfully on deer, and I can assure you they'll never know if it was a .284 or .308 diameter bullet that resulted in their demise.

Well and truly said. As I think on it a fella would need to be using 180-220 grain bullets on much larger critters to notice the advantages offered by a .308 diameter bullet. Awesome photos Mr. Tomek.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Bobby Tomek:
The 7mm-08 would get my vote as it is more efficient than the .270 in a pistol-length barrel and affords plenty of power for the task at hand.

Bobby,

I appreciate the feedback. Being new to reoading as well as pistol hunting, I am interested in knowing what the difference is with 7-08 and the 270 rounds with say a 140 grain Nosler Accubond? Is the efficiency loss for the 270 that significant?

With the .270 WCF in a 15" barrel, you are burning a good bit more powder and thus enduring more noise, recoil and muzzle blast for virtually the same performance as the 7mm-08.

the 22-250 is really marginal for deer size animals.

I'll throw another vote in for the 7-08.

The 270 will be a bit (<10% faster) and will have quite a bit more muzzle blast.

The 7-30 waters was one of the old stand by chambering in the contender and the 7-08 in the encore is everything we loved about the 7-30 but faster. =)

To all the folks who commented on my question - after reading your posts and doing some more research, I ordered the 7mm-08Rem barrel for the Encore. Many thanks for your input.

Next question will be what scope to use!

There are several options for scopes, but one thing I will mention up front: make sure your mounting system is absolutely secure as the recoil generated can ruin your accuracy and wreck a scope in a hurry.

A good steel base from MGM or Stratton Custom (the latter is available through midwayusa.com) is my preference along with Warne rings.

Warne's base works just fine, too.

When starting, make certain the screw holes are free of any oil and debris, and be sure to use a good thread locker.Some folks even put a thin layer of thread locker or even epoxy between the base and barrel. But if you get everything else done corectly, that step is not necessary for a 7mm-08.

As to scopes, Burris, Bushnell and TC top the list -- and my favorites have always been the older TX 2.5-7x with Burris a close second. Leupold makes a good, solid scope, but it doesn't command anything other than a much higher price over the others mentioned.

Also, while higher powers are available, you'll likely find that 2-7x will take care of anything you may need.

Keep us posed on your project.

Bobby's dead on scopes. I had a Bushnell Trophy 2-6 on my .308 Encore for several years and it performed well. I also have one on a .223 Contender and like it. I have a Burris 2-7 with Bplex on my .30-30 AI and it's a darn fine scope also. The difference? The Bushnell has fixed (more or less) eye relief at the expense of decreasing field of view as magnification increases. The Burris is the opposite, with relatively constant FOV but decreasing eye relief with increasign magnification. Overall I prefer the Burris on anything to be used over 100 yards. The very narrow FOV of the Bushnell at 6x leaves very little room for error.

quote:

Next question will be what scope to use!

I've got a burris 2-7x on my 454 and like it. I've got a bushnell 3200 2-7x on my .375 JDJ and like it a bit less. I find it doesn't have quite enough eye relief for a gun held at arms length.

My arms are different than yours, so YMMV.

I've got 300+ full power 454's into the burris, and over 100 on the bushy and no problems from either... not that I would expect any.

I thought that I might chime in here too. I shoot two 7mm-08's, both a Savage Striker & a Lone Eagle. Awesome on deer out to beyond my ability to hold it steady. Also got Lone Eagle in 308 & 444, plus Contender in 7-30 & 223. Go with the 7mm-08 - less recoil & blast than 270 & just as good performance in reasonable ranges.

Scopes are also out in the air. Bushnell Trophy 2X6 is a "Best Buy" for price & durability - got one on both the 444 & 7mm-08 Striker, but does have limitations as listed above. Also have 2 Leupolds variables on 7-08 & 308 and they are much clearer w/ a wider view at higher ranges. My 7-30 has the TC variable & is a good in-between scope - IMO, better than Bushnell Trophy, but less than Leuopold. Got a Burris on 223 & it is repeatable & super clear. Bushnell 3200 is a good scope also.