A friend of mine has an Encore that on the first shot it seems to be always high(2") left(1") then the next four shots walk back to center. Shooting 55 gr factory loads, don't know the twist, seems the smaller grain bullets still do this just not as bad.

What should I look for to make first shot cold barrel be more like the fith shot?

Have checked usual, scope base rings yada, yada..

First of all, I have an Encore 22-250 barrel that is VERY consistent from the first shot and quite accurate. I would therefore conclude that there is something wrong with your friend's barrel.

I have an Encore 30/06 barrel that behaved in pretty much the same way as your friend's barrel. I sent it back to Thompson/Center Arms. They lapped the barrel and recrowned the muzzel which cured the problem. It's now a very consistent 1 MOA gun (one of my favorites). The only cost to me was my shipping cost for sending the barrel to them (they paid return shipping).

Other than a muzzel problem there are other things like improper barrel heat treating that can cause wandering groups. The first bullet(s) from a clean, freshly oiled barrel will tend to be high as well. If the problem is oil in the barrel, a couple of patches down the bore with solvent to remove the oil should prevent the group wandering. If the problem occurs with a cold fouled barrel, then the problem is of a mechanical nature in the gun.

The problem occurs on a cold fouled barrel. I will check all things mechanical and check all things for tightness and if still doing it contact Thompson.

Thanks for the reply.

Cold, clean barrel....

quote:

Originally posted by muzzleblast525:
Cold, clean barrel....

Muzzleblast, you lost me with your comment????

This gun does the same if it has a completly clean or recently fired cold barrel.