Any good ideas on accurizing a Thompson Encore 25-06 w/ a factory bull barrel?

I went through a lot of trial and error trying to get a .308 bull bbl. Encore to shoot decent groups. Tried the oversized hinge pin (probably doesn't hurt for $8) and a bunch of different handloads. Still had groups stringing 3 shots on a six inch vertical.

Finally sent it back to T/C. They re-crowned, and did something else (can't read the tech's writing). Sure enough, three shot groups at an inch or better now. Frankly, between the trigger mechanics and the forend design I think they can be finicky. Seems weird since it's such a simple design, but unless you're in total love with the concept of the Encore I'd get a bolt gun.

R

Well,
there is this guy that lives in a log cabin in Nashport, (which is only about 15 minutes from you) he is a big Encore fan and would probably give you a hand working up some accurate loads. :-)

(Rumor has it that he is also a pretty cool guy to deer and turkey hunt with)

------------------
J.W.
Hero of the Hapless
Master of the Obvious

I've worked alot on the encore in 25-06 as well as 6PPC. You are right, they are very tricky!First, many many factory Encore barrels have non-concentric chambers. Believe it or not they are chambered at the factory with a Drill press, not a Lathe. If the chamber is non-concentric only a new barrel will help. The second biggest issue is to adjust your cases for absolutely zero headspace. The locking bolt system of the encore is strong but has some flex in it. Thus, for accuracy it must lock up identically each time. Don't use the oversize locking Pin as it will wear out the hinge. Third, their muzzel crowns are terrible, but you can get a inexpensive 11 degree PILOTED muzzel crown from Brownells that easily corrects this problem. Finally, you need to fix the trigger. Mike Belm has a kit which can make an encore trigger better than a competition contenders. When all the above is done you still have to find a bag technique that works best with your gun. The fore-end screwed to the barrel isn't great but it isn't that bad either. When I finished all of the above on my 6PPC 26 inch long Encore it would shoot <1 groups at 200 yrds. It's no competition gun but the ground squirrels have learned to fear it.-Rob

Thanks Guys,
Sounds like I have my work cut out for me. Oh well, guess that just means more time at the range!

All the other posts are great and here is my 50 buck input.
Check with Mike Bellm at www.bellmtcs.com./ He used to offer a "check it out" service for a small fee. He would check the chamber and crown to see if they were OK. His trigger springs are GREAT and so are his pins.

Get rid of the fiber piece of crap forend and use a forend from Virgin Valley Guns, www.virginvalleyguns.com/, or copy it and pillar bed it. Best bet is to have VVG do you a barrel and forget all the happy horse sh** you have to go through to get a stock Encore barrel to shoot.

Make sure the inside of the stock doesn't touch the frame where it covers the hinge pin and by the stiffener on the frame or anywhere else EXCEPT where it attaches to the barrel. I find keeping the rifle setting on the bags just in front of the frame helps, but I think pillar bedding and making sure the pillars are above the wood in the channel about 0.050" does help a great deal. That way only two points touch the barrel and as long as the pillars are turned to fit the curvature of the barrel they will work great. I find T/C's are as difficult to bed and get to shoot as Ruger #1's but once you get it right, it's better than sex, well almost, anyway. If the barrel doesn't shoot after all this work, send it back. T/C usually doesn't give you any problem with replacement barrels or fixing the original.

I have a 22-250 SS hvy going back because it sprays instead of groups with Federal factory ammo T/C said they used for accuracy testing. I'm just to hard headed to follow my own sage advice sometimes...mostly all the time.