What are the limitations of chambering a belted magnum cartridge, such as a .338 Win mag or .375 H/H, in an Encore barrel? I have been told that a belted cartridge adds an extra degree of difficulty respective to extraction of spent cases from the barrel due to the belt. Any comment regarding this potential problem, as well as other limitations, is appreciated. Thanks.

Hello Mike,

If you go to www.sskindustries.com , and click on the "Encore" section, JD Jones has a real good article on suitable cartridges.

I have a barrel in 375H&H, and loading/extraction is not a problem at all.

Regards, Bill

Mike -

I have a .375/.338 Win Mag and it's a hoot. My understanding is that you don't want to go much bigger on case diameter in high pressure rounds. VVCG, Bullberry, Brown, and maybe a few others have extensive chambering lists.

I have not found the belt on the .338 Win Mag case to be a problem. I generally only shoot stuff once anyway.

Mark Dumais

.416 Rigby, .458 win mag., .470 Nitro, and my personal favorite, the .50 Alaksan. In the Encore, the sky's the limit, or should I say, your ability to handle the recoil.