I am interested in a rifle that I can easily take apart and put into a small case for traveling. Has anyone here used the T-C Encore? I am interested in accuracy and how you generally liked the rifle. Also, any experience with after-market barrels. I have had good luck with MGM barrels for the T-C Contender. Thanks.

The Encore is more or less a lot like the Contender but larger/heavier and can handle cartridges that the Contender will not. The custom shops that make Contender barrels also make Encore barrels.

What cartridge are you wanting that the Contender will not handle?

I have a few of both but only have Encore barrels that will not work with the Contender since I usually prefer the more compact Contender or G2.

I like the TC Encore very much. I recently got a custom 500-110 barrel from MGM. ( True .500 cal. like 500S&W) 450gr. solid, Cutting Edge Bullet at 2,100 fps for cape buffalo.
The Encore/Contender is about 5-6 inches shorter than a bolt rifle. They are a great little carbine.

Mike: I am interested in calibers such as .270 Win., .300 Win, or maybe 6.5x55 or 7x57, for hunting bigger game, and good for 200 to 300 yards. I have used the Contender a lot in 7-30 Waters, .30 Herrett, and 6.5 TCU, for mule deer, antelope, and one mountain lion. Now I want something bigger than those. I also am looking for something in fairly common calibers that I can find ammunition for if the airlines use mine. What calibers have you used in the Encore, and what kind of accuracy do you get. Thanks.

If you want to be able to find factory loaded ammo, you probably do need an Encore. If not, some of the JDJ cartridges in the Contender might do.

The Encores are great for "hunting" accuracy. It needs the same kind of attention to detail the Contender does to shoot its' best. If you want to shoot little bitty holes in paper, it's easier to get a bolt action to do that. I think I am down to a 12 Gauge "turkey" shotgun barrel, a 454 Casull pistol, a .458 smokeless powder muzzle loader rifle and a 17 WSM. The 17 WSM is the one I use the most and is built as a "yard" varmint rifle. It weighs about 12 lbs with a big scope mounted. It will hit a muskrat in the eye at 100 yards if I can see it from my shooting bench on the front porch. My wife hums the Elmer Fudd theme song every time I get it out since I have a thing about muskrats digging holes in the lake dam. I have had a bunch of other barrels from .223 to 375 H&H. A mix of pistols and rifles just for fun and plinking. In the hills where I am, 100 yards is about as far as I can see. I did use a .223 on a PD shoot one summer. It was consistent for hits out to 300-350 yards on PDs but the Ruger No 1V and AR15 were more fun than handling the break action Encore on a rest. I used the Ruger No 1V for my "500 yard PD" on that same trip. I used the 375 H&H for deer hunting for a few years. I never really gave it a serious work up but it was good enough and it never failed to kill a deer.

Mike, it sounds like from your prairie dog shooting that the Encore will meet my accuracy needs. I want to be able to take a roe deer (or similar sized animal) at 200-250 yards. Have you tried any MGM barrels? I have a 12" Contender barrel in 7-30 Waters I bought from them and really like it, but one barrel is not a very big sample.

A T/C factory barrel will almost certainly do what you want and there are a lot of used ones for sale. Custom barrels are fun too. I have a mix of custom and factory barrels for the Encore and Contender. The barrels from MGM are as good as any of them and better than some.

I have a encore and it shoots quite well, currently have a 6.5x55 barrel (Shoots MOA with hand loads), custom 9.3x74 (Used in africa in 2013 for 6 animals), custom 405 winchester, and factory 416 Rigby.( the Rigby has a sharp recoil as it really needs to be about 2 lbs heavier to moderate the recoil a bit, however it is fun to shoot and easy to carry)

Dale: I took a Contender carbine to New Zealand to hunt tahr. It was very light weight and the takedown feature was a joy to travel with. Chambered in 308 Bellm it was the ballistic equivalent of a 300 Savage. Much cheaper to get a 30/30 factory barrel rechambered by Bellm than to buy a new MGM barrel. The only criteria it will not meet for you is chambering for factory ammo. If the airlines lost my ammo I was screwed.

I've got a few MGM barrels and I like all of them. My encore barrel is in 260 Bell (a 6.5 X 444 Marlin wildcat). My brother has Encores in 350 Remington and 6.5 Remington Magnum. My son uses an Encore in 7mm Rem Mag. All work really well so the Encore will handle the big cartridges. MGM makes an excellent barrel and their customer is outstanding. I have found that the Encore is more accurate with a dedicated barrel

i have got three 23" MGM heavy factory barrels in 20 vartarg, 444 marlin and 500 linebaugh. the 20 vt is so great that i gave up all of my varmint cartridges. it will do .1" at 100 yards(5 shots/bench) using a 32gr hornady v-max(using careful handloading). it also does a .2 - .3" at 100 yards(5 shots/bench) using a 34gr midway/midsouth hp or a 32gr nosler varmageddon(using reloading ).

i use my 444 and a 300gr fn gc with 2400/dacron going 1624fps(5 shots/bench) and .5 - .7" at 100 yards. i have used 200gr xtp, 265gr hornady fn, 250gr penta hp, 255gr keith, 275gr ranch dog, 280gr wfn gc and 280gr lfn gc with h4198, rel 7, trail boss, unique and some other powders i forgot. it was sub minute on all of the loads.

the 500L is shooting a 450gr lfn gc and hs-6 that is going 1235fps and .7 - .9" at 100 yards(5 shots/bench). this is the rifle that i haven't taken a deer/black bear with.