My Encore went sour on me and won't shoot anything accurately. This rifle used to shoot OK 1 1/2" with an occaisonal flyer that would open it up to 3". Now it shoots 4" to 6" and sometimes worse. It doesn't seem to matter what load I use either. At first I suspected the scope was the problem, but I changed scopes and the problem continued. The scope I took off is now on my .338-06 and has no problems. The scope I put on it was previously on anothe rifle and worked fine. I think that pretty much rules the scope out. Anybody else out there have one of these things that shot for a while and then went to hell in a hand basket? If so any suggestions for fixing it?

Migra

De-lead the bore, de-plastic the bore?? Check for crown damage. Is the action still fairly tight?

Inclined to think it would be either leading or plastic fouling. Look for dull spots in the bore after a normal cleaning.

If it shot good before I would think it was plastic or lead fouling too.
I would get a jar of JB's cleaning compound or Remington bore cleaner,and follow their instructions but would use at least 200 strokes changing the patch every 50 strokes.

I'll try it, but the bore looks bright shiny and clean.

Same exact thing happened to my muzzleloader. Still haven't found the reason that caused it to shoot funny. (It has a clean bore and good crown) I do think I found another load that it likes. I need to do some more testing to make sure it continues to like it. Let me know how things work out.

Dont forget to check out the screws on your scope base also...changing out the scope wouldn't eliminate this problem.
I also suspect fouling issues the most likely problem. A good soaking and cleaning isn't too hard to give a try.

regards,
Graycg

I checked the screws on the base when I changed the scope they were tight but I'm not sure that the base is 100%. It's made out of aluminum and this thing has has a ton of recoil. I'm thinking about replacing it regardless. I've been looking at a few things on the precision rifle website. These guys do a ton of experimenting wth muzzleloaders and have some interesting ideas. I did pillar bed and float the forend because of some tight spots. I called Thompson Center and they reccomended a new and improved breech plug. I ordered it but I doubt it will help. We'll see if this works when I take it to the range.

You didn't say before that it was an M/L. Try just changing the nipple. The old one may be damaged. derf

NUMBER ONE
get a box of thompson maxi hunters and try it at 50 yards....

Number 2
tighten every thing down

Number 3
witness mark your charging rod, and pack every shot to the same depth/setting

Number 4
Change to a spitfire nipple

Number5 (and should be number zero)
try triple 7 ffg powder

jeffe

guys, this is an ENCORE. Some of your tips are still quite valid though. Encores are male.

Found the fix for my Encore so maybe it will help you. The thimbles that hold the the barrel to the forearm started to loosen up. I tightened them backup with a little loc-tite, stripped the gun down and cleaned it. When I put it all back together it was back to normal. Didn't even need to adjust the scope. Let me know if this works for you.

I called Thompson Center Arms and talked to tech support. The guy I talked to told me to get rid of the triple 7 and go back to Pyrodex. I figured he was probably full of it but What did I have to lose. Mind you I made this call after I was totally at wits end. I had pillar bedded the forend, drilled and tapped another hole in the barrel to secure the front of the scope base, modified a breech plug to accept cut down .223 cases. (Thats another novel all by itself. Check the precision rifle website and you'll see where I was going with this. And oh yeah by the way it didn't help.) But I digress. I went back to pyrodex (100 grains) loose pyrodex, no pellets. Precision rifle dead center 300 grain sabots. Now it shoots in the 1 1/2 to 2 inch range. Not as good as I would like but acceptable for hunting. On a side note my son's Black diamond shoots triple seven and the same bullet a hell of a lot more accurate than the encore and it was a lot cheaper. I guess you don't always get what you pay for.

Migra