buying TC encore

[Bofire]

 :)I have a couple questions guys.
I am going to buy a Thompson Contender Encore. first cartridge will be a 22-250 26 inch, black or camo "flex" stock. stainless.
I am concerned about the trigger, will $100-200 get it to 2.5-3.5 crisp pounds? Are they hard to do?
Tell me any experiences. I am always screwing around with alternative cartridges this will make it easy to try with just changing the barrel.
I will be selling a rifle to help with  the finance, I have a deal going, will put it here if that falls thru.
Carl

MOVE THIS TO GUNS PLEASE

[jackelope]

i picked up a T/C encore from the classifieds here a year ago. i got the 28" 300 win mag heavy barrel and the 26" 22-250 heavy barrel. i have not fired the 22 barrel yet but the rifle with the 300 barrel shoots better than any other rifle i've ever owned, and it's a nice light rig. i wish i had the pro hunter swivel hammer, but the trigger isn't too bad and mine hasn't been touched.
the single shot and the hammer and all that stuff takes a little getting used to, but it is my new favorite rig.

[carpsniperg2]

i have shot them and like them but i have not owned one myself i would look at the pro hunter unless you are set on the encore i like the added features of the pro hunter almost bought one awhile ago but passed.

[jackelope]

as far as i know the only differences are the swing hammer and the flex tech stock. it sounds like he's getting a pro hunter i guess. i am thinking of sending mine to T/C to have the swing hammer installed.
it takes about $100, then you can get the flex tech stocks on ebay for a hundred or so bucks.

[yorketransport]

Encores are a lot of fun. The triggers aren't great most of the time, but they're functional from the factory and pretty good if you have it worked over. Most of my experiences with them have been as pistols. I always like the barrel swapping thing.  Like you, I love trying different calibers and it seemed like the most economical way to do it.

FWIW, for about the same money as an Encore you could buy a Savage and use that as a switch barrel gun. That's what I ended up doing and I've never regretted it. Then you have the advantages of a repeater and more options for aftermarket stocks and accessories. You can pickup used Savage barrels for anywhere from $40-$300, and new barrels for about the same amount as an Encore barrel. Also, with the Encore every barrel will need a scope. With the Savage, you can have one scope and multiple barrels. The downside is that swaping barrels on a Savage does require special tools instead of just a screw driver. But I can swap a Savage barrel in under 10 minutes, not that much longer than swapping them out on an Encore.

I'm not trying to talk you out of the Encore. I still have a couple of Contender pistols and I love the TC guns for the easy barrel swaps. I just thought I'd throw another option out there.

Andrew

[Bofire]

Thanks guys, from what I have read the barrels etc from the encore and prohunter switch back and forth. I want the encore 22-250 cause I do not want the 28 inch barrel, I will want the 28 on other cartridges, and shorter on others.  The Flex stock fits both also, I had not thought about the swing hammer but the extensions work good. Do you all agree the factory trigger is OK?
  Talk about fun, slow lead cast bullet straight case cartridges, fast small ones, weird ones, maybe a shotgun barrel. Keep your input coming
Carl

[jackelope]

be careful with the hammer extensions. some are ok, some are not. i have done my homework on this and it is said that some are heavy enough to slow down the hammer enough to cause misfires, some are heavy enough to break the hammer. the comb on the stocks are shaped in such a way that i have high rings on my scope and it gives me enough room to not need an extension and it's still comfortable to shoot.
a good resource for encore stuff and info is www.bellm.com

[jdb]

i love mine handiest carrying rifle ive ever had. I'd really like to get a group of encore enthusiasts togeather and do barrel swapping and thing of that nature.

[runningboard]

have 3 T/C contenders with 6 barrels & asked my kid if he wants to upgrade to pro-hunter next year. love 'em. get barrel length without sacrificing handiness, better velocity, less muzzle blast, depending on stock, puts your wrist in good position to sqeeze trigger without "torquing" rifle. makes trigger pull "feel" lighter than it is.

[jackelope]

there's a gun shop in bellevue that had a bunch of used contender pistol barrels in their showcase for sale if anyone's interested...

[Austrian Hunter]

I picked the Knight KP1 over the T/C Encore. Mine is a .308 stainless barrel and camo stock, it is my favorite rife now. 

[Wanttohuntmore]

I have one of the first Encores from the mid 90's or so, 7mm-08, and 22-250, both 15" barrels.  I've found that trigger to be decent, but not as nice as my old Contender trigger.  It's funny though, I've not even thought about doing a trigger job on that gun, but I do on my bolt guns, so it must be decent as is. 

With the pistols, I find the consistancy of how you grip it, and pull straight back on the trigger, really has an affect on the accuracy.  With the contender, I'm around moa at 100 yds.  With the Encore, it's more like 1.5 moa, still plenty decent.  I blame that more on the grip than the trigger, or possibly my loads just are not worked up well enough.

[Huntbear]

Have been thinking seriously about a T/C S/S rifle for awhile now.  I like the idea of less weight to carry, great accuracy, and more strength in the receiver.  I really want one for deer to start, then get a diff. barrel for elk/bear, etc..

[Bofire]

I hear ya huntbear, just different to own. loads of barrels. I am shopping. Stainless Pro Hunter rifle. not sure of cartridge yet. maybe 22-250 the  338 Federal? or 35 remington and shoot cast 357 bullets.
Carl

[MADMAX]

I love mine and the only reason I'm selling it is to buy a REM XCR
No room in the safe.
See my ad in classified if anyone is interested in a nice shooting gun
Stainless 7 mag