Hunting Washington Forum

Equipment & Gear => Guns and Ammo => Topic started by: Bofire on November 16, 2009, 07:24:35 PM

Title: buying TC encore
Post by: Bofire on November 16, 2009, 07:24:35 PM: :)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
Title: Re: buying TC encore
Post by: jackelope on November 16, 2009, 08:24:30 PM: 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.
Title: Re: buying TC encore
Post by: carpsniperg2 on November 16, 2009, 08:33:41 PM: 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.
Title: Re: buying TC encore
Post by: jackelope on November 16, 2009, 08:38:52 PM: 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.
Title: Re: buying TC encore
Post by: yorketransport on November 16, 2009, 08:44:20 PM: 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
Title: Re: buying TC encore
Post by: Bofire on November 17, 2009, 08:41:21 AM: 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
Title: Re: buying TC encore
Post by: jackelope on November 17, 2009, 08:45:47 AM: 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
Title: Re: buying TC encore
Post by: jdb on November 17, 2009, 06:56:24 PM: 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.
Title: Re: buying TC encore
Post by: runningboard on November 19, 2009, 10:10:44 AM: 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.
Title: Re: buying TC encore
Post by: jackelope on November 19, 2009, 10:16:55 AM: 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...
Title: Re: buying TC encore
Post by: Austrian Hunter on November 19, 2009, 10:42:26 AM: 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.
Title: Re: buying TC encore
Post by: Wanttohuntmore on November 20, 2009, 09:30:15 PM: 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.
Title: Re: buying TC encore
Post by: Huntbear on November 21, 2009, 04:29:39 PM: 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..
Title: Re: buying TC encore
Post by: Bofire on November 21, 2009, 04:36:33 PM: 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
Title: Re: buying TC encore
Post by: MADMAX on November 21, 2009, 04:45:16 PM: 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
Title: Re: buying TC encore
Post by: Huntbear on November 21, 2009, 06:31:18 PM: Quote from: Bofire on November 21, 2009, 04:36:33 PM
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

and a scope for each one! lol.
Title: Re: buying TC encore
Post by: Elk-aholic on November 21, 2009, 10:06:18 PM: I got a Pro Hunter in 300 Win Mag with a Trijicon 2.5-10x56mm on top its fast becoming my favorite rifle to carry in the woods, a heavy fluted 28inch stainless barrel pushing a 180gr speer hot-cor over 3000fps what's not to love!
Title: Re: buying TC encore
Post by: Bofire on November 26, 2009, 06:12:12 PM: Hey Elk, I am looking at a 300 also. Do you have the flex tech stock?, How much do you think your rifle weighs all set to go?
Thanks
Carl
Title: Re: buying TC encore
Post by: jackelope on November 26, 2009, 08:30:03 PM: if it's a pro hunter it has the flex tech stock, also it will have the swing hammer and the fluted barrels are pro hunter barrels.
Title: Re: buying TC encore
Post by: Elk-aholic on November 30, 2009, 05:22:14 PM: Yes my rifle has the Flex stock its made by limbsaver! it has the swing hammer and a fluted barrel, I'm not positive about the weight of the scope/rifle combo but the scope is a 30mm tube and a 56mm Obj and I have some heavy Warne all Steel Mounts on it with a Weaver Base its not too heavy for me its a nice rifle to carry all day in the mountains, I used it on this past season for my Elk hunt in the Sol Duc unit the scope worked great and the rifle shoots wonderful groups, Ive always been a fan of Bolt actions but now I'm a firm believer of the Thompson Single shot. You can look up the specs of the rifle and the scope and add up the two weights on-line to get an idea of the weight.If I had to guess I would say the entire setup weighs about 9lbs or so.
Title: Re: buying TC encore
Post by: Huntbear on November 30, 2009, 05:30:14 PM: What does one weigh with a scope? Just curious if it would be much lighter than a bolt action.
Title: Re: buying TC encore
Post by: carpsniperg2 on November 30, 2009, 05:33:50 PM: the ones i shot were definantly more wieght than like my little bros t3 lite by tikka so i don't think they would be much lighter than a bolt gun
Title: Re: buying TC encore
Post by: jackelope on November 30, 2009, 05:37:12 PM: my stainless synthetic bull barrel'd 300 win mag encore with leupold bases/rings and a vortex 4-12x40 scope weighs 8.8 lbs on my bathroom scale. the barrel is not fluted as a pro hunter barrel would be...however much weight that loses. :dunno:
Title: Re: buying TC encore
Post by: Bofire on November 30, 2009, 05:46:59 PM: Thanks Good info! Do you guys buy the claim of 43% reduction in felt recoil due to the flex tech stock?
I went to sportsman wholesale yesterday, they are closing out models of guns they will not stock next year. All the TC stuff is on sale.
Carl
Title: Re: buying TC encore
Post by: carpsniperg2 on November 30, 2009, 05:50:57 PM: i would not say 43% from what i felt but i would say a good 25% less recoil :twocents:
Title: Re: buying TC encore
Post by: jackelope on November 30, 2009, 05:52:26 PM: i don't have a flex tech as mine is not a pro hunter, but my barrel does have a brake. it is a dream to shoot. i can watch the target and never lose it after the shot. also a 65lb 11 year old was shooting mine and had no problems with it.
Title: Re: buying TC encore
Post by: Elk-aholic on November 30, 2009, 08:04:48 PM: I don't know about the 43% but the Thompson 300 Win kicks less than my Browning BLR with composite stock in 7mag and less than my Sako AV with a walnut stock also in 7 mag, I put 40 rounds down the tube one day to break-in the barrel and my shoulder was fine after, the stock works well it's got a hell of a recoil pad on it.
Title: Re: buying TC encore
Post by: SGM R on December 10, 2009, 11:10:06 AM: This is not a pro-hunter and as you can see the hammer has plenty of clearance with a medium rise mounts. Sweet shooting 375 H&H.

I enjoy my TC
Title: Re: buying TC encore
Post by: Intruder on December 10, 2009, 01:11:33 PM: I just got 1 myself. I ended up w/ the standard model.... just got a raging deal on it.

However, I did hear multiple reports that there have been some problems with the Pro Hunter triggers. Someone on hear probably knows more than me about that... I don't really have any details. I just never took the time to research it. Supposedly the trigger is different and there was some kind of malfunction with em. :dunno:

As far as trigger work, I believe EA Brown does trigger jobs for a pretty good price.
Title: Re: buying TC encore
Post by: SGM R on December 10, 2009, 01:56:59 PM: I haven't heard of the issues with the triggers. I did not think the pro hunter was worth the value. Maybe I'm wrong.

Can anyone convience me?
Title: Re: buying TC encore
Post by: Bofire on December 10, 2009, 02:01:11 PM: That is an opinion, how can one change it? Value is a personal value.
:) Carl
To me: one of the reasons I am looking, I am a BOLT gun guy!
My sons are both left handed, when I go, they could use TC's. but not my bolt guns
I like to try different cartridges, with TC I can do it cheaper than a new bolt gun.
Carl
Title: Re: buying TC encore
Post by: SGM R on December 10, 2009, 02:53:22 PM: Good Up!

they are versatile
Title: Re: buying TC encore
Post by: jackelope on December 10, 2009, 04:19:29 PM: the only thing i know about encore trigger jobs is that finding a gunsmith around here to do any work on them is not easy.
i haven't heard anything bad about them, but i'm kinda in the same boat as intruder...i didn't do much homework, just took the deal i was offered and ran with it.
Title: Re: buying TC encore
Post by: Elk-aholic on December 10, 2009, 04:53:07 PM: This is my Pro Hunter, I shoot left handed also the swing hammer is nice for us south paws. The triggers on the Pro Hunter rifles are very light and nice, mine was a crisp 3lbs out of the box no need for adjustment.