I have an Encore with.50 Muzzleloader, .280 Rem, .243 Win barrels. I just bought the .243 Win barrel so I don't know how that shoots yet. The .50 Muzzleloader and the .280 Rem shoot well enough for hunting. All are factory barrels from Thompson. I have not had any problems with the barrel pin yet. I would also agree a trigger job is a must. I just sent mine to Bellm so I am happy to hear a thumbs up by HEAD0001.