ORIGINAL: smokems
I havent ever shot one, but I dont believe that I want to be squeezing off rounds with a 10. I already have an old school 835 that has like a 1982 camo pattern on it. I am debating between a thumbhole stock model in breakup or the encore in hd. The encore is looking really good because I can get a 7mm08 barrell when my son is old enough to start deer hunting.
Well I gotta tell you... if you've shot 3.5" roman candles out of your 835, then you have probably already experienced a fair amount more recoil than you would with a 10 gauge. Those heavy guns soak up a lot of that punch, and the 12 gauge 3.5" are loaded to much higher pressures.
If you go with the Encore... don't wait to get a 7-08 barrel... buy one now for yourself! Its a sweet caliber. I wish my 7-08 Encore would have shot good enough to be proud of. I'm interested to see what TC is going to do about it.
The only issue I see with the 835 thumbhole is the top tang safety. I have wide hands and short fingers, and my grand-daddy took a stick to me when I took the safety off my bird gun before bringing it up to my shoulder... a lesson that has stayed with me. I personally wouldn't be able to take the safety off, just because habit would have my face on the stock, my thumb through the hole and my fingers are too dang short!