I have had a few encores now and currently have a stainless frame and 209x50, 24" 22-250, and 24" 45/70 barrels for it. As a muzzle loader it is the best shooting, most dependable muzzle loader out there. I have a 3-9 scope on my 209x50 barrel and it will shoot 3 shots into 1.5" @ 150 yards with a barnes 250gr Xpander MZ over 2 clearshot pellets. I have used it on a few whitetails and its a devestating combination. The 22-250 barrel is an excellent shooter also. I'm still playing with the 45/70 barrel but its showing quite a bit of promise as a close/moderate range moose hammer.

The only bad thing I can say about the encore is that the factory wood stock is very weak and have a tendency to crack when used with the 209x50 barrels. The crack usually is made by lateral forces that occur while loading the rifle. After a few shots when the sabot is harder to push down the barrel you can cause a split right behind the frame above the narrow part of the buttstock. To get away from that problem I went with the stainless frame and composite stock. I had no problems at all with the composite stock. I recently got a laminated wood stock from boyds gunstocks. The boyds stock is quite a bit thicker than the T/C walnut stocks and hopefully stronger. It probably wouldn't hurt to glass bed it either.

To their credit T/C replaced both stocks that I had crack no questions asked. The T/C is a great value for someone looking for something extremely versitile. I'm planning on getting another barrel in a mid caliber 270-30/06 for use when traveling to the aleutian islands for blacktail deer and carabou. Its nice to be able to take two rifles in your suitcase when traveling to remote locations.

Here is a pic of my encore with the 45/70 barrel on it. I makes a dandy boat gun while floating in moose country. One word of warning, a 350gr FN @ 2200fps is very punishing off the bench with this little puppy. I put a box of shells thru it yesterday and it about beat me to death.