The Encore is a great rifle. I never realized the barrel was that short. The Encore isone of the best rifles on the market IMO. They are great pellet shooters, but I personally think you can do as well with the loose powders also. Since your first question centered on the use of pellets and sticks I answered it that way.

I would get a pound of looseTriple Se7en and a pound of American Pioneer Powder in 3f. American Pioneer Powder is very course. When you move up to the 3f grade of powder they size of the grains reduce a great deal. You also get a little pressure increase so you have to take all of that into consideration.

When you start shooting your rifle start with 100 grains of loose powder and see what kind of groups you get. Actually this is a very powerful load. About all a person would need unless shooting very large game at some long distances. Still everyone I know everyonelikes to push the rifle a little more, so when you get good accuracy, then increase the powder a little up to the 120 grain range of the loose powder. There is no need to go more then that. It would take out about anything you want to shoot.

Also when you shoot loose powder, stick with some of the lower temperature Remington Kleenbore Primers. It will help control the amount of fowling in the barrel on some rifles. Some it does not matter. If you do decide to shoot pellets I would suggest a Winchester W209 primer. They are a little hotter and pellets need a little more fire to make them fire consistently.

Cayugad-Great advice as usual.Your comments on primers leads me to ask another question. I know there's been a lot of talk about which primers are hotter than others and someone a while back listed them in order. My question is not which ones are hotter but: How do you determine that one primer is hotter than another? I guess that' something I should know but I don't.
Mike

That list by poster Triple Se7en was most helpful (as usual). He posted it some time ago as I remember now.

Where I live I am only able to get three kinds of primers. I can get the Winchester W209, the Winchester WML209, and the Remington Kleenbore Primers. I judged which primers were more powerful by the fowling they leave in the the striker area of my rifle, and how badly they will burn and pop out the ramrod when I start my rifles up.

When I get ready to shoot, I pop a 209 primer or two to clean the breech. Then I put a new clean patch on the loading jag and push that to the bottom of the breech and pop another primers. The Winchester WML209 blew that ramrod over three inches out the barrel and incenerated the cotton patch, blowing the end off and over the jag. The blow back left from it was terrible and it even hadenough power to help distroy the retaining spring on my Black Diamond XR 209 nipple.

The Winchester W209 while they still fowl the breech of the rifle a little will move the ramrod about two inches and burn the patch real good.

The Remington Kleenbore Primers will move the ramrod about an inch and a half sometimes and they burn the patch good too, but they do not fowl the breech as bad.

That is how I was basing my evaluation of which primers were the hottest and the coolest. Maybe Triple Se7en will post that list again...

Cayugad: Ah! I see now.That WML 209 must be a potent little dude. I'm still relatively new to this inline stuff and I've only used Rem Kleenbore's so far. I'll have to try some of the others when I get a chance. Thanks Cayugad. Great info.
Mike

I was wondering the same thing. Got to be at least 2 1/2 more recoil than 12 guage clay load. Mike, is that about right?

Happy Hunting, Phil

Not meaning to highjack the thread but how big is your boy? The Encore is a hefty rifle and they do make the Contender carbine with a m/l barrel now.

As far as powder goes anything I have stuffed down the Encore I own barrel has worked pretty good. I just like the loose T7 because of price and performance.