Encore loads
 

this weekend i broke down and bought an encore. don' t have much money left over to try a bunch of different bullet and powder combinations.

it would be greatly appreciated if you folks could provide me with some suggestions on what bullet/powder loads you have found to work the best with your encore rifles.

thanks.

RE: Encore loads
 

jroot you didn' t say what cal. you bought 45 or 50. I have the TC Encore 209X50, I shoot the 50 cal., 240 gr XTP mag sabots that TC sells, I also shoot American Pioneer Powder, in 50 gr sticks. I know others will tell you to use other kinds but this works well for me. I did buy some 50 cal. 250 gr PTX (power tip express) that TC also sells, I haven' t had time to shoot them though, you know us hunters we are always experimenting.

Here' s wishing you sucess with your new toy. Keep in contact and let me know how you like it.

RE: Encore loads
 

my fault ...got the 50 cal.

RE: Encore loads
 

Hey jroot,

I bought an Encore earlier this year and with Powerbelts' reputation, I decided to start with them. The one and only time I' ve shot it so far, I shot about 12 rounds of 295 grain Powerbelts with 100 grains of Pyrodex pellets through it, but only had limited success with this combination. Normally, I am a consistent shot, but I had a difficult time patterning my Encore with the Powerbelts.

The first shot I took with the Powerbelts and 100 grains of Pyrodex kicked like a .22 magnum, which I thought was very odd. The only explanation I could make for this was that the barrel was so clean, the back end of the Powerbelt' s seal couldn' t make a strong seal in the barrel, which caused the gun to " throw" the bullet out of the barrel instead of shooting it. The following shots felt more normal, but the first one was strange... Has anyone else experienced this?

Jroot, I still have about a half pack of the Powerbelts, so I plan to shoot the rest of them in hopes of acheiving better accuracy, but after that I plan to resort to the T/C sabots. I would start with the T/C sabots if I were you.

Jim

RE: Encore loads
 

thanks for the info. i ended up buying some 230 (or close to it) gr powderbelts and some T/C break-away sabots. plan on trying both this upcomming weekend.

the local gun shops really gouge you on bullets but was looking through cabelas and found some good deals on a variety of loads i' ll try as i can. hate to spend a bunch of money on bullets after spending so much on the rifle ...i haven' t even put a scope on it yet.

will keep you posted on what i find shoots the best.

RE: Encore loads
 

Please do. I' ll be interested to hear how it goes... When do you plan on doing some shooting?

RE: Encore loads
 

Jroot,
I have a SS encore 209x50 , and have had great luck with cci 209 primers, 3 hodgdon T7 pellets and a powerbelt 295gr slug.

RE: Encore loads
 

You may want to try the new SST by Hornady or the shock wave from t/c they are a lot cheaper than the power belts.I shot a few of the 250 gr @100 yds and theyshot very well in my encore. I like the 200 gr because they shoot close to the same as my 195 barnes in my encore.Around here the power belts run close to $20 a pack and the hornady @ $9.49 for a pack of 20,the shock wave are the same but only have 15 pack

RE: Encore loads
 

believe it or not but i haven' t been able to shoot my encore yet. i ended up buying some powderbelt bullets, t/c breakaway sabots, and regular t/c sabots.

with any luck i' ll be able to get away during this holiday weekend and see how it shoots. thanks for the input ...will try them out if i don' t get good results.

RE: Encore loads
 

I shoot 250 gr. Barns EXPANDER sabots in front of 3 pyrodex pellets(50grs. each)

Makes a big noise and kicks a bit but they shoot well and kill very well. More like a high velocity rifle round than a traditional smoke pole projectile.

Robin