flyinlowe

I bought a new Encore about 5-6 years ago. It is laminate stock with thumb hole and SS barrel in .50 cal. I have always liked the way the gun shot. With my current set up it is not as accurate as I think it should be but I am not blaming the gun. I shoot Barnes Spit Fire TMZ that are .451 and 250 grains. I use 100 grains of the powder pellets. I have always heard there are more accurate options out there but always liked the convenience. I have killed a lot of deer with this gun but this year I shot two different deer that I never did find. After that horrible experience I think I need to change my setup before next year. Usually when I site it in I have it shooting a couple inches high at 100 yards. I noticed this year when I sighted it in it was only keeping about a 2 1/2 to 3 inch group at 100 yards. A friend of mine has the same set up and he sites his in the same way. A little high at 100 yards. He said this year he went back to 200 yards just to do it and was surprised to see the bullet was almost 14 inches low. I don't know if it was 12 inches low (14 inches total given his 2 inch high at 100 yards) or if it was 14 inches low (16 inch drop compared to 100 yards). I shoot the 209 primers. I also have a traditions brand scope. It was not the cheapest scope but it was no Leupold either, it is a 3-9x40. When sighting in I always swab my barrel with several of the pre moistened patches then a couple dry patches between each shot. Since I have had the gun I have had 3 occasions to shoot at a second deer shortly after shooting another deer. All three times I have had clean misses. I am assuming that the gun is shooting a lot different from a dirty barrel.
What changes would you guys make to tighten my groupings up and also not have as much drop if I take a shot out a little further? What kind of range should I expect from this gun and still be accurate. I have shot a deer at about 150 yards with it but nothing further then that. I always figured it would be good up to 200 yards but after hearing the report from my friend I have my doubts.
After this season I was almost ready to go back to my shotgun (870 with rifled barrel. I just love the Encore though and would rather get it shooting better then go back to a shotgun.

OLDBOB

Do you clean the breech plug well, especially the fire channel? Check your scope mount.
There can be a lot of reasons. Are the powder pellets old? I'll bet it's one of these 3 things. Muzzleloader must be cleaned well, and the powder should always be fresh. If the powder 9pellets) gets any kind of moisture in it it loses a lot of power.

1874sharpsshooter

I would keep the same bullet but ditch the pellets . Go to loose powder . Start around 90 gr and go up in 10 gr increments til you find the sweet spot . I would be willing to bet 110 to 120 gr 777 or 90 to 110 gr Blackhorn would improve your groups but you just need to work up the best load and see . Good luck . If you shoot trie 7 swab after every shot .

flyinlowe

If I am at the range I don't clean breach plug between shots, but once I get home I soak it in bore cleaner while I clean the gun. I always run a small needle through the opening so I can see good light through it.

Underclocked

Is this the same breechplug you have been using all along? If so, you might need a new one. In addition to what is recommended above, I would suggest you thoroughly clean that barrel with a solvent that will remove plastic fouling. Even though you aren't shooting BH209 powder, a 1/8" drill bit in the breechplug's flame channel might remove fouling you are missing.

Inspect the internal crown as best you can to see if there are any distortions at all.

Johnmorris

I use a 1/8 drill and a welding tip rasp to clean the small hole one set is 3.00

scottycoyote

i use bh209 with a 200g bullet and i couldnt ask for a more accurate setup in my encore. I clean my gun once before season, then i shoot it once to foul it, and i run 1 tc seasoning patch wrapped around a 45cal scrubbing brush thru the barrel after every test shot. This seems to keep my bore and shots very consistent. I dont clean the gun again until after the seasons over.

jchpd203

Have the same gun (different stock) with a Leupold Ultimate Slam scope on it. Was getting terrible groups with pellets and then switched to BH209. It made an amazing difference. I thought it would not be as convenient but after shooting it for a bit, it became second nature to measure out the powder and load. I also found the trick with the drill bit in the breech plug. Groups shrunk from 2-3" at 100 yds. to 1/2" at 100. Also found a ballistics calculator for my smart phone. It is called Strelok Ballistic Calculator. You program loading data, ballistic co-efficient of the bullet, and some other data and it calculates your drop out as far as you want. It also will show your scope reticle and where it will impact in relation to your zero so you can see where the bullet will hit. Pretty neat stuff. The app is available free in the app store.

Semisane

Ballistics calculators are fine. I use them and enjoy comparing predicted to actual. Most of the time the predicted is reasonably close to actual. But if I plan to shoot at game out to 175 or 200 yards I would never do so without a load that I've proven at that distance on the range.

Some bullets do funny things once they pass a certain distance. The best example I can give is the Lee REAL bullet. I have two guns that will shoot the .50 caliber 250 grain REAL into one hole groups at 50 yards. But I'm lucky to keep the 100 yard groups under six inches.

rt_con

I agree with the advice already given:

1. Ditch the pellets and switch to loose powder. I have no issue with using T7, but I absolutely have to swab between shots to get decent accuracy. In your situation where you have a possible second shot, when maybe switch to BH209 instead. Then you can probably eliminate the swabbing between shots and still get same POI.

2. If that is your original breech plug you may need a replacement. I am surprised how fast my breech plugs erode.

3. The 250 Barnes TMZ is a great bullet and very accurate out of my Omega and Knights. Sometimes I've switched the Barnes yellow factory sabot for the Harvester Crush Rib yellow (also for boat tail bullets).


Good Luck... Rob