lovethebigguns

I know y'all sometimes get sick of these types of threads but....
I want to buy a 15" pistol barrel for my Encore for deer huntin in Northern Indiana. I will scope this pistol and (with the right caliber) I could have some pretty long range shots.
What is your favorite and why??

Thanks!

KodiakArcher

.260 Rem., accurate, flat shooting at modest range, low recoil, good deer medicine.

James B

The 260 would be a good one. I would also consider the 7MM-08 and 308. Much more casing that that and you don't gain much as the 15 inch barrel can just burn so much powder. The 7mm-08 may be the best one yet. Any of the three we are talking about would be very good. I just ordered a 308 barrel as they were on sale and hard to beat anyway.

AmericanPioneer

I would choose the .308 winchester. Why? It is a very versatile round. It has bullet weights from 110 to 220 and many different bullet styles and loadings from about every manufacturer. It is usuallyvery accurate. You will still get good velocities in the 15" barrel. Factory ammo can be found just about anywhere if you dont handload. Military surplus for practice at cheap prices.Hornady makes light magnum ammo but the short barrel may not do it justice. Can use chrony and see. Doesnt hurt but inthewallet for a box.Ithaves managablerecoil. Some use the 30-06 but I cant see any advantage in the 15" barrel. All that powder couldnt get burnt.Also, you can get good deals on usedbarrels that probably havent seen too many rounds through them.I hope this helps.

PaJack

I have a 15" 7mm-08 for the Encore,execelent for deer and the accuracy is great also...

lovethebigguns

Thanks for the replys!
Just curious as to why no one talks about the "traditional" deer rifle calibersfor an Encore Pistol, like 25-06 or 270 Win or even the 30-06 and 300 Win??

James B

Just not enough barrel length to burn the extra powder. We used to cut 30-30 cases off about 1/2 inch and reshape them to the 30 Herret and gain velocty. Same reason that the 308 case in rifles, almost duplicates the 30-06 even though more than a bit shorter. Effecient use of powder

Mike from Texas

I also vote for the 260 Remington. I have a 15" Custom Shop heavy barrel with a muzzle brake and I absolutely love this gun. With the brake there is virtually no recoil. I'd compare it to shooting a 38 caliber pistol but with no muzzle jump at all. I can watch the bullet hit the shoot n c target through the scope every time the recoil is so mild. So far I've taken 2 deer and 5 hogs with it. One piece of advice though, stay away from the ballistic tip style rounds for deer. The 6.5mm is still to thinly jacketed in my experience to be used on deer or larger game. If you shoot factory ammo, go with the Core Lok Ultra. Or better yet, have Nosler Custom Ammo load you up some 125 grain Partitions.

I also had some custom loaded Barnes 120 grain TSX rounds loaded up and shot through and through (2) 100# or so pigs this past weekend. One was a head shot and it went through and then through the shoulders of the one behind him. Devastating, absolutely devastating.

lovethebigguns

Can y'all please expand on what you mean by "Not enough barrel length to burn the extra powder"??
Thanks!
Scottie

m.t.hands

mine is a 15" barreled 7-08 with a fixed power (4X) leupold, two things i would do different, no brake and either a 2X or a varible, it took alot of getting used to with the 4X, as for the traditional cal's, my first contender was a 30-30, my dad has it now, i have killed several deer with mine, but be for warned, people will really look at you funny when you tell them your going to hunt with your pistol and you pull out that 15" barreled hand cannon, as my best friend said "hek that ain't nuthin but the shortest rifle i ever seen in my life"

FYI, i am keeping my shots under 150, and the barrel lenght and powder burn deal, well in a nutshell your bullet has left the end of the barrel before all of the powder has ignited (very inefficent) but alot of fun none the less

keith