Encore barrel or new rifle?
 

I have an older model TC Encore, not the Pro Hunter. With Indianas new rifle law I might get either a .243 or .308. I started shopping around and it looks like the Encore barrel is going to be close to $300.00. At that price I am thinking I can get a nice used rifle or even a new one for not much more. I am curious about the accuracy of the Encore barrels.
I didn't buy the encore specifically looking to expand, I got a good deal on 2 of them so I bought it. It's about 8 years old. Curious about your thoughts.

There for a bit it was a crap shoot as to whether or not you got a good barrel after the S&W takeover. They fixed the issues and are now making good barrels again. I bought a .338fed and 12 gauge rifled barrels for my Pro Hunter frame a few years back and they are exemplary. Sub MOA 5 shot groups at 100 as long as I'm not TOO fast on reloads with both barrels.

E.Author Brown has them for $269 http://www.eabco.net/TC-Encore-Barre...s_p_14078.html

Something can be said for the additional barrel if well made especially if the main frame has good or great glass and is a comfortable gun to shoot. I have a safe full of guns many of which I seldom use. Perhaps a multi use gun with alternate barrels might be another option.

I think you should go with an Encore barrel. The Encore is a pretty good platform.

You can get a lot better barrel for $300 than you can a complete rifle. A new rig is "lock, stock, and barrel," as they say, plus optics. You'll probably only be barrel and optics into the Encore expansion, and it's actually practical to swap, unlike switch barrel bolt guns. A $300 Encore barrel will likely perform better for you than any of the $300 rifles out there - any $300 rifle I buy, I expect to spend $200+ on a new stock and stock work, plus some investment in a new trigger or trigger job, a little action work, so I might find myself $750 into it... Not so on an Encore barrel - what it costs is what I pay.

If you're just talking whitetail hunting in Indiana, the Encore barrel is the way to go. Especially since this is just a trial period!! If it opens up in a few years to other options, you might wanna buy a different cartridge, OR, they might decide one class or the other isn't legal any more, OR, they might scrap the entire thing.

Makes sense, thanks for the info. Now I just need to decide for sure what caliber to get. I initially had the impression after doing some reading that the .243 was not a great option as it was a little to small of a round. It seems after doing some reading on here that it is good for whitetail. Plus I have two kids that might eventually start shooting so they could handle the 243 sooner then a 308.


I have another question. I just jumped on the link above. My set up is stainless steel, not blued. The only SS barrels I saw on there showed for "pro hunter". I am assuming there is a difference between the pro hunter barrels and the standard barrels, however I do want stainless.

The SS "pro hunter" barrels will fit your older Encore frame. They are just longer. 28" vs 24".

And yes a .243 is plenty of cartridge for whitetail deer. Just use the right ammo. If you reload your own then great but if you buy factory ammo get something loaded with minimum 85 grain bullet in the Nosler Partition or Accubond or Barnes TSX bullet. If this wasn't for Indiana's new retarded law I would say get you a 7mm-08 barrel and be done with it. But since that isn't an option and you are wanting to start the youngins shooting soon then the .243 is your best option.

7mm-08 is a good low recoil deer caliber. My hunting buddy got one in a youth model for his daughter. She used it to knock down a 191" plus muley buck in Colorado.

The 7mm-08 is absolutely without a doubt the best whitetail cartridge made CI. But, as is the usual case with political retards, it's not legal in Indiana. Yet the .308 is :nonono2:

The .243winchester, in my experience, is the most efficient whitetail deer killing cartridge available.

I tend to reflect anyone who claims it is too small either has never actually used one, or if they have, they are not much of a shooter.