hey soonershooter, i had forgot about the trigger job on mine also, the pull was unreal like 9#[:@], had it reset to 3.5. 3.5 mainly because during our m/l season i hunt with gloves alot. after having that taken care of gun is a tack driver, the m/l barrel shoots great for a front loader and the 260 is a darling to shoot at 150 yds and less on deer.....

I love my Encore. It comes to the shoulder just right and shoots great in the field. I know someone said that it isn't a benchrest gun but how many benchrest shooters take their rifles in the woods hunting. It will shoot with the best field guns. My .300 win mag will shoot .75" groups at 100yds w/ factory ammo. My .22-250 shoots one hole groups at 100 yds w/ factory ammo and my .308 will put em in .50" all day. The MZ Barrel shoots 1.5 - 2" groups at 100 yds. I know it can do better because it has, but that'll drop any deer I'm hunting. Look around for barrels, some places have them way too high. The factory barrels will shoot as good as the custom. All you need for good accuracy is a good trigger, a tight hinge pin, and good ammo.