Does this gun use regular shotgun shells or do you load it yourself?

Both versions are offered by TC: regular smokeless 12 gauge with 3 inch chamber & 12 gauge black powder.

I have the muzzleloader version. Took 2 toms with in the spring. It is definatly a sweet gun. I would reccommend it for sure.

.45ACP,
what kinda range do you get with the 12Ga. ML? I'm thinking about one for my Encore.

Well last season was the first with that gun. I shot 90gr 777 loose, with the same volume of #6 shot in a turkey ranger shot cup. I did not have alot of time to play with loads but that o*****uped fairat 35 yds. Both birds I killed last season were at 25ish yards. Im surewith the right load that gun will perform at 35-40 yds no problem. Certainly my gun of choice at this point for turkeys, I was using a Benelli Nova shooting 3.5 Winchesters through a ported comp-n- choke. That gun also a sweet shooter but the Encore will be at my side this coming season.

.45 will you explain the loadine procedure and all that is needed for loading the shot. What I mean is like wads, loose powder etc.

Well I'm not an expert at this at all, but this is how I do it and it seems to work. The Encore 12 ga. muzzleloading shot gun recommends only using 120gr black powder or equivalent. First remove the ported choke ( or nothing will fit down the barrel ) pour in the pre measured powder, then use an over powder card, I buy from www.ballisticproducts.com . Then I push in a shotcup. I've used the TC brand, which is pricey, I've also used a Winchester 12 ga. wad, inexpensive but didnt work as well as I wanted it to. So I use the Turkey ranger cups from BPI. I then use the powder measure to measure the same volume of shot as the powderand pour it down into the shotcup. At last I push in another over card the secure the shot. Reinstall the choke and prime it. When you start looking to purchase components you'll see many different cards, thicknesses, materials, etc. Same for the shot cups. I dont believe you need to use a shotcup. But I'm guessing the groups are tighter with one. I believe a good place to start with loads is to have equal volume of powder and shot. I used 777 last season, but I'm switching to pyrodex or Black powder this spring, so I'll probably have to tweak the load some. Good luck hope this helps.

45..... thank you very much you have been a great help.. I can't wait to get my gun.