Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Single Shots Thompson Center Pro Hunter Encore

Just received my tc in 30-06 and waiting for some parts to come in. Put a snap cap in and trigger felt heavy but will work for now as a hunting rifle. Ordered talley's pic rail and didn't like the way it follows the contour of my barrel so I'm sending it back. The front 2/3 of the rail was free floating with a 1/4 inch gap.

Who's base are you using? Thinking about ordering an EGW pic rail but going to call before I place an order.

What kind of mods and groups are you having with yours?

Would like to see pics of your tc rifle builds?

I use the Leopold "QR" quick release base and rings on all my T/C Encore barrels. IMO the best mount system for the T/C
Encore/Prohunter, I can remove the scope, disassemble the rifle and place receiver stock and barrel in a over under hard case.

The two barrels I am shooting now are consistently under
1 inch and more often under 3/4 for 3 shots. I do free float the fore-ends and add fore-end pressure point to the fore-end. I also install the Mike Bellm hinge pin in all my frames.

Doc

Doc,

Did take a look at Leupold's website and YouTube and not really sure if it would work with my rifle going in and out on a backpack scabbard. Looks like it could get snagged and loosen up.

Also got to check out Mike Bellm's page and he has some great info.

For now though going to shoot it a lot before I make any changes. Still need to order the pic rail.

Joel,

I understand your point on using a saddle scabbard with the turn down levers exposed on the "QR" mounts. If your on a western hunt packing a spare scope just in case sh*t happens the "QR" rings would be worth their weight in gold. A pre sighted scope locked into the QR base and you are ready to hunt...again.

Doc

I have a TC Encore Prohunter with standard Encore 24" .45-70 barrel and forend. It's got a standard Weaver rail and scope is mounted in Leupold QR rings. This set up has worked out well so far.

Doc, do you have any instructions for free floating and pressure point adding that you would share? Also, what size hinge pin from Bellm are you using?
thanks!

OSU,


I use a dremel tool to remove the inside of the "Rabbit ears" of the forearm so they do not contact the frame and completely remove the rear "U" shaped barrel support for the rear of the forearm. It is not needed. You have the option of placing small plastic washers ( I glue them in place) on top of the forearm screw studs or remove some plastic material from the sides of the forearm to float the forearm in the barrel channel.

All most all factory forearms will rock forward and rearward when placed on the barrel. The forearm has to lay flat on the barrel"FLAT" on the barrel with out any rocking movement. Relieving unneeded bedding material from the forearm as above will enable the forearm to lay FLAT on the barrel as it should.

My last fix is added marine Tex to the end of the forearm
to add a pressure point for the barrel to rest on since the forearm in now floated. Ruger #1's seem to shoot best with some fore-end pressure point and the T/C Encore is no different. Since the forearm is hollow a filler has to be used to prevent the marine tex to hold the marine tex in place during drying. DO not tighten the fore-end screws all the way...leave two or three turns left on the front fore-end screw to tignten up after drying. My barrels shoot best with a tight screw after drying.

Regarding the Bellm hinge pin.. Mike Bellm says a 1X will
tighten 90% of T/C frames...Mike is of course correct on this.

Doc

Thanks much! I'll give it a try.

I've had both the Leupold qr rings and the dual dovetail.
For my application the dual dovetail works best.
For your application, I'd use the quick release.
I haven't bedded anything on my Encore and it shots sum moa.
Sometimes you just get lucky......

I use Warne bases and their QD rings on all my Encore and Contender rifle barrels.

I free floated one barrel and it made no difference in accuracy. I've never bedded any of my barrels. Out of many barrels, there have been 2 or 3 that didn't do 1 MOA and I got rid of them; what I have, and I have a bunch, do in the 0.5 to 0.75 MOA range.

Rather than the Ballm hinge pin, I'd advise using the adjustable hinge pins you can get from EABCO and perhaps others.

In my opinion, the best improvement one can make to an Encore is a trigger job with the Bellm kit.

With several frames and bunches of barrels I have never shimmed barrels to correct the alleged headspace issues.