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If yall were going to buy and long range barrel for a TC Pro Hunter what Calber would it be? Just trying to get some others input and reasons why before i make up my mind what i want. I already have the 375 H&H and a 220 Swift . Thanks

Kind of a broad question. What is long range and what is the intended target?

I will be hunting in Colorado and New Mexico for Elk and Mule deer so , i guess as far as killing power would be for thoses.And shots will be any where from a 100 to as far as me and the gun can do our parts. Thanks

7mm Somethingmagnum

Good perfomance, decent recoil, great bullets.

R.

Nobody here has any idea what you are capable of. can you elaborate?

Normally the gun will out perform the shooter.

I based my answer on a 5-600 yard maximum,as I find that is an average distance for people that ask such questions. Tricky thing this LR stuff. We can still provide answers to point him the right direction. All we know for sure is that he wants another barrel, shoot longer distances than 100 yards, and wants to tip over Elk and Deer. That really only leaves him with three choices, without getting fancy. 7mm, .300, and .338. Out of the three, I like a 7mm for what he has described, as it will likley shoot much farther than the shooter is able at this time. Not a rant, but sometimes simple answers are the best ones.

R.

I feel good out to 700 to 800 with other guns i have, for Predator hunting and playing at the range,I was just asking if any one knew of a good long range calber that might have good Elk killing power out to say 800 if i wanted to shoot that far.I have owned are do own everything from a 17 mach 2 all the way to Custom build 375 H&H .So i was just trying to find out if anyone has played with different barrels on there encores for long range.

By the way i already have a 300 WSM and 270 WSM and a few more i know would do the job, just trying to get input on the Encores most of my long range stuff is in Bolt gun,

800 is out there, the 7mm will get it done, but then you'll want to go farther. I would now say that you are in .338 territory. Your .375 will perform at this range as well. What would make the Encore any different? It will throw the lead at the required velocity, I would think if you had the accuracy required, the action would matter little.


R.

OK at 800 yards I would vote for the 300wm in the encore. The 7 will do the trick as mentioned but for me I would like that little extra energy that would be gained with the heavier projectile at that range. YMMV

6.5-284 with 140 berger hunting bullets,awesome round and a long distance gun, shot placement is everything

I like the .300 incase of marginal (boney) shots out there on elk and even Mule Deer, well hack whitetails too for that matter

the 300wm not short mag 7mm stw or even a 7mm rem if you use a 26in pipe. bullet choice is critical i like accubonds they work.i have seen several animals shot at over 500 and inside of a 1050, 3 last hunting season. i would say pick one get it to shot sub moa and practice as much as possible and challenge your self to shot in windy conditions and you will have a lot of fun and it might pay off big on a hunt.

I don't own a T/C and most likely will never but caliber wise I would have to bet my money on the 7mm mag or the .300 Win mag, which does have an impressive track record for long range target shooting in a well put together rifle.

A Nosler Accubond in the 200 grain bullet weight would be the ticket. You just check out the Sectional Density at .301 and the B.C. from the reloading manual, which is right at .588. I think you will agree, that it is one heck of a long range combination.

I've got one in 7STW that shoots very good. Longest kill to date was a muley at 489yds. Match Grade Machine built the barrel for me and I had it done 26" to get the optimum performance out of the STW.

Shooting handloads using 140gr.Branes MRX's (3400 fps), sighted in at 250 yds.

My dad has a 300WM barrel and it will shoot 3/4MOA out to 400 yards with 180gr accubonds(longest he's shot it and the longest he's comfortable shooting at animals). It is his dedicated elk gun. I have no doubt that if he felt comfortable shooting farther that it would get the job done. With that said, my elk rifle is a .308 and I would not hesitate, under my ideal conditions, to shoot an elk at 500 hundred with it. Just my two cents.
BP

I have had several frustrations with the Encore platform.
Here is an old response, I gave a number of years ago about using Rem or Win mags in the Encore. I surely would not encourage the WSM family in the Encore, unless you load it down or do not reload.
For the Encore I would recommend a 280AI and then use according to its and your ability in the field:
If you can glean something from my experiences-Good.
The post is about a pistol set-up, so disregard that part of the post.
Ernie

As many of you know I started into specialty handguns with a Contender in the mid 80�s. A lack of power pushed me into the XP-100�s which I have a fondness for to this day. As elk began to be a priority for me I began to look at a rig that would be flat shooting and hard hitting. I had already built 2 custom tight-neck XP�s in 7-08 and 284 Win. And I still have the 284 XP. Cost was a factor and I didn�t have the patience (mistake #1) to set aside the funds to build a custom XP especially for elk. The Encore was being produced and I again considered a TC product as a primary hunting handgun. As I began to research cartridges and make an educated guess of what they would accomplish in a specialty handgun, the 338 W.M. was my choice. I contacted Bullberry to order a match grade (equivalent to Hart�s or Shilen�s best) stainless steel in 338. Fred didn�t have any such barrel in stock and I let him talk me into (my fault) a blued barrel (can�t remember the brand at the time as I have tried to wash this from my memory) that wasn�t match grade. Since I had never shot anything like this before and at this time Fred only knew of one (maybe two) other guy that had a handgun barrel in this chambering we decided one of Fred�s brakes would be a handy addition. I also purchased one of his forends with the hanger bar set-up. I wanted horsepower and I was having this built with speed in mind and had been looking at prospective bullets to match. Barnes 185 grain XBT had a great BC for it�s weight and would perform like a bullet in the 225 range. I also purchased some of Nosler�s partitions (225 & 250) and NBT�s (180 & 200 grain). I already had a set of dies (this was not a tight neck chamber) and I used one of Fred�s bases set-up to use Leupold�s QD rings with a Leupold 4 power handgun scope. I thought I was set. I consulted 3 to 4 loading manuals and stayed within each of their parameters throughout this whole process. I believe I used Winchester brass because that was my typical preference. I owned a 338 Win Mag. Rifle years ago before I went to handgun only so I was used to the cartridge and loading for it so I thought. I started out with the �X� bullets and was getting what I considered to be great velocities. Dreams of bull elk being hammered at long range were floating through my mind. One frustration was that I was not getting the accuracy that I demanded, but that was okay, careful load development would work all of that out. I wanted a minimum of .75 @ 100 yards with the faster loads. I never got the consistent accuracy I wanted and I had a problem with flyers. The first problem to surface was the dovetail inserts on the bottom of the barrel kept breaking loose. No problem, Fred after a couple of times welded/brazed (unsure of the specific means but he permanently mounted them) them to the barrel. He also re-blued the barrel at no charge. The next problem I noticed was that my scope was skidding in my rings. At first I though it was a ring problem, but as I continued to look I noticed that my base had bowed like longbow. I was quite distressed by all of this, so I again called Fred and he couldn�t believe it was possible-but seeing is believing. Fred again provided me with a new base @ no charge and I sent the scope to Leupold to have it checked out (it is permanently scarred but I still have it and it works great). While the Leupold was out I put one of the original 2 � -7 Burris LER�s on it not one of the new 2-7�s. It didn�t last long and it was sent to Burris for repair. The Simmons Gold Medal 2-7 was being touted by JD Jones to be the best recoil proof variable there was. I purchased one. It never failed me but compared to Leupold and the Burris optics it was sub-standard to look through. I also took the Bullberry base off the 338 barrel and put it on a 308 Win barrel and had JD put one of his TSOB bases with a three ring mount on it. The dovetails had been welded, 2-7 Simmons scope, TSOB base & rings, everything should be ready, right? WRONG! One note here before I go on, If I had known more about loading for a Contender or Encore and followed some of the procedures that Mike Bellm, Don Shearer, and others practice I may have not have had some of the problems. I believed the Encore was capable of taking the same loads a 338 bolt rifle could handle�that was my assumption. My particular set-up would not. Another problem I ran into was that the finger in the Encore action was too long and it was allowing the action to cock when the frame wasn�t fully engaged with the lugs. Yes, the frame came open when firing and I got smacked in the head with the back part of a separated case. After I realized I wasn�t hurt�it scared me. I had new lugs installed & shortened the finger. Still after all of this I didn�t give up immediately. What I realize now is that the �X� bullets can add some extra pressure since they are all copper that is more noticeable in a break-open action than in other actions. Two, the loads I was using was causing the frame to flex to the degree that it was stretching brass and then it was only a matter of time before closing became hard and case separations. Even on a bolt gun the action flexes, it just does more on a break open action. I prefer a center-grip for off-hand shooting and I like having the optic further away from me because of my arm length and the style of shooting I typically use in the field. If I had to do it all over again I would have a match grade SS barrel with tight tolerances, but not tight-neck, chamber it in a non-belted case like a 338-06 Improved to have less surface area in the head of the case and use a rough chamber like Mike Bellm and others use rather than a high polish. Burris Signature rings with the inserts with a Burris 3-12 or 2-7 with Ballistic Plex. I would research into the best for-end style for the Encore and go with that type. I wouldn�t use �X� bullets or any other all copper bullet, but look into Berger's, Nosler�s and Sierra�s.
In conclusion I still feel the Encore is a great action but it cannot handle the same upper level loads that a bolt or falling block can handle when you start getting into the larger cartridge head sizes.
I learned a lot without it costing me body parts, but it did cost a lot of money and frustration. Sadly, like many people I learn more through failure than I do through success.

Ernie

Below is a picture of mine. It is a MGM 6.5X284 shooting a 140 grain pill. Might be a touch light bullet for elk, but deadly on deer and other critters. 28" heavy barrel that is compensated. MGM can really put a barrel together for you. They throated mine to fit the bullet and Lapua brass-exactly. Did not even need to turn the necks. Just send them a dummy round. They will do the rest.

I found the 6.5X284 to be very finicky until a fellow at our 1,000 yard range told me to go to N-165. It was difficult to find, but once I found it the rifle settled down and now it flat out shoots.

7mm mag or .300 win mag. .338 Lapua, 6.5X.284 if TC chambers it. Less powder and recoil. Use as Long and heavy bullets as your twist will stablize.

I would do a 6.5-284, 6.5-06AI, or 280 AI for a LR rig in a Encore.
No way the Encore could safely handle the 338 Lapua cartridge if loaded to bolt rig levels.