Barrel is 15. Will use for hogs and deer. 10 to 100 yards most likely. Interested in hearing your ideas on scope brands and models. Thanks in advance.

Had a Burris 2x7 Handgun scope on my 260 Encore when I had it. 4-5 power was about as high as I would crank it while shooting.

Only scoped 2 handguns, both scopes seemed harder to shoot on the higher powers. Maybe it was just me.

On my 7mm-08 Encore with 15 inch barrel i used a Leupold 2.5x8 . My hunting load was the Speer 110 gr Moly TNT with Varget. It worked great as a big game bullet out of the 15 inch barrel . This doe i dropped at around 125 yards with one shot just went down shooting of shooting sticks.

At the ranges you're looking at I'd just go with a straight 4x Leupold, maybe even the 2x.

I was kind of leaning toward that 4x idea. I use Leupolds on everything else.
I though maybe about trying a Burris variable but I saw a lot of negative reviews in 2014-2015. So I dont know if they changed up something and it isnt working or what. That kind of spooked me a bit. The luey variables are a bit more than I am looking to spend. Im ok with the price of their FX.

Leupold 4X is all you need

If I could go back and do it all over, I would have gone with a straight 4x.

I've had a 15" Encore in 7mm-08 since 2000; put a 2.5-8x Leupold EER scope on it. Rarely crank it up any higher than 4x. If I were looking for another scope for it I wouldn't go any higher than 4x, at least for the way I utilize it. That 2.5-8x is kinda big for that gun, looks wise, IMHO. Back around '07-08 I put a holographic sight on it but wasn't too happy with that setup. Went back to the 2.5-8x but am considering something smaller and not any higher than 4x. Most likely a Leupold but I'd consider a few others as long as they were fairly compact.

Looks like I am right back where I started. FXII 4X28. I will take your advise. Thanks all.

Those 4x Leupolds are sweet, but IIRC they have the same eye relief as my 2.5-8x Leupold. If eye relief is an issue with you check it out before you buy. My 2.5-8x has what I consider TOO much eye relief for someone with the same arm length as me. I've got a Leupold FX-II 2x20mm on a 7.5" Ruger Redhawk 44 Mag. that really works well for me. Like I said previously; I rarely crank the Encore up higher than 4x, so maybe I should just go with 2x on the Encore and use one of those nice little Leupold 2x units on it. I could probably learn to live with it just fine. Now this thread has ME re-thinking my Encore scope. But whatever I decide on will most likely say "Leupold" on it.

I have that same FX 2 on my encore 44mag barrel. I am looking for a bit more magnifaction on this one so seems the 4X makes sense to me.

You'll likely be happy with the 4x. I have a handful of them on different TC barrels, as well as on my .41 SBH Hunter. If you want to shoot 1" groups off a bench rest with your handgun, there are a better things. If you want to use it as outlined, the 4x would be pretty hard to beat...while still being able to do very good load development if you are into that.

I found the 4x severely limited my field of view. For a fixed power 2x would be my best guess?

There are a lot of good variables out there. I found a used 2-6x Bushnell Elite with Japanese optics. Seems good so far. Versatile.

I also looked at a Nikon 2.5-8x and found the eye relief varied with magnification and was way too short at the high end. Beware that model.

I am new at this handgun scope stuff. Just though I toss out my 2c.

With a little practice, it's pretty easy to shoot a 4x pistol scope with both eyes open. I'll agree that it's easier done with a 2x, but I like the confidence that a 4x inspires in me at longer ranges. It's certainly not that you can't do it with a 2x, it just seems to be better with the higher magnification on longer shots. I guess a lot of it is reliant on how well you are able to place shots with the lower magnification.

I've had three failures with the 2.5-8 Leupold, and I'm a big fan of their scopes, so it does not inspire much confidence that the shot before the one that really counts isn't the one that broke it. I've got a straight 4x on a Encore barrel in .480 Ruger that I drive to the tilt with 420gr bullets, it's the limit of the recoil I can mange, and it keeps on ticking...well beyond the three variables it has decimated. One Leupold, one Burris, and one Weaver. Those where all "top of the line" scopes. In summary, I'd trust the 2x Leupold the same as I do the 4x, which is to say I don't question it, but it's a trade off of sorts.

Im picking up a 2x Leupold off a guy here on the fire at a good price. Reality is just like most hunters my hunting ranges will be shorter than I suggested and more than likely than not without a very good rest on game moving around. Not running but just moving or walking. If it doesn't prove to be enough mag then I will spring for a 4x and put the 2x on another barrel or just haul it around as a back up for my other 2x on my 44mag. I might pickup a 44 mag revolver from a friend and I could use it on that. Im into the barrel and scope for $50 less than the cost of a new barrel so this gets me started on the cheap to see if I even like the centerfire pistol rig. Also my first venture into buying used stuff off the fire. Hope that works out for me. Theres been a lot of good info on this thread for me and I appreciate your experienced imput on what you liked and didnt on your own rigs. Best advise you can get in my opinion. Thanks Todd.