I have a T/C Pro Hunter 7mm-08 that is 1/2 moa on windage and stringing like crazy verticle. After speaking with Mike Bellm I installed a 1x hinge pin, new heavier lock up spring, heavy hammer spring and trigger spring which got me to a crisp 3 pounds. Measured head space per his instructions at .0035 which he said was ideal. Still stringing 2-5 moa. I have Leupold DD base and rings and checked mounting hole depth. Scope is sub moa on other rifles. Cast of chamber shows nothing out of the ordinary. Stock and forearm are synthetic and the only thing I haven't touched. Can anybody please offer any advise?

What are you using for a front rest? Are you making sure the forend is located at the same spot on the rest for each shot?

I use a Caldwell lead sled. The front rest contacts the forearm kind of far forward but in the same place every time. It is really aggravating because the rifle carries and handles so well.

Have you tried to just shoot it off a regular front rest and rear bag, using your shoulder?

No I haven't. I was thinking the forearm might need bedding but don't know if you can bed a synthetic one.

It could be, but I'd try to shoot it the regular way first...should have very little recoil in that rifle.

Yea. Recoil is not an issue. My nine year old daughter shoots it. I think I will try it off a bag tomorrow and see what happens. I called T/C and they want me to send them the whole rifle. I hate to because they will take out all the mods I did to the frame. Plus I will have to pay freight just to have them tell me that there is nothing wrong.

Check if forearm is touching reciever and barrel is free floating in the forearm some people use rubber o-ring to give some space but I'm not to fond of that just sand forearm so nothing is touching but the screw pillars of forearm.

Check if forearm is touching reciever and barrel is free floating in the forearm some people use rubber o-ring to give some space but I'm not to fond of that just sand forearm so nothing is touching the barrel but the screw pillars of forearm.

I just finished filing the fork so it doesn't touch the frame and ground down the saddle between the pillars. I filed down the sides so the only thing touching now is the two pillars. When I set it in the sled the weight of the gun resting on the forearm way up front does push it up and it touches the barrel. I am going to try it on the bags since I "floated" the barrel and see what happens like kciH suggested also.

I used "Marine Tex" to build up the forend tip with some bedding pressure and it worked. Most T/C forends do not lay flat on the barrel....they tend to rock fore and aft but not flat.

Doc

If floating it doesn't help I am going to try going the other way and bed it just for s&g's. I better Goggle up that "Marine Tex" and check it out. Tks

You might wat to contact Stratton Custom and get the hanger bar system for the front forearm.

I have shot my Handi Rifles with the forend off to determine if the forend is causing the problem. Sometimes this has really improved shot to shot consistency. Then you could take the action needed with an O ring or bedding the forend.

Using a torque setting screwdriver to tighten the forend screw is another suggestion. I use 35 inch pounds on all my single shot forend screws. This takes one possible problem out of the equation.

This past fall I bought an Encore Pro Hunter Frame and a 24" Stainless-Steel Encore .30-06 Barrel. The first thing I did was ditch the Pro Hunter Buttstock and Forend and replaced them with the regular Synthetic Encore Buttstock and Forend.

There are 3 stiffening crossbars in the forend, one behind the rear screw post, one in front of the front screw post and one between the two screw posts. Mine were sticking way up above the two screw posts so the barrel was resting on those 3 stiffening crossbars and not touching the screw posts.

I immediately dremeled them down so the 3 stiffening crossbars didn't touch the barrel. That in and of itself helped a lot. However my local gunsmith insisted that he bed the forend creating saddles for the barrel to sit on and put in steel pillars for the screws to pass through.




I then experimented with forend screw torque and discovered that mine shot the best with the screws torqued to 15 InLbs.

Now it'll print sub moa groups at 100 yards. I do try to keep my rest centered under the rear forend screw so everything is the same everytime.

Larry

Larry in SD, that is exactly what I have in mind for the forearm. Kurt Bellm said they are working on a kit to do it yourself and I have to check out Stratton Custom per cooperfan. I found some of the problem today. My Redfield Revolution 3-9X50 on that rifle has 1.5moa parallax at 100 yards now for some reason.

That'd be a problem.

Larry

I seem to remember reading (somewhere) that hunting scopes are normally parallax-free at 100 yards. Is that information wrong?

If not, send the scope BACK to Redfield for repair or adjustment.


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

I had the same problem with same cal. sent the barrel back to Tc they fix it 2 times right on . I fix it myself bought a CVA barrel solve the problem

That's your first mistake. You might as well discard that rig before you break your butt stock at the pistol grip. The 7-08 hardly recoils enough for that. But, you'll NEVER get that gun to shoot using that.

Make sure your forend ears are not touching the frame or hinge pin. Don't you think it's strange that after Bellm divested your wallet of all that money your gun shoots no different?

My best addition to my Encore barrels was forends from www.tonysforendsandgrips.net

You are right about that sled breaking heavier recoiling rifles. I have a piece of shock absorbing material fitted into the bottom and back of the back rest. It works pretty well simulating actual shooting. It shoots the same off the bags that it does out of the sled.

T/C said I have a problem with the locking lugs. They paid the freight to get the barrel and the frame back to them. We will see.

Best I can tell about Bellm is that the trigger sure is nice now. I figure I paid about the same for all his crap as my smith would have charged me for a trigger job so I ain't complaining!

i am having the same issues with my 280 encore. looks like i tried to string it out vertically, i have a 257rob that i can shoot quarters with at 100yds with same frame. .284 dia a problem with these barrels??? good luck, i will let you know if i can correct mine. Paul

I have a Encore Pro Hunter that I have been tinkering with for a couple years now. I originally purchased it as a 20 ga. slug gun. Which it works very well as. However, ended up getting a 25-06 Rem. barrel for it (barrel is a TC Encore Pro Hunter). I have at times experienced vertical strings. Not at every range session though. At some sessions it would shoot great and some I would get vertical strings. I was switching back and forth between rifle barrel and slug barrel, so I am not sure if that had anything to do with it. I ended up installing the Bellm oversized hinge pin (1x), the Bellm lock up spring, and the Bellm hammer spring. I also put a new stock and forearm on the gun by Tony's Forends and Grips. So far in my testing, the gun has been very consistent. The rifle barrel usually shoots .75" groups at 100 yards (5 shot groups).

FWIW, if you have a rifle shooting consistent cold shot accuracy - ie. POI for 1st shot...for a hunting rifle you may never have an issue in the field.

VERY rarely have I needed a 2nd shot or one made the difference.

It's fun shooting small groups, but for a hunting rifle - well - never shot a group on any game - except w/a shotgun

Just something to think about - hope you root out the source.

You certainly are right 65BR. I have killed 10-15 of these wormy Alabama deer a year for years and have never shot twice!

I did however last year shoot four hogs one behind the other.

Thank goodness I had my .338-06 in hand! That Delta Gun Shop rebored barrel shoots cloverleafs all day long at 100 yards.

If Thompson Center is going to call themselves America's Master Gun Maker they are gonna give me a gun that shoots properly.

They received my gun today. Lets see how long it takes to analyze it and see if they can make it shoot like I expect it to.

And I hope they can. Cause I LOVE hunting with a single shot now!

Heck - stick a Barnes and get all 4 in 1 shot - why waste powder and copper

TC I know in the past had very good customer service - not sure now.

I hope they make you happy - sure they can.

Is this from a clean barrel? I had one that would do that. If I left it dirty it would shoot consistently in the same spot. The root cause was an incredibly rough bore. I sold it.

A newly cleaned barrel shoots off the target. As it fouls it groups better but the first shot out of the cold barrel is 3-4 moa high. TC has had the gun 2 weeks now. I don't know what their turnaround time is but I will post what happens!

Sounds like the same problem.