Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Single Shots Encore pistol hunting rig

I have an itch that needs scatched. I haven't killed a deer with a handgun.

I have an encore. I know...I can buy a nice revolver for what it'll cost to setup the Encore. But....eh. I think I wanna do the Encore.


I'm to the point I'm sorta disgusted with how much reloading stuff I have so I'm thinking to do it in something I already load for.


Itd be for deer...maybe black bear....timber..I've never killed a deer in excess of 100yds. Pretty much all 75 or in.


I load for 450 bushmaster and 358win.

I think bigger caliber doesn't seem to suffer velocity loss as much...so those could be good choices.


I can tone down the loads and not break my wrists.


What are you guys favorite Encore pistol setups?

Looking for caliber, barrel length and profile, what furniture etc.

Post pics if you have some cool furniture or scope setups etc etc. I'd love some ideas.

I carried a 12” Encore with a scope for a bit, and found it cumbersome and awkward. Used a scabbard-type holster, probably a TC one. If doing it again, I’d probably go with a red dot. A week ago I had little trouble dinking some steel plates of various sizes at 100 yards with a .22 pistol and a FF3 from a rest and leaning against a post. Unless the better visibility through a scope is important for you, think about the RD. It certainly is smaller and lighter. Some kind of mono or bipod might be a good idea too for that big gun.

FWIW, the only deer I’ve killed with a handgun was a doe shot with a scoped 629. Spined, and of course DRT.
I do have a 620 .357 setup with a FF3 for hunting that might make it out in a couple of weeks for does. Have a couple in the freezer now, and the Smith carries even easier than a 6-7 pound rifle. Until I try it out farther, 50 yards is my limit for now.

Show us what you end up with.

Had a Contender in .35 rem w TC 2.5-7x scope. Always ran it at 2.5x.
Swapped to an Aimpoint clone to see if an RDS woukd work.

Holy cow.

Made offhand shooting stupid easy.

Still a heavy and awkward rig.

I hunted mainly with a handgun when I lived in the midwest. T/C Contender in 44 Mag, 300 Whisper, 357 Mag., and 357 Max. Took at least one deer with each. Took several with the 44 Mag. and 357 Max. The 357 Max was my favorite. I set up an Encore with a 260 Rem barrel for Indiana but moved to Illinois before I got a chance to hunt with it. Illinois had a cartridge length restriction so the 260 wasn't legal.

Absolutely understand the size and how cumbersome they can be. A red dot is a good idea. For my uses, I don't need a scope. And I'm at the point in life where if a deer gets away, so be it. I hunt in pretty good deer country and I've killed 2 or 3 a year for over 20 years. It would be a way to keep hunting fun and interesting for me.

I have a 15” muzzleloader barrel for my encore, with a red dot It’s a beast to carry, and to shoot.
I much prefer my 10” contender in 30 Herrett.

I have hunted with Contenders, Encores, and revolvers for over 20 years. My favorites are a Contender in 7-30 waters, an Encore in 7TCU (also a Contender cartridge), an Encore in .243 and a Ruger Blackhawk in .45 Colt.

My Contenders and Encores all wear Bushnell 2-6X pistol scopes. I keep them at 3X, but I have dialed up the Waters and .243 to 6X for a 100+ yard shot.

There are some good deals on Encore pistol barrels that can still be had. If you don't mind spending the money, an SSK or MGM barrel would be a good investment.

I’ve had an Encore in 30-06 for many years. Killed quite a few deer with it. I hunt from a blind with a rest. Farthest kill was 300 yards. Closest about 20 yards. 150 pro hunter bullets do a hell of a job. Edk

I have shot deer with a 10" 357 Contender and a 15" 270 Encore.

Either worked well.

Straight-Wall or Bottle-Neck cartridges?
Deer at that distance are easy to kill...What sounds cool to you?

Any other choices than 450 BM and 358 Win? Depending on cartridge, something in the revolver range (41 mag, 44 mag, 45 colt, 44 SM) I would go with 10" barrel. For cartridges that burn more powder (and more recoil), I would go with 14" barrel. To carry it, when I had mine, I drilled and tapped the end on the barrel for a swivel stud and made swivel stud for the grip, then attached a short sling. it slung on my shoulder and rode between my arm and body (upside down).

- If your stuck on 450BM and 358 Win, based on your range of less 100 yards, I would load some light 450 BM in a 14" barrel.

For what you're describing a .357 Max with 180 gr. Speer FNSP or a WFNGC cast bullet in the 200 gr range would be ideal in my book. It's what I've used for years in Iowa and have yet to catch a bullet in a deer, from 50 to over 200 yards.

I have owned a 356 Win Encore. Rimmed version of a 358. Killed one buck with it at app 135 yards. I had another in 7.62x54R (.308 Version). Also killed a nice buck with it at close to the same distance. Also had a 260 but never killed anything with it. It was capable of long range shots. I have shot impressive groups with it to 600 yards.

What I would do:
Send the Action off to Steve Stratton and have a trigger job done to it to start with.
For a barrel I would go with an MGM, BullBerry, or SSK. I have owned all three with no complaints with any of them.
I would strongly consider a .308 Winchester or 30-06. Lots of good bullets to pick from. Hits hard, and will reach out far enough to satisfy most handgun hunters.
Barrel Length? The last few I have ordered from MGM have been 15.875". Check hunting regulations for Maximum Barrel Length. I go long for more velocity.
Have a Four Gill Muzzle Brake installed, "and a good one". A highly recommend the Harrell's Precision 4 Port. I use the version with four holes in the top as sold and installed by Hunt's Long Range.
Forend: I have always went with Tony's in a 10" length, and a nice sand bag friendly profile. I prefer Charcoal Laminate to go with the factory rubber grip.
Forend Attachment: I have used the Bullberry Hanger Bar System on all of my Encore barrels to date. The first Encore Barrel I bought used from Mark Hampton was the Bullberry in 260 Remington with the Bullberry Hanger Bar System. I went with it on all my later barrels. Good accuracy off sand bags. HOWEVER the Bullberry Hanger Bar System is not a good choice if you plan to use a bipod. Recoil will break the Dovetail Inserts. If doing this over I would go with Two or Three Screws to attach the forend. I like Bipods a lot.
I would go with the Evolution Gun Works scope base. The flat one is just fine on most barrels. On my 223 barrel I ran out of UP Elevation at 500 yards. I switched it to a 20 MOA EGW Base. NOTE: EGW does make a 6 screw base. You need to contact them to verify who sells it. I believe Bellum, but I am not 100% sure about that.
SCOPE: This depends a lot on how you hunt. If you shoot from a stand using a rest such as sand bags or a bipod you can get by with some Rifle Scope's. I used the Weaver Classic Extreme 2.5-10X which is no longer available. On the 2.5-4X power settings you would think it was a Scout Scope. The higher the magnification the closer to the scope you will need to be. I have not had a reason to order one yet, but I would strongly consider the NEW Weaver Classic Series sold by Natchez. The lowest power available in a 30mm Tube is a 4-16x44mm. I am sure that this scope will "dial up" like the Classic Extreme. This scope is reasonably priced. If by chance you are not happy with it on the Encore, put it on a rifle.

If you hold the handgun at arms length, I would go with a Burris 2-7 Handgun Scope.

I do have a MatchDot on a 357 Maximum CVA Scout in a single shot handgun. I would keep the range down to not much over 100 yards with a Red Dot. I have taken several deer with a MatchDot mounted on my 9.5" 480 Super RedHawk. Works great at woods hunting distances.

Between my brother and I we also have Contender Barrels in 22LR, 223, 6.5x30JDJ, 35 Bullberry, 357 Maximum, 7-30, and 30-30AI. All are pretty much set up as above right down to the Stratton Trigger Job.

I have switched from the Encore to the Nosler M48 Handgun's. My 6.5CM was pretty much ready to go out of the box. I had Hunts Long Range install the Harrell's 4 Gill Muzzle Brake. My 22 Nosler was the M48 NCH version, and came with the Harrell's Brake installed, along with a Fluted Barrel. I really would prefer a 308 in the M48 Handgun, however Nosler does not seem to make them very often. I have not found one for sale in the last two years.

Just my 2 cents on the Encore Build.

Bob R

I'd go with a 250 Sav, 14" barrel, 1-9 twist, with a 2-6x Bushnell if you can find one.

I hunt here in upstate South Carolina, my CVA Scout 357 Max pistol with Burris 3-12. I have shot Hornady 180gr XTPs and currently Barnes 140gr XPB. Both are accurate and have taken deer. I wanna try some Fury 180gr truncated point bullets with some Longshot powder. Also thinking of trying some cast bullets.

I have a 308 pistol barrel that I have killed deer with.

So many options for the Encore platform, I can see how difficult it could be if choosing just one chambering. I could never do that.

The old reliable 30/30 Win. for distances such as you described and beyond would be a great consideration. Handloading or using factory ammo, which is almost always available when many others aren’t.

I have been a handgun hunter over 40 years. I have Encores, Contenders , but mostly prefer revolvers.
My question to OP’ster. Have you compared an Encore to a Contender? Most cartridges, especially for N American game you can use a G2 Contender, and if you hold them both, you will see why I suggest this. You can comfortably swing a contender on a moving target MUCH easier than an Encore. I’ve hunted all over Africa and America with a contender in 375. It kills everything cleanly out to 300 yards. Yes you can get the same in an Encore, but they’re heavy and cumbersome. Just an idea to look at the platform.

I can heartily endorse your going with the .358 Win that you're already set up for. And I definitely like Pappy348's thought of mounting a red dot sight on it. In your hunting conditions it would make a perfect handgun for the job and the red dot wouldn't be weighing down an already heavy handgun. Nothing wrong with the .450 Bushmaster either, I'm just kinda partial to the mid bores.

I have a 15" barreled Encore in .35 Whelen and even with full power loads don't find its recoil to be objectionable. With a proper hold the recoil results mostly just in a strong lifting of the forearms and not so much of a sharp jolt like a higher velocity rifle chambering would produce. Kinda reminds me of shooting my .416 Remington Magnum Model 70 Win Safari rifle, feels more like the recoil from a heavy load in a 10 or 12 gauge shotgun than the sharp crack to the shoulder like my light weight 270 rifle delivers.

Loading down for a more comfortable recoil also makes sense, just don't go with too light a bullet as you'll need some heft in your projectile to ensure adequate penetration (remembering that projectile energy equals mass times velocity squared!) And with deference to Viper225, if you go with the .358 or .450, adding a muzzle brake will mostly only be a waste of your money. Muzzle brakes are most effective with high velocity loads that have a super high velocity of escaping gasses, i.e. "overbore" cartridges with high case capacity and smaller bore size .... certainly not the case with the .358 Win or .450 Bushmaster. And in loading down to a more modest velocity be watchful that you find a load that has adequate velocity AND good accuracy out of the shorter Encore pistol barrels.

Good luck & happy hunting!

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I would add if you are already set up to load for the 358Win. personally I would go that route along with the Harrell muzzle brake it would work nicely.