Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Single Shots TC Encore vs G2 - school me

I think I need to get a TC pistol. I owned a contender many years ago, before there was more than one choice.

Can someone please detail the salient differences between the Encore and G2? What are the advantages of one over the other.

Thanks.

The encore frame is heavier and will take higher intensity cartridges. You can get any cartridge in the encore that you can in the contender and more, but not vise versa. To me, it depends on which cartridge(s) you desire to use. If you want more choices, go for the encore.

+1 on what like2shoot said>

The Encore frame will handle any cartridge chambering that you would want to shoot. Extremely more versital. The nice feature is ( which is very much debated as to legality) you can switch from handgun configuration to rifle configuration very easily and quickly.

On the other hand, the Contender is much lighter and trimmer. If the cartridge you want is available in Contender, you can have a lighter and more compact package. I have a contender with .223 and .30-30 Ackley and can't imagine a handier package.

Leon

I too had a Contender yrs ago, and got away from it. But when the Encore came out with it's power advantage, I had to get one.
I really can't add much to what's already been stated. But I did do a trigger job on mine. The factory trigger can be lacking. I have no experience with the G2, but if it's trigger is the same as the original,,, it has the Encore beat there as well as the mentioned weight dept.
Personally I prefer the extra weight, it just seems to help settle it down, absorbing some of the body's natural tremmor.
And that extra weight also helps in the recoil dept. to a degree as well.
Pretty much as the others have said,,depends on what your intended uses are. After that, it's pretty much a personal thing.

Dave

I am thinking in terms of cartridges like 7-30 waters or 6.5 BRM - something appropriate for White Tail. Other possibilities are 454 or 460 for use in restricted areas'.
Montana hunting regs say

Traditional Handguns: A traditional handgun:
is not capable of being shoulder mounted;
has a barrel of less than 10 1/2 inches;
chambers only a straight wall cartridge,not originally developed for rifles.

What about barrels and other accessories. I'm assuming barrels don;t swap between the two, to keep idiots from putting high powered cartridges in the G2. What about grips and stocks?

I don't believe the .460 can be chambered in the G2,,,but not 100% positive on that. The 7-30, 6.5 BRM are very good deer rounds. I have the 7BRM, awesome little round.
Get custom grips, or do what I did. I bought a set from Boyds, and thankfully they were a tad big for my hand. Or at least they felt that way. I worked on them for about an hour with a dremel, fitting finger grooves, changing the thumb rest, palm and web areas slightly. I got it to where it fit what I thought was perfect. My groups are far better than with the factory Encore Syn. grip. After seeing those results, I'll do custom grips on everything. Consistant grip pressure is key. If you change the
grip hold/presssure, recoil will affect bullet impact a lot.
Good fitting grips, will help with holding the same way, same pressure, consistantly.
Dave

I'm not keen on the new grip styles. I like the old ones better. I did find some customs stocks I like.



http://www.muttmotorpool.com/contender.html

BTW, is it true that older TC contender barrels fit the G2?

Looks like Encore for 460 S&W, at least I can only find 460 barrels for the encore.

Yes on the barrels Tod. Heres a pic of that re-worked Boyds grip I did.....not the best closeup view though.


Dave

Nice shooter!

That's the encore, correct. Who did the fluted bbl?

Yes, Encore. That was made by Mike Sirois/OTT of Dover, NH.. I just received another just like it,well, an inch longer in the 6.5-257AIR. Plus he doing a .30 cal. right now.
And Thanks!
Dave

Tod,

Here is the another example of ebony wood from mutterpool. OTT 17HM2 barrel. John Cook does an amazing job on custom wood and is a first class guy to deal with.

John does do nice work. Going to have him do me some forends.

Tod,
Barrels for the Encore system are available form a host of good cources: Belmtc, MGM, Bullberry, OTT, TC Custom Shop, Coyote Guns. All will make an Encore barrel to what ever chambering you desire and whatever barrel configuration you want. Mike Bellm will provide you with all the info you need to make your Encore a tack driving shooter. Boyd Brothers can provide you with a grip or stock in many different woods or laminated wood. Pacmyer makes a great grip and forend for Encore handguns that really tames the recoil.

Jakerudy,

That is the nicest set of stocks I have ever seen on a G2.

Doc

Jakerudy, that is one gorgeous gun.

What is the weight difference between the G2 and the Encore?

Thanks. This is actually the older Contender, not a G2.

Think the weight difference is about a pound to go to the Encore. I don't have a G2 but my Encore is noticeably bigger than the Contenders. The barrel diameter is also larger.