Hey guys, got a steal of a price on a tc encore(not pro hunter model..for now) from a co worker wanting to get rid of it...and im gonna put the black pro hunter stock/forearm on it and buy a cf barrel for it in .243 win..my question is how dothe pro hunter barrels shoot in these guns? Never shot one w/ the new fluted 28 inch barrel before so im not sure if i should stray away from them or not. Also, for anyof you that have shot one in 243 what bullets should i try in it? Gonna reload and was thinkin the 90 grain nbt for it would be decent for yotes and whitetails..thanks forthe help fellas!
Brian

Brian,

I can't give you an answer about the 28" barrel because I've never owned or shot one. I don't see the need to use one. A 26" is plenty long enough. I like the 24" barrels better to reduce some weight and walking into the thick stuff. I've shot a lot of calibers with my Encore but never the 243. I think you would be happier with a 24" 243 then with a 28" barrel. It would have a better balance feel and not be so front heavy.

Stay away from the stainless barrels if possible. They rust easy. I see them in the used rifle racks already rusted from people handling them. Accuracy has always been good with the barrels and calibers that I've owned. Never a problem to keep 1" or less in group size. Good choice on the Pro-Hunter stock set. I have the camo set with my 24" 405 Win. Here is a picture of my 405 Win.


Another picture of my Encore collection:
Top is my 26" Rifled 20ga for slug areas
Middle is my 358 Win
Bottom is again my 405 Win


For scope mounts I use the Leupold Dual-Dovetail with medium rings and also use the Talley 1 piece base/rings. I don't have to use a hammer extention with these ring and scope combination even with gloves on. Have fun with your new toy.

Ken

You got a good model to try several calibers without investing alot of money. I've had several different barrels that shot good and some that didn't. Check out Bellm's web site for ideas. Good luck.

I've two of the Pro Hunter barrels, 28" and stainless. No rust issues in the 3 or so years of use. Balance well imo although I do have the Pro Hunter frame which could make a difference. Can't say for sure as it's the only frame I've owned.
Usually get sub one inch three shot groups and at 28" I am getting good velocity w/o max or over max powder charges. Mine are chambered in 7-08 and 270.

thanks for the help guys!..the only reason im going to get a stainless barrel is the reciever/frame w/e you call it is stainless..but i was tryin to decide if the 24 inch older style encore barrel would be a better match than the 28 inch pro hunter barrel...i handled a prohunter yesterday and it really didnt feel unbalanced..i just wasnt sure how well they shot as ive never shot the pro hunter before...but i do like the fluted design of their PH barrels..and it does sound cool to not need to max load it and still get as good or better velocity because of the longer barrel...keep the opinions comin guys!

thinkin the 24 inch regular encore barrel in stainless is prolly what ill go w/..should work great for what i want it for

dont waste your $ on the pro hunter 24-26 is what you want.

thats what i was thinkin tc...just wanted to see if anyone had any experience w/ the pro hunter barrels...im thinkin the 24 inch barrel would be about perfect for shots out to 4-500 yards as long as i do my part and develop an accurate load w/ it..pickin the gun up thursday from a co-worker for a too good to pass up deal, and then start workin on my set up..so far i got for the set up: stainless encore in .243 win, 24 inch stainless tc barrel, prohunter stock/foregrip, and going w/ a 3.5-10x50 vortex viper scope on it..and more than likely a 9-13 harris bipod...sweetening up the trigger is also on the list, just dont know what trigger im goin to go with yet, and itll be shooting 85 grain sierra bthp,speer 85s, barnes ttsx 80s,or nosler bt 90s..should be deadly

Just bolted a .243, 24" stainless Encore barrel on my pro hunter thumbhole light weight frame. Shoots sub moa, but at 5.25 lbs, with 100gr. max reloads, it will definitely let you know your shooting it! Very accurate, I am happy with it. No need for a long barrel.

after doing some research online and lookin at some of the display pics of the encores on eabco , i think im going to go w/ a blued barrel on the stainless receiver/pro hunter stock..i might be weird, but i really liked the look of it..and if it shoots good im not worried about if its "pretty" to other people..and ill save a lil bit of cash buyin blued over stainless

I own two Pro-Hunters one 7MM and a 300 Win Mag, both are complete rifles. One is a thumbhole the other the standard stock. Both have had their triggers done by Steve Stratton, Hurricane, Utah. Both shoot exceptional well and are my preffered carry rifle. Mike Bellim is the T/C Guru, he and a friend of his have a great deal to say about the long barrel of the Pro Hunter. Basically - not good. I've worked around the harmonics problem with a muzzle breaks. No rust either rifle . Stratton Industries also provided hanger bars for the forends. I used Talley LW mounts on both. Nobody will do WSM barrels for the single shots. MGM barrel manufacuring, St. George, Utah makes outstanding barrels. They maybe able to supply additional ideas.

Some good info there!..im gonna play around w/ mine before i send it in for trigger work..the trigger w/ it seems pretty decent now, but i just got the rifle this morning and havent done anything w/ it..thanks for the info tho

finally got my encore in hand, and w/ the 24 inch .243 barrel im going to buy in the near future its definately gonna be a more "portable" gun w/ it not bein that long..im excited to get it up and running and get some kills under my belt

navyman20: I have owned an Encore for 5-6 years now. First barrel was a .223 Rem, 28", Fluted, Stainless. It will put 10 shots under 1" if I can do my part. Next barrel was 416 Rigby (can't afford Africa, but I can the gun). It is 28", Fluted, Stainless (with fact. brake). I am now trying to find a load that will shoot to 2"....have some Barns TSX to try next.........but it's not the barrel, it's the load that only shoots to 3 1/2" for now. Next barrel will be 300 WM, 28", Fluted, Stainless. Like the others have said, 24" will do the job but don't be afraid of another 2" of barrel. I live in Colorado so very little humidity and not much chance of fingerprints rusting stainless steel, but stainless will rust so keep some preservative on it. I have added a Thumb Hole stock and cannot recommend it highly enough. Good Luck!

Im goin to put on a blued barrel on mine, and the 24 inch barrel should be nice for manueverability when im in the woods, and probably get a longer match grade barrel for a long range specific gun

I have a EABCO 24" blue barrel in .260 on my stainless Pro Hunter, looks good & shoots good.

im lookin at the eabco barrel in 243 win..i should be able to shoot just about any bullet i want out of it w/ good results since its a 1-8 twist for the 243's..which should be about ideal for the 95 grain bullet im lookin at for it..should make for a sweet shooter

If you're going with a custom barrel also take a look at MGM. They make a pretty good barrel.

I've only had one 26" barrel. A Custom Shop heavy taper. Out of 15 T/C barrels I've had that is the only one that wasn't a shooter. Don't know if the length has anything to do with it but overall it seems like reports are a lot more mixed with long barrels. I haven't given up on mine though. It's going in to SSK shortly to be cut down to 22".

Double post

johnp034 mentioned a "thumbhole light weight frame.' What is that? The reason I am asking is I want to build a lightweight TCEncore. What do you guys suggest for components?

Thanks,
Jim

Its a Pro Hunter Stainless frame, the thumb hole stock is the light weight part.

Im tryin to decide between eabco barrel or mgm..any opinions on whats better?..lookin at standard sized barrel in 24 inches and 1:8 or 9 twist to shoot 95 or 100 grain. Bullets

i have an MGM 26" heavy in 280 ackley that shoots like nobody's business!

I have MGM barrel in 22-250 that is unbelievable.

im thinkin from the sounds of it the MGM barrel is the way to go...i guess my next question is, 1-8 or 1-9 twist to shoot 95 grain NBT's

i think im gonna go w/ 1-8 twist so i can go w/ a heavier bullet and make sure itll stabilize them since i plan on doin some longer range fun

Every MGM barrel I've had was an excellent shooter. Have had several Bullberry barrels too that were nothing to sneeze at either.

the mgm seems to be the most promising...but im still on the fence of if its worth the extra money over the tc or bergara barrel...i know the tc barrel only comes in 1-10 twist, but that should be plenty to shoot an 80-90 grain bullet

I have a prohunter barrel in 30-06 and it is a hammer cant comment on 243

im lookin at just the regular 24 inch tc barrel..want to keep the rifle a lil more compact as it will be used as my "truck and walking rifle" so i want to keep the weight down a lil and have it be manueverable

2 1/2 years ago, I was in your shoes and I went with a bergara barrel in 243 with 1-10 twist. I've been very happy with my decision. With my hand loads it's quite accurate, I haven't shot any factory loads with it. My experience is limited to 1 bergara barrel and 1 T/C barrel (.50 muz.) though, but I will buy another bergara.

Lee

Thats the kinda response i was lookin for lee!..what kinda loads/bullet combo worked well for u out of that rifle? I plan to handload for it anyways..prolly wont ever see a factory round in it

I use 72 gr Barnes VLC with 42 grs of IMR 4064 for woodchuck and such. This load is hot(3650fps on my crony) so work up. Barnes discontinued the VLC but the local gun shop had quite a few marked down, when I saw how well they shot out of this barrel I went back and bought all they had. As far as accuracy, I beleive the gun will shoot better than I can with this load. 1/2 " groups are common with the occasional 3 shots 1 hole groups from the bench.
I live in a shot gun zone so I use a muzzle loader to deer hunt with most of the time and when I hunt in rifle territory I usually grab a different rifle, but I did pressure test 100gr grand slams and 100gr hornady BTSP bullets with 3 different powders each. IIRC all tests were right around MOA and I was confident I could get sub MOA with either bullet with a little load work up. Sorry I can't help more with the heavier bullets but once I fire formed enough brass with my pressure tests I concentrated on a varmint round.

Lee

the bullet you are using isnt too much lighter than what im lookin at using..im looking at either the 85 grain tsx or 85 grain sierra bthp..maybe 80 grain ttsx also..something in that area..should be plent of ass behind it to take out whitetial and predators in southern ms..and if it seems like a i need a lil more rifle i got my 300 wm thatll quickly put them down..im just lookin at a pretty much middle ground caliber to have some fun w/ and use it on deer and smaller game

Hardly weird...........It' all in what you like.

Oh! 243 with a 60gr Sierra hollow point makes a super prairie dog round too

that def would be a sweet pdog round, but im lookin at more of a utility type round for varmints and deer..so somethin in the 80-90 grain bullet is what im lookin at...good suggestion tho!

only thing im strugglin w/ deciding right now is if i should get the pro hunter thumbhole vs reg prohunter stock..any opinions on what works better? its gonna have a 24 inch bergara 1-10 barrel in 243 win..gonna try out some 85 grain tsx's and 90 grain nbt, and prolly the sierra bthp 85 just because of the price on them..either a 4-12x40 vortex viper or 3.5-10x50 viper is what im gonna use for glass...any other suggestions or ideas?thanks fellas

Try a QUICK centerfire reload with the thumbhole stock and the regular stock and decide which suits you.

Doc

im sure it would be considerably faster w/o the thumbhole stock just because you gotta take your hand out the thumbhole and get it resituated to cock the hammer,etc...good point to look at doc..didnt really look at it that way..im thinkin the reg PH stock would be the way to go since i plan to do some predator hunting w/ it..and as much as i want to believe im a perfect shot ive seen numerous times that isnt the case on moving targets haha

Bingo!!! The two stock styles is a compromise between a perfect check weld VS. a quick reload. It's always a personnal choice.

Doc

i guess its the reg encore PH stock that would suit my needs for bein able to take a quicker back up shot if needed...thanks for wording that to make me think about it in a diff way to make my mind clear on what i want to get.