Encore Barrell Length help

• Oct 29, 2017

• #1

B

Bobby Linton

Banned

I never thought I would fall for the pro Hunter ,but man, it just feels so good in the woods. I took my first black powder deer with it this year and I'm hooked. The action is simple. Cocking the hammer feels natural when it's time to shoot. The gun is short even with a full length Barrel.
I think part of the appeal to me is I'm left handed and have been shooting right handed guns my whole life. It's nice to shoot a gun that fits. With all that being said, I want to use the gun as my centerfire hunting platform as well. I have found a site that has bergara barrels at a good price. Question is, they offer a 24" and a 28" in 243 for about the same price. Is there any advantage to a barrel that long? I thought a 20" standard rifle barrel gave you full velocity from most rounds. Anybody want to help me decide?

 

• Oct 29, 2017

• #2

SC Hunter

Senior Member

My encore is in the truck right now waiting for in the morning when I get off work. I've had that gun for 10 or 11 years and I love it. I have the 24" 243 barrel on it, the one with the iron sights. It's the barrel that was on it when I got it and it just works. I also have the 28" heavy barrel in 7mm-08 and it has zero recoil. You may gain a little velocity from the 24" to 28" but you won't know the difference.

 

• Oct 29, 2017

• #3

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Buckhead

Senior Member

The 28” will definitely give more velocity, but I would go 24”. I have a G1 Contender and have always felt that a 21-22” barrel gave the best balance and handling with a carbine barrel. With the bigger frame and weight of the Encore, a 24” should be about right.

I hunt deer with a 6.8 barrel on my Contender and also with a Tikka in .243. The 6.8 is a good round, but the Tikka is my favorite. It has a 22.5” barrel. It gives up some velocity, but the .243 is a 250-300 yd deer cartridge regardless. The light bullets just don’t retain enough energy at extended ranges to be reliable on whitetail. 100 grain loads are too slow, stick with 80-90 grain. Try Fed Trophy Copper 85 grain. Best factory load I have found. Accurate, great penetration.

 

• Oct 29, 2017

• #4

B

Bobby Linton

Banned

Thanks I'll try the copper bullets. Sounds like the 24" might be the sweet spot. I can't say enough about the gun. I have had a beautiful Ruger #1, but never liked banging around with it in my climber. Encore just feels like the right tool for the job. And the finish probably wouldn't care if you tossed it out of the tree!

 

• Nov 3, 2017

• #5

coastalredneck

Senior Member

been toting one in 7mag for years. Absolutely love my Pro-Hunter. Good luck

 

• Nov 3, 2017

• #6

jmoser

Senior Member

Don't forget the Encore is over 3 inches shorter than a bolt gun since there is no receiver. So a 28 inch bbl is close to a 24 inch bolt gun.

But a 24 in .243 is plenty long unless it's a bench rest bull bbl setup.

 

• Nov 3, 2017

• #7

lonewolf247

Senior Member

I have a CVA Stalker as my primitive weapon gun. It's similar in configuration. It has a 24" barrel and it's seems just about perfect, and handy as it is. I think with a 28" barrel it would start to feel unbalanced and not as handy on count of the length.

A .243 is a high velocity round, and can take advantage of velocity gains in a longer barrel, however 24" should be sufficient enough, as most bolt actions chambered for .243 usually are 22-24". Going with a 28" barrel in a .243 hunting rifle, would net very little gain, IMO, and would definitely be offset by a few negatives.

I think 24" would be all you need, and make for a better feeling rifle. Many youth rifles in .243 have a 20" barrel and they do fine.

 

• Nov 4, 2017

• #8

B

Bobby Linton

Banned

Thanks all. My barrel arrived today from eBay. Got a 24" 7mm-08. Was looking for a 243 but settled on the 08 when I won a low ball bid. Maybe my shoulder won't be able to tell the difference.

 

• Nov 18, 2017

• #9

U

Uncle Joe

Senior Member

I've hunted with TC Encores for the last 15 years, my two "go to" barrels are a 24" 270 if longer shots might be needed and an 18" Katahdin barrel in 444 Marlin for use in my two stands that have max distance of 50 yards.
I load for both and they are good for sub MOA when I do my part.

 

• Sep 9, 2021

• #10

gemihur

Senior Member

50 yard shots reserved for handguns
444 marlin contender

 

• Sep 11, 2021

• #11

Nimrod71

Senior Member

I would go with the 24 inch. I have been hunting with T/C rifles and hand cannons for 40 years. My current pick is my 280 AI it is a real deer killer.

 

• Sep 11, 2021

• #12

rosewood

Senior Member

Zombie thread, op was 2017. Ha! And shows he is banned.