jahull , if your barrel is reasonable stiff to open or atleast does not fall open when your unlatch the trigger guard then you have a tight enough hinge pin , it should be smooth and tight the whole way open like what a heavy bank vault door would feel like , realy smooth but stiff.
I would definatly look at getting a trigger job and have the forend bedded both of these will help alot with accuracy.
what are the specs of the barrel as far as length and contuer? do you know what the twist rate is? if I'm not mistaken I think that EACO barrels are built with Douglas blanks. the good thing about the Encore is that their is no worry about what your seating depth has to be , you can seat the bullet out as far as you like..