Suggestions please

[jmeier1981]

Im hoping to get myself a good shooting compact handgun that I can feel confident shooting deer/coyotes up to 300yds. Ive been leaning towards an encore and something like a .308 or 30-06 since there is a wide variety of ammo to try out. So what would you recommend for this kind of set up such as caliber, barrel length, barrel maker, pistol scopes or anything else would be greatly appreciated. Im hoping to be able to get a set up that could be packed into a small backpack or good sized fanny pack so I dont want the full size 15" encore barrel but other than that Im open to suggestions, thanks

 

[Ernie]

With a barrel shorter than 15 inches I would stay away from any 06 class cartridge.
Do you reload?

Im hoping to get myself a good shooting compact handgun that I can feel confident shooting deer/coyotes up to 300yds. Ive been leaning towards an encore and something like a .308 or 30-06 since there is a wide variety of ammo to try out. So what would you recommend for this kind of set up such as caliber, barrel length, barrel maker, pistol scopes or anything else would be greatly appreciated. Im hoping to be able to get a set up that could be packed into a small backpack or good sized fanny pack so I dont want the full size 15" encore barrel but other than that Im open to suggestions, thanks

 

[jmeier1981]

No I dont reload.

 

[theflyonthewall]

I've shot my share of pistols, T/C's included, and would follow Ernie's advice. What comes to my mind as a great cartridge for your application would be a barrel chambered for the .260 Remington if you can find one.

Basically, I'd be looking for something that is roughly based off of the .308 Win case, but in a 6.5mm bullet diameter. Whether that be the 6.5 Grendel, 260 Rem, or similar.

Of course there ARE less powerful options that would work for you. They just don't shoot as flat. The 7-30 Waters was popular for a while in the T/C line.

 

[RT2506]

As the old saying goes you can't have your cake and eat it to. When you go chopping the barrel down to a pocket pistol you take 200 to 300 yards out of the equation because you loose too much velocity with the shorter barrels and you need the velocity to get from point A to point B. Plus you need the proper velocity when the bullet gets to the animal to expand properly. Get you a bandoleer style shoulder holster for your Encore. It can be adjusted to cross your chest or be lower under your arm and down your side. Makes carry easy and comfortable. The 308 Win or 260 Rem or 7-08 would be a good choice for Non-reloaders. But to get the best out of your rig you need to hand load for it. Burris makes the highest powder long eye relief pistol scope 3-12X that I know of and it can be had with a ballistics plex that would be a plus for your needs.

 

[Ernie]

I wouldn't go shorter than 12 inches myself, and would prefer to be 14-15" minimum.
Have you considered the 6.5 Creedmore or something like that.
MGM would make you a nice Encore barrel.
MOA Maximum MOA Corporation Homepage could also build you a very compact and accurate set-up.
I prefer the MOA far above the TC.

 

[jmeier1981]

I wouldn't go shorter than 12 inches myself, and would prefer to be 14-15" minimum.
Have you considered the 6.5 Creedmore or something like that.
MGM would make you a nice Encore barrel.
MOA Maximum MOA Corporation Homepage could also build you a very compact and accurate set-up.
I prefer the MOA far above the TC.

So is what Im hoping for unrealistic???

I thought it was well within reach but I guess I could be wrong, but I know a few guys that shoot 8-10" barrels and straight cased rounds likes .480, .454, .500 that have no problem taking deer up to 200 yds. I guess I thought a smaller bullet out of a slightly longer barrel moving quicker would be at the least as good and probably better.

So would a 12" barrel and something like a .308 or 7mm-08 do what I want and if not what would be realistic with this type of set up. I was just hoping to find a popular caliber round so that I would have a lot of factory ammo options.

Why would you stay away from the -06 rounds? Please dont take this wrong Im not questioning your advice, but I am just completely clueless on this and would like to know how or why certain set ups will or wont work, thanks again
I guess I just think that having a 15" barrel or longer kind of makes a pistol pointless, if Im going to have that much gun why not just have a full rifle???

 

[AJ Peacock]

If your buddies are using revolvers with 10" barrels, you have 2-3" to work with to match their length, since a single shot like the TC Encore doesn't have the cylinder using up space.

As far as the '06 in a short barrel, it is a longer cartridge (taking up length) that isn't particularly efficient in a short barrel.

AJ

 

[Ernie]

You can try a 12" 260 Rem or 7-08, but I think you are going to be displeased with your overall performance. You might as well go with a 6.5 BR, 7mm BR, or 6.5x47 Lapua. They will do as good of a job/same velocity as you would get with the 260 or 7-08.
An 06 case size would not give you the velocity you wanted and would increase recoil needlessly, as a smaller case will will have the same velocity for that short of a barrel.
Straight wall cartridges do not run at the same pressures that most bottleneck cases do and have a larger bore diameter.

So is what Im hoping for unrealistic???

I thought it was well within reach but I guess I could be wrong, but I know a few guys that shoot 8-10" barrels and straight cased rounds likes .480, .454, .500 that have no problem taking deer up to 200 yds. I guess I thought a smaller bullet out of a slightly longer barrel moving quicker would be at the least as good and probably better.

So would a 12" barrel and something like a .308 or 7mm-08 do what I want and if not what would be realistic with this type of set up. I was just hoping to find a popular caliber round so that I would have a lot of factory ammo options.

Why would you stay away from the -06 rounds? Please dont take this wrong Im not questioning your advice, but I am just completely clueless on this and would like to know how or why certain set ups will or wont work, thanks again
I guess I just think that having a 15" barrel or longer kind of makes a pistol pointless, if Im going to have that much gun why not just have a full rifle???

 

[jmeier1981]

What do you mean by overall performance??? Are we talking velocity, accuracy, trajectory? How much difference could 3" of barrel make?
I was on MGMs site and was just throwing the idea around about a 13" 7mm-08 do you think this would do what I want or should I just scrap the idea???

 

[Ernie]

Velocity.
Velocity effects trajectory.
A 13" 7-08 should work.
I had a 14" 7-08 that ran 140 NBT's @ 2540 (can't remember for sure the exact MV) and 120 NBT's at 2700 fps
I used H-4895 with both bullet weights

What do you mean by overall performance??? Are we talking velocity, accuracy, trajectory? How much difference could 3" of barrel make?
I was on MGMs site and was just throwing the idea around about a 13" 7mm-08 do you think this would do what I want or should I just scrap the idea???

 

[jmeier1981]

What do you think would be a better chamber... 7-08, .308, or should I look into something like a .260? I really dont have much experience with a lot of different chambers so Im not really sure what advantages one has over the other. All Im really concerned about is being able to find ammo for it and not going broke shooting it, thats why I was originally leaning towards the .308 or .30-06

 

[theflyonthewall]

........................
I guess I just think that having a 15" barrel or longer kind of makes a pistol pointless, if Im going to have that much gun why not just have a full rifle???

In some cases your question can be answered by WHERE you hunt. Where I live, there are LOTS of places that I get to look at that I would not want to go into with anymore weight than necessary. Some of these drainages are incredibly steep and dangerous if one can't use both hands to climb. Usually I can sling the rifle across my back and be ok. But I've definitely thought "if I were hunting with a pistol, I could climb up and down these things so much easier and with a lot less weight."

So to your question above, I say that not only can hunting with a pistol in a holster be a fun new way to hunt, but sometimes it can be easier and safer as well.

 

[Ernie]

I never buy factory ammo, so my guess is the 308 will be the easiest ammo to buy, and possibly the cheapest.
Get on the web and search out prices is what I would suggest when it comes to ammo.

What do you think would be a better chamber... 7-08, .308, or should I look into something like a .260? I really dont have much experience with a lot of different chambers so Im not really sure what advantages one has over the other. All Im really concerned about is being able to find ammo for it and not going broke shooting it, thats why I was originally leaning towards the .308 or .30-06