Wife bought me a TC Encore

So my lovely wife bought me a TC Encore from a friend of ours at her work. It's got a .50 cal muzzleloader barrel and a rifle barrel. Not sure the caliber. She bought it Friday and is picking it up tomorrow. Decided to tell me tonight. So my question is this……I'm not sure of the caliber of the rifle barrel, but I know I will look for a 7mm Rem mag barrel as I have a lot of components…what kind of accuracy can I expect to see from an Encore rifle? I have read several threads and see some love em and some don't.
I have the .35 whelen and i added a bolt on muzzle break. It helped with better groups and recoil big time. But my best barrel is a tc custom shop in 6.5/284 amazing shooter
 
I bought mine couple of years ago in 7mm RM. First thing you should go to Mike Bell, adjust trigger and hammer spring. Also file any factory imperfections smooth. The whole process is on his web site, and is really inexpensive. After that and building the load I consistently shoot groups under 1 inch at 300 yards.
Just be careful when you buy more barrels. Always think how much you can handle. About five years ago I bought Kathadine 45-70 and while building a load to it it is the first rifle in my life that made me the blue shoulder even though I can handle the heaviest calibers. This thing kicks like a mule.
 
I've had mine for roughly 5 years and love it . If I'd bought one of these years ago I'd own a lot less long guns . That's no joke . I've got the 50 cal muzzle loader barrel , 204 ruger , 7 mm08 , 308, 35 Whelen barrel for mine . Mine has had no alterations done to it and the trigger breaks cleanly at 3.25 pounds which isn't horrible for a hunting rifle . No creep just slight pressure and it will surprise me almost every time. Kinda wish I hadn't got the 308 barrel for mine but I have shot it a few times . Absolutely love my 7 mm08 barrel it shoots really well
Bellm tc has all kinds of spring upgrades for them I changed mine to the 2 lb spring set now it breaks like glass just at 2 lbs 2 oz. you have to keep an eye on head space when you change out barrels you may find you need to pack out behind the breach to make correct head space I had a problem with brass after 2 firings they carry kits for that repair as well
 
Had one in 280 AI w/28" bbl that equalled short bbl 7 mags. Just bought another with four barrels but all I'm keeping is the 28" 243 one that will become a 243 AI.
 
Replacing trigger springs to get the weight you want on an Encore is relatively easy and inexpensive. The directions are clear and easy to follow. My trigger went from weight lifting to 2.5 lbs and huge improvement in accuracy. Key is to also replace the hammer spring as well and replace the firing pin with heavier version. Recommend doing this on a white towel to catch springs from rolling off bench and disappear into thin air! Gee wonder who that happened to? I will post up the directions once I get back to house PC.
you can find a video on line for that
 
Don't have an Encore, but I have 2 old flat side Contenders with a 221 Fireball, 223 Remington, 7-30 Waters and 357 Max barrels. The two smaller calibers I us for 'them ther varmints' while the two larger I use for deer hunting. Love the pistol.
 
The load is 110gr by volume of Blackhorn 209. you can actually weigh out BH209 on a scale, my chosen load is a scale weighed 77-80gr. I'm not the best with the MZ, but I can still hang around an inch, and that'll do in the woods just fine.
 
I replaced the hinge pin to a tighter version. No increased accuracy in my blackpowder muzzleloader barrel from TC. I tried the Bellm spring replacement myself. Failed. The instructions were not good and I could not find any helpful on-line videos. Ended shipping the action to Mike. The trigger breaks wonderfully. Really didn't help accuracy much either.

I weigh my Blackhorn 209 powder as it is a more accurate measurement than volume based on my testing. I'm somewhere around 75 grains by weight which is equivalent to approximately 100 grains by volume. Don't have my notes in front of me.

CCI 209 primers are the only ones that fit correctly in my TC Encore Pro Hunter every time. A lot of other brands would not allow the trigger to cock. Some primers worked. Some didn't. I was culling primers prior to placing them in my possibles bag. I finally called TC and got the CCI advice.

I do not use breech plug grease. Was used to using it with another in-line. Tried it on the TC and the breech wouldn't close. Called TC and was told tolerances too tight for grease.

I kill a lot of whitetails with the firearm.
 
I purchased my first T/C Contender in 1985 and my Encore in 1998. Getting a good trigger job and making sure you don't have slop in the hinge pin does a ton for accuracy. Bellm and EA Brown are good places for parts, this forum and specialtypistols.infopop.cc have a lot of useful knowledge about making the gun work for you. I've used my 300WM and 7mm-08 Encore for successful elk and hog hunts, and my 30-30 Contender for several successful javelina hunts. They're fun guns to own if you have the patience to get it shooting where you want it. I've had several Contenders and Encores barrels that shoot consistently under MOA, but I've also owned barrels that I just couldn't make them work. Enjoy your new gun, get the trigger to your liking and work from there. If it gets too frustrating, put it into the safe for a while and revisit it later.
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I had a MGM 45-70 barrel converted to Smokeless muzzle loader.400 yard shots are easy with a Sabot and 240 grain 40 caliber bullets.I also use primed converted 45ACP shells instead of 209`s.Makes for a wicked cool MZ.
 
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