Hunting Forum

I was reading an article in a recent issue of NAH.  The hunter was posing with a Thompson Center Encore with what appeared to be a centerfire barrel given that he had centerfire ammo on a holder on the buttstock.  Is there an advantage to using an Encore with a centerfire barrel as opposed to a bolt action (accuracy? resistance to the elements?)?  Trying to see if getting one of these is worthwhile.

I own an Encore, along with several bolt action, and semi-auto rifles. I've found that the Encore (mine is a .308) is the most accurate rifle I own. My favorite rifle has always been my Ruger mod. 77 .308, but this little Encore is compact, easy to use and shoots like a dream. I will state that if you are a tall individual with long arms, you may not like the T/C, because it does have a pretty short stock and it's hard for tall folks to get used to the compactness of the rifle. At 5'8" and only a 32" sleeve length I am very comfortable with it, but my brother at 6'2" with a 34" sleeve length doesn't like it at all.

The "advantage" is in the ability to change barrels to a different caliber. A new barrel at around $300 is cheaper than a whole new rifle. I absolutely LOVE my Pro Hunter. I have the .50 cal muzzleloader and bought a .300 Win. mag barrel for it later on.

I like the idea of one gun for just about everything I hunt. David N. mentioned $300 for a new extra barrel. What was the cost of the original gun? Initial investment? I would like to go that route(have 5 diff. cal. that I could delete), even if that would make my son mad.

I got mine a few years ago off of Gunbroker. Brand new Pro Hunter .50 cal. with the thumbhole synthetic stock. Believe I gave $650 for it. Not sure what they normally go for at a gun shop. As far as extra barrels go, Cabela's sells Pro Hunter barrels for $350. I picked up my .300 Win barrel, again from Gunbroker, for $300. T/C makes a LOT of barrels from rimfire through centerfire as well as shotgun and muzzleloader. You will need a different forearm when changing from certain barrels to another such as from my .50 to the centerfire, and to a shotgun barrel. They don't cost much. Mount a scope on each barrel and they stay with it when you swap them out for another. Used barrels are even cheaper usually if you want to save a little more money.

I shoot the TC PRO Hunter in the TC/30. I purchased this rifle when they were introduced a few years ago in the stainless model. I love the accuracy and have since put all my other guns in storage for the most part. I like the stainless due to the fact I like to hunt in the rain when deer hunting.

Thanks for the info everybody.