big rifle calibers for encore pistols
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I have shot a .375 Winchester in a Contender and a .458 Win Mag in the Encore handgun.
The .375 Win is a puddy-tat.
The .458 Win Mag was comped. It had little to no muzzle flip at all. It was sorta like being smacked in the palm with a ballpein hammer. I think a little more padding on the backstrap or a PAST glove could have been helpful. But I shot it a good number of times and cannot say that it was excruciating or hateful at all.
The .375 Win is a puddy-tat.
The .458 Win Mag was comped. It had little to no muzzle flip at all. It was sorta like being smacked in the palm with a ballpein hammer. I think a little more padding on the backstrap or a PAST glove could have been helpful. But I shot it a good number of times and cannot say that it was excruciating or hateful at all.
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For the ranges that you will be able to make a high percentage shot with a handgun, the '06 is hard to beat. It's fun to shoot, you can get ammo anywhere and the advantages of the magnums tend to get slim when you shoot them through a 15" barrel.
Look up the ballistics of a 7mm with a 15" barrel out to 150 yards, then compare that to a heavy bullet 30-06. The flatter shooting and retained energy of the magnums are not as much of a factor at handgun range, and even less with the 15" barrel. I've thought and thought about another more power barrel for my encore, but I just can't find a significant advantage in any of the higher power rounds when I shoot them through the encore.
Depending on the range that you intend to shoot, the good old 45-70 is a great elk round in the encore or contender for that matter. Big bullet and not the recoil of some of the flatter shooting rounds.
Look up the ballistics of a 7mm with a 15" barrel out to 150 yards, then compare that to a heavy bullet 30-06. The flatter shooting and retained energy of the magnums are not as much of a factor at handgun range, and even less with the 15" barrel. I've thought and thought about another more power barrel for my encore, but I just can't find a significant advantage in any of the higher power rounds when I shoot them through the encore.
Depending on the range that you intend to shoot, the good old 45-70 is a great elk round in the encore or contender for that matter. Big bullet and not the recoil of some of the flatter shooting rounds.
Grinder,
You mention "big calibers" then bring up the 7mm and 30 caliber, neither of which are even medium, let alone "big" calibers. Are you wanting to know about flat-shooting, high-power, small bores, or are you truly interested in a big bore handgun? Either way, there are a ton of options out there...just depends how much you want to spend and what kind of recoil/muzzle blast you can handle.
You mention "big calibers" then bring up the 7mm and 30 caliber, neither of which are even medium, let alone "big" calibers. Are you wanting to know about flat-shooting, high-power, small bores, or are you truly interested in a big bore handgun? Either way, there are a ton of options out there...just depends how much you want to spend and what kind of recoil/muzzle blast you can handle.
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I have a friend who hunts everything in Alaska with a TC wearing a 450 Marlin barrel. He uses a past glove, and seems to handle it just fine. I've fired it before without a glove and it's not something I'd want to repeat very often. It was his handloaded 420 gr. hardcast.
Ok, those are small calibers, but large (for a pistol) cartridges. If you haven't shot truly powerful handguns before, I would suggest a 7MM-08, 260Remington, or a 250 Savage. Even these will be a handful until you get used to them. They will give you very close to the 300 yard range you are after, though.
There's not much sense in any of the belted magnums, from a pistol, because the barrel just isn't long enough to benefit from the big jugs. Go for a smaller case or a larger bore gun. The 375JDJ is a good 250 yard gun, for deer, and will put a serious hurtin' on really big game, at closer range. That one tends to kick quite a bit, though.
There's not much sense in any of the belted magnums, from a pistol, because the barrel just isn't long enough to benefit from the big jugs. Go for a smaller case or a larger bore gun. The 375JDJ is a good 250 yard gun, for deer, and will put a serious hurtin' on really big game, at closer range. That one tends to kick quite a bit, though.
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I have a 411 JDJ barrel for my T/C Contender,just can't locate dies.
Not for the Encore, but...
Note: Not for use in the Encore when running at bolt rig pressures, but I really like some of my big boys.
Some of these are not big rifle calibers, but they deliver plenty of punch at long distances and at short.
My two favs are my 7mm Dakota and my 338 Lapau Improve (338AX).
Both are in XP-100's.
I also have WSM's and a SAUM, but would never recommend them for a Encore.
2700 fps with a 300 grain bullet with a about 100 grains of Retumbo can be a handful, but it still may not make (big bore class for some)
Note: Not for use in the Encore when running at bolt rig pressures, but I really like some of my big boys.
Some of these are not big rifle calibers, but they deliver plenty of punch at long distances and at short.
My two favs are my 7mm Dakota and my 338 Lapau Improve (338AX).
Both are in XP-100's.
I also have WSM's and a SAUM, but would never recommend them for a Encore.
2700 fps with a 300 grain bullet with a about 100 grains of Retumbo can be a handful, but it still may not make (big bore class for some)
You, my friend, are a MASOCHIST!Note: Not for use in the Encore when running at bolt rig pressures, but I really like some of my big boys.
Some of these are not big rifle calibers, but they deliver plenty of punch at long distances and at short.
My two favs are my 7mm Dakota and my 338 Lapau Improve (338AX).
Both are in XP-100's.
I also have WSM's and a SAUM, but would never recommend them for a Encore.
2700 fps with a 300 grain bullet with a about 100 grains of Retumbo can be a handful, but it still may not make (big bore class for some)
Firing cartridges that big, out of a pistol, is a special kind of madness.
tang would love this guy!!
for me hot 7/08 rem loads are about all i care for at this point... i do shoot HOT 45 colt loads in a 15" colt bbl. (no .410) and i do mean hot but they are accurate and extract fairly easily cosidering the lack of a good rim to get ahold of. i have big fingers and am going to look at what can be done with the encore to increase the "stroke" or effective working range of the extractor on the encore... it wouldn't be so bad but i have thin fingernails to boot.
for me hot 7/08 rem loads are about all i care for at this point... i do shoot HOT 45 colt loads in a 15" colt bbl. (no .410) and i do mean hot but they are accurate and extract fairly easily cosidering the lack of a good rim to get ahold of. i have big fingers and am going to look at what can be done with the encore to increase the "stroke" or effective working range of the extractor on the encore... it wouldn't be so bad but i have thin fingernails to boot.
338 Lapua Magnum Improved (338 Allen Xpress)
Leupold Mark 4 4.5-14 LR/T
Scope I have on it now is a Huskemaw LR 5-20
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50 Alaskan in Encore pistol with 16" MGM SS barrel. Pushes a 580gr hardcast boolit out at 1700fps. (chrono'd not estimated). Broke 2 Weaver 2X scopes and had to send in 1 Leupold 2X for repair also. It is a beast to shoot but a blast to watch the boolit hit something.
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Now that sounds like a very cool toy!!
Hit a bear in the nose with that and blow the tail off!
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