Just like my doctor checking all my vital signs, looking in the nooks and crannies in a physical exam, I am doing the same but with a new rifle and detailing my findings.
The T/C Encore® Pro-Hunter™ Complete Rifle has a history of success. It is such a well thought out firearm that can be a muzzle loader, today, a Rifle or Shotgun tomorrow or even a Pistol if you purchase the grips and barrel.
The work horse of the gun is the core trigger/hammer and its Encore housing. In early rifles this was called the lock mechanism as in Flintlock or Caplock and mates to a single shot rifle, a shotgun or a pistol with stock or grip and forearm. The lower tang on the trigger housing is a lever you must pull to open the breech. This trigger breaks at 7 lb 8 oz.
The muzzle loader 28 inch barrel is called the Endeavor 209×50 cal Magnum and sports an innovative, state of the art metallic looking Weather Shield® exterior coating that is nearly impervious to rust and patented Speed Breech XT® . It is a visual work of fine engineering and machinist art with the breech plug that removes simply with a 90 degree twist for easy cleaning. Note: Ambidextrous Swing Hammer®.
I fired a bench rest shot yesterday at 100 yards with open sights and hit a 4 inch target on the first shot. I opened the breech and pulled the speed breech plug with a twist of my hand to clean the barrel with no effort. Below is the grip side of the speed breech.
You pull the black decapping arm rearward about 1/4 inch and it can be rotated to the right and out of the way so the plug can be rotated to its removal align marks and pulled out of the barrel. Marvelous!
Note the hammer above can be adjusted right or left. Another great feature!
Loading powder and bullet is accomplished by placing a powder charge in the barrel then a bullet and using the ramrod and extended threaded loading/cleaning jag to drive the bullet down to seat firmly on the powder or a cleaning patch.
For ease of loading in the field or at the range, the muzzle has no initial rifling for the first inch (see barrel below without rifling at the muzzle) so that it can cradle and align the bullet as it is placed in the muzzle with your fingers. Nice! No more fumbling for a faster reload and proper bullet alignment.
The Jag (below) is not part of the ramrod it must be carried separately. Without this Jag the rifle cannot be loaded so don’t lose it! I would order another spare Jag just in case. I ordered a Hoppe’s 410 shotgun bore snake with embedded bore brush for fast cleaning. The 410 shotgun bore is 45 caliber in size.
The loading ramrod below has a swivel T handle to aid in seating the bullet.
At the range, I put a 300 grain Hornady bullet through my chronograph with 100 grains of Black Powder substitute and it registered 1655 fps. That equates to over 1840 ft-lb at the muzzle and deer killing energy to 200 yards with that load.
The rifle instruction manual for the muzzle loader has recipes for both powder pellets and for loose powder that go up to 150 grains of powder equivalent and bullets up to 400 grains. Wow!
The stock has a recoil tamer built in to it called Flex Tech where recoil on the stock is absorbed by the recoil pad which extends up the grey radial marks on the stock.
If you like a lighter trigger that is the only thing an owner might do is to have a gunsmith tune the trigger to your liking. I have two TC scope mount bases (not part of the rifle) coming and a 30-06 barrel so we can really see the accuracy of the rifle and its versatility.
The muzzle loader is balanced at 8.25 lbs. much more than I I would have thought with a 28 inch barrel and not overly front heavy as some muzzle loaders can be.
The excellent attributes of this rifle are many as we can see above. Minor weaknesses in this Muzzle Loader Rifle are the heavy trigger and the unattached non storing Jag. Both can be remedied with a trigger job and a butt stock storage pouch.
To date I have just completed mounting a Leupold Scope using a 7429 T/C Encore mount base to use with weaver rings and added a Fox Tactical ™ butt stock cheek rest and storage pouch.
I am going to the range today to see what accuracy I can obtain for the upcoming accuracy test report.
Shoot Straight and Shoot Often!
© 2016