thompson encore

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aintright

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I have a encore in 7-08 , with handloads and cartrideges taylored to the chamber what would you say the best accuracy would be ? I am trying to decide if I should go to the expense of the dies and componets to reload it . Thank you , Kenneth
 
That depends on what you want from it. I've owned quite a few Encore barrels (still have a couple). None shot worse thatn 1/2 MOA.
It won't ever shoot as well as a custom rifle, but it will shoot better than most of us can do anyway.

Rick
 
I don't know what to make of mine . But so far I have only shot factory ammo in it . I also have a XP 100 in the same caliber and it shoots just as good or (better at times) with same ammo . I guess I should play with it some more . When you say .5" groups . I assume you're talking handloads ? Thanks , Kenneth
 
I have an encore pistol in 7mm-08 15 inch length. Been shooting handloads in it for a few years now. It has a fondness for viht 140 powder and 140 nosler ballistics or accubonds. You will have to work up towards the upper limit on the powder charge for the 140s. I get consistent groups of 1.1 to 1.2 inch at 100 yds. At 200 yds I have produced 2.5 and under consistent. Not bad for a pistol. The 120 noslers do a little better with accuracy with the viht 140 . The trade off is not quite the knock down power that the 140 has. Those groups are all 5 shot groups not 3 as most folks use.
 
aintright said:
I don't know what to make of mine . But so far I have only shot factory ammo in it . I also have a XP 100 in the same caliber and it shoots just as good or (better at times) with same ammo . I guess I should play with it some more . When you say .5" groups . I assume you're talking handloads ? Thanks , Kenneth
Click to expand...

Oh Yeah,
I can't remember buying factory loads for anything in 15 years.

Rick
 
I do not believe that an Encore can be expected to shoot groups better than 1moa or so and that's pushing it. You pay to have somebody like Belm go after it with hunnerds of dollars and you MIGHT get 3/4moa aggs....

IMO

al
 
alinwa said:
I do not believe that an Encore can be expected to shoot groups better than 1moa or so and that's pushing it. You pay to have somebody like Belm go after it with hunnerds of dollars and you MIGHT get 3/4moa aggs....

IMO

al
Click to expand...

What happens if he declares bankruptcy while he has it?
 
OK I stand corrected by Mr Fixinit

If you have access to arguably the best shooter on God's Earth and can use him as your mentor, if you're willing to spend the money and IF you decide to move from your listed 7-08 and go to a 6MM PPC cartridge (it's got about an inch of powder capacity) and shoot 65-68gr bullets exclusively then maybe you'll do better.

If, on the other hand you want your question answered as you asked it, I stand by my opinion.

opinions vary

al
 
I agree with the on average moa is doing well with an Encore. I know the question was concerning 7mm-08 in specific. I feel as though hand loading for any caliber is worth while because you will be able to create a custom load for your specific purpose. It will shoot better than a factory load when done properly.Buy good brass such as Nosler and good bullets and you will be pleased with the results. Just don't go the cheap route, same goes for the dies. Cheap won't get you there. Thats my 10 cents worth. 6ppc is not a fair comparison to 7mm-08. They are not even is the same league.
 
Thanks for all the info . 1.5 -2.5 is about what I get with Factory with 5 shots of factory . The XP 100 will shoot under 2 pretty consitant with same ammo . With the info you folks have given me it seems it woild be worth the investment of the dies and so on as I would have two guns to toy with in same caliber . When you say not to go cheap , what would you consider good dies ? I normally use RCBS dies . Does brass selection effect accuracy that much ? I'm curious as I have been using Win. brass in most of my guns . I had a 788 in 243 that a friend built for me and it would shoot .5 - .75 with 105 amax and Win. brass . If you feel I am cheating myself that much I would certainly switch brass . Thank all of you for the info , this has been really interesting , Kenneth
 
Kenneth, I reload alot of calibers and I have to say that out of all of the dies I have bought the reddings have the highest quality standards for me.Win brass isn't bad brass.I really like the new nosler brass because it is prepped to perfection and ready to load out of the box. Nobody else does it as well to my knowledge. The one thing you will have to do is keep your brass separate between the two guns. The chambers will not be the same even though they are the same caliber. With hand loads that is one of the advantages for accuracy, once a piece of brass has been fireformed to a chamber keep it with that chamber. Buy full length dies not neck sizer only.Keep the brass you have and keep it separate. Kenny
 
I suggest Winchester brass and the cheapest die set you can buy. I don't believe any one factory die company is "better" than another. Dies can't straighten anything, the only function of any note is fit and your chance of a good fit is as good with one as with another.

opinionsby


al
 
Every manufacturer that makes dies make them to work within a spec. Reddings are not expensive dies-in my opinion. If you talk to most master gunsmiths they all lean towards the reddings because their tolerances are exceptional.They also last. I can't say that for the lee's and they are cheap.Just my opinion.
 
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