# Thompson Center Encore Bullets??????



## Firefighter (Feb 14, 2007)

Ive got an Encore 50 cal mag. I shoot 777. I killed 3 deer with it this year using Powerbelt 243 gr bullets. Although easy to load, I'm still not real impressed with the way the powerbelts shoot. I bought some T/C 250 gr shockwave sabots and have yet to try them. I hear there real accurate. Based on experience, whats the best bullet for these guns??? 
(My gun shoots 150 grains of 777 best)


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## Swamp Monster (Jan 11, 2002)

There's lots of best bullets for these guns to be honest. And the powerbelt is not one of them. Lots of reading material on those powerbelts, just do a search.
Some of the good choices are:
The TC Shockwaves/Hornady SST (same bullet)
TC Bonded Shockwaves (just a little stouter version of the original shockwave)
Hornady XTP's
Anything from Barnes. I have two boxes of 290gr Barnes that I will be working on for next fall in my Encore. 
Pesonaly, I like heaver bullets and like to stick with 300 grains or close to it, but 250 is popular and many have sucess with the 200gr shockwaves.

Finding what your gun likes is the most important (as long as it's not a powerbelt!)


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## rzdrmh (Dec 30, 2003)

i highly doubt that your gun shoots 150 grains of 777 the best, without consideration to sabot and bullet. furthermore, given that an additional 50 grains of 777 only buys about 20-30 yards in maximum point blank range over 100 grain charges, you might find it easier on your shoulder to shoot a lesser charge. lastly, according to lyman, 300 grain projectiles and 150 grain charges of 777 generate chamber pressures well in excess of 30,000 psi. TC makes excellent products and i'd recommend them to anyone, but, TC does not individually proof barrels, and i get nervous shooting any guns near max recommended pressures.

barnes bullets are what all other bullets strive to be, in terms of penetration. accuracy is excellent. two in particular, that i've not tried, but have heard very good things about, are the .458" diameter, 300 grain barnes original, and the .451" diameter, 275 grain barnes XPB (sold as a 460 handgun bullet). of course, the 250/300 grain expanders are exceptional as well, however, suffer in the long distance category due to the large meplat employed in the mag tip. though the expansion is utterly impressive, while retaining nearly 100% weight. i've gotten acceptable accuracy to 140-150 yards with them.

it could be argued that the barnes solids are over-kill on deer (if one were to believe in such fairy tales.) one thing that can't be argued is price - they are nearly $1 / bullet.

if someone decided that they didn't need $1 / bullet terminal effectiveness, the next logical choice would be the 250/300 grain Hornady XTP (.452" diameter.) i've not had good accuracy with the 240 grain XTP (a .429" diameter), same goes with the XTP Mags in any weight. 

but the 250/300 grain .452 XTP is amazing in spite of itself. a jacketed pistol bullet with a cannelure, yet it has extremely high weight retention and surprising accuracy (my savage prints at about 1"@100 yards). even with a poor ballistic coefficient of .145, they can be made every bit of a 200 yard bullet, though i'd not try them further than that. penetration is exceptional on deer sized game. i shot a buck at 80 yards this year and it went through both shoulders, and came to rest on the far side skin.

the hornady sst's are decent bullets, but i've not found them to be any more accurate than the XTP's, and i don't believe them to be as tough. others will disagree.

remember, sabots are important, and .002" change will be the difference between a smooth load and a ramrod breaker. you want a nice snug fit. unless you buy barnes bullets, throw away any supplied sabots and order directly from www.mmpsabots.com . or i've heard good things about harvester sabots as well. you may need to try a few sabots before you find the one that fits well with your barrel and bullet combo.

there's plenty of bullets, plenty that will work well.

imo, there's only two real choices though - something by barnes, or the hornady XTP. the XTP's can be had right now for $18 / 100, plus the cost of sabots, if that factors into your decision.


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## Swamp Monster (Jan 11, 2002)

Here's the Barnes I'll be using...the tipped MZ
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...parentType=index&indexId=cat200005&hasJS=true

Best of both world from Barnes imo.....high B.C. and typical Barnes expansion and penetration. I'll be lighting it off with a full charge of 150 grains...standard pyrodex though. I want to use these bullets though, so I'll experiment with powder, charges, and sabots to get them to work. I'm not to concerned though, I'm sure I'll find a combo that works.

I should mention that I purchased those on sale for under $13 for 20.....A steal for Barnes bullets. I see they are normaly $24. Pricey but if they are good, they are worth it.


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## rzdrmh (Dec 30, 2003)

oh, swamp, check your local walmarts - last i checked here in lansing, one store had 3 lbs of pyrodex left, clearanced for $7/lb.


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## Briar Field (Dec 12, 2005)

I like the shock waves bullet. I dug out one of the bullets from the range and the expansion was great.

Just be carefull with the overpressurizations. If I recall the gun is rated for 150 grains of pyrodex whichi equivelent to 120 or 130 grains of 777. so putting in the 150 of 777 you are overfpressurizing the barrel.


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## Firefighter (Feb 14, 2007)

Barnes sound like the ones to try, but wouldnt T/C bullets shoot best in a T/C gun, because thats what their specifically manufactured for?


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## rzdrmh (Dec 30, 2003)

TC doesn't make bullets. those TC bullets are hornady's, or others, just packaged as TC's.

same as the knight bullets.

barnes bullets shine in muzzleloaders, where, because of the sabot, its not necessary for the bullet to obturate to make positive contact with the rifling. they get a little finicky in centerfire rifles, but can show exceptional accuracy there as well.

i don't care for the barnes mz that swamp mentioned _quite as much _- though you get better ballistic coefficients from such bullets, i believe the tip can actually inhibit expansion somewhat. the large meplat on the expander and huge hollow point allow for necessary hydraulics to open the bullet wide. 

this is a rather trivial point however, because the barnes bullets are really that exceptional - i would have _absolutely no problems _using the mz bullet. to my knowledge, the MZ has an ogive profile similar to the expander. were i looking for a spitzer from barnes, i'd probably go with the XPB, sold as a handgun bullet, because you get the "X" bullet style ogive, and the trademark relief grooves, rendering less bearing surface, and thus, the potential of slightly more speed, all without any plastic.

i'll readily admit that the differences may well be inconsequential, and that any barnes bullet that shoots well from your gun will be an exceptional killing bullet. personal preference and all.. 

fyi, for those looking to take advantage in the form of shotgun slugs, federal vital-shok sabot slugs use the barnes expanders....


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## SA ULTRA MAG (Nov 7, 2001)

Good info on Encore muzzleloaders......

http://www.prbullet.com/


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