Caliber Suggestions for Encore?

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Gdbyrd

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Low recoil, decent knock down power, and good ballistics? For a pistol configuration.

Anything particular come to mind? And no breaks either.

I'd like a 243 type caliber with a little more umph. I'd worry that a 243 wouldn't do it at longer ranges and that there'd be extensive tracking involved. So a little more knockdown would be better.

Considered the 7mm08 but I have no experience with it.
 
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What are you trying to knock down? A .243 is fine up to whitetail.

At this point, I don't want to add another cartridge to my reloading bench. If I were going to, it would be a .260 Remington. Probably has the best ballistics in its class.

7mm08 is another great option, though. If I understand it correctly, all three-- .243, .260, and 7mm08 --are based on the same .308 Winchester parent case.
 
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My sister has hunted with a 243 for a little over 20 years. A large amount of the deer she's shot have had to be tracked.

I've shot 30/06 or larger for 15 years. I have had to track one deer in 10 years.

The brush where I'm located is very very thick and I've known a lot of people who have lost deer despite hours of tracking. The brush can be so thick an animal could be down right next to you and you wouldn't know it.

We have scenderos cut into the brush, hence the long straight aways.

I like the 243 as much as anyone. it'd be a perfect match for me recoil wise. I'm with you on the 260..that and the 7mm/08 are in my searches but I have no experience to pull from with recoil in a handgun.
 
I've shot an encore pistol in 7-08. Shooting one of these in pistol configuration is a much different conversation than as a rifle. The limiting factor is going to be the shooter's recoil sensitivity. I would consider knockdown power second to the consideration of how far the shooter is able to reasonably hold a killshot group. Remember that it's out of a 4lb handgun with no shoulder support. I'm drawing on an old movie, but a 15-16" barrel looks like the Joker's gun from the Michael Keaton batman movie. The thing that was immediately apparent to me when handling/shooting one in person was that a rest or shooting sticks are almost imperative in the field. As for caliber, there aren't many good T/C factory options IMHO. 7-08 was stout - I personally would not consider 308. I'm not sold on 243 in a 15" barrel. The T/C 223 barrel is 1:12 - so it's restricted to lighter bullets. There are a lot of custom barrel manufacturers to get exactly what you would like.
 
That's what I'm afraid of. Right now I've gotten used to shooting a lot of full power 44 mag and the occasional 460. I can shoot the 44s very accurately and with my SRH I can keep it on a paper plate out to 125 yards with a 6x scope.

I want more range and as a marksman I feel I'm competent enough to do it. Practice would be key, and I can't get much practice if my hand is broken after 5-10 shots.

Shooting will ALWAYS be from a stand with known distances and a solid rest.

Been comparing ballistics today and the 6.5s are continuing to shine. The 7/08 is too slow and I'd have to compensate a WHOLE lot. The factory 243 barrels are 1:10 and at only 15" they aren't known to have the best accuracy with 100 grn bullets, plus they slow way way down in a shorter tube.

I'm still hopeful for a good compromise with all three requirements. I'm cool with a custom offering since I do reload.
 
I have a couple of Match Grade Machine barrels I am very happy with. They can build you a fast-twist .243 or .260 barrel for the heavier bullets.
 
My 16" 44 kicks at least three times harder in contender than as a revolver. I am recoil sensitive. That said I zeroed at 40 yds and am shooting a 3" group at 100 yds that is about 3 inches low. I want a 30-30 barrel and plan to shoot the Sierra pistol bullets through it. I also want a 223 for fast and flat shots (with a conversion chamber in 22lr of course)
 
If you think the 44 is bad, you should try some of the high end 45/70 loads, lol.

I'm not exactly recoil sensitive, but I wanted this to be a fun project that I won't have to mentally prepare myself to shoot.

My current deer rifle has an MGM barrel and it's superb. That's actually who I was going to have build mine.

I'm leaning more and more towards 243. With 80 grn bullets people are getting 3k fps with certain powders. That'll get me 2/3 for my wants. Next best option is a 260/6.5CM. Both of which have similar ballistics but I believe would have considerably more recoil...130 vs 80grn at similar speeds.

It's a decision I want to make once so it's not easy....
 
I made a call and did some looking around.
This is what's available:
250 Savage
6BR
243
6.5 Creedmoor
25/06
(There are more but I feel these are in the ballpark of what I'd like in terms of recoil)

I've read that the 06 based calibers do poorly in short barrels.
 
Important question here, do you reload? If yes great, pick something you can find or form brass for. If not, either get ready to start or pick something Walmart stocks. 30-30, .243, 7.62x39 are decent choices. If you reload, a guy at work swears by 30herret. People here plug the 35rem and the 6.8spc shows some promise.
 
nothing wrong with a good old 30/30
i would just like to add in a 15" barrel a 44 magnum
is a fine deer getter out to and a little past 100 yrds
 
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