Encore and 20" 45-70 Barrel

[Coltdriver]

I got started with a .450 Marlin barrel on this Encore last year. The big cartridge is fun to shoot and with an 18 inch barrel it is easy to carry.

This year I sold the Marlin barrel and picked up a 20 inch 45/70 barrel in stainless. Thompson Center apparently discontinued the earlier Katahdin barrels and I wanted a stainless version anyway. This is a Pro Hunter Barrel.

My brother and I took it out to the Pawnee Grasslands (northeast of Greeley, Colorado) this afternoon to try it out. What a hoot!

I had loaded some of the original 45 70 rounds with 70 grains of black powder and a 405 grain cast bullet. I also loaded some very light loads with smokeless powder under the 405 grain bullet. Some with Unique and some with Reloader 7. Both of the smokeless rounds gave less recoil than the black powder rounds.

The barrel came with a peep sight. At its lowest elevation and 100 yards out with these rounds the best we could do was still about one foot high. I guess T/C expects everyone to put a scope on the barrel.

The weather was perfect. I was wearing electronic muffs. You could hear the bullet zip its way to the target.

I removed the peep sight and mounted a 1-4 20 scope on it when I got home this afternoon. I had the limbsaver mounted from the earlier barrel. The limbsaver is an incredibly effective recoil pad.

I have some jacketed Hornady 300 grain bullets that will go in the next reloads so that we have something to try next week end. The down loaded rounds are fun to shoot and they do not beat you up like the magnum loaded versions do. I am also going to get a box of the lever evolution bullets so I can see how they shoot and sight in. Next hunting season I will take some of those along with this rifle.

This rifle balances right under the barrel hinge pin. In this configuration it only weighs 7 and 1/2 pounds.

 

[JohnKSa]

Had one for awhile. It would put 3 shots into 3/4 of an inch at 100 yards using the Winchester 300gr JHP ammo. Mine had open sights--I wonder when they started selling them with peeps?

 

[wanderinwalker]

Coltdriver, you stole my rifle!! j/k

Nice rifle. Sorry to hear about your elevation problem. I had the same issue with my Prohunter Katahdin muzzleloader (your barrel but a .50x209 instead). As low as it would go and still about 6" high at 50 yards. Swapped sights and now have opposite problem!

My solution? I'm going to try out some sabot/pellet combos until I get one that shoots as tight as I want (or can get; we'll see), then measure the needed adjustment and ask one of the friendly TC techs to measure me up the right front sight. The rifle just handles too well as-is to sacrifice with a scope.

Oh, not to spoil your thread, but you showed yours:

 

[Coltdriver]

Wanderinwalker it looks like you got the full pro hunter set up with your unit. Very nice unit!

I am debating the muzzleloader barrel for next year versus building a smokepole from a kit.

I was thinking about just raising the front sight with something to get it to hit with the open sights but I am not too crazy about the peep sights. I was also thinking about getting an aperture from williams but maybe that will have to wait for the muzzle loader. Its not legal to use a scope on a muzzle loader to hunt in Colorado.

Did you say that TC made you a spacer for your front sight??

 

[wanderinwalker]

No, they didn't. I talked to a tech and he gave me the part number for a different height sight. Now it's too high, and there's no way to shorten it without a different part. I'm tempted to scope it as well; it shoots THAT well, and in New Hampshire scopes are legal in the muzzleloading season. (And that's exactly what it is here. Not a "primitive weapons", but a MUZZLELOADING season.)

I like the peeps myself, but they're a little tough under bright light. That front halo's something wicked, doesn't it?

BTW, I want to put off scoping it b/c that would cut into my .45-70 barrel account!