I Gave Up on a Handgun

[birddog]

I have a variety of CCW and hunting handguns, but am sorry to report after 5trips to the range that I had to give up on one. A little backstory; I have a couple of .44 mags that I use for hunting, and decided a year ago to buy an Encore pistol in 30-06 for longer range shooting. Sure, the recoil was stout, but my wife and I decided it was nowhere near as bad as expected. Recoil wasn't the issue. The problem is this: I simply could not hold the damned thing steadily enough to shoot well with it. I did ok with it at 50 yards off a shooting stick, and much better off a Harris Bipod. But in the thick cover I hunt, a Bipod is impractical and I rarely carry a shooting stick with me. I took my Taurus M44 revolver and my Encore to the range and practiced shooting offhand. With the Encore I was comfortable only at 25 yards. With the big Revolver, I could hit at 80 yards, and 100 comfortably from a rest. I tried several shooting styles with the Encore, different hand positions, even prone. The gun is just so front-end heavy that I could not hold it steady. I finally traded it in last week. I'll stick with the Taurus, which is a tack driver.
Anyone else had similar experiences with the Encore pistols?

 

[AirForceShooter]

had that with a taurus pt-945.
There wasn't a thing wrong with the gun it was all me. I just couldn't shoot it.
Traded it for 1911 and happiness returned.
Still have my Taurus Mod. 689 .357 and that's a shooter.

AFS

 

[P95Carry]

With my Contender - I would certainly want some support for any longer range shots (out in the field) - so crossed sticks or similar would be a must.

It's a function I think of the long tube for me - and a shorter revo for example is easier to stabilize.

 

[rockstar.esq]

Point to ponder,
I saw an article the other day about a customized encore and the author advocated bench shooting from the standing position with the barrel supported on bags. He seemed to feel that the position was more natural and lent itself to more accurate shooting.

 

[RecoilRob]

I have the 15" 30.06 version and also find it difficult to shoot well. Of course, how well I shoot it depends on how accurate you expect it to be.

Wouldn't surprise me a bit if the pistol is capable of sub-minute grouping at 100 yds but I'll NEVER see that! Best I can normally do is to hit a claybird almost every time....about the same as my Redhawks.

And, the only way I can be anywhere close to consistant with it is to hold it tightly with the left hand on the foregrip and pull back hard with the shooting hand. Seems that the lightweight platform allows a lot of movement during the bullets travel down the barrel and the more stable I can hold it the better.

Also, mine seems to do better with the lighter bullets but I have NO idea if this is because they are more accurate or just kick less and thereby induce less shooter error.

 

[Oldnamvet]

If you are shooting in thick cover where you can't use a shooting stick yet you bought the Encore for longer range..........I don't understand. I must be missing something. If you are using it for longer range, a shooting stick will work well, especially from a sitting position. In the heavy cover, I would not want something big and long with a scope. A .44 revolver with a red dot and no magnification seems the perfect answer.

 

[MarshallDodge]

I have a XP100 in .223 that has a bipod on it and that's the only way I have tried to shoot it. I use it for short range vamint hunting and have had a lot of fun with it. I load it up when I am cleaning my rifle out in the field and it always seems that a prarie dog will always pop up within range. I don't know how the Encore is but the XP100 has a VERY light and crisp trigger.

I had a Taurus PT99 that I could not seem to get good with even with a trigger job. I traded it and $200 for a pristine Colt 70 series Gold Cup in the box and have never looked back

 

[Byron Quick]

I've got a Contender in .223 with a 14 inch barrel. I've never tried to shoot it offhand for I know I wouldn't like the results. With a juryrigged rest, I can hit a two inch circle at a hundred yards with Winchester White Box ammo.

 

[Geno]

Encore and Contender are NOT off-hand pistols with LONG barrels

I have never met a human being who CAN shoot these off-hand, and I have been to some competitions that these were the predominant firearms used. These are bench rest, hunting blind rest pistols.

Let's get one fact out front and not refuting it...Contender holds the WORLD RECORD...Period. No revolver or any other form of pistol will anytime soon be taking that away.

I have hunted with Contenders, Encores and can rather easily maintain (bench rested) groups sub MOA out to 200 yards. Beyond that point, I always hit the target, but my eyes aren't good enough for sub MOAs at that range. For what it's worth, I do best with red dot scopes on these pistols at close range...not a scope. I carried BOTH, in quick release Leupold rings...switched them out at the woods edge.

IMHO, T/C is one of the finest firearms humankind has ever devised.

Sorry you had a bad experience, but seems to be you tried to make a pistol do something that it simply was NOT made to do "efficiently". Try a custom shop barrel, 10", in 30-30 for that range, use some 130 or 150 grain Nosler BTs. Bet you'll start singing T/C praise.

Good luck,

Doc2005

 

[kimbernut]

Encore

I'm not sure I would care for the .30-06 in my Encore but I agree regardless of caliber these are not off-hand pistols. Off bags from the bench my 15" barreled .22-250 will easily keep sub-MOA groups at 100 yards as long as I do my part. A friend's .223 easily keeps .5 MOA from the bench.I would eventually like to obtain a 15" barrel in 7mm-08 to try it out.

 

[middy]

I never understood the point, so could someone fill me in on the attraction that a bench-rest only "handgun" holds for you, in preference to a rifle?

I'm not being sarcastic, I'm actually curious, I don't want to miss out if it's something good...

 

[P95Carry]

middy - I don't personally do much benchrest - anything.

I will say tho I do derive some satisfaction bench shooting something like my long tube SRH in 44 mag, or SRH in .454 - also BFR in 45-70. This is a way to see how much accuracy can be squeezed out of the platform - much being down to load refining. Not really so different from rifle benchrest.

That tho does not preclude any of those guns being still extremely useful and viable for hunting purposes.

Way back in 80's I did long range handgun - 100 and 300 yards - that was rested. It was again a challenge to see how good results could be achieved. I used a 44 mag Redhawk, and also tried same with BP over just 100 yds. Some folks tho shot in another class with semi's like BHP's - again - challenge - that is what it is about.

As ever - each to his/her own.

 

[axeman_g]

have one

HK USPC .45

I could not hit a brick wall if I was 6 inches from it with that gun.

All my friends could use it to drive tacks. I was better off thowing rounds at the targets and I was never recruited to be a pitcher.