Contenders vs Encore....?
Not quite apples and oranges, but close. The Contender is fine handgun that will handle some rifle rounds, within it's size and pressure limitations. The Encore is more properly considered a light rifle, which can be used in a handgun configuration.
Barrel length is critical to the performance of some rifle rounds, and in handgun length barrels (14" and under) they lose more than you might think. Of course, alot of it has to do with the actual loading of the round, and the intensity of regular rounds as well. Touching off a 14" .30-06 or worse yet, a .300 magnum is an experience I can well do without. For me, the slight gain in performance, in a short barrel, over smaller rounds is overshadowed by the increased blast and recoil.
I hunted for years with an 18.5" barrel .308 Winchester carbine, and the blast from it is impressive. Firing the same round from a barrel 4" (or more) shorter is not a very pleasant thing. And you don't get the performance you do from a rifle.
I have a Contender, and barrels in .22LR, .22 Hornet, .222 Rem, .30-30Win, 9mm, .357mag, .44 Mag, .45 Colt, and .45-70. The .30-30 and .45-70 are 14 inchers, the others 10". The `14s are very awkward to shoot offhand, but it can be done with practice. The 10s are much better in this regard.
It is all a matter of taste, and firing rifle rounds from a handgun is a trade off between portability and power, performance and blast. Careful tailoring of the loads will maximize the efficiency, but there is always "left over" performance that you can't get from a short barrel. This left over becomes muzzle blast. Years ago, when Remington introduced the XP-100 pistol with its 10 inch barrel, they introduced a new round, the .221 Rem Fireball with it. This was a .222 Rem with a shortened case body for maximum efficiency in the 10" pistol barrel. The longer .222 had "left over" powder from that length barrel, and could not reach its true potential in that pistol.
To me, the best thing about the Encore is that you can make a light single shot rifle out of it, and shoot full performance rifle cartridges. The Contender is a better handgun, and makes a dandy light carbine in the lighter rifle calibers. While there is some overlap, neither the Encore nor the Contender is intended to replace each other.
he probably couldn't do any better any farther than he now does with the .357 Maximum.... and he might not do as well !!
