tped

Re: ? about T/C breech plugs I have the encore and the omega and the omega breech plug has a deeper concave cup than my original omega. Similar to what you say between your buddies gun and your omega. I have really no idea as to why there is a difference and what that might mean but I like to think that the deeper cup on the Omega causes a more even and uniform ignition. Now both guns shoot moa and the omega just slightly better so I can't tell any difference in performance that I could attribute to that. You can always purchase additional breechplugs which is not a bad idea anyway. Your buddies gun would not have scared me off if the inside of the barrel and rest of it was not scored. That wasn't a bad deal for the encore and if the fram was good it would have been extremely versatile with the extra barrel interchanges.

Re: PA hunters...thoughts.... It is about time. Pa needs some more reality like that. There was always at least a good 1/2 of normal daylight after their legal shooting time quit. Since I hunted mostly private land I always hunted as long as I wanted - particularly when bowhunting. Yes that was breaking the law but why would you want to be walking back to the truck at the same time allot of deer were moving. Every once in a while - I get new hope that the PGC might have some semblence of common sense and this just plain makes sense.

Re: Anyone have a CZ 527 Varmint? I see you are set to reload. Go over to accuratereloading.com and look into the varmint section and the small caliber section. Several good load tips there by the guys that are reloading it already.

Re: Anyone have a CZ 527 Varmint? I have the 527 in the standard varmint with the wood stock. I jsut could not see the extra $200 for the Kevlar stock for varmint hunting. Mine is in 204 Ruger and I have shot factory ammo using Hornady 32 & 40 grain loads and have settled on the 40 grain berger load from HSM. All of these shoot under 1" for 5 shot groups but the bergers are just slightly tighter shooting about .6" on average for 5 shots. I overlayed my last 4 groups of 5 and all were under 1". I have done nothing with the gun - this is out of the box. I love the thing and I really like the set trigger. This is a great option for the range. I have not tried it on the live animals yet but think the set trigger will work just fine.

Re: T/C ENCORE PROHUNTER Rob - 35 whelen is a great round in the encore. I have one in the handgun - custom shop from Fox Ridge with mag-na-port to limit muzzle jump. Shoots great too. 9" barrel and Leupold 4x handgun scope.

Re: Question for the OTPG I think I would go with the time honored 300 win mag. As Strut says you can get a little more out of it if you handload and since you don't "want" to go bigger the 300 win will provide everything you need for elk or moose or bears. The jury is still out on the 300WSM and since it is shot in most of the same rifles that the 300 win is - you might just as well stay with a classic. Since your 308 already fills the 30 caliber class - step on up to the 338 would be the real deal for the bigger stuff like moose and bears.

Re: TC Icon I just read a view in this months Guns & Ammo. Looks pretty interesting and allot of good ideas. Suggested retail was $800 so I figure you should be able to pick one up for in the $5's. According to that article intial offerrings will be 22-250 - 243-308 and 30TC which is a new cartridge. I may have to have one in the 243 or 308. I jsut hope it is not like allot of the other manufacturers and take 2 years to get them in the market.

Re: loads for pro hunter 5o cal. mL I use weaver bases and leupold QR rings on my Encore and Omega. Hold up well. My Encore and Omega both shoot the same load well - 120 grains of triple 7 loose with a Barnes 250 expander sabot. Shoots under 1 moa all day everyday - regardless of temperatures. All the fun is playing to see what works best in your gun. I can't begin to tell you how many loads of different powders and bullets I shot and chrono'd before deciding on this load. Was allot of range time and allot of fun. Enjoy it - that is half the benefit of owning it is shooting it.

Re: Kimber 84M Classic I don't have the classic but have the 84 Montana in 300WSM. Beuatiful rifle - light weight but to be honest - I have had to send it back to Kimber once for a bolt problem - tremendous service - turned it around in a week - but have been disappointed in the accuracy. I have yet to reload for it and have only shot 2 different brands of ammo and best groups I can get are about 2". They test fired it and sent along a .75" group when the returned it but I can't get it to shoot that well yet.

Re: How big is the difference in quality (scopes) I agree with what has already been mentioned - the difference is in the clarity and low light brightness. In the $350-$400 range you are looking at Nikon Monarch - Leupold vx2/vx3 - Burris Signature - Bushnell Elite and possibly the Zeiss Conquest. All are great scopes and far better quality of glass and durability than the standard Bushnell - Simmons - Tasco group. It will be difficlut to tell in the store but if you are buying from a shop that will let you take them outside in natural light - you should be able to see some clarity-brightness-sharpness differences even among the better line scopes.

Re: T/C ENCORE PROHUNTER $319 for the barrels is excessive. I saw many on sale at Natchez and Midsouth for around $270. They also had several in stock - not all but several. I am always amazed at the prices they are getting on Ebay for these barrels. Definitely the place to go to sell one but not to buy no bargains there even on used.

Re: What cartridge should I go with? I think you have to ask yourself what the goal actually is. Are you likely to have more than this gun or is this likely to be your one and only everything rifle. If it is a one and only - I'd look seriously at the 300 Win mag or the 300WSM. Yes the 30-06 is a historic proven cartridge but the 300 mags will do it a little better and a little further. For Virginia deer hunting - I'd look hard at the 7-08 or 308. Both great rounds and perfect for deer. Very accurate and pleasant to shoot.

Re: T/C ENCORE PROHUNTER Snapper - yes indeed I was in the Hamburg store on the evening of 12/20 and they had a rack of T/C barrels. I was very surprised to see them. The only caliber that they seemed not to have on the rack was the 204 Ruger. They were a little pricy at $319 so I decided to leave them there.

Re: The few...the proud...The OTPG!!!!!!! All in good fun but while it is true that you can use smaller guns to accomplish the same thing and it is fine to do so but sometimes you have to do what you want to do. I have yet to kill anything with my 416 or 458 and one of the years I'm taking one of these guns deer hunting in good "ol PA to shoot an 80 lb doe - why? Because I want to and I can!

Re: High End Optics My rifle scopes are mostly Leupold and Nikon but my bino's are Swarovski and Zeiss with a set of Nikon thrown in. Depending on what I do the Nikon Monarchs more than hold their own with the others.

Re: Sighting question I always start at 25 yards. Easier to center the target and adjust the scope intially. Your first shot should be in the area and easy to see - make your most severe adjustments and you should be close - then move to 100 and sight in there. I agree that at 100 yards 1" high will be close at 200. If you have a range with 200 yards shoot to confirm. As mentioned - shooting should be fun and a 22-250 shouldn't be that expensive to shoot so fire away and enjoy your new toy

Re: T/C ENCORE PROHUNTER I've seen allot of barrels around for it. Cabelas had them in stock on the store shelf here in PA last week in just about every caliber. Depends on what you are looking for in accuracy. T/C barrels to me are acceptable but not super accurate in most instances. By that I mean sub-moa. The custom shop barrels are expensive so there is a trade off. Caliber is tough as you have 2 good chamberings to do most of what you need. I have a fondness for 7mm calibers and the 7 mag would fit nicely in between your other 2 as would the old reliable 30-06. If Varmints is on the menu maybe a 25-06 would be a nice compliment

Re: Looking for encore barrel for coyote. I was recently in Texas and witnessed what a 204Ruger will do on Coyotes - devasting! I started researching and decided that I too needed one. Just bought a CZ527 Varmint in 204 Ruger - shoots .5 moa out of the box. I checked allot of sources and the 204 Ruger is really coming on as a varmint/predator cartridge with capability to exceed 300 yards. The 35 grain Berger bullet is the one highly recommended for Coyote. I have a 223 barrel for my Encore and struggles to shoot 1" on the very best of days.

Re: okay ml guys! Recoil can be different for everyone. Personally my 120 grain load in either my encore or omega is easy to shoot - yes it recoils but not intolerable - to someone else they may think it excessive. I dont think you would go wrong with the Omega though

Re: What gun Search some of the other gun sights and you will start to see allot of talk about the 204 Ruger and the performance many are seeing. Very low recoil and good for a long distance. I was in Texas a few weeks ago and saw the performance of the 204 on Coyotes and was so impressed I had to buy one myself.

Re: okay ml guys! Nice thing about inline muzzleloaders is that you can work up your own loads. Find an accurate bullet and loose powder charge at a recoil level you can handle. No law that you have to shoot 150 grrains in the thing. I currently shoot 120 grains of triple 7 powder and a 250 grain Barnes bullet and I don't think the recoil is much at all. Heavier bullets and 150 grains of powder will increase the recoil. My friend only shoots 100 grains in his load. Buy the T/C Omega and start with an 80 grain load and 250 grain bullets and work up from there. If the recoil bothers you - tone it back

Re: Official Off the Porch Gang signup thread!!!!! Thanks for the Platinum honor!

Re: okay ml guys! Go with the Omega. These guns absolutely shoot and are top notch. Personally I don't consider the CVA or Traditions to be in the same league with the T/C. I also have the Encore and bought my Omega as a second gun but I love the Omega so much - I only use standard rifle barrels on the Encore. A good friend just bought his Omega in October and is same as me now - Enocre is retired and hunts only with the Omega. Both are thumbhole stock models

Re: Official Off the Porch Gang signup thread!!!!! Well - I have been watching this and think I'll throw mine in to see how it fairs 270WSM - 7SAUM - 7MM REM MAG - 300SAUM - 300WSM- 338MAG - 416 REM MAG - 458 LOTT IN RIFLES- 357 & 44 in handguns and while not a magnum in name I have to throw my T/C custom 35 Whelen handgun (12" barrel) in for good measure.

Re: NEED HELP WITH PICKING A ML I have an Encore and Omega and am now using my Encore for rifle barrels and using the Omega as my muzzle gun. I love them both but I suggest buying the Omega - Easy to load - clean and shoots like a dream. T/C is the only way to go. The Knight bolts are nice but all bolt guns are a hassle to clean.