VermontHunter Posted December 7, 2008 Report Share Posted December 7, 2008 I just sighted in my father in laws spanking new Pro Hunter 50 cal .. I actually love the trigger pull .. I got nice 1/2" groups with the Shockwave 250grn. bullets with blade sights ... He just ordered the .270 barrel with custom sights .. As you can tell he's not big on Scopes .. I want one of these Pro Hunters real bad .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted December 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2008 Well, I got to say that my confidence in this purchase is getting a bit shaken. There is no way that I want to spent $800 and get a gun that can only shoot 4" groups, or needs immediate gunsmith work to get it to shoot anywhere near accurate. I'll tell you that I can get a much cheaper gun that will shoot better than that. This is starting to get to be a much tougher decision than I wanted it to be. And then you get somebody else who gets a 1/2" group with open sights. I assume that's talking 100yard groups in both cases. Basically it sounds like a pretty high-stakes gamble. I don't know, maybe I'm heading in the wrong direction with this purchase. After all, it's not like they will send you a new gun if you can't get the thing to group. I think I've got to step back a bit and do a bit more thinking. Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo Posted December 7, 2008 Report Share Posted December 7, 2008 Doc said: After all, it's not like they will send you a new gun if you can't get the thing to group. Doc Nope, but Weatherby will Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VermontHunter Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 Doc said: Well, I got to say that my confidence in this purchase is getting a bit shaken. There is no way that I want to spent $800 and get a gun that can only shoot 4" groups, or needs immediate gunsmith work to get it to shoot anywhere near accurate. I'll tell you that I can get a much cheaper gun that will shoot better than that. This is starting to get to be a much tougher decision than I wanted it to be. And then you get somebody else who gets a 1/2" group with open sights. I assume that's talking 100yard groups in both cases. Basically it sounds like a pretty high-stakes gamble. I don't know, maybe I'm heading in the wrong direction with this purchase. After all, it's not like they will send you a new gun if you can't get the thing to group. I think I've got to step back a bit and do a bit more thinking. Doc In this case Doc I'm only talking about what I know, what I got for groupings with the Pro Hunter I sighted in .. 250 grn. Shockwaves with 2 pellets of Triple Seven Magnums, Target set at 100 yrds open sights,, 1/2" groups is as tight as I could get it right out of the box .. ;) IMHO, I think that's exceptional. And I haven't even tried the .270 barrel yet .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneshot Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 (edited) Doc, stop messin around. This is all you need. http://www.rockriverarms.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=230 Rapid fire at 300 yards I had a 3 inch group shooting in a kneeling position off my atv seat. At 100 yards using Hornady 40 gr. and 55 gr. V Max I had 1/2 inch groups of 5 rounds each. Great gun, you won't ever need another .223 cal. Edited December 8, 2008 by oneshot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted December 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 Well, as you may have guessed, if I am getting antsy about spending $800, there is no way that I am going to be buying a Weatherby or an AR1535X. Being retired and on a fixed income, cost is a BIG factor. Plus remember that one of the attractive features of the Thompson was that it has interchangeable barrels so that if rifles are ever allowed in our county (which is in the rumor mill), I can quite cheaply ($300+), buy a deer barrel and be right in business for both varmints and deer. So buying a much more expensive gun is not going to be the answer. The only other solution would be to buy something cheaper like a bolt action Savage at $449 through Basspro, in which case I could probably get another one in a deer caliber if the need ever arose, and still wind up at about the same price. The other thing that caught my eye about the Encore was the styling and some of the new features that the Pro Hunter has in stock selections. This choice won't be as easy as I thought it was going to be. Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 Doc said: Well, as you may have guessed, if I am getting antsy about spending $800, there is no way that I am going to be buying a Weatherby or an AR1535X. Being retired and on a fixed income, cost is a BIG factor. Plus remember that one of the attractive features of the Thompson was that it has interchangeable barrels so that if rifles are ever allowed in our county (which is in the rumor mill), I can quite cheaply ($300+), buy a deer barrel and be right in business for both varmints and deer. So buying a much more expensive gun is not going to be the answer. The only other solution would be to buy something cheaper like a bolt action Savage at $449 through Basspro, in which case I could probably get another one in a deer caliber if the need ever arose, and still wind up at about the same price. The other thing that caught my eye about the Encore was the styling and some of the new features that the Pro Hunter has in stock selections. This choice won't be as easy as I thought it was going to be. Doc Actually I was indeed thinking about cost when I made the accuracy comment. You absolutely can get a Weatherby Vanguard for less than $800 (some around $400). And they do have Weatherby's accuracy guarantee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted December 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 (edited) The Vanguard sounds like it might be another adventure off into the unknown. I'm not even sure there is anyone within a decent commuting distance where I could get my hands on one. The other day, I drove from Bristol to Auburn just to look at, handle and touch the TC Encores because no one in the vicinity had any centerfire TCs in stock. That is one thing that I insist on when buying anything of that nature is to be able to actually see and handle one. Just because there are local dealers that claim to be weatherby dealers, or any other kind of gun dealer does not mean that they have a representative model of the weapon in stock, and usually they do not. And farther from the standard big names, the more likely that they do not stock them. Sure I suppose I should throw the $399 weatherby wannabe into the mix. Why not? It is another one that I could buy two for the price of one Encore Pro Hunter. This is beginning to become a full time job.....lol. Doc Edited December 8, 2008 by Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NY_Bowhunter14 Posted December 9, 2008 Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 Leo said: I give you one observation you might want to examine with the Encore. Tell me what you think. will be less than 50yards. As far as I know it's impossible to COCK the hammer silently. You will get an amazingly loud CLICK! In close quarters this can be all it takes to blow your opportunity and spook game. i have a T/C Triumph, and the hammer set-up maybe different, im not sure, but my buck i shot this year was 35 yards away when i cocked my hammer, and he didn't even flinch, like i said, when i cock the hammer it maybe quieter then an Encore, but i have had no problems with that here... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted December 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 Ok, I finally hit the breaking point. I was all ready to take the big gamble and hope that the few reported problems with the TC Encores were a bit exagerated. It's hard to believe that there could be so many people that are so completely happy with the TC products if there were such serious design flaws. So I went down to my local gun shop ready to get a final quote and place an order. Well, the guy quoted a price that beat Bass Pro by a bunch. Well, that was the good news. The bad news was that there was no supplier around where he could get the Pro Hunter in the .223 that I wanted. Well, I already knew that the Dick's Sporting goods store couldn't get them, And the Bass pro store uses up a whole day of driving, so I decided to check out Gander Mountain as a last ditch effort. While I was driving up to Henrietta , my whole thinking on my gun choices started to unravel. I was banging my head against a stone wall trying to get something that nobody can get, and there is at least some room for doubt as to whether the 'break-open' action can really get me the kind of bench-rest accuracy that I am looking for. The whole purchase price was growing all through the choice process, until now we were looking at $800 for a simple single shot rifle. Somehow the whole picture was taking on a bit of reality that told me that maybe I was not being rational about this purchase anymore.Yes the Pro Hunter had some great engineering features, but the real appeal was getting to be more that I just liked the looks of the gun, and the functionality was beginning to take a back seat to a more aesthetic attachment. Well, to make a long story short, I started looking at all the great rifles available in bolt action in .223 and spotted a Remington 700 SPS Varmint. All heavy matte black finish from recoil pad to the tip of the muzzle, nothing glamorous, but very functional for predator hunting. It had a 26" heavy barrel (no not the pretty fluted stainless steel). Everything about it screamed accuracy, and it carried a name that is also one that I trust. The fits and quality all reflected Remington quality. More good news, the price was under $600. The one and only piece of bad news is that there is no interchangeable barrels so that I could cheaply upgrade to a deer caliber. But here is the math on that: With the TC Pro Hunter, I spend $800, and if I want an additional deer size barrel later on I add that for another $350. That's a total of $1150. With the Remington, I could buy two separate guns for a total of $1200. No messing around with swapping barrels everytime I want to hunt different animals. Also the nagging question about the accuracy shortfall of a 'break-open' single shot becomes a non-issue. All of a sudden the choice got real simple. So I bought the Remington. It's been an interesting mental wrestling match, and even though the replies here to my inquiry were all over the map, I think you all had a part in helping me think through a very difficult decision. I want to thank all of you who participated in this thread. I think maybe we all learned a few different things on the subject of TC single shots and we certainly did wring the subject out pretty thoroughly. Thanks again to all of you for your combined expertise and opinions. Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneshot Posted December 10, 2008 Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 Good choice Doc. I have a Remington 22-250 VS and it is a tack driver. Now you need to start a thread as to what type of scope you should put on your new rifle. You don't want to cheap out on a scope, scopes are very important. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m gardner Posted December 10, 2008 Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 Good choice Doc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted December 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 I have a scope that I am taking off another gun. It is not the premiere scope that I would like to be using, but it will get me through until I can accumulate the kind of money needed to get something better. It is a 3-10 Bushnell Banner. I definitely will be concentrating on getting something a bit better, but I'm not going to go completely berserk pricewise with that selection either. I understand that of the two components, the scope is equally or more important than the gun, but again, a fixed income does limit my choices and keeps me in the realm of reasonableness. Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKYhunter Posted December 10, 2008 Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 Congrats on your choice! I hope that you enjoy your new rifle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted December 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2008 Ok, I finally got to look at the bottom line on my new purchase (.223 Remington SPS Varmint). I finally caught a break in the weather and managed to run out and try out a few reloads. At 50 yards, I got one 5-shot hole that is 3/8" diameter (almost a perfect circle). I'm pretty darn happy and I am convinced that the gun will do even better under more comfortable and less hurried conditions. The load: 20 grains of 4198 and fed 200 primers and 40 grain V-Max bullets. It's not anywhere near the top end of loads, but I tend to favor accuracy over speed. This coming summer there will be a lot more exploring with different loads. I tried 5 bullets loaded with 20.2 grains of 4198 with 50 gr sx bullets, but the group was a bit larger about .5" By the way, that all brings up a question about group definition. When I measured the group, the entire spread of paper removed was .375, however, the real departure from one shot to the next would only be 0.151 center-to-center. It seems that centerline to centerline would be the more functional way of expressing a group, but I suspect that groups are always expressed in terms of maximum paper removed. Anybody got any clarification on which way groups are traditionally measured? Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichiganHunter Posted December 27, 2008 Report Share Posted December 27, 2008 OMG I LOVE MINE, i've shot woodchucks out to 250 yds and as close as 12 yds. you will really really love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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