yoderjac
5 year old buck +
Background:
I was about to invest in a higher end over the counter 20 gauge slug gun for deer a few years ago when my county lifted the restrictions on rifle hunting for deer. So instead, I put the money I had saved into new glass for an old Remington 760 game master .30-06 that I've had since college. It had an old Bushnell 3x9 scope on it. I replaced it with a high end Leopold with a CDS. I've used it for a few seasons now and it has done pretty much everything I've ask of it for deer hunting on my farm.
A few years before that, I was taking out a youngster who wanted to try muzzleloading. He was getting old enough that I felt comfortable putting him in a different stand from me. Up until that point, I had not carried a gun. I had just accompanied him letting him use my TC Omega. I figured it was time to buy a second muzzlelaoder so we could both hunt in different stands. I bought a TC Encore Pro Hunter. Again I put a Leupold scope on it, but a little lower end scope this time. It has been a great gun. I've found it very accurate, easy to clean, very reliable, and very nice fit and finish.
Right now, I hunt whitetail only (and they are not big here) with a rifle. However, I'm a couple years from retirement. After retirement, I may have an opportunity to hunt larger game (elk, moose, antelope, etc.). I'm thinking I might want to buy another firearm to give me some more flexibility during retirement. I don't think I've ever fired an immediate follow-up shot at a deer.
Considering Purchase:
I don't see the need to buy a new rifle if I can simply buy another barrel for my TC Encore Pro Hunter. This should allow me to put more money into good glass for it. I'm considering a 300 Win Mag barrel for it. I've looked at the ballistics and it looks like it will out perform my .30-06 somewhat in terms of ballistics and killing power for larger game. I'm current shooting 150 grain Winchester PowerMax Bonded. It looks like I can up to 180 grains and there are several factory loads that will still give me somewhat better ballistics at longer ranges.
I'm looking for thoughts on this. Does anyone have any experience with this combo? Thoughts on accuracy? Has anyone needed a muzzle-brake? Other thoughts? I would probably top it with another higher-end Leupold scope with CDS for longer ranges since I'm happy with the one on the .30-06.
Thanks,
Jack
I was about to invest in a higher end over the counter 20 gauge slug gun for deer a few years ago when my county lifted the restrictions on rifle hunting for deer. So instead, I put the money I had saved into new glass for an old Remington 760 game master .30-06 that I've had since college. It had an old Bushnell 3x9 scope on it. I replaced it with a high end Leopold with a CDS. I've used it for a few seasons now and it has done pretty much everything I've ask of it for deer hunting on my farm.
A few years before that, I was taking out a youngster who wanted to try muzzleloading. He was getting old enough that I felt comfortable putting him in a different stand from me. Up until that point, I had not carried a gun. I had just accompanied him letting him use my TC Omega. I figured it was time to buy a second muzzlelaoder so we could both hunt in different stands. I bought a TC Encore Pro Hunter. Again I put a Leupold scope on it, but a little lower end scope this time. It has been a great gun. I've found it very accurate, easy to clean, very reliable, and very nice fit and finish.
Right now, I hunt whitetail only (and they are not big here) with a rifle. However, I'm a couple years from retirement. After retirement, I may have an opportunity to hunt larger game (elk, moose, antelope, etc.). I'm thinking I might want to buy another firearm to give me some more flexibility during retirement. I don't think I've ever fired an immediate follow-up shot at a deer.
Considering Purchase:
I don't see the need to buy a new rifle if I can simply buy another barrel for my TC Encore Pro Hunter. This should allow me to put more money into good glass for it. I'm considering a 300 Win Mag barrel for it. I've looked at the ballistics and it looks like it will out perform my .30-06 somewhat in terms of ballistics and killing power for larger game. I'm current shooting 150 grain Winchester PowerMax Bonded. It looks like I can up to 180 grains and there are several factory loads that will still give me somewhat better ballistics at longer ranges.
I'm looking for thoughts on this. Does anyone have any experience with this combo? Thoughts on accuracy? Has anyone needed a muzzle-brake? Other thoughts? I would probably top it with another higher-end Leupold scope with CDS for longer ranges since I'm happy with the one on the .30-06.
Thanks,
Jack