Journey to Stop Smoking!

[yoderjac]

I think Al vs plastic tips matter. Jacket thickness and copper taper matter. Individual velocity matters too.

I went smokeless as I love shooting rifles but not hunting with them… and I wanted better accuracy, term performance (and the extra yardage and lack of cleaning needs don’t hurt either) over an inline.

Most expensive gun I own but a favorite for sure. Have sold numerous friends on smokeless in similar to different configurations after trying mine too.

Not sure what the perfect gun or load is….. but she is my go-to when not taking the bow.


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I considered a bolt as they can generally handle more pressure than a break action. At the time, I figured I already had a TC Encore Pro muzzleloader, so I'd just need the barrel. Well, Jeff had a full kit with everything but the action, rings and scope for so I bought it. I figured I'd just buy an action and rebuild the smoke pole muzzleloader so I had it as well. That was before S&W killed the TC lineup. Now used encore actions are going for $600!

It was still an expensive adventure converting to smokeless. I was buying powder and primers at a time when the shortage made them hard to find and invested in a loader, scale scale and such.

 

[Garrett S]

Have a buddy with a Hankins and one with an SMI on their encores. Both are happy and in for way less than a bolt, but also know it cannot take the pressures of a bolt gun.

Encores were such a great gun. Wish I had one.

I still have a savage 10ml2- which was also great for what it was.


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[yoderjac]

Have a buddy with a Hankins and one with an SMI on their encores. Both are happy and in for way less than a bolt, but also know it cannot take the pressures of a bolt gun.

Encores were such a great gun. Wish I had one.

I still have a savage 10ml2- which was also great for what it was.


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Yes, I'm limited compared to a bolt, but my Encore is a 300 yard gun which is plenty for my purposes. I doubt I'd have the skill to take much longer shots than that even if I had a longer range gun. It was a good compromise for me. 65 grains of 4198 with the 275 grain bullet is probably about the upper limit I'd be willing to shot in it.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Yes, I'm limited compared to a bolt, but my Encore is a 300 yard gun which is plenty for my purposes. I doubt I'd have the skill to take much longer shots than that even if I had a longer range gun. It was a good compromise for me. 65 grains of 4198 with the 275 grain bullet is probably about the upper limit I'd be willing to shot in it.

Yeah, I think i'm shooting 59 grains h4198 behind a 275 xld in my arrowhead encore. I have zero desire for more thump on the back end than it currently has but I suppose an aggressive muzzle brake could negate the additional recoil if you commit to always having ear pro in when hunting. The encore with a hankins or arrowhead barrel is a pretty sweet compromise as far as being shorter, cheaper, and flexible for other uses but I can't say i wouldn't like to have a purpose built bolt action front stuffer.

 

[yoderjac]

Yeah, I think i'm shooting 59 grains h4198 behind a 275 xld in my arrowhead encore. I have zero desire for more thump on the back end than it currently has but I suppose an aggressive muzzle brake could negate the additional recoil if you commit to always having ear pro in when hunting. The encore with a hankins or arrowhead barrel is a pretty sweet compromise as far as being shorter, cheaper, and flexible for other uses but I can't say i wouldn't like to have a purpose built bolt action front stuffer.

Yes, my Hankins came with a quite heavy barrel and he supplied the stock and forearm. It came with a break and a funnel that fits in the break. The recoil isn't bad at all but it is loud. I have a pair of digital defendears that I use for protection while hunting and double up with muffs at that range.

I also have a .300 Win Mag barrel for a different encore. It is all standard and had quite the kick before I put a Howitzer break on it. Has almost zero kick now, but much louder than the SML. I wonder if a Howitzer could be oversized enough to get a funnel through for loading a ML and still be just as effective. I was shocked at how effective it is.

 

[yoderjac]

Finally after getting a Labradar, I got back to the range. I now feels much more comfortable with my process.

I started with a clean barrel. The first shot for fouling (shot 0) was low and left. I wasn't too careful with the shot. I was still learning the labradar and did not have it in the right mode to capture the shot. Shots 1, 2, and 3 were taken with the fouled barrel and were all captured by the lab radar.


Stats - Average 2567.27 fps

Stats - Highest 2574.44 fps

Stats - Lowest 2554.5 fps

Stats - Ext. Spread 19.94 fps

Stats - Std. Dev 11.08 fps



Shot ID V0 V20 V40 V60 V80 V100 Ke0 Ke20 Ke40 Ke60 Ke80 Ke100 PF20 Proj. Weight Date Time

1 2555 2500 2447 2393 2339 2285 3983 3816 3654 3494 3340 3187 687.5 275 8/13/2022 11:30:14

2 2574 2516 2462 2407 2352 2299 4046 3866 3700 3537 3376 3225 691.9 275 8/13/2022 11:36:59

3 2573 2524 2471 2417 2363 2313 4041 3890 3727 3565 3408 3266 694.1 275 8/13/2022 11:42:02


With an ES of 20fps, I'm now much less concerned. It appears the all the variability was with the old chronograph or the setup.

Well, I'm not sure why it took me so long, but I finally got around to ordering the CDS dial for it. Hopefully it will come in before the season. This should let me take some longer shots with more confidence.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[yoderjac]

The CDS came in part way through the season, but I did not have any shots over 100 yards so it didn't matter. I'm very happy with this firearm. The Pittman 275 gr bullets, traveling at about 2500 fps, do devastating damage if you hit bone. All my shots were bang-flop this year.

Our muzzleloader season is over and our general firearm season ends on Saturday, so I spent today working on the muzzleloader. I disassembled and cleaned it. I used the ultrasonic cleaner for the modules after removing the spent primers. I re-primed the modules. I then weighed out powder to replenish my vials of powder. I also resized bullets to replenish them.

All seems to be working well, no glitches or issues.

This is quickly becoming my favorite firearm.

 

[Garrett S]

The doe on the right is an average sized- 318yds and the horse on the left was 212. Cheap gander mtn shooting sticks… 275gr fury st2s w 4198. Blood trail wasn’t hard or long. Both dropped within 20yards of impact.

 

[yoderjac]

Congrats! I have not tried fury yet. 318 would probably be pushing it for my gun. Jeff advertised it as a 300 yard gun. I'm sure that in better hands than mine, it may perform further but it is unusual for me to get shots over 150 yards.

There is nothing like snow to make even a very tough blood trail easy to follow!

 

[Wind Gypsy]

212# doe?! Geeez

 

[Garrett S]

212# doe?! Geeez

No my dumb arse didn’t weigh her and regret that a lot. I’d guess 170s but that’s a guess and for NY that’s an absurd outlier.

212 yards

 

[Wind Gypsy]

No my dumb arse didn’t weigh her and regret that a lot. I’d guess 170s but that’s a guess and for NY that’s an absurd outlier.

212 yards

I must have been drunk