I'm looking at getting an encore and want to know if any of you have any experience with this gun. Also I am new to muzzleloading so any info about what type of scope, bullet, powder,ect would work best with this gun would be greatly appreciated.

I'm looking at getting an encore and want to know if any of you have any experience with this gun. Also I am new to muzzleloading so any info about what type of scope, bullet, powder,ect would work best with this gun would be greatly appreciated.
I have a 50cal. Oncore this rifle has been good to me. My Oncore has a 3.5 X 10 World class plus Tasco scope on it. The hunting load I use is Hornady 240gr. XTP (mag.) 45cal. bullet, Hornady sabot, two 50gr. and one 30gr. Pyrodex pellets. with a Remington 209-4 primer. This load produces 1 1/2" groups at 100yds.Anyone that is buying an Oncore should look at Mike Bellum custom TCs, and good luck.

I've had a 209x50 Encore for about 4 years. It's a great shooter. Most Encore's have very tight bores. My initial shooting was not promising. A call to Ken French, at T/C, was a life saver. He recommended to clean the bore between rounds. One wet patch, one dry patch, then one patch with bore butter. This works great, besides you usually hunt with a clean bore.

I have shot the following bullets with 3 50 grain pellets of pyrodex;

Barnes 300 grain MZ, Accurate but hard to load.
Partition Gold 250 gr with their sabot, Poor accuracy.
Partition Gold 250 gr with Knight Mag sabot, better.
Hornady 45 cal, 250 gr XTP, Knight Mag sabot, Accurate
Speer 458 cal, 400 gr, Knight 458 Mag sabot, Excellent.
Powerbelt bullets, both weights, they suck, easy to load.
Hornady 250 gr SST and sabots, Priceless

I have found that Knight sabots are the best. Try for a bullet/sabot combo that gives you the largest bullet dia. with the thinnest sabot petal. (i.e. a .458 bullet is better than a .452 than a .429) All of my accurate loads average 1 1/4" for 3 shots at 100 yards. The Hornady 250 gr SST will shoot a 1" group. Last weekend I shot this bullet at 100, 200, and 300 yards. My 200 yard group was 2 1/2" with 11" of drop. The 300 yard group was 4 1/2" with 28" of drop. I have found that 100 yard shooting is fairly painless. When you get to 200 and 300 yards your hold must be very consistent. If you shift in the bags, hold more or less firmly between shots, the group will disperse vertically. The slow bullet is exiting the muzzle during recoil. Any change in barrel rise will show up. I have just started to try Triple 7 powder. Shows some promise, but to soon to tell.

I've had a 209x50 Encore for about 4 years. It's a great shooter. Most Encore's have very tight bores. My initial shooting was not promising. A call to Ken French, at T/C, was a life saver. He recommended to clean the bore between rounds. One wet patch, one dry patch, then one patch with bore butter. This works great, besides you usually hunt with a clean bore.

I have shot the following bullets with 3 50 grain pellets of pyrodex;

Barnes 300 grain MZ, Accurate but hard to load.
Partition Gold 250 gr with their sabot, Poor accuracy.
Partition Gold 250 gr with Knight Mag sabot, better.
Hornady 45 cal, 250 gr XTP, Knight Mag sabot, Accurate
Speer 458 cal, 400 gr, Knight 458 Mag sabot, Excellent.
Powerbelt bullets, both weights, they suck, easy to load.
Hornady 250 gr SST and sabots, Priceless

I have found that Knight sabots are the best. Try for a bullet/sabot combo that gives you the largest bullet dia. with the thinnest sabot petal. (i.e. a .458 bullet is better than a .452 than a .429) All of my accurate loads average 1 1/4" for 3 shots at 100 yards. The Hornady 250 gr SST will shoot a 1" group. Last weekend I shot this bullet at 100, 200, and 300 yards. My 200 yard group was 2 1/2" with 11" of drop. The 300 yard group was 4 1/2" with 28" of drop. I have found that 100 yard shooting is fairly painless. When you get to 200 and 300 yards your hold must be very consistent. If you shift in the bags, hold more or less firmly between shots, the group will disperse vertically. The slow bullet is exiting the muzzle during recoil. Any change in barrel rise will show up. I have just started to try Triple 7 powder. Shows some promise, but to soon to tell.
Thanks that is great info, keep me posted on the triple 7, I heard its suppossed to be alot cleaner. Good luck this season
IABucks