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Thompson Center Arms Original Thompson Center Encore 209 X .50 Black Powder
Black Powder Manufacturer: Thompson Center Arms
Thompson Center Arms Model: Original Thompson Center Encore 209 X .50
Review Category: Black Powder
Purchase: Black Powder I purchased the Encore when it originally came out at a local gun shop that has since gone out of business due to competition from big box companies like Gander Mountain, Dicks and Wal Mart who have lots of stuff but never what you need,(It's on order) but that's another story. I wanted a large caliber hand gun to use deer hunting in areas of central New York where rifles are illegal. I already owned a Thompson Gray Hawk .50 muzzleloader and loved it but it took time to clean properly, or so I thought,and I wanted to use a scope,(cant put one on a Gray Hawk). Then along comes the new Encore, ease of cleaning, up to 3 50 grain pellets, convertible to a hand gun ( I wanted it in .308 win) all together I paid about 750.00
Things I like about the Thompson Center Arms Original Thompson Center Encore 209 X .50 Black Powder: The gun is very accurate as either Black powder rifle or long range handgun. The black powder rifle set up shoots the 3 50 grain pyrodex pellets sure enough but I'm too much of a wimp for the recoil. I use only 2 pellets, 100 grains driving a 240 grain jhp,also from Thompson, and have taken several deer with it from 20 to 100 yards or so without a problem.
The hand gun is a joy to shoot provided you hang on to it I let a friend shoot mine and oops!! excellent accuracy out to 200 yards if I shoot it at the bench. Sorry to say though I haven't taken a deer with it...yet. I shoot 165 grain nosler ballistic tip bullets factory loaded and am just very pleased with the accuracy.Spent cases eject flawlessly. Form fit and finish are excellent overall.
What I don't like about the Thompson Center Arms Original Thompson Center Encore 209 X .50: Here's the bad part, the black powder rifle still has to be really taken down for a proper cleaning. Unfortunately you need to remove the forearm to get to the retaining screw for the primer extractor. It must be removed before you can remove the breach plug so you didn't gain much their. I only superficially clean the bore with brush and patch during season and wipe the exterior down. A more proficient cleaning waits till the end of the season just like it did with my Gray Hawk. I mounted a Bushnell scope to the rifle but then had to add a hammer spur to facilitate cocking it, the hammer and scope were too close together for comfortable quick use.The Quick change 90 degrees and out breech plug came out in later models, that appears to be a nice feature, but for their price I paid I wish mine had that feature. As for the hand gun set up, it does take about 10 min to remove the fore arm and rifle barrel, pistol grip face plate and butt stock bolt and mount the hand gun pistol grip and .308 win barrel and it's forearm to the frame. Still I didn't like it. The small screws in the pistol grip face plate for instance, how many times do you think you can put them in and out before they strip. I leave the plates off so the screws don't get stripped. I mean between the swapping back and forth and take down for cleaning several times a season whew! I like to keep all my guns looking good, the finish on the frame is a flat almost glass bead blasted satin,over time the after season cleaning began to take its total on the appearance. I eventually purchased another frame so I wouldn't have to swapback and forth. I purchased the stainless steel models of Encore but make no mistake pyrodex residue will eat at it if it's not thoroughly cleaned soon after use.
Black Powder Original Thompson Center Encore 209 X .50 quality: As I said the form fit and finish are very good. The original iron sights (fibre Optic 3 dot) are good and that might be more important if I wasn't using a scope.
Very durable overall.
Original Thompson Center Encore 209 X .50 summary: I like the Encore Pistol in .308 win it,s easy to shoot reliable and accurate. I only wish I was more comfortable with it (or any hand gun) so that I would use it instead of my shotgun. Friends told me to leave the shot gun home or Ill never take a deer with the pistol, hate leaving my comfort zone. Hey, maybe this year!! The Encore 209 X.50 is an excellent muzzleloader but the price is more than a little steep. After deciding I didn't like swapping barrels a stocks around and the cleaning taking its total on the appearance of the frame from the black powder(pyrodex),I could have saved about $250.oo and purchased a comparable break-action muzzleloader from another manufacturer and just bought the Encore as a hand gun.
Rating for this Thompson Center Arms product: 4
Author of this review on Thompson Center Arms Black Powder: Ray S.
Date: 2009-08-26
Usefulness Rating: 5 out of 5.
1 reader(s) voted.
This Thompson Center Arms Black Powder review brought to you by Hunting & Fishing Gear Review!
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