I have never had or shot one of these rifles and am thinking about selling a bolt action to fund it, but just wanted to hear some opinions on them? Want to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly. Thanks!

I wish I would have known about encore and contender 40 yrs ago. I like the option to go from pistol to rifle. I mainly pistol hunt now. Accuracy is excellent, and the option for different calibers is endless. I don't know or can't think of any negatives other than being a single shot. It will make you concentrate and you'll be surprised at how fast you can reload if needed.You will be happy with encore or contender.

I agree. You cant go wrong with either one. Just depends on what you want to shoot. The Encore is supposedly a stronger action than the Contender but I own and shoot both and have never had an issue with either.

I had an Encore built a few years back. Little more than the receiver is TC built. I had it built to have a shorter and relatively lighter Mountain Hunting rifle, and I like it a lot.

Mine will shoot some small groups, but is not nearly as consistent as my bolt guns. How you rest the rifle can mean the difference between a <.5" and a .75" group. In hunting conditions this is not a factor at all, but at the bench it can be a little weird. Since it's a hinge pin, with the lock-up at the base of the barrel face, the top of the action/barrel interface is not supported. So there will be movement with the stress of the round going off, where a bolt gun will evenly distribute the stretch, for lack of a better term, all the way around the barrel/receiver interface.

Also, the fore arm is attached to the barrel, so weight differences on the barrel change point of impact a small amount. The closer to the receiver you rest the rifle, the better they will shoot. Mine has a hanger bar installed so the fore arm is free floated, as oppose to the two stud mount on factory Encores. there are some easier fixes for the TC design too. So don't let that discourage you.

Some people are disenchanted with the single shot platform. I can reload mine fairly quickly. It's not that slow once you practice it a bit, and keep spares handy.

I have a medium varmint contour 26" barrel on mine (280ai), and it's about as short as my Win 70 30-06 w/22" sporter barrel. It also weighs about the same.

I have more money in mine than most, and am not so sure I wouldn't have liked a factory pro hunter in 280 just as much. I have yet to expand my barrel inventory. It's tough to decide which caliber I'd even want (thinking 20" .25-08ai or something weird).

Overall, they are fine rifle platforms. No complaints from me what so ever. They are hunting rifles, not benchrest guns, it doesn't matter how much you spend on them. They are very utilitarian, I view mine more as a tool than a toy. I have guns I consider toys too, even those that are both, but this rifle serves a specific purpose, and does it well. The beauty is, that I can change purpose as easy as swapping out barrels, as long as benchrest competition isn't the desired purpose.

Thanks for all of the good input. I've been wanting one for a while but just have never been around them much. May have to take the plunge!