Arrowhead Rifle's Encore .45 Caliber Barrel Updgrade

robby denning

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Hey all
Going way back to 2012, I bought a T/C Encore Muzzleloader. I was hoping to make it a Colorado/Nevada/Utah/Arizona gun but I never could get the accuracy out of the .50 cal stock barrel (4" groups), so I moved on to other rifles.

When Arrowhead Rifles came on as a sponsor, I was super happy to see owner Luke Horak offered a .45 cal (my fav muzz caliber) upgrade for the Encore platform. Although Luke's a sponsor, I paid for this barrel with a writer's discount. (Arrowhead also makes their own muzzleloader, you can follow @Travis Bertrand review on that gun here)

I received the barrel last week, minus the ramrod/jag which arrived just two days ago. I'd watched the videos Luke has on Arrowhead's site, sent a few texts back and forth with Luke and one 10-minute phone call and I was ready for the range this morning (it just so happens to be the 4th of July--what a way to
celebrate!)
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Luke's replacement barrel is rated for smokeless powder, but I'm running Blackhorn 209 as the state I might be hunting doesn't allow smokeless. I'm also running Luke's breechplug with magnum CCI 250 rifle primers behind his 275 gr, .45 Cal XLD Bullet. Using a Lee Hand press with a 45-70 Gov't shell holder, I primed Arrowhead's proprietary module that holds the primers.

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This bullet also requires pre-sizing and Luke includes the LEE handpress.
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Once I understood the sizing process, it was simple to prep for the range and once there, found the bullets loaded with hand pressure--no bullet starter needed as with most conicals require. These bullets load as easily as a sabot. It might seem like a hassle to have to pre-prime, pre-weigh, and pre-size, but if you want extreme accuracy, it's hardly a bother to a guy like me.

I had bore sited the gun at home, so at the range I fired the first shot at 50 yards and was on paper. I made some scope adjustments and moved to 100 yards.
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I shoot two-shot groups for muzzleloader for obvious reasons. The first (2) two-shot groups out of the gun were 0.625" and <0.5" (with a full bore .45" bullet!!!) Just five shots into the new barrel, and I'm sub-MOA. That is the fastest I've ever achieved sub-MOA with any muzzleloader ever!

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(nearly two bullets in the same hole!)

As far as charge, I put the 275 XLD on top of 95 grains BY WEIGHT of Blackhorn 209. The gun can take up to 105 grains of Blackhorn BY WEIGHT (that's like 140 grains by volume) but I don't need to push this gun any further with that kind of accuracy. And with not wanting to run the brake, 95 grains is putting out enough recoil for me.

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The first group was with Luke's muzzlebrake. It tames the gun well. But I don't like to hunt with brakes (I don't like fiddling with earplugs, plus you need a funnel to load through the brake or you spill powder) so I was very happy to see that 2nd group without the brake come in at 0.5"!!!. And yes, it did kick! But still not as bad as the the 450 grain conicals I've shot in 50 cal.

My velocities are shown below in the video, but I'm averaging 2374 fps with an ES of 20 fps and SD of 15.

I'm beyond excited to be shooting this gun. Now if I can find a buck to hunt with it.

Next trip to the range will be with a peep in the hopes of hunting with the gun this fall. If I was hunting Utah, New Mexico, or Arizona (and a bunch of mid-western states), I'd be good already with the Vortex Light Hunter 1.5-8x. I'd guess the bottom hash mark in that scope would be in that 350+ yard range with no dialing. Lots of guys are shooting this gun with dialable scopes to beyond 500 yards. With a peep, I'm betting 200 is very doable, and even further. We'll see. Short video below summing up the range performance.

 
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Funny I just received the same barrel last week for a 45 cal Encore build. 275 gr bullets, 100gr of B.H, shoots amazing. Will be doing some work later this week at 200 yds. I have 2 other guns from Luke and both are top notch. Can't wait for my Nevada 231 hunt this fall!
 

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Thanks for the review Robby.

Funny I just received the same barrel last week for a 45 cal Encore build. 275 gr bullets, 100gr of B.H, shoots amazing. Will be doing some work later this week at 200 yds. I have 2 other guns from Luke and both are top notch. Can't wait for my Nevada 231 hunt this fall!

Is that target with open sights at 100 yards @tackdriver ?

If so, your name is very fitting!
 

LWH723

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Nice shooting Jason & Robby! Looks like you're dialed in with the irons Jason.

Robby's gun has dovetial for front sight, but he's doing his load development with a scope. I think he's ready to move to irons.
 

Steve O

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And another question...I thought without a sabot, the full bore bullets needed a card or veggie wad under the bullet. I’ve got an Encore .50 that wants to be a .45; appreciate all the info and putting up with all the questions.

I don’t see myself hunting Idaho for anything but sheep and that will be a with a 264 so depending on the scope or sights that would be legal as is in CO, NV, UT, muzzleloder seasons, right? WY, MT, AZ, and NM don’t have any real restrictions I’m aware of.
 

LWH723

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And another question...I thought without a sabot, the full bore bullets needed a card or veggie wad under the bullet. I’ve got an Encore .50 that wants to be a .45; appreciate all the info and putting up with all the questions.

I don’t see myself hunting Idaho for anything but sheep and that will be a with a 264 so depending on the scope or sights that would be legal as is in CO, NV, UT, muzzleloder seasons, right? WY, MT, AZ, and NM don’t have any real restrictions I’m aware of.

My system is efficient enough that no wad is needed. Less efficient systems or a bullet with thicker copper may benefit from a wad.

Your list is pretty accurate. But UT does allow optics now. I don't think WY and MT really have much in the way of ML seasons that I know of anyway. AZ and NM no restrictions besides no smokeless powder. Of course, verify this information yourself. :)

Here's video I did on how the barrels function.

 
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robby denning

robby denning

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And another question...I thought without a sabot, the full bore bullets needed a card or veggie wad under the bullet. I’ve got an Encore .50 that wants to be a .45; appreciate all the info and putting up with all the questions.

I don’t see myself hunting Idaho for anything but sheep and that will be a with a 264 so depending on the scope or sights that would be legal as is in CO, NV, UT, muzzleloder seasons, right? WY, MT, AZ, and NM don’t have any real restrictions I’m aware of.
Looks like Luke got you answered. Yip, UT is optics now.

It's almost easier to talk about where this gun won't be legal (if willing to install peep): For sure Idaho (closed ignition, primer capable) and I've heard OR/WA but haven't checked lately.
 
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robby denning

robby denning

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OK so next step is getting my XS peep sight installed. I just simply removed the Vortex scope from the rail that Arrowhead provided, and the XS goes right on top. I’m running the Williams threaded shank so that I can change peep sizes. As shown.

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Then I made a temporary site out of masking tape to get an estimate of what height of front sight to order. Just need to go fire a couple rounds and make sure I am within the adjustments of the rear peep, and then I’ll order the front sight.

Then I can start sighting in with the peep and establishing my trajectory.

If it goes as well as it did with the scope, just a couple more range visits and I’m dialed.

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robby denning

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OK Roksliders, sorry for the break, I had to order my front post and it arrived early this week but today’s the first day I could shoot.

Got to the range this morning and with my new 0.650” height front post,
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it seems that I’m still not high enough (meaning my POI is too high.)

With my rear aperture bottomed out, I’m still 4 inches high at 100 yards
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and 7 inches high at 150 (that is a flat shooting rifle)
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so I need to order the next height up.

Kind of a pain getting this right, but this should do it once I get this other post. Then I’d like to test this gun out to 250 yards.

That 150 yard group is not too bad considering I had a crosswind of about 10-15 mile an hour. Ignore the size of the 100 yard group as I moved the front post just a little bit to the right to bring the POI to the left.

I’m thinking this is going to be an MOA or 2MOA (with peep) gun, with the capability to reach out to about 200-250 yards.
Probably further for some of you young guys with young sharp eyes.

Hope to be back in a week or so


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robby denning

robby denning

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Got my .0700 front post installed

1st group at 100, 5/8”, and one of those was a cold bore no fouling.

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So I sighted it for 2” high at 100 yds, then moved to 150 yards. Put 2@ 2.25”, and dead on

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Then 200 yds for 2@ 6.5” and 7.5” low
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Don’t let that same POI for 150/200 throw you, as I used a different aim point for 200. The cloud cover made the black bull hard to see, so I went with a white bull higher on the target.


Next trip out will be 250 yds.


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Robby, fwiw, after a cleaning I've been doing a fouling shot with smokeless powder, then load with B.H and its been dead on. That will be great for hunting, you wont have to be in a hurry to clean it.
 
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robby denning

robby denning

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Robby, fwiw, after a cleaning I've been doing a fouling shot with smokeless powder, then load with B.H and its been dead on. That will be great for hunting, you wont have to be in a hurry to clean it.
interesting idea! that's why I love this place. Thanks

@Arrowhead Rifles you try this?
 
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robby denning

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OK guys, I made it back out this morning to shoot at 250 yards and sneaked in a 300 yarder. You can tell what I did if you just read the labels on the picture. My first shot I had a little more wind, so I went ahead and shot another round for a 3-shot group.
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So I got an 8 inch group or a 3 1/2 inch group at 250 yards. Either way I’m in the vitals.

It’s a little perplexing to be 4 inches low at 250 but 7.5 inches low at 200. But remember I’m shooting a peep sight, and as you get further out there can be some optical illusion affecting where the post is apparently held.

Either way I know the gun is not going to drop more than the size of the vitals out to about 250 yards. Good enough for this deer hunter


Decided to shoot at 300 yards because I had light winds (less than 10mph). Pretty excited about this group.
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That’s pretty good for a muzzleloader and open sites. 5.5 inch group and 14 inches low. ( all of today’s groups are patterning with the wind.)

So it looks like I’ve got an on-body hold on a buck out to 300 yards, in ideal conditions of course. That’s what I had this morning except for when I first arrived the wind was a little stiff but then it dropped as the sun came up.

That pretty much completes my testing. I might continue to plink a little bit, but this guns ready to hunt


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Str8shtr

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Looks like pretty typical performance for this type of muzzleloader. These things will outshoot most rifles with a scope at 100yds. Only downside is the bc on the bullets is pretty low and lose quite a bit of energy at extended ranges.

Shooting them with a brake isn't nearly as loud as shooting a braked rifle due to the lower pressures.

I've also noticed that pressure is not an issue with these when using bh209 since they are rated for smokeless so you can shoot heavier bullets at similar velocities.
 
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