Well, it finally cooled off enough around here. And I was able to get the .308 Encore out for some range time. I took 2 different factory loads with me, (Remington 150 Gr., and Federal 180 "Power Shock" loads), as well as some handloads I built up around R-P cases 42.0 Gr. of Varget under Sierra 168 Gr. Matchkings.
From a solid rest at 50 yards the gun printed dead on both in elevation and windage. No adjustment to the iron sights was necessary. At 50 yards I could easily get baseball sized groups with both the Remington and Federal factory ammunition. The gun functioned flawlessly. The action opened and closed effortlessly. And the cases could easily be extracted with my fingers. The gun raises the cases about a 1/4" out of the chamber, but does not eject them. The hammer seemed a bit too tight, but the trigger let off was very crisp, albeit heavy. I would guess around 6 to 7 pounds.
The problem was recoil and muzzle flip. This gun has a ton of it! Much more than I expected. I have 2 Magnum Research BFR revolvers in both .45-70 and .500 S&W Magnum. As well as a Ruger Super Redhawk in .454 Casull. And this gun is far more difficult to control. Perhaps it's the long 15" barrel, that gives the muzzle more leverage to rise and whip up. In any event it's a beast to hold on to. I only got 30 rounds through it before the hide was completely worn off my trigger finger where it was hitting the lower part of the frame above the trigger guard, and I had to quit.
I came home and cleaned the gun, and gave everything a liberal oiling. Especially the hammer and trigger area. Perhaps they assembled the thing dry. I don't know. But after lubrication, and working the hammer and trigger several dozen times, everything seemed a lot better. This happened last Friday. The following Monday I went back to the range. This time I taped up my finger heavily, and continued the session.
I knew the gun was printing dead on, so I went to the 200 yard rifle range and had at the steel plates there. We have them in sizes from 8" all the way up to manhole size and above, (48"). Taking careful aim I had no trouble ringing all of them. I was surprised at how accurate the iron sights on this gun were. Both the hammer and trigger were MUCH SMOOTHER. The lube job most definitely did the trick. The trigger now seems to be letting off around 5 pounds. And the hammer requires much less effort to cock, and is much smoother doing it.
This time I ran my handloads through it, and the recoil, while still very heavy, seemed more controllable. I finished up, satisfied with the gun, and it's overall performance and accuracy. This obviously isn't a gun you are going to pour rounds through. But it does what it's supposed to do. If I were to plan a hunting trip around this weapon, I would look into equipping it with some type of optic. But seeing as my hunting days are pretty much behind me, (except for perhaps Doves), it will pretty much be relegated to the job of range toy.
I think the next time I bring it out, I'll take my 30" barreled .308 Savage Model 12F-TR with it, and set up my chronograph. That way I can get some velocity differences between the 30" barrel of the Savage, to the 15" barrel of the Encore with identical loads in identical conditions. It should be interesting to see the spread.