A Thompson Center Encore .450 Bushmaster

Robert WellerGear Reviews & Recommendations

Thompson Center Arms, as you may know, is famous for producing the very popular Encore rifle and Contender pistol platforms. These platforms were known for being very accurate single shot firearms with interchangeable barrels. Their slogan was “One gun, for all your hunts.” On January 4, 2007, Thompson Center Arms was purchased by Smith & Wesson. On December 8, 2010, Smith & Wesson announced the original Rochester, New Hampshire plant would be closed and manufacturing was transferred to Springfield, Massachusetts. In Late May, 2022 Smith & Wesson closed down the TC line completely. However, in April, 2024 an exciting announcement was made that TC was bought again and the company is being rebuilt. The current website has a video of Gregg Ritz talking about them being built in America and being Family owned once again. I recently watched a YouTube video of a Podcast Gregg did where he discussed how this company is coming full circle and it’s going to be an amazing comeback. He spoke about the fact they plan to get right to work on producing the popular straight wall cartridges like the 350 Legend, 400 Legend and the 450 Bushmaster. I can’t wait to see what other new products they bring to market as they rebuild this all American company. 

 

In 2004 I decided to try Muzzleloader hunting and being such a diehard archery hunter myself, I found a new passion with the idea of hunting with a single shot muzzle loader. I purchased a Thompson Center Omega which was a falling breech design. The first year, I decided to use the open sights and was amazed how accurate it was. I shot a doe that December during the late antlerless season and I was hooked. The next year, I mounted a scope and began using the Omega during the regular firearm season as well. That gun served me very well and Thompson Center proved how good their lifetime warranty was when I put it away dirty one winter and forgot to clean it until the next fall. When I pulled the gun from the safe and saw the rust in the muzzle I knew I had made a big mistake. After using a torch and an impact wrench to remove the breech plug, I spent several hours trying to clean the barrel. Once I realized the extent of the damage that had been done, I swallowed my pride and called Thompson Center to see what it would cost to have a replacement barrel sent out. When my call was answered I quickly explained what I had done. To my surprise the customer service person on the line told me not to worry and that the warranty would cover the barrel replacement. My jaw hit the floor. I remember asking if they were kidding or something along those lines. The reply was simple, “You’re covered”. All I had to do was remove the

sights and a few other things that were removable and pay the shipping to send it back. A very short time later, I received a brand new barrel, which on an Omega is basically the gun without a stock as there just isn’t much to them. I used the Omega for another year or two then sold it and decided to support Thompson Center with the purchase of the new Encore Pro Hunter, again in a .50 caliber muzzleloader configuration. I knew the Encore was an interchangeable barrel platform and figured someday, I may expand on the muzzle loader and buy another barrel or two for other uses. I purchased my Thompson Center Encore Endeavor Pro Hunter sometime around 2010 and I enjoyed it so much that I started using it during the regular firearm season instead of my shotgun just as I had the Omega. The accuracy and range of the muzzleloaders were far better and with less recoil I might add. By 2016 the 450 Bushmaster had become all the rage and I jumped on the bandwagon. I could not find a 450 barrel made by Thompson Center so I decided to use the AR

platform. My son had recently begun hunting with me and the adjustable stock was perfect because it took only a few seconds to adjust and either of us could use it to hunt with. For several years now, Michigan has allowed zone 3 hunters (that’s me) to hunt with any legal firearm during the muzzleloader season. Every year, I have had the best of intentions to get some fresh powder and pull the old .50 cal back out of the safe. But when I saw the 450 sitting there and I started thinking of having to deal with the cleanup that came with using the muzzle loader, I ended up grabbing the 450 every time. 

Last year, my son and I sat together in a blind, during Michigan’s late doe season, both of us carrying a gun. We doubled on a couple of doe and I was reminded very quickly what I wasn’t missing when I felt the recoil of my 12 ga. and a 3 inch magnum slug. I realized then, just how much I missed using my Encore so this past spring, I got serious about finding a 450 barrel for I had still been looking on the TC website at times for 450 barrels over the previous couple of years and was shocked that they did not get into the market of the straight wall cartridges but when I learned of their closing, I realized an aftermarket solution was going to be the best route. In all my searches, it seemed that Match Grade Machine was one of the most well known for producing barrels that were equal to the quality of what Thompson Center had produced. On March 29, 2024, I placed my order for a barrel from MGM. (Just a few weeks before TC announced their reopening) On July 15, 2024, my new barrel arrived and I immediately ordered a scope and rings. I decided to give Vortex a try and went with a Diamondback 3.5 – 10 x 50 with the BDC reticle. I have a pair of the Diamondback binoculars and am very pleased with them. Just a few days later, my scope and rings arrived and I was very eager to get everything assembled. I must have had a smile on my face the entire time I was assembling what I had hoped would be my new best friend in the woods for deer season. I decided to weigh the Encore with the Muzzleloader barrel and then the 450 barrel just to see how much lighter it ended up being. The Muzzleloader weighed 9 lbs. 7 oz. and the 450 ended up at 7 lbs. 8 oz. The next step was to break in and sight in the new barrel. Being a break action, it was very simple to bore sight so I figured I would be very close on my first shot, and I was. When I fired the first round, it ended up only two inches low and two inches left at 25 yards. I cleaned the barrel and made the necessary adjustments to windage and elevation then fired a second shot. Bullseye! “Wow, two shots and I was on target.” I cleaned the barrel again and moved my target out to one-hundred yards. I thought, “This will be a slam dunk, a three shot group and I’m done.” My first shot was dead on and another bullseye.

Unfortunately the next three rounds were two to three inches lower than each of the previous rounds, and I ended up a total of nine inches low at one-hundred yards with my fourth shot. I put up a new target and cleaned the barrel again. My son Jacob had come out to see how it was going and I told him that I was a little concerned. I knew I was not the cause as I was shooting from a prone position and off of sand bags. I thought that perhaps the scope had broken and the elevation cross hair was moving. Jacob suggested I fire one more round. I did and it ended up hitting nine inches low again. I told Jacob that perhaps the elevation cross hair had been stuck and that maybe it had been jarred loose on the previous few rounds. I adjusted the elevation again and gave the scope a few thumps on the elevation turret. I fired another round and noticed I was about three inches low. After one more adjustment and tapping the scope again, I fired a three shot group that rested a mere one inch low. The group measured just shy of an inch spread. I will also add

that even though the 450 weighs about two lbs. less than the muzzleloader, the recoil was not bad at all. I had an integrated muzzle break added to the 450 barrel by MGM and it did an amazing job reducing the felt recoil. I was very pleased with the overall performance and cannot wait to get a crack at a whitetail during the upcoming firearm deer season. 

My buddy and hunting partner, Steve has commented how strange it is going to be for him to see me carrying a single shot this fall. Steve and I started hunting together on his property only 5 years ago and the firearm he has always seen me carry is my AR-15 in 450 Bushmaster. I will admit, the AR platform is kind of cool but it just doesn’t feel right. I’ve always preferred a more traditional firearm. When rifle hunting in what we Michiganders call the rifle zone, I’ve always carried a bolt or lever action, never a semi-automatic. And of course, as I stated earlier, I’m quite sure my son won’t have any objection to getting to use the AR platform while dear old dad goes back to a single shot. Honestly, I’ve always prided myself on good shot placement so a second shot is rarely required anyway. 

Had I known that Thompson Center was making a comeback, I certainly would have waited to get my hands on one of their barrels but I’m quite sure this won’t be my last barrel purchase. I mean what is the point in having interchangeable barrels if you don’t have a few to change between now and then? If you’re a Thompson Center fan already I hope you are as excited about the announcement that they are back as I am. If you have never owned a Thompson Center firearm, I encourage you to keep your eye open and consider picking one up for yourself as they hit the shelves. You can be proud knowing that you will be supporting a family owned company that produces an American made product of the highest quality, with the best customer service in the industry and a lifetime warranty that means just that. I cannot wait to see what they come up with next. In the meantime I’ll be putting my Encore back to good use. While I’m sitting in my blind this next deer season waiting for a nice doe or a big buck, I will look at my Encore and smile knowing the company is no longer lying dormant in the shadows but that America’s Master Gunmaker IS BACK!! 

As always, good luck in the woods, Happy hunting and God Bless.

Robert Weller
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