Ten, I got aquainted to the model 70 by a fluke. A good friend of mine that owned a gun shop in my town ,bought a bunch of model 70s from a dealer that was going out of business.I asked him about them and he had high praise for the '70s with the boss. I bought several(They were relatively cheap) for around 400.00. I learned about re barreling them from another friend.I have since rebarreled about 20 of the rifles in different cal. I like weatherby ammo,but not much on the new weatherby rifles.The ammo(norma) is very expensive,but is the best off the shelf you can buy,IMHO..........BTW I have had five bypass surgery ten yrs ago,and had a stent put in last Nov... Two weeks later I was in a deerstand...blizzard came through...and I made it... I also have had laser eye surgery and removed cataracts,now I can see without glasses..that surely improved my shooting ability......I bought a Rhino,cause it kept my back from hurting . I also had back surgery 5 yrs ago.....lets see,maybe I will keep on working' till I die......My son loves to shoot,and we get together as much as possible.....The long range hunting keeps my interest up in a sport that I truly love.......200 yd running shot...HAaaahAaaHAaaaaaaaaaaaaa.......Your so right about that!!!!!!!!

 

TEN CUBE, I do some business in the Seattle area, I keep product in a local frozen food whse........never been there!

 

Sounds like you have been thru the mill a time or two. We keep a place here in Seattle but home is in the Eastern part of Washington. Kids are on the farm and take care of things there.

The early model 70's are a great action, some of the late models leave a little to be desired but still good equipment. I have a few rifles, factory rounds and wildcats, built on them and find them very satisfactory. Years ago, when you could still get them, I was fortunate to trade into several Interarms Mark X early model actions. They are another Mauser type that come with the adjustable trigger and other good stuff. Been my favorite action for years. Also like the '03A3 actions for a lot of uses. Even have a few of the old US Enfield actions that I reworked years ago.

I seldom shoot factory ammo as I have been reloading for over half a century now and find I can get much better accuracy and consistency from a rifle with tailored ammo. Impossible to find factory stuff for a number of rifles I have as they are one-off or limited production wildcats. Last few years I have become interested in exploring the past and have been shooting some of the old cartridge rifles. Cast lead slugs at under 1500 FPS is a far cry from the 42 to 4600 FPS hot rods. Makes for a different kind of skill level and hunting methods.

 

The later model 70s that I have are the "Classic" model with the clawfoot extractor.....these rifles do the stuff... I know about the later ones that had the push feed action.......not much to work with....I like the Norma ammo,its very expensive,30-378 cost 5.00 bucks per load....257 1.00 load and the 300 is around 1.25 a load......I have never been a reloader, but my brother-in-law was very adapt at loading. He was a gun collector and his collection was the "Springfield Armory".plus Military hats and old guns.I like to hunt and I use a shotgun,Browning Double Auto for upland game,and a new 28 gauge SXS Hueglo by Czech.Arms....for dove........I could talk about this forever...HAhAhAh

 

Can I throw in 2 cents worth?

I like the T/C Encore in .280 Reminton. The balistics on it are better than the .270. This cartridge is good for an on the deer hold out to 400yds. with a 200yd. zero. You can even go out to 500 yds with confidence. I have liked Luepold and Burris scopes since the '60's.

There you have it. maybe not even worth 2 Cents !

 

I admire anyone that can shoot a shotgun. I have shot a cartload of ducks over the years as we had a lot of them around, especially when I was a kid, and used them as a food source. The old Model 12 Winchester 12 gauge was the standard of the time and a couple of them my Dad had are still the only shotguns I am able to shoot reasonably well. I have a Browning 10 gauge my wife bought me for my birthday one year and I really believe a duck hanging from a string at twenty yards would be safe with me shooting that gun. Some skills a person just never seems to acquire and for me the scattergun has been a minor source of embarrassment for years.

You ought to look into the reloading game, it just makes the time on the range stretch out more.

 

Worth way more than 2 Cents IMO. You have found a combination of rifle and calibre that works for you and that is important. Single shots tend to make a better rifleman out of a person for sure. I have a TC Contender that I have a few barrels for and really enjoy hunting with it. I've looked at the Encore but to date have not fired one. They appear to be a dang serviceable rifle but I have wondered a bit about the balance of them. Not from the point of shooting but of carrying them around. Do you feel they are kind of awkward to carry without a sling?

 

tencubed,

I have carried the contenders in practically every caliber since they came out. But I finally broke down and went to the Encore this year. I really don't mind the extra weight. It carries fine. I do use a sling for the long walks with it but through the brush, stalking and going into the deer stands I keep it unslung and at the ready. I love it. This year was fortunate to be surprised with a shot that took maybe 2 seconds from the time I rounded a heavy cedar stand to seeing a nice buck feeding across the field in the open. Swung up and made the shot without a thought. Standing freeform without any rest. Sure a nice tasting result! With all my sighting in shots I never would have thought it could be so easily swung to shoot on the fly. The only thing wrong with the Encore is the no rimfire barrels.

 

Whiskers

Congrats on the buck. Always nice when you are able to take a chunk of meat home for the pot. Sounds like the practice paid off. The lack of rimfire capability on the Encour is something I hadn't even thought about. Course since you have the Contender you have the rimfire option there. Have you tried one of the 17's in rimfire on the Contender? I haven't bought a 17 rimfire but do shoot the 17 Ackley Bee from the Contender. Makes for a really fun 150 to 200 yard small game round. Kind of a hassle to load and about as spendy as top end 17 RF ammo.

I think my favorite bbls for the contender are the 223 for varmints and the 35 Remington for small deer in heavy brush. Also have a 45-70 bbl that makes it a good brush gun but have to hold the loads down due to frame strength of the Contender. Recoil is fierce to say the least if a heavy load is used with the 45-70.

 

Yep,

Have the .17HMR barrel for the Contender. You can throw everything else away!! It will literally drive nails !!! Tears up an animal too ! Great expansion and really nice to shoot. The one thing on the Encore is it's ability to handle the big loads like the 45-70. I have sold off all my Contender stuff except the .17HMR. I am switching to All SS nowdays. I hear there are some wildcat barrels out there for the Encores in rimfire. When they get more numerous I'll be looking for the .17 for it. Heard the other day that T/C sold out to one of the major U.S. makers. I forgot which one. But my dealer freind says that the new company is already looking at taking the Encore to rimfire. Can't wait!