Posted on 06/24/2006 8:36:25 PM PDT by Lurker
Sterling, VA
About a decade ago, I was series-ly thinking about getting a T/C Contender that made a bit of a big bang... .444, 45/70, or 375JDJ.
Then I came to my senses.
Mark
I put the 460 S&W 15" on the Encore frame. More mass to reduce the felt recoil. I have the Magnum Research BFR 45/70 with 10" barrel. Pleasant shooter. The 460 has a lot more oomph than the 45/70. Another freeper tried the .444 cartridge on the T/C Contender. The recoil broke the ripped the screw through the mounting pillar of the composite forend.
The largest .50 cal I care to shoot will be built from a 20" Thompson Encore Pro barrel in 500 S&W. I load that cartridge with 325 gr Speer Gold Dot. Pleasant from the recoil perspect and very accurate in the Performance Center Hunter 500 S&W Magnum. It should be very tame in a rifle configuration.
JD Jones sure is a neat guy to talk to.
Mark
I've only read articles where he was interviewed and his philosophies expressed. He obviously has a great insight on good ballistics. The Thompson folks make a bunch of barrels for his various JDJ creations. You have to be a reloader to really enjoy his work as the JDJ ammo is not off the shelf stuff. There's plenty of brass and die folks who support those boutique cartridges.
I had a conversation with him once whe I was looking for a heavy bullet for my .41 Mag S&W Model 57. IIRC, he had a mold for a 275gr (or thereabouts) bullet. When I asked him what load to use, his response was "fill the case with 296 and put the bullet on!"
He did convince me to use a .44Mag out of a Ruger if I was serious about heavy (revolver) loads, and he was right.
Mark
I had hoped the 460 Magnum barrel on the Encore would work well for 45 Colt (255 gr over 7 gr of W231). Alas, it shoots high. The .454 Casull load (200 gr jacketed FN over 37 gr of W296) is dead on. I ordered and received a box of 50 pieces of 460 Magnum brass, but I haven't loaded it yet. The velocities from the 15" barrel on the Encore are much hotter than the 7.5" barrel of the Ruger Super Redhawk with the same load.
[multiple Picatinny rails,]
I only see one. Where are the rest?
BTW, does the section in front of the trigger guard fold downward to form a vertical foregrip? It looks like it could, which would solve one problem. I have no idea where to mount a SureFire, though.
[although I didn't know of the Iranian deal. Don't think I blame SiGArms though, but the parent Sig-Sauer.]
All the same when it comes to our money, isn't it? I just won't support the company, because the company supports iran.
[New FN is FS2000, PS90-ish looking 556mm bullpup carbine.]
Very smart to market it in 5.56! At least to the American public. And to make it compatible with M-16 magazines. I like bullpups because the design tends to put the weight of the rifle into my shoulder, rather than my arms. However, having that chamber right next to my ear is a deal breaker.
Making it ambidextrous is a huge step above the British military bullpup, the SA-80.
The best thing about this rifle is the CDI factor- it does look very cool! Still, good luck getting a bullpup design to feed and function properly. Many have tried and failed, including H&K with their modifications to the SA-80.
BTW, one more thing, about your other post to me. Sterling, VA is where H&K maintains its offices. They never actually built anything there. Columbus, Georgia is their brand new manufacturing facility. But... I think I may have read that, when the mil contract for the OICW was cancelled, H&K moved out of the new plant and rented a smaller place nearby. I'm not sure of that, though, cuz it's been a while.
Just today I read something that H&K was considering selling 416 uppers when their gubbermint contracts are fulfilled, or at least not as demanding.
are they replacing OICW with anythign else...i thought is was the weapon for the digital soldier/battlefield concept...??
Short rail sections attached to forward handguard, either side, and a section attached to the bottom, facing down. SF Scout or similar would mount nicely on either the left or right short section, and you could attach a vertical grip to the bottom rail.
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