After all of that .243 win talk, I ended up going with a 6.5mm rem mag barrel for my encore. I have to wait a few months to get it in though. Any experiences or opinions on this one? I am excited to add it to my humble, but growing collection.

I think your choice is a fine one. I'm a sucker for the cartridges that never gained the respect they deserved.

350 Remington Magnum will be one of my first Encore pistol barrel some day.

Good luck shooting the 350 mag out of the T/C
I had one in a 77 Ruger it was a thumper when it came to recoil

I found the round very sensitive to twist rate. The only factory load is a 180 Reminington I shot 250 Nolsers out of mine due to the twist in the Ruger

Good luck

I have a Encore Custom Shop 6.5 Rem Mag and it is a shooter. I have a Burris 3x9 scope with a drop chart I made on the scope.
I have taken whitetail with Speer Hot Core 120 grn bullets.
The only powder I found the barrel likes is H4831SC. With 52grn that is not near max it shoots 2495-2500fps all day. Mine is more sensitive to the OAL length that anything.
With the 120grn Ballistic Tip and same amount of powder as above it shoots 2528 fps avg. With the 120grn Ballistic Tips I have on zero at 200yds and it is only 3.8" low at 300yds. 7.5" low at 400yds. Great whitetail and varmint pistol. Recoil is no problem.
I got talked into this barrel but some "Friends" while hanging out around Ed's Contender tables at a gun show. Now it is one barrel I won't part with.

Mike

What are the advantages of the 6.5 Mag over the 708 Imp?

It has the capability to easily outrun the 308 family of cartridges.

I believe the 6.5 Rem Mag was derived from the parent 350 Rem Mag case. This is a great family line, I guess you could say.

H20BUG:

I also have a Ruger M77 Mark II in a 350 Magnum with a 1:14 twist. This is my favorite rifle for handloading because of the versatility.

My favorite light load is a Hornady 180 SSPB under 25 grains of XMP 5744 at a velocity of 2350 fps. Makes a mild deer load and does well out to 250 yards.

I also shoot cast leads through it. Loves them too. If you compare the case diameter to the bore diameter it is very similar to the 308 Winchester. Too bad the 350 Magnum never got the respect it deserves.

What twist rate will it have?

1:10"

With that twist you will not be able to stabilize the 140 class VLD's.

The Berger VLD's also work great on game and are also sold for that very purpose by Berger.

1. What are VLDs?

2. What purpose are you talking about from your last statement?

Minimum twist rate for most 6.5mm rifle barrels is 1:9.

I would think, give a shorter length handgun barrel your rate of twist may need to be even faster. Maybe 1:8 or 1:7 in order to stabilize 140 grain and heavier bullets.

A 1-8.5 twist is more than sufficient for all the 140 VLD's (Very Low Drag).
My 6.5-284's have a 1-8 twist (smaller case capacity than the Rem Mag) which is more than adequate.
sscoyotes 6.5-284 XP-100 had a 1-9 twist and he shot the 140 grain A-Max all the time.

Berger 140 grain VLD's can be used and have been successfully used for big game up to and including elk.

If one wanted to shoot the 140 VLD's I would consider changing your order to a 1-8 or 1-8.5 twist.

Orgiginally, Berger bullets were made for target shooting, but through time it has been discovered they work great for game too.

Really?? That's all the faster it's going?? My Striker 17" .260 Rem is running 129gr SST's at 2700fps. Mine is fairly close to max though. What is the max fps listed for the 6.5RM?

After reading all of the information about the slow twist rate that I had, I cancelled my order. I don't want to be limited to 120gr bullets...

What twist rates would I need for a .243win, 7mm-08, and a 30-06??

If you are wanting to use the heavier Very Low Drag bullets (VLD's) then a 1-8 twist for the 243 Win or 6mm Rem and a 1-9 twist for the 7mm-08, 280 Rem. or the 284 Win, and a 1-10 twist will be more than enough for the 308 Win. & 30-06.

Give me a better idea of what you want to accomplish: type of game or shooting and the distances you would like it to be capable of.

I want a barrel for deer, hogs, and black bear. It would be nice to shoot to 200 to 250 yards or so and I would like to shoot Noslers, Hornady, and Barnes bullets. I would handload all of the ammo.

Never hunted black bear before so I can't comment personally on that.
Since you were considering a case capacity in the 06 range already, and the distances you are wanting are on average anything based on the 284 Win/30/06 family will be more than sufficient for your needs.
Look at the bullets in the calibers you are considering for your toughest game (bear in this case) and then decide what impact velocity you want at your max range--250 yards.

I just realized that I already have 30-06 ammo, dies, bullets, powder, primers and brass so this may be a less expensive route that the 7mm-08 at this time. I will likely make a trip to VA this fall and both deer and bear will be present. So the 1:10 twist rate will suffice out of the 15" barrel? I appreciate all of your help by the way!

1-10 twist will be more than sufficient.
What is the heaviest bullet (brand) you are considering?

180gr Nosler Partitions.

My TC Custom Shop Encore 15" barrel really shoots good with the 120 grn Ballistic tips and the 140 grn Berger VLD bullets. It is a handfull with a stiff load under the 140 Bergers but shoots very well. I have not been able to try it past 300 yds but with the Burris 3x9 scope and my drop chart taped to the top of the scope I wouldn't hestitate shooting a whitetail out that far and at 200 yds I would try an Elk. Not sure how the Bergers would work on bear.
Mike

I agree that the -06 would work fine for 250 yds. There r certainly enuf bullets to select from, that's for sure.

I bet that 6.5 Rem. Mag. is a fun case to play with tho.