Does anybody have any experience with an Encore in .223 with a short barrel, say 12 or 10 inches, and if so how do they shoot? Been thinking of getting one to shoot coyotes.

IMHO, the 223 really shines with the 14in barrel. In my Contender reloading manual there are 9 listings for the 223. 8 of those use 14in barrels. The ONE that didn’t was the Lyman data using cast bullets. But I have to say that they did list both 10in and 14in barrels.

Or as Hornady puts it:

“And what a difference just a few inches of barrel length can make! [Compare the performance of the 222 Remington shot from a 10" barrel, listed in the preceding section.] The 223 Remington cartridge does quite well in the 14" barreled gun, pushing, the 50 grain Hornady SX bullet to the magical 3000 fps barrier.”

Do what YOU want to do! I am just throwing out .02 cents worth... LOL

Extremely LOUD, with a muzzle flash that will take the shine off your shoes. In that short of barrel I would prefer the K-Hornet or Bee, maybe the Wasp or Zipper.

Thanks for the input! TCMan, do you have any idea what kind of velocity I could expect from the 10 inch barrel? S4s4u, if its really loud and a big muzzle flash, maybe I could at least blind and deafin those nasty yotes and they couldn't catch any fawns!

.223 is great in a handgun, but i'd want the 14" barrel. mine is a contender super 14 factory barrel. great shooter with h322 and 50gr sierra blitz, but i havn't shot it for some time.

I have had both-- The 10" is as loud as the 14" the 10" has a huge muzzle flash--the 14" will net you another 200 FPS+ depends on the bullet--

If you are set on 10" go with the 221 the Velocity will be very close to the 223 with less flash and powder.

I have to agree with Rod and Bug, if want the 10in I would look at the 221 Rem Fireball or even the 22 Hornet

Over the years I have had two 10" .223 Contender Handguns. I gave up on both of them. The first one I had a supply of a commercial reload with 55gr. Pointed Soft Points. Accuracy wasn't too bad, but the recoil and muzzle blast were horrible for a .223. I did work up a load that shot sub MOA with 50gr. Remington Pointed Soft Points loaded with AA 2015BR. But it still wasn't all that fun to shoot and that barrel didn't last long.

Several years later I had to try another one. This time I concentrated on 40gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips. I used several powders and finally settled on a load using IMR-4198. This one actually shot quite well and the recoil and muzzle blast were more in line with what I thought a .223 should deliver. If I remember right muzzle velocity with the 40gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip was around 2800 FPS.

I have had several Super 14 .223's and a couple different Remington XP-100 .223's over the years and yes the longer barrel is the way to go in my opinion.

Larry

The .223 Contender barrel was my second barrel to purchase in 1997. I started out with a load using 50grn Hornady and 50grn Dogtown bulk bullets from MidwayUSA. I settled on a load of 25 grn of W748 and I have been shooting this load since. It runs 2560 fps from my 14" bull barrel. I found my groups to shrink and ignition to be consistant with the CCI BR4 primers. If you reload you need to pay attention to the case length or you will have some light primer hits and they will not fire. I have shot this barrel over prairie dogs until it was so hot you couldn't keep your hand on the barrel. I would let it cool and go after them again. I have taken Coyotes, Dillers, and lots of PDogs with it over the years and wouldn't take for it. I purchased a Bullberry 14" thinking I would get better groups but not enough to warrant the extra cost. Went back to the TC factory. I started with a Bushnell 2x6 scope and then went to a Burris 2x7 and have stayed with that scope. It shoots 1" groups at 100yds when I do my part.
My buddy bought a 10" cause it was cheap and after a month sold it due to the muzzle blast and it was so much louder.
My barrel doesn't shoot factory ammo very good. Too much powder.
I would stick with the 14" or a 15" Custom barrel. Good luck on your barrel.
Mike

Don't waste your time, energy or money on a 10" .223. Go for a 14" (or 15" if necessary).

I really appreciate everyones input, Thanks Guys! I am still a wondering about the noise though. I have a 15 inch 30.06 barrel that I shoot ALOT. Is a 10 inch .223 going to be worse than that? I guess if the 10 inch isn't a good idea, I need a new plan. My 30.06 would do just fine, except the guns overall length is too long for carrying the way I had in mind. I didn't want to use it to HUNT coyotes, I have some very good rifles for that. I want to use it to KILL coyotes when the opportunity presents itself while doing other outdoor type things.

http://www.jamescalhoon.com/bee.php

http://www.jamescalhoon.com/tobee2.php

Check out the above two articles. The use of these types of handloading practices is not for everyone as these types of powder build pressure really fast.

I have used these types of loads in a 10" .223 Contender with 40gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips with good results. It was also a very pleasant, fun load to shoot. However for killin coyotes I would opt for the 4198 with 40gr. Nosler Ballsitic Tip loads personally.

Larry

I've done this with my .22 Hornet,believe it or not shooting .22 cal. pellets(a varmint round for squirrels around my house).I was using a light charge of red dot powder but I won't state how much cause I don't want someone getting hurt with my experiments.