I shoot the Encore a lot with a variety of barrels. Bottom line is that they are more accurate than most guys expect, they are reliable, they can be tuned up a bit (triggers), and they are very versatile shooting systems.
Suggest the T/C wrist band, get one and it fits onto the stock so you have two extra shots on the rifle when you are hunting.
Suggest the steel Warne made one piece base and epoxy the sucker in place, then you won't worry about the base again. We use Marine Tex for that, it is next to permanent.
Does your rifle have the Limbsaver recoil pad? If not, order one from T/C and replace it, they are amazing for recoil reduction. How did I figure that one out? Have an Encore in .416 Rigby, it is a hard kicker... Got some pre-fitted Limbsavers and they are easy to install.
Good luck with your new rifle. I also have a .300 Win. and you are right, they kick. Mine shoots around 1.0"-1.5" for five shots at 100, has done better with Black Hills Match ammo with 190 match bullets. Would hunt with them anytime.
A friend just made and installed some alluminum pillars for my forend, but so far we cannot find appropriate screws to re-attach the **** thing. Hoping to get better accuracy as he also put bedding compound in the forend to make it fit nice and even to the barrel.
Understand that you should never dry-fire an Encore, hard on them apparently. Do a search on T/C Encore and you will find some great info sites, some companies do a lot of aftermarket work on them.
