Custom Big Bore Encore Rifles

I have always loved the old British Nitro Express cartridges since I read my first African Safari book and dreamed of hunting Elephant, Buffalo and Lion.

There's something about the long big bore Nitro cartridges that takes you back to the early 1900's and the hunt for Ivory. The British Nitro cartridges have a ton of history behind them and stopped 1000's of Elephants in their tracks with their 480 grain solids at 2,150 fps.

Unless you can afford a double rifle or custom falling block rifle, there is no way to own a rifle chambered for the 450/400 Nitro, 450 Nitro, 470 Nitro, 475 Nitro or the 500 Nitro. You could only dream about owning one. Until NOW!

You can own and shoot a rifle chambered in just about any Nitro Express round with the exception of the 577 Nitro and 600 Nitro..and the 700 Nitro. The Thompson Center Encore can be chambered in most of the British Nitro Express rounds via a custom barrel. You can get a Big 5 custom Encore barrel in 450/400, 450 Nitro, 470 Nitro and the 500 Nitro for a lot less than a double rifle.

And now Hornady is producing ammunition for some of the Nitro Express rounds and unprimed brass too. Hornady is now producing ammo for the 450/400, 450 Nitro, 470 Nitro and soon the 500 Nitro.

One of the best features of the Big 5 Encore is the way it handles recoil. The Big 5 Encore rifle enables just about anyone to handle a 470 Nitro or 500 Nitro.

The custom thumbhole stock and custom heavy weight barrel with muzzle brake make the Big 5 Encore very easy to shoot. Recoil is reduced by more than 65%. The 375 H&H feels like a 30-06. Even the 458 Winchester Magnum is easy to shoot with it's 500 grain bullet at 2,150 fps.

Most people think muzzle brakes are muzzle brakes. But they all are not equal.

The most common muzzle brakes are the radially ported design which consists of 20 or 30 holes drilled into the barrel to allow gases to escape and therefore reducing the rocket effect. These are the least effective.

The most effective muzzle brakes are those with 3 or more baffles. These baffles not only redirect gases outward but also provide forward thrust as gasses hit the sides of the baffle similar to an airport blast fence. Baffle muzzle brakes reduce the rocket effect and counter recoil forces at the same time.

Baffle muzzle brakes are the most effective and can reduce felt recoil by as much as 55% depending on the cartridge.

If you have ever shot a big bore, you know what it feels like when you send a heavy bullet down the barrel at over 2,000 fps. Ouch...It hurts!

Most factory big bore rifles have stocks that are not optimized for handling heavy recoil. You need a properly designed butt stock and an effective recoil pad.

I designed a custom stock for the Big 5 Encore rifle that will reduce recoil as much as 30%. First I start with a stock design that handles recoil really well and that is the thumbhole sporter stock.

In the Encore rifle, the thumbhole sporter stock has the strength to withstand heavy recoil and distribute it correctly. Next I install 2 mercury recoil reducers into the butt stock to increase the weight and further reduce recoil via a liquid metal inside the cylinder absorbing recoil energy.

The last modification is to install the best recoil pad made for heavy kicking rifles...the Kick Eez Magnum recoil pad. It's made from a special material, sorbothane that absorbs recoil like a sponge and does not bottom out like other soft recoil pads. The Kick Eez Magnum recoil pad is 1.375" thick.

These custom Encore stocks make heavy kickers like the 458 Winchester Magnum pleasant to shoot.