I owned the Katahdin in 45-70 and really liked it. The rifle was "The Perfect" treestand rifle; short, light and plenty of med/moderate range power. The 45-70 is said to be more accurate than the 50 S&W in the T/C but I never owned the 50 so can not attest to that. Killed bears and hogs with no problem.

 

I saw a T/C Encore in .45-70 at a Pawn & Gun Shop, in WV, in January, for $450.00.

It was in really good shape other than the fact that someone had removed the scope/mount and didn't replace the filler screws.

I would think that with a rifle that light, it's gotta 'thump' your shoulder!
What was it I read, here on MO. . . . "It kills on one end and maims on the other." Yep. That would be appropriate. ;D

 

I like those lil rifles too...and have looked at them several times on the net, but I can't seem to find a reliable answer on what level of pressure that action will take.

Will it handle "Marlin loads" at 40,000 cup?

 

Well the pro hunter kat comes with the flex tec stock. Suppose to really help with recoil.

 

I like those lil rifles too...and have looked at them several times on the net, but I can't seem to find a reliable answer on what level of pressure that action will take.

Will it handle "Marlin loads" at 40,000 cup?

I have a 24" standard taper regular Encore barrel in 45/70. I call T/C some years ago asking about the pressure levels for it and their reply was "modern lever action loads". I am having no problem with them, however with the snythetic stock and forearm you do feel the recoil, even with a Limbsaver recoil pad.

I also have a 18" Katahdin 12 gauge barrel that I shoot 3" magnum 2 oz. turkey loads with that same stock and frame and the 45/70 is quite a bit tamer.

 

I have a 20" 500Mag barrel - quite shootable, it will do 1.5-2" at 100. It's out of commission at the moment as my daughter's fiance was using at last fall and didn't have it tied well and as he was lowering it from the stand the knot let go and it hit on the scope when it fell. The mount is now loose - 2 of the holes are stripped out and it is at the gunsmith to be redrilled and tapped. Don't know about the scope yet; I'm going to put it on a 22lr and see what happens.

 

Is he still welcome into the family?

 

Yeah, he's actually a really good kid. He just needs a few more years under his belt.

 

I like those lil rifles too...and have looked at them several times on the net, but I can't seem to find a reliable answer on what level of pressure that action will take.

Will it handle "Marlin loads" at 40,000 cup?

I shot Marlin level loads all the time without incident. The Encore can handle much higher pressure loads and is chambered for some formidable cartridges. One inch groups @ 100yds are possible with favored loads. I had the forearm shimmed down and the trigger redone by Bellum TC. Other than that the rifle was stock.

Notice that I said that I "had one"? I traded it in on my 1895 SBL - aren't you all proud of me? ;D : ;D LOL

 

This will be my next gun purchase

 

Found this old thread. Thinking seriously about getting the 45-70 Katahdin barrel to go along with my .50 cal Pro Hunter. Ridgerunner, did you end up getting one? Anyone have any other comments to add? There's a couple of positives I think. I like that it comes with fiberoptic sights. It's short and handy (packable). And I have read that rimmed cartridges do well in the break-open actions.

Anything else to add, good or bad?

 

I have a brand new Encore Pro Hunter .45-.70 Kat I am thinking about selling,never fired it....I am in a wheelchair and am thinking it might be too light of a rifle for me to shoot without dislocating my shoulder....

 

I shoot Encores all the time, but in pistols, including the 7mm-08 and the 30-06. In both cases, it will outshoot my rifles. Very strong action.

 

charlie ny

that's a good looking little rifle looks like it does a good job on hogs

 

The 45-70 does a good a job of dispatching pigs and bears, even in the little Kahtadin package. As much as I enjoyed the rifle, I am happy to have a quick second shot available in my 1895. I have put a second round on a large black bear more than once. It's not that it was really necessary, it was just to end it all quickly when it didn't die instantly.

 

I originally bought the T/C Encore with 24" barrel in 45/70 (brand new at $450, thought it a fair price), but found it too light in weight for substantial 45/70 loads. The barrel was traded off in a Marlin 1894 trade and cash. Currently the receiver spends time with a MGM .22 Hornet barrel (very accurate) and a un-tested .357 Remington Maximum barrel. I'll agree in the original configuration, a nice compact set up for a tree stand. I'd much rather shoot heavy 45/70 loads from my 1895. If I go the single shot route again in this caliber again, it'll be in a Ruger No. 1.

 

I have a Prohunter with two barrels in 30-06 and 375H&H both barrels were shortened from 28" to 22" makes a nice short compact hunting rifle but I have a desire for a 15" - 18" 45-70 barrel. In Canada it is legal to install short barrels onto our long guns as long as the overall length is greater than 26" and the barrel was manufactured to the shorter lengths, you cannot shorten a long barrel shorter than 18.5" that would be illegal. I would load my Marlin 1895GS 45-70 loads and use this combo for a light camp/backpack defense and occasional hunting combo.

 

I have the TC Pro Hunter Katahdin in 45/70 and it is a great little rifle. I use mine with a Leupold 2X7 scope and a Burris FastFire II. I interchange them based on what sort of cover I'm hunting or just what suits for the day. The l4ittle carbine with the Burris FF on it is extremely handy, light and accurate.
I shoot Hoanady LE 325's, Federal Blue Box 300 gr. HPs and HSM 400 gr. Speer loads and they all are very accurate from this barrel, with the Hornady being the most accurate. All groups within 11/4" and the Hornady will put 5 shots into one raged hole at 100 yds.
The accuracy of this little gun exceeds any of my other TC Encore barrels.
Great hunting carbine.

 

I have the T/C Contender Carbine. It's the early (first) model and in a different caliber(s).

I love it. It's very light and easily carried. I've been looking for the .45-70 barrel for it with no luck.

The Encore model is a beefed-up version and will handle high-pressure calibers that the Contender Carbine would not (eg. .270 and .308.)

It is very accurate and well made - just like all T/C products.

 

Sorry guys but I'm going to revive this old thread... :star:

Several years ago I purchased a 24" stainless Encore barrel in 45-70 figured one day I'd have the barrel shortened to 19" but I never got around to it.

At the time I already had a 18.5" Marlin 1895GS, 22" T/C Custom Shop Contender barrel and a T/C Super 14 Contender barrel all in 45-70.

I tried some of my 525gr Piledriver @ 1600fps Marlin loads in it to say recoil in this light combo was substantial is an understatement found I hardly ever shot this combo usually grabbed the other ones first so I sold the Encore barrel.

A few months ago I also sold my Super 14 Contender 45-70 barrel but always found myself wanting another 45-70 then today I came across a brand new still in its package 20" KATAHDIN 45-70 barrel in Canada where I am these barrels go for $525.00 plus 12% tax and shipping bringing it close to $600 just for the barrel I found this one for $350 shipped so couldn't pass it up.

Plan is to load up only 460gr Cast Performance WLNGC's for it I'll only push the velocity to comfortable recoil levels I'll be installing a Leupold Vari x 111 or VX3 1.5-5x scope.

 

Barrels here but now I need a larger barrel channel forend for the Katahdin barrel...

Also looking for H322 data for the Cast Performance 460gr bullets.

 

Forend is on its way...

I've also bought a Leupold DD scope base my buddy has 1" med extended rings so if my old eyes can't focus on the ghost ring/post sights I'll be mounting either an older Vari X 111 1.5-5x20mm or an almost new Leupold VX3 1.5-5x20mm scope.

 

I now have the rifle all together and have had a chance to shoot it a few times with the factory front red fiber optic sight and the factory rear ghost ring sight.

From factory the sights with 300gr TTSX hit 3" high and 2" left @ 88 yards the 525gr hit 2" low and 2" left I adjusted the rear sight but my eyes are definitely giving me issues.

I'm good out to 100 yards with these sights but I want better so this afternoon I removed the rear ghost ring sight and installed a Leupold DD scope base with a Leupold low 1/2" extended 1" DD front ring and standard DD rear ring.

I then installed a Leupold VX2 1-4x20mm duplex reticle scope I would have preferred to have medium height rings but these were given to me so I'll use them for now.

Shooting my top Marlin 1895GS 350gr Swift A-Frame loads recoil is very manageable but stepping up to my 525gr Piledriver's and 550gr Crater's while doable is a little breath taking in the recoil department.

I'll get out with some 325gr FTX to get the scope close I'll then zero it with my 350gr A-Frame loads I'm thinking these will be my go to bullet for this rifle.

On the way home this morning I called my local bullet supplier he had one box of 50 350gr Swift A-Frame bullets so I headed over and picked them up.

I also have a box of 50 460gr Cast Performance bullets that will be loaded for this rifle combo.

 

I have the Katahdin in 45-70 and love it. It is a light rifle so the recoil is stout but it is manageable. The flex in the stock does help. They can take the pressures of a Ruger No. 1 but no reason to load that stout. It can be used as primitive rifle in Mississippi and Louisiana. The T/C has one of the worst triggers of any rifle I have ever owned. It's almost funny how bad it is.

Bellum TC, as Charlie-NY discussed above, has a great upgrade and it can be done with minimal skills. O

ne if the easier trigger upgrades and with great instructions. I put a 1-4 20mm Leupold VX Hog and really like it. I just picked up a used 308 barrel for it for $100. Good luck.​

 

I weighed it yesterday = this 45-70 combo with Leupold DD scope base and rings, VX2 1-4x20mm scope weighs in at a hefty 7.3lbs