Encore Forum: Home of the Thompson Center Encore
Shooting the .375 Winchester using the Thompson Center Encore platform
Here in Ohio, during Deer gun season; we are limited to Shotgun’s, muzzleloading rifles and shotguns, and pistols with a 5″ or longer barrel that shoot a straight walled cartridge that is .357″ or larger.
15″ .375 Winchester Encore Barrel
An often overlooked cartridge for use in a pistol is the .375 Winchester. A hidden treasure of the straight-walled cartridge world. The .375 Winchester has the same trajectory characteristics of the .30-30 with a significant improvement on killing
power.
Photo of two .375 Winchester rifle cartridges with others for comparison. Left to right: 8mm Mauser, .308 Winchester, .375 Winchester, .22 Long Rifle. Foreground: .375 Winchester.
Out of my 15″ Thompson Center Encore barrel, I’m seeing loads operate between 1,500 and 2,000 fps while generating a ton of energy.
Barnes Bullets .375 Winchester Ballistics
Compared to the .30-30, the .357 Winchester offers enough down-range kinetic energy to kill any white-tailed deer or black bear on the planet.
Barnes Bullets .375 Winchester Ballistics
Shooting a 240gr Hornady Bullet riding on the fumes of some freshly burnt Reloader 7, the recoil is similar to that of a .41 Magnum pistol.
As you can see, April has no problem handling the recoil of the .357 Winchester using the Thompson Center Encore.
The .357 Winchester also offers unrivaled accuracy using the 15″ Encore barrel.
15″ Encore Barrel .375 Winchester Accuracy
Here you can see a 100 yard group out of the 15″ TC Encore barrel.
Questions? Feedback? Use the form below or email me at eric(at)sarakaitis.com
Tags: .375 Winchester, Encore Barrel, Encore Pistol, TC Encore, Thompson Center, Thompson Center Encore
6 Responses to “Shooting the .375 Winchester using the Thompson Center Encore platform”
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April told me last night that this was her second favorite gun to shoot after the .22 LR
Each time it kept saying 357 instead of 375
The only issue is the scarcity of ammunition. No one makes them.
Basically the .375 Winchester is a souped up version of the ancient
.38-55 black powder round. If you do manage to find any ammo…it is
very expensive. There are much better options around for hunting…the
.357 Maximum and the 7-30 Water’s come to mind.
Commercial availability was not part of the discussion 🙂 however, hand loading specifically was
Contrary to popular belief, Winchester Ammo mfg by Olin does in fact still makes .375 Winchester Ammo. The only down side, they only do it for short periods and limited runs. Recently I was able to get my hand on 10 full boxes of nearly manufactured 375 Winchester at a price that would bring tears to your eyes. NO! It is not for sale or trade.
“As you can see, April has no problem handling the recoil of the .375 Winchester”
Didn’t look that way to me, she looks scared to death and glad it was over… lol