270 or 30 TC

TheLegend2

I'm looking for information about ballistics and shocking power out of a 15" T/C Encore barrel.
I have a T/C Pro Hunter pistol 15" .270. I've been told that you don't get the full burn from the rifle cartridge out of a 15" barrel. My question is would I be better off with the 30TC barrel or would the Hornady .270 Light Mag give me as much killing ability for yardage out to 200 yds with the pistol

HandgunHTR52

What you heard about the full burn is correct. You will not get a full powder burn using a rifle cartridge in the 15" Encore barrel. That is true for the .270 and the .30 TC. The .30 TC was designed for the Thompson Center Icon rifle and therefore is a rifle cartridge. It is however a "short-action" cartridge so it will be more efficient than the .270.

Now the fine print. Both cartridges will perform just fine out to 200 yards from the 15" Encore barrel. The question is, can you? Shooting a pistol past 100 yards is much harder than shooting a rifle past 100 yards.

nononsense

TheLegend2,

Welcome to the Gunbroker forums!

The .270 Win. is really not suited to being used efficiently in a 15" barrel. It's just too much of a good thing.

The .30 T/C though can be reloaded to perform efficiently in your 15" barrel. It's very similar to the .300 Savage. It will be loud and obnoxious but efficient. You need to choose a well constructed, quality bullet that is suited to operating at lower velocities. Something along the lines of a 180 gr. Nosler Partition, Ballistic Tip or one of the Spitzers such as the 180 gr. Hornady and Speer. AA-XMR-2015 is fast enough to burn completely in the barrel even with a full case and yet work at the appropriate pressure level assigned to this cartridge.

I think you should consider the .338 Federal cartridge as being superior to the .30 T/C cartridge. Loaded with a 225 gr. Spitzer and XMR-2015 powder, you'll have all the punch you can use at 200 yards for sure. Again, it'll be loud and obnoxious but the performance will be outstanding.

Best.