Thompson/Center advice on new Encore sought....

by Brian A, Monday, May 20, 2013, 17:15 (4150 days ago)

A while back I received a new Encore from the factory, after paying them some additional money to upgrade after the Black Diamond muzzleloader I had sent in for service was deemed unrepairable. Decided to load it up and try it out, fired a Remington 209 primer to clear oil out of the breech plug as recommended, and the firing pin pierced it. The indentation seemed rather deep, but decided to give it another try, and got the same result.

Decided to measure the firing pin protrusion by holding it forward, flush with the rear of the frame, and it measured 0.057", which is good. Tried a CCI primer with the same result, then tried a Winchester primer and the action would not lock up sufficiently to allow the hammer to cock. Measured the headspace by putting a feeler gauge between the barrel and breech face and it would not accept a 0.001" gauge. Also measured the amount of breech face standing proud of the action and, while a bit difficult to measure accurately, it seems to be standing up approximately 0.010".

I called Mike Bellm based on a recommendation from a friend and he suggested blunting the tip of the firing pin so it has broader contact. I also called the factory and they want me to send it back to them, on their dime.

While I had it apart to measure everything, pulled the breech face and firing pin out of the action. With those out, I pushed the pin into the breech face and measured the protrusion at 0.140". The factory will not discuss measurements with me and what may be within tolerance or not, they just want me to box it back up and send it to them.

I am a little afraid to mess with a new rifle that has never fired a shot, for fear of voiding the warranty. I am also a bit hesitant to send a rifle that may just require a simple fix, back to the factory. What would y'all recommend?

This seems to be an ongoing thing with me, I have not purchased a new firearm (from any manufacturer) yet which has not had to go back to the factory for service at least once, before it worked properly.