RipOne...
I have the factory stainless 26" heavy barrel in .223 for my Encore...out of the six rifles I took on my prairie dog trip last year, this became my favorite. Since I bought the gun right before I left, I didn't have time to work up any loads, so I used a standard recommended load of 28gr of WW748 and 50gr V-Maxes. It was a deadly combo...while I don't have formal target group information, I had hit after confirmed hit on varmint, most in the vicinity of 200-350 yards. Suffice it to say, I would be really surprised if I couldn't get .5 groups or better on paper.