Comparison of T/C and savage?

I enjoy my Striker, it seems relatively well balanced, all things considered. I have not owned an Encore but have shot them in a couple of different calibers a bit. The Encore seemed to be a bit nose hevy to me which I guess is to be expected with a 14" barrel and a rear grip. The wood grips were a little large for my hand but not objectionable. I did not like the rubber grips that much but then I don't care for them a whole lot anyways. The rubber grips seemed to scrape against my hand a lot more than the wood but then that might have been due to the caliber, 30/06 for the rubber vs 7mm/08 in wood. I did own a Contender for a bit, it was much the same as the Encore as far as balance but was a lighter a frame and not so much of a handful. It's "drawback" was not being able to handle the larger, high pressure cartridges that the Encore is capable of. This was negated by the advantage of a smaller framed, somewhat lighter gun in my eyes.
Using sticks is a good idea, buy the bipod and not the monopod. The single stick is as tough to balance as off hand at best and often worse. The two leg models are much easier to hold steady and aren't any harder to carry. I have a bipod mounted on my Striker which is nice for the stand and antelope hunting for which I've used it most often. In any event, a rest of some type is a necessity with any of these pistols, more so than with a rifle or standard handgun.

I bought a monopod first so I know what you mean. It still works well if it can be rested against something, I use the monopod with ground blinds and lean it agains the shooting rail. The ladder stands I have have too arge of openings in the floor weave and the foot will fall through. My current bipod is one I picked up from Cabela's as it was the least expensive one I could find. It is pretty decent but is best from a fixed position like a stand as it does take a fair bit of fooling around to get the length right. If I were carrying one in a still hunting or stalking situation I think I would rather use the Safari Stix type rest. They are long enough to use standing but the height is determined by the distance the legs are spread. It seems quicker to use than the telescoping styles in the little I've used them. I also made a set of similar sticks by using a pair of large dowels and a small bungee cord. It isn't as polished looking and is a little thicker than the Safari Stix but works well enough and was cheap. I've got two more days to hunt in WI and then my big game season will be mostly over.