The New Switcheroo

T/C's Dimension delivers affordable versatility

By Wayne van Zwoll

 

You can pick from 10 chamberings this year--not that you must stick to one. Choose all 10, if you like. T/C's newest, most innovative rifle gives a shooter a broad choice of barrels he can change at will. The 7075 alloy receiver is really just a shell for the bolt, magazine, and trigger group. The fluted bolt locks directly to a barrel extension. Two guard screws, in alloy sleeves and torqued by a supplied wrench, hold the injection-molded polymer stock to barrel and tang. Bedding? There's an alloy block up front, a pillar in the rear. To maintain zero during barrel changes, the scope becomes part of the rifle's barrel unit with an optional cantilever mount. A rear set screw affords added stability through a wedge on the receiver's bridge.

Detachable magazine groups, with bolt and barrel, can be changed to accommodate different calibers in T/C's new switch-barrel Dimension.

Okay. It's different. But what does all that engineering mean? In sum: versatility at a modest cost. Takedown rifles date back a century. Switch-barrel bolt-actions came later, but they're far dearer. If your customer is keeping Junior in college or feeding him at home until he finds a job, he might well prefer the Dimension at $649. Additional barrels are just $199, with magazine group (box and housing). That's all the change needed within cartridge families.

Of course, you'll swap more than the barrel when you switch from .223 to .300 Winchester. To give you that sweep of chamberings, T/C designed the Dimension in four lengths. The length here is not the receiver (there's only one!); it's the bolt throw. Choose .223-length, short (.308), long (.30/06), and magnum. Bolts to fit different cartridge head diameters cost just $129, complete. There's no danger of mismatching bolt and barrel. If that happens, the bolt won't close.

The Dimension wears a user-friendly trigger that adjusts from 3 1/2 to 5 pounds. The safety is a two-position side-mounted lever. Barrels are chrome-moly with 5-R rifling, 22- and 24-inch, depending on chambering. The stock, with ventilated recoil pad and Armorsoft coating, includes colored spacers to change length. Its wide barrel channel accepts a range of barrel diameters.

T/C packages each Dimension with a couple of simple tools. One has a gear wheel that matches up with a knurled ring on the barrel. Use it in tandem with the other tool (which also fits guard and mount screws) to torque the ring. The forward guard screw goes through the receiver and threads into the barrel itself.

Sealing the Deal Sitting vertically in your rack, the T/C Dimension looks much like other black-synthetic-stocked bolt rifles. The important difference is its switch-barrel capability. Show that with a display of several barrels--on ammo boxes to spark interest. A series of targets from different barrels on one receiver should convince accuracy buffs. A scope on the cantilever mount answers many questions--and gives customers a proper look when cheeking this high-combed rifle. Don't hide the price! It may be the Dimension's most compelling feature.

With a .308 barrel, I put three 150-grain Hornadys into a quarter-inch knot. To see the effect of switching barrels on group centers, I changed out a .223 barrel three times. Groups fired after each swap stayed in the same place (centers were less than a minute apart). The biggest measured an inch, the smallest not much over half that. T/C won't guarantee such repeatability; it does set a 1-minute accuracy standard.

Although the Dimension's futuristic look might nettle curmudgeons who cut their teeth on Griffin & Howe sporters, this rifle promises better accuracy at a fraction of the price of classic rifles--even those without switch-barrel capability.

(866-730-1614; tcarms.com)