T/C’S NEW DIMENSION Jon R. Sundra
T/C’s Dimension as tested in 223 Remington with a Pentax Gameseeker 30 6-24x50 scope in Warne QD lever rings weighed 9 pounds even.
he idea of having one basic rifle that accepts user-inter- changeable barrels of different caliber is intriguing to a lot of hunters, especially if it allows switching between cartridge families. You have to acknowledge that being able to have a 204 Ruger one min- ute, and a 243 … or a 270 Win. … or a 7mm Rem. Magnum the next, is going to appeal to those who want versatility without having to invest in several different rifles. And it’s especially appealing if you can have those accessory barrels fitted with a pre-mounted scope already zeroed in. On paper it sounds pretty good, but
T
heretofore no major domestic firearms manufacturer has offered such a rifle, at least not in a bolt action. It’s true that Thompson/Center has been making barrel-interchangeable rifles since the mid-1980s, starting with the Contender Carbine, followed by the TCR 83 and 87, but those are break-open single-shots, as is T/C’s current model, the Encore Pro
Hunter. So if any U.S. gun maker has at least a handle on the marketability of the switch barrel rifle, the T/C people do. However, we’re talking two entirely dif- ferent markets here. I mean, a guy doesn’t agonize between buying an Encore Pro Hunter, or a bolt-action rifle. It’s like saying you’ve narrowed your choices to either a Chevy Suburban or a Corvette. Not only is the bolt-action market differ- ent from that of the single-shot, it’s a much larger market as well.
Which brings us to the Dimension, T/C’s new, switch-barrel bolt action. To say this rifle is distinctively styled would be understatement. For one thing, the butt section reminds me of the Bavarian humpback stocks that are popular in Eu- rope. Instead of using a Monte Carlo dip to lower the butt in relation to the comb, the latter is a downward curve from the point of the comb to the heel of the butt. Moreover, this same curved-line treat- ment is used for the toe line that runs from
the bottom of the grip back to the butt. I suppose you could characterize the visual effect as being a “drooping” butt stock. Up front, the fore-end section of the
stock wants nothing to do with the barrel, as the latter is free floated with a gap big enough to drive a Buick through. And at the stock’s mid-section is an eye-drawing barrel lock ring which is so deeply serrated that it looks like a gear; that’s because it is a gear, and those ser- rations are actually gear teeth. But we’ll get to that in a minute.
In this first year of its life, the Di- mension is being offered in 11 calibers, broken down into four “Series,” as T/C has labeled them. To switch to another caliber within the same series requires nothing but an accessory barrel. Our test gun wore a 223 Rem. pipe, and as such belongs to the A-Series of which the 204 Ruger is the only other member. Series B consists of the 22-250, 243, 7mm-08 and 308 Win. Series C is comprised of the 270
One side of the 2-sided torque wrench tool fits the action screws and tightens them to the same torque values as used for the barrel lock ring.
Page 108 Winter 2013
The V-block is attached via the forward action screw hole and serves as a pivot point for the gear/torque tool that tightens and loosens the barrel lock ring.
The Dimension’s one-piece polycarbonate magazine is a superb example of the genre. It’s easy to charge, light in weight, rugged, and quieter than a steel counterpart.
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