Shown here the Dimension is broken down to its seven basic components.
adjustable trigger can be set down to 3¹⁄₂ lbs. As it was, ours broke at 3³⁄₄ lbs., which is too stiff for my liking, but I left it alone because it was crisp and there was no discernible creep. All in all, a good trigger. Like all fat-bolt actions which require no lug raceways – just a round hole in the receiver – the tolerance between the two can be kept to a mere few thousandths of an inch. The result is a very smooth, wobble-free bolt glide, but after I applied a little Break Free, it got even smoother. Normally, the shorter bolt rotation of a 3-lug action requires more cocking effort, i.e., a stiffer handle lift, but this action was better than most in that regard. With the 223 Rem. barrel having
The receiver tang sits on an aluminum pillar, and the receiver ring on a steel V-block.
base. A 5R land has sloping sides which, by eliminating those sharp corners, reduc- es copper fouling and makes bore clean- ing easier. I’m not sure there’s anything intuitively superior to having opposing lands and grooves, but the sharp corner thing makes sense. In fact, I’ve always thought that buttressed or ratchet rifling made more sense than conventional ri- fling, but that’s another story. The Dimension comes standard
with pre-installed Weaver-type scope ring bases, but each barrel has a short dovetail machined into its top surface just ahead of the receiver ring that accepts an optional cantilever base. This of course allows for having a pre-mounted and pre-zeroed scope with each accessory barrel, thereby taking full advantage of the gun’s versatil- ity. You can be shooting prairie rats with a 204 Ruger in the morning, and mule deer in the afternoon without having to re-zero. Getting back to the stock for a mo-
ment, between its butt end and its highly effective recoil pad are spacers that allow 1" of pull length adjustment. The point of the comb is so high that there’s a groove in it for bolt clearance. Even then, removing
Remington 55-gr. Accu-Tip Hornady 55-gr. V-Max Federal 50-gr. Speer TNT Black Hills 62-gr. Barnes TSX
Page 110 Winter 2013
The barrel shank is a slip fit with the receiver. An index pin assures the barrel cannot be mated improperly.
the bolt takes a bit of manipulation of the bolt handle to clear the comb. Rubberized panels on the grip and fore-end provide comfortable and effective purchase for the hands, and the trigger guard bow is integral with the stock. A three-round detachable magazine
is standard in all calibers, and it’s an ex- cellent one. The entire box – front, sides, and bottom – are one piece of molded polycarbonate, including the feed lips. Only the follower, which also is of poly- carbonate, and the spring that powers it, are separate components. I’m a big fan of this type magazine. The feed lips can’t be bent by a fall onto a hard surface, the box is virtually indestructible, and weighs less than half what a sheet steel counterpart would. I suspect this magazine is the same as used in the Venture. As the test gun came from the box,
it weighed 7¹⁄₄ lbs., which is 4 oz. more than stated in the catalog. For testing we mounted a Pentax Gameseeker 30 6-24x50 scope in Warne 30mm QD lever rings. With the Pentax aboard, the test gun weighed 9 lbs. even. The two-position side safety blocks the sear, and the user-
Largest Group Smallest Group Average 100 Yds. 1.9"
1.65" 2.0"
1.55"
0.92" 1.40" 1.35" 1.10"
1.35" 1.50" 1.85" 1.30"
the standard 1:12" twist, we limited our ammo selection to a max of 62 grains. T/C claims three-shot MOA accuracy with “premium ammunition,” but that shouldn’t be interpreted as meaning any and all premium loads. I figured that if one of the four loads chosen punched at least one sub-MOA group out of three, it could be considered as qualifying. As can be seen from the table below, one load did, and one came close. Considered there are probably 100 more factory loads out there for the 223 Rem., I’m sure a good many of them will produce MOA accuracy with relative consistency. I can count on a couple of fingers
how many bolt action rifles have come out of Germany over the last 20 years that have not offered barrel/caliber interchangeability. It’s a big thing over there because accessory barrels are not licensed/taxed like a new rifle would be. American hunters have a different mindset. If you’re a rifle geek like me, you’d much rather go through the agony and ecstasy of choosing a whole new rifle, caliber and scope. It’s just more fun than switching a barrel because it’s still the same rifle no matter how many accessory barrels you have. But that’s the way it has been. Now that we have an American manufacturer offering an affordable bolt action rifle that has this same feature that is so prized in Europe, we’ll soon know what its potential is here. How affordable you ask? The Di-
mension carries an MSRP of $659 in all calibers, with an accessory barrel group going for $199 including magazine and magazine housing, and a bolt for $129.
www.tcarms.com
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