Photo: The polished blue steel is an attractive contrast to the R-55 Sporter's laminated stock. |
By Greg Rodriguez
When the new crop of .17 rimfires hit the market several years ago, I wasn't sold on them. Sure, their light recoil made them fun to shoot, but too many coyotes I pulled the trigger on trotted off after taking one of those cute little 17-grain pills in the boiler room, never to be seen again.
In retrospect, I shouldn't have blamed the cartridge; I was asking too much of those light bullets. Subsequent plinking sessions with various .17 HMRs and Mach 2s softened my opinion of them, and a recent jackrabbit safari had me wanting a .17 rimfire of my own.
HM2 or HMR?
Choosing between the .17 HMR and the .17 Mach 2, both made by Hornady, required a lot of thought. A muzzle velocity of 2,550 feet per second gives the .17 HMR a considerable edge over the Mach 2, which is 450 fps slower. However, the Mach 2 appealed to me because it will fit in any standard .22 rimfire action. The .17 HMR requires a beefed-up action to handle its increased pressure.
Since I planned to use my .17 for jackrabbits, squirrels and plinking, I didn't feel the HMR's velocity advantage was warranted. I also prefer my rimfires on the lighter side, so I decided on the .17 Mach 2. From there, it was simply a matter of choosing a rifle thus chambered.
A Semiauto from T/C
Shop for a rimfire rifle long enough, and they all begin to look the same. Well, at least they did until I saw T/C's R-55 Sporter.
Target, stainless, synthetic and classic models are available, but I chose the Sporter because of its good looks and apparent useful features. The gun is also available in .22 Long Rifle.
The R-55 family features a magazine-fed semiauto action with a fixed ejector and a fairly substantial extractor housed in the right side of the bolt. The bolt is actuated by a forward-curved operating handle that offers just enough purchase for my index finger. It locks open after the last shot is fired.
Photo: The author did his initial accuracy work at 50 yards with the supplied iron sights. The rifle shot great so equipped, but he added a scope to discover the rifle's true accuracy potential. |
The Sporter's controls are fairly simple. Putting the safety in the forward position aligns the selector with a red dot that indicates the gun is ready to fire. Moving the selector by the green dot in the rear engages the safety. The magazine release is just in front of the trigger guard.Unlike other semiautos, the Sporter's 20-inch medium-contour barrel threads into the receiver for a more secure lockup. That solid, consistent lockup, combined with a match-grade barrel and a recessed target crown, make the Sporter very accurate.
The receiver is grooved and tapped for scope mounts. Don't want to mount a scope? The Sporter has adjustable iron sights with fiber-optic inserts -- a red dot in the front and a pair of green insets in the rear sight blade.The R-55's barreled action is affixed to an attractive, laminated hardwood stock with an elevated comb and cheekpiece. The fore-end is a bit beefier than I prefer on a rimfire rifle, but gives the gun a solid feel and helps it settle nicely in a sandbag rest. A trapdoor in the buttstock holds an extra magazine at the ready, and two sling-swivel studs allow for easy attachment of your favorite sling.
Field Test Results
I liked the R-55 from the moment I took it out of the box. It felt good in my hand and came to my shoulder easily. The crisp, clean trigger broke at an ounce shy of 4 pounds. The gun felt so good, I couldn't wait to play with it. So, rather than put it through a conventional test, I tossed it and a few boxes of ammunition in the cab of my truck and toted it around the ranch for a few months.
On the first outing, I fired several five-shot groups with Hornady and CCI ammunition, starting out at 25 yards to make sure the sights were on, then dialing them in at 50. Both loads shot great, but the Hornady ammo hit right on top of the front sight at 50 yards, so that became my primary load. With the rifle zeroed, I put it back in the truck and I went about my business.
Over the next few months, I shot 500 rounds through the R-55, a fact I documented by counting the empty plastic ammo boxes in the bed of my pickup. I didn't clean or lubricate the rifle in that time, yet it ran flawlessly and shot like a champ. I had no trouble nailing jackrabbits and squirrels as far as I was able to see them and align my iron sights. Those targets were easy to acquire, thanks to the gun's fiber-optic inserts. A young guide with sharper eyes than mine used the Sporter to drop several jackrabbits out to 200 yards once he figured out the hold. From 50 yards in, head shots were a breeze.
Because the R-55 shot so well with iron sights, I decided to find out what it could do with a scope. I mounted an Alpen Optics 3-9x scope, bore-sighted the gun and fired a few rounds at 25 yards to get it close. I was pleased to see several tight clusters downrange.
Photo: Thompson/Center's deluxe semiauto in .17 Mach passes the Texas truck gun test.
At 50 yards, most groups were under a half-inch, not counting the occasional 1-inch cluster. Groups at 100 yards were around the 1-inch mark, but I did manage a few smaller groups, including ones measuring .66 and .71 inch. With the scope, I was a much better shot out to 100 yards as I drove around filling feeders later that weekend.
I really like T/C's R-55 Sporter. It is an accurate, reliable rifle that carries and shoots like a real rifle should. And now that I use it for what it was intended, I am equally fond of the little .17 Mach 2, which drops jackrabbits and various and sundry varmints like lightning. I was pleased that the R-55 shot so well from the bench, but it doesn't matter much in the grand scheme of things. After all, the R-55 Sporter proved itself where it counts most in my book -- in the field.
--Greg Rodriguez
GunHunter Magazine -- November 2007
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