Browning T-Bolt .
- Thread starter The.22guy
- Start date
I have one, bought it mainly for the novelty of the straight-pull action. I rationalized that it would act as a trainer for my Blaser R93.
Mine is a wood-stocked .22lr with the standard barrel. The gun is nicely finished and quite accurate with many standard loads, well under an inch at 50 yards. I haven't tried it at 100 yards, or done any serious testing with much premium ammo. The trigger is usable but not fantastic. Overall it is a nice, light and quick handling little gun that I enjoy shooting. I scoped it with an older Bausch & Lomb Balvar 4x scope, just to maintain its good balance and looks. I experimented and found a set of Leupold steel bases and rings, which match the finish of gun and scope, and look far better than the ugly Browning aluminum set designed for the gun.
Cons: I hate the plastic trigger guard and other bits. The magazines are very cool double-helix jobs which are very expensive and tough to find. Finally, there is a small spring visible in the action when it is open, which appears to tension the magazine in the well. This spring looks like a malfunction waiting to happen, although in truth it has caused me no problems so far, after several thousand rounds.
Mine is a wood-stocked .22lr with the standard barrel. The gun is nicely finished and quite accurate with many standard loads, well under an inch at 50 yards. I haven't tried it at 100 yards, or done any serious testing with much premium ammo. The trigger is usable but not fantastic. Overall it is a nice, light and quick handling little gun that I enjoy shooting. I scoped it with an older Bausch & Lomb Balvar 4x scope, just to maintain its good balance and looks. I experimented and found a set of Leupold steel bases and rings, which match the finish of gun and scope, and look far better than the ugly Browning aluminum set designed for the gun.
Cons: I hate the plastic trigger guard and other bits. The magazines are very cool double-helix jobs which are very expensive and tough to find. Finally, there is a small spring visible in the action when it is open, which appears to tension the magazine in the well. This spring looks like a malfunction waiting to happen, although in truth it has caused me no problems so far, after several thousand rounds.
I have a T-bolt sporter in .17HMR and in my opinion it is an excellent, well made gun. When I first bought the gun I thought the bolt was quite stiff to work but it has become nice and smooth after shooting it. The bolt lockup is very solid. The ten shot mag is very nice - it's extremely easy to load cartridges. My gun will shoot 0.5" to 1" groups at 100 yards.
I took my T-bolt on a trip to Alberta and shot hundreds of gophers without any problems. Picking gophers off at 150 yards was no problem.
I took my T-bolt on a trip to Alberta and shot hundreds of gophers without any problems. Picking gophers off at 150 yards was no problem.
I've got the T-Bolt in .22 WMR with the digital green synthetic stock (extra mag in the butt plate) and sporter barrel. I find it to be a very nice, light, trim
package that just feels good in it's structure and balance. I think I've managed to figure out which ammo it likes and I can usually get 1" or less at 100 yards
if I do my part. Every time I go to the range it comes with me because I just love shooting it. Just waiting to setup on a grassy knoll above a gopher town,
on a nice summers day and having a little fun. Of course I'd bring my 10/22 for the crafty little buggers that are closer in.
package that just feels good in it's structure and balance. I think I've managed to figure out which ammo it likes and I can usually get 1" or less at 100 yards
if I do my part. Every time I go to the range it comes with me because I just love shooting it. Just waiting to setup on a grassy knoll above a gopher town,
on a nice summers day and having a little fun.
Of course I'd bring my 10/22 for the crafty little buggers that are closer in.
blasted_saber
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- A blue part of Ontario
Ive got an old first gen Tbolt and its a beaut. Without a doubt the best rimfire ever built. I LOVE the straight pull.
I've got an older one and it is nice but I also like the design of the new mags and I hear the bolts are even smoother on the new ones as well!
I prefer metal for the most part but I can live with some plastic as long as it is strong plastic.
which leupold bases did you use that fit? i'm goona guess and say a BLR set?
- Location
- Saskatchewan
I had a .22 LR blue/wood version for about two weeks. It handled well and shot accurately but the chintzy plastic "gold" plating on the plastic trigger flaked off, so I returned it to the store where I bought it. Sometimes Wholesale Sports does the right thing! They took one look at the crappy trigger finish and gave me my money back.
Sorry, that was a while back...I don't recall what those bases were designed to fit. I believe I got the part number from a thread on Rimfire Central.
The bases are polished steel that matches the finish on the T-Bolt perfectly, and they take standard Leupold-type rings. They need to be mounted reversed, i.e. the windage-adjustable base is at the front and the rotary dovetail one is at the rear. The entire set-up is far more attractive than the ugly, matte-finish aluminum Browning unit.
John
