Thompson R55 Benchmark as a gopher-mower. Good idea?

[.22LRGUY]

Hey guys...I feel a rifle purchase coming on, and no replies to my WTB ad for a 17M2 NEF Sportster. Yet. I realize a break-barrel 17M2 is vastly different than an R55 Benchmark, but they're 2 guns I've always wanted to own. Having never even held an R55 Benchmark, I've done a ton of reading about them online (RFC) and watched a few YouTube videos, etc. I'm left with the impression that they can be fussy guns, but if you get a good one and figure-out what it likes to eat...it's accuracy is impressive. However, my gut tells me a gopher patch isn't the best place for a gun like this.

Do any of you use an R55 (in any of the 3 models) to hunt with? Anybody use one for gophers? Ever gummed one up enough that it stopped functioning and required cleaning in the field?

 

[Mr. Friendly]

of course an R55 would be a good gopher getter. now you'll have quicker follow up shots on adjacent targets.

 

[BCRider]

Make sure you can find extra magazines for them. A buddy has one. It's a simply amazing gun for accuracy. Even shoots cheap ammo better than many other rifles do with the same stuff. But he has had no luck at all finding larger magazines or even any extra 10 round mags.

The good news on gumming up is that the rifle is about as tolerant of fouling as a 10/22. Which pretty much means they just sit there looking at you with a dirty mouth asking "what fouling?".....

 

[Hitzy]

Cabellas has mags....
htt p://www.cabelas.ca/product/4835/thompsoncenter-r-55-magazines

 

[symphony]

I own five T/C R-55s, two Benchmarks and three All-Weather (AW) versions. Without a doubt one of the best and most accurate semi-auto rimfire rifles I’ve owned. The reliability has been excellent with the occasional FTF but I would chalk that up to inconsistencies that comes with using some cheaper ammo. I find I need to clean mine after about a brick of ammo as the last-shot bolt hold-open will not function properly as soot builds up. Field stripping and cleaning the rifle is not that bad but there are small trigger and recoil rail screws that can easily get lost.

If you are looking for a hunting rifle, I would suggest that you attempt to find the AW version as it’s lighter and is better suited for field applications. The Benchmark better suited for benchrest shooting as the stock has a flat fore arm and the shorter bull-barrel makes off-hand shooting more awkward. If you’re primarily hunting varmints off a shooting table then the Benchmark is not a bad option as you can easily mount a bipod or shoot it off a rest.

If you purchase a used one, watch out for the dreaded chamber chip. There are reports that the chamber chipping problems were fixed with the second generation (R-55) versions but this is not the case. There is a simple extractor fix that requires you to file the extractor slightly.

I believe the R-55s were discontinued a few years back but you can occasionally find a NIB on EE.

 

[dizzy]

22 its a great gopher mower. I have owned a bunch, sold them off, regrettably. The issue with the Thompson Centers is the angle of the feed ramp in the magazine. One you become one with your file, and get the angle right, feeding issues disappear. The chamber is tight, as they are using match grade shillen barrels on these rifles. TC makes its own barrels but for some reason they put shillen's on the R-55, and yes they are match accurate.

I have modified countless magazines and once modified they would improve the performance of every R-55, feeding performance. One other little tidbit, is you really need to use ammo with smooth projectiles, if there are little ribs around the circumference of the bulltet that would cause issues, it stuck with cci minimags, and target ammo and never ever had issues.

Hope this helps you and others running TC''s