GUNS Magazine S&W Performance Center T/CR22 Rifle

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The Smith & Wesson Performance Center has expanded its rifle line with the addition of four new .22LR rimfire rifles.
Co-developed by the Performance Center and Thompson/Center Arms, the new T/CR22 rifles feature a lightweight stainless steel, carbon fiber wrapped barrel and ergonomic stocks in multiple color options.

The rimfire rifles operate using the reliable T/CR22 semiautomatic rifle action and 10-round rotary magazine. The rifles have compatibility with most aftermarket Ruger 10/22 parts and accessories.

The Performance Center T/CR22 is offered in four configurations: a Hogue Overmolded Thumbhole black synthetic stock and Altamont Laminated Thumbhole stocks in wood, red, or blue finish.

I chose the wood configuration for this article because of its traditional good looks.

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Integral Picatinny rail affords secure mounting of optics. The stock is also inlet
on either side so manipulating the crossbolt safety is easy.

Focus

The Performance center designed and developed this lightweight (4.7-lb.) rimfire rifle for competitive shooting and small-game hunting. A reduction in weight is achieved through the slim, ergonomic stocks and carbon fiber wrapped barrels.

The rifle’s 20″ carbon fiber barrel has a 1:15″ twist rate. The muzzle has 1/2-28 threads and is fitted with a custom Performance Center muzzle brake. Unlike any muzzle brake I can remember, it has five diagonal flutes. Four holes are drilled into each of the flutes. The brake is easily removed allowing the use of a suppressor or other muzzle device of your choice.
An integral Picatinny rail on top of the receiver affords secure mounting of optics. A large bolt handle provides easy manipulation, and the bolt itself is stainless steel.

Because the stock is laminated it shows some interesting patterns in the wood. The pistol grip area and the grasping area of the forend are checkered for a sure hold. The bottom of the forend is flat and it provides a very stable surface whether shooting off bags, a bench or a ruck.

An excellent feature are inlets machined on either side of the stock in the area of the safety. This makes manipulating the crossbolt safety to either the fire or safe position easy.

The bolt will bolt hold-open on the last shot when using factory Performance Center magazines but the bolt will not hold open when Ruger 10/22 mags are used. I really like this feature on a rimfire rifle if one is not counting their shots — this helps prevent dropping the hammer on an empty chamber that can result in a peened chamber. A manual bolt hold-open is present and the magazine release is the lever-type as used on the Ruger 10/22.

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Thumbhole laminated stock (below) is aesthetically pleasing — the pistol grip
area is checkered for a secure hold while the forestock is flat for ease of resting.

A “Feature”?

The Performance Center magazine has a “first round load assist lever.” Out of the box the lever and follower were very tight and I had some difficulty in loading the magazine. After some time it became easier to use. Unless this lever has something to do with the bolt-hold open, I can’t honestly refer to this as a “feature” because I have never had a problem loading a standard 10/22 mag.

My example had an excellent trigger — crisp and breaking consistently at 3 lbs. as measured by a Lyman Electronic Trigger Gauge with barely noticeable creep.

I took a dozen different .22LR loads with me including those from Aguila, CCI, Federal, Remington and Winchester, including both coated and uncoated bullets. Some semi-auto rimfires can be picky about their diets but the T/CR22 ate everything it was fed without a single hiccup.

I mounted a Redfield 3X9 scope to see what I could expect in accuracy. Firing from prone off a ruck at 25 yards, almost all groups were within 1.5" with a very slight edge going to the Federal 36-grain copper-plated hollowpoint.

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T/CR22 was co-developed by the S&W Performance Center and Thompson/Center Arms.
Unique muzzle brake (right) has five diagonal flutes with four holes drilled into each flute.

The factory Performance Center magazine has a “first round load assist lever”
that didn’t seem exactly helpful and Denny isn’t sure why it was added.

Quiet Down

I removed the factory muzzle brake and tried the T/CR22 with a Silencerco Warlock II .22LR silencer. Yes, I know “suppressor” is a more accurate term than “silencer,” but since Hiram Maxim patented his device as a silencer, this is how BATF refers to it and this is what it says on my paperwork so I’ll follow suit. Using the CCI Suppressor load, the rifle was almost movie-gun quiet. At 25 yards there was no impact shift between the muzzle brake and silencer.

Although the rifle can be fired wrong-handed, the comb on the stock suggests it is for right-handed shooters. A cheek weld can be achieved shooting left-handed, although it is not especially comfortable.

The new Performance Center T/CR22 rifle ships with a single 10-round detachable rotary magazine, manual, obligatory padlock and includes Thompson/Center’s limited lifetime warranty. The T/CR22 rifle with black Hogue Overmolded stock will carry an MSRP of $523 while the Altamont Laminated Thumbhole version will carry an MSRP of $642.

TCArms.com

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