.22 WINCHESTER MAGNUM

In all my time in the field, the one rifle I did not see very often was the Browning T-Bolt. Unless they were there and I never noticed, the T-Bolt seems to be a rarity in the hunting fields. Not that there is anything wrong with the rifle, but with the market full of bolt-action and semiautomatic rimfire rifles, the T-Bolt has regrettably been left out of the fray in rifle reviews and gun store inventories.

- STAN TRZONIEC

We can change that right now. I have been shooting a Browning T-Bolt with a laminated gray/black stock and touted as the T-Bolt Varmint rifle. Surely, that was worth my attention as a small-game hunter, and it’s offered in the .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire along with the popular .22 Long Rifle and the .17 HMR. I was not disappointed when the rifle arrived.

History is always an important part of any firearm, and if we dig into the T-Bolt we find it was first manufactured from 1965 to 1982 in a wide variety of models including both a right- and left-handed action. Stocks included everything from composite to wood to a present day laminated stock. Interestingly, the rifle was available with a suppressor-ready carbon fiber stock along with a two-tone composite stock. A Micro Midas model is made for younger shooters. In fact, there have been too many versions to list them all here.

Resuming production in 2006, the line was toned down to about one-third that number, and each model is available in the .22 Long Rifle, .22 WMR and .17 HMR, leaving the T-Bolt with more than enough variety to go around for anyone looking for a fine rimfire rifle.

Reviewing the lineup of T-Bolt’s, Browning has listed, a Composite Sporter and Varmint, a walnut stocked Sporter in both a right- and left-handed model and a T-Bolt Target/Varmint rifle with a satin-finished checkered walnut stock. Concluding the list is the Laminated Target/Varmint rifle with a heavy stainless steel barrel. Sporter rifles have a more conservative classic stock profile with a slimmer forend. Target and varmint guns have a stock complete with a beavertail forend and a higher comb, which I find easier to use with a scope.