When the TCR first was advertised, I really wanted one, and sometime later I actually had the $$$!!!

BUT (Mikes' big butt) I hated the safety and knew that when hunting in close cover that safety was going to be OFF. Even I know that's a bad idea.

And I just couldn't get used to the stock. Some love it, but it just felt wrong to me and I've learned to trust my muscles, nerves, and skin when it comes to "using guns." Your eyes, brain, and pocketbook are much less reliable guides when it comes to actually having to SHOOT something with the firestick.

In contrast, the aforementioned Savage 219 has always felt very comfortable to me, and I think it may be because the 219 and the 220 shotgun share a common stock. In general, I prefer a rifle with a shotgun-like stock to a shotgun with a rifle-like stock (given that both are good designs in the first place). Shotgun stocks take recoil into account, especially singles--they have to. And they are designed to be mounted smoothly and very quickly--they have to be.

I have a 220 20 guage with a 219 .22 Hornet barrel that is slick as snot, and have had a bunch of other combinations of rifle and shotgun, including a 16 with a .30-40 Krag barrel. The safety is in the right place for hunting, too--right under your thumb.

I have a couple of "Savage" O/U rifle and shotgun combination guns made in Finland by Valmet, and they have shotgun-like stocks which work fine with the rifle barrels. Very natural feel for both rifle and shotgun shooting (12 ga over .308 and 12 ga over .222 Rem).


Was Mike Armstrong. Got logged off; couldn't log back on. RE-registered my old call sign, Mesa.
FNG. Again.
Mike Armstrong