Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters T/C Icon, anybody want to spill the beans?

Hello All,

I just saw, on their respective web sites, the new Hornady catridge the T/C 30 and the new T/C Icon bolt gun to chamber it. Is Hornady the only ammunition company with a busy R&D department? Has anybody seen, touched, felt, and shot the new T/C Icon and can speak about it?

Thanks,

Woodsloafer
www.woodsloafer.com

I saw one this past Monday but was not allowed to touch it! From what I saw it looks pretty nice but of course this was a prototype we will have to wait and see if production guns are this nice.

I also looked at the 30TC cartridge and can't really get to excited about it.

One other interesting cartridge I saw was a 300 Weatherby rimed! It was a Horandy round and it looked nothing like a regular 300 Weatherby. It was much longer with a very tapered body and a very slight shoulder, nothing like the radiused shoulder on the regular Weatherby. I can understand this rimmed design being nice for a single shot or double but that is not something Weatherby ever had. Perhaps we will be seeing a new gun from Weatherby!

Where did you see the T/C 30? I looked on www.hornady.com and don't see any links or way to find anything about it.

First I've heard of this, and I'm usually up on what's happening in the shooting world. First thought is, another .30 caliber cartridge is just what we need, maybe to fill the gap between the .30 carbine and the .30-30?

http://www.hornady.com/story.php?s=542

They claim a case smaller than the .308, and ballistics bigger than the '06.

jim

Nice work on their part <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />. Could we get the same effect with a .358 bullet<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />?

Thanks for the link. From the T/C web site:

"The 30 T/C is slightly smaller in capacity than the 308 Winchester, but delivers ballistic performance exceeding the 30-06. With a muzzle velocity of 3000 fps, the 150 grain load outperforms the 308 Win by 180 fps and outperforms the 30-06 by nearly 100 fps. The 30 T/C provides a 15 percent reduction in perceived recoil, ultra smooth feeding, full magazine capacity, a short bolt throw, longer barrel life and delivers full ballistic potential in a short action case." (italics mine)

Also cures warts, acne, baldness, relieves female problems and provides natural male enhancement!



I'm guessing that Hornady is using their Light Magnum powder and loading techniques to achieve these results and that handloaders may not be able to achieve those velocities. Just a WAG at this point of course, but they are reducing capacity while increasing velocity? Kind of goes against Mule Deer's 4:1 ratio of capacity to velocity increase.

Either that or the T/C Icon is designed to operate in the 75kpsi range!

Oh well, not knocking the rifle or the cartridge, I wish them both success.

Ditto, on your post!

Let'see, do recall I believe seeing on a post somewhere, factory powders used not available to public. So probably isn't going to do the velocity thing with reloading powders available to public. Don't recall mention of barrel length on velocity cited either.

Then there is 15% less recoil, with the higher velocity............., think have heard that before.

Time will tell, I guess.

There is money to be made in the general public.

This means that these ultra powders will inevitably become available to the public after these hotrod minimite cartridges get established.

That will be an interesting time, maybe more interesting than now, because once again, the .30/06 will shine and the next option the factories will have is to offer custom quality .30/06's with Mod 70 Supergrade the new baseline.

I published a prediction in the 1980's that the next inovation in this industry was going to be a new range of powders. I was wrong. It turned out to be premium bullets. Maybe I got my decades mixed up?

I'll wait for that.

AGW

Remember reading when the "magnum" for caliber factory ammo came on the scene, mention that some of those proprietary powders would soon be available to public.

Sitting here wondering why hasn't happened yet. Maybe too much R&D for new rifles, etc., with not enough time or resource left to work up safe "published" loads?

Maybe a liability problem of some kind?

Who knows?

Have shot most of the factory "magnums" for caliber, in several calibers, and they DO pretty much live up to their stated velocity, within the ballpark perimeters. Some have chronographed exceeding a bit.

Course working that way for .308, .270., 30/06, .300 Mag., etc., sure probably wouldn't sell many"new" cartridges and rifles chambered for such, IMO, LOL!

I recall reading the various "light magnum" loadings are just regular ball powders loaded terribly compressed, so I'll guess no new powders will be coming to market. How many people still load ultra-compressed black powder cartridges, such as the original .303 British loadings?

So Hornady is loading the 30TC in the light magnum line of shells and then comparing the 30TC light magnum to a 308 in standard velocity. So if you shoot 308 light magnums you are still ahead!

I agree that all we need is one more caliber out there!

I was impressed with the Icon but if I bought one ot would be in 308 and not 30TC.

No sneak previews from me. I'm so far down on the gum wiper list that I still haven't gotten my G-2 Contender for review. (Didn't expect to ever get one, either.)

The 30TC may or may not be able to live up to those claims in factory persuasion, but we reloaders will end up with a lesser round, as the others above said. Which means it'll be a brand new 300 Savage in performance. Not that there are any flies on the grand old 300 Savage, but shooters have had that one for a pretty good while and not many will be willing to buy a whole new and unproven system merely to duplicate the old blammer.

Personally, I�m a whole lot more interested in the rifle than I am about most any new cartridge. I looks like T/C put a little thought into this one and incorporated some desirable features. But remember, desirable features don�t mean squat if the thing isn�t build right, so I�ll take the wait and see approach.

I can easily think of one lousy gun design that works like a charm because it�s manufactured so well�I can also think of at least one (and I�m sure I could think of more) excellent design that didn�t work because of poor manufacturing.

Quality of manufacture is what I want to see�I�ll let others drool or yawn over new cartridges�There�s no holes to fill in my book.

Well, to get off of the ammo...

The rifle itself looks okay.

Trigger - set at 3-3.5 lbs, adjustable down to 2.5, can adjust weight, overtravel and sear engagement. Not bad, not bad at all.

Safety - an innovative way to get around the bolt locking issue by having a separate bolt lock that you can engage or not.

Magazine - My opinion, "eh". I don't care for detachable mags in bolt rifles but realize the utility of them. It limits capacity in a short action rifle to 3 rounds, not bad. Not great, but not bad. Given the receiver size I'm wondering if it will be limited to two rounds if they decide to make a WSM version.

Receiver - I can like the small opening. Should make for a pretty stiff receiver.

Bolt - a removable bolt handle? Doesn't Remington already have this? (just kidding!) Actually, that's a pretty interesting innovation, as long as they made sure it doesn't come off in the field. Needs a separate tool to disassemble in the field. Score plus one for disassembly, score minus one for needing a separate tool that you'll never have with you when you need it. The flush bolt shroud/cocking indicator looks like a Blaser, but beauty is in the eyes of the beholder and all that.

What's cool is that you can order different bolt handles if the one they supply doesn't float your boat. That's a good innovative idea that they deserve credt for at least thinking up.

60 degree bolt lift, T slot extractor - I guess the 60 degree lift is good. the extractor is moot - let's see if it pulls rims off of overloaded cartridges before passing judgement.

Three recoil lugs? - Okay, but even with a carefully machined integral bedding block it's gonna take some bedding to get all of them to bear evenly.

Overall, I give T/C high marks for trying. I want to see how much it weighs and how it handles.

(added) Kevin - you posted as I was composing this, but I agree, I want to see build quality as well. But given what they did with their .22 semi-auto and also other first reports I've read, it sounds like they are going to try to make it with as much quality as they can and still sell it at other than a custom price.

But since they probably won't make a left hand version, oh well... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Here's the link to a Guns & Ammo article about the new rifle. It's got a pretty detailed picture.

web page

My lord...it's a Savage 340 with pretty wood <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />. That thing is pure-D homely! Which don't mean it won't shoot, but seriously...

I'm not a gun writer, but I am down here at SHOT show in Orlando on the laptop. I went over to te TC booth this afternoon and took a quick look at the 4 rifles they had.

First impressions: looks nice, heavier than expected, should shoot the lights out, if it has a decent barrel. Triggers nice on the one sample I tried Not keen on the dimensions between top of receiver to magazine=pretty deep. Definitely need to have the gun oriented parrallel to ground for the mag to fall out- later guns to have spring assisted mag removal. The handle is as ugly in persopn as it is in the photos. The bolt is full dimesion and is very heavy. Bolt release needs to be a little more understated.

THe safety reminds me of the TCR rifles where you had to do some serious manipulation to take it off safety.

Booth was busy, and a lot of people looking at this and the new muzzle loader.

btw, Ugliest gun goes to the Remington 770. have no idea what the trigger guard design and stock design is all about... No clue.


The S&W shotguns actually look very nice- both the SXS and the Semi-auto. Didn't spend a whole lot of time over there though..

Ruger 77's look nice with the new stock redesign, although some people won't like the matte metal finish. _ definitely should drop the logo from the floorplate- kinda shabby looking.

That's about it.

Don,

Thanks for the Shot Show run down.
Gonna have to look at the S&W shotguns.. Now, if they'd just make them in a 20 or 28 gage......(Dreaming)

Don

Don:

They do make them in 20-ga.

scott