The T/C has a faster twist than Ruger ever made. That must contribute greatly to accuracy as mine will shoot into a 2" circle first shot at 75 yards, right out of the box. They also figured out how to have the bolt stay open after the last round is fired. Great stock trigger, too. The only thing the TCR lacks is a scout-type rail for me.
Ruger has had a close working relationship with S&W for years. Exchanging engineers and designs, etc. When I worked with suppliers, I often had drawings from other gun makers in hand - common supply chains, etc. Just before the MkIV was released, some 30 Ruger employees worked in the S&W and T/C shop and the Victory was one of the guns they worked with. A 'secret' at the time (due to trading laws), the hinge on the MkIV was a S&W design, Ruger had several designs and played with a plunger-type barrel/receiver release to follow the MkIII but S&W beat them to the patent office, so Ruger had to pay to play, so to speak.
10/22-wise, several others have paid Ruger royalties, copied designs, and reached other handshake agreements, especially when WBR was running things. Its been printed that LInebaugh and WBR agreed Ruger would not sell a five-shot big bore revolver - and they waited until Bill was in the ground to do so.
Some say he paid Marlin a sum for the M60 bolt design when Ruger was looking for a rimfire companion to the 44 rifle...? That's always been pretty standard in industry - Benchmark, Analyze gaps, emulate success models, and improve. Why not?
BTW, I like the TCR. I recommend.