Your experience with Browning Rifles

[matt_3479]

I use to think Browning was one of the best factory rifles you could get. not the best but a really good rifle. then for a few years i read a lot of things saying that people haven't always had good results with accuracy in terms of browning.

I have had 2 experiences with Brownings A-Bolts; 300. wsm that i own which is holding way better then 1 inch at 100 yards, and a 223 rem that my buddy owns which is also a very accurate rifle. The reason i ask is because this year we are doing an elk, deer combo hunt in Montana and my brother is selling his 30-06 and buying a 300. win mag. He has always had something for browning and wants to get either an A-Bolt or X-Bolt 300. win mag. What is your opinion on the Browning rifles for accuracy

 

[Elkwonder]

I am no expert, but I think they are a lot like any other rifle, hit or miss. I have owned about six or seven browning bolt actions, and I say for the money, they are a descent rifle.

 

[sp6x6]

I have a 325 wsm abolt, and it holds 1 moa, I dont have it set for much over 600 currently. There is not much for aftermarket, like stocks,triggers, and I guess some smiths dont like to rebarrel. But my rife is a nice packer at 7-6oz w/4-14 scope

 

[DanMan]

I have an X Bolt in 300 WinMag that I got late last year. Have only tried it with one factory load which is Nosler TG with 180 AB. It shoots 3/4" @ 100 yds and carries that same moa out to 500 yds with that round so I just stopped right there. Someday when time allows I'll see if it will do any better with handloads.
I carried it hunting for about 1 hour this fall and shot a real nice 5x5 elk so you can say I'm happy so far.

 

[NCBoy]

My son shoots a A-Bolt in 270 with the Boss system. The gun is amazingly accurate. It shoots about any bullet we put down the pipe with 1 hole accuracy at 100 yards. You could measure maybe 3/8 inch or so. The only way he would give it up is if you took if from his dead hands. Funny thing is I bought the gun for me and he adopted it. I have never shot it.

 

[yote doctor]

This is my first and only browning rifle. (A Bolt Eclipse 270wsm) Pic speaks for itself. Rifle is still complete from factory. My buddy has one in 22-250 and has similar results with it.

 

[bs911]

I bought an x-bolt composite stalker in 300WSM about 2 years ago. It shot 1" groups out of the box. I've been slowly working up a good load on it so really can't say if I've dialed in its best accuracy yet. But I'm still shooting about 1" groups at 100 with Nosler BTs, and my first tests with only a few shots downrange at about 450 yards were pretty much where I expected them to be - about 5" groups. It is very likely that the gun shoots better than me right now as I don't have a lot of time behind it yet and am still getting better myself. So for accuracy, I don't have any complaints, but this year I have expectations to get it (and me) to shoot considerably tighter. We'll see...

The overall fit, feel and balance I find perfect. The composite stock is nice and light, has a great feel to it even in the wet and cold. The trigger is very nice and for my purposes breaks very cleanly, crisply and consistently. A more experienced shooter might have a very different perception though - I'm not going to be the best judge here. The x-bolt scope mounting pattern is a neat idea. No doubt the bases lock on there very tight and secure. That being said, there are relatively few bases you can get for them.


The downside...


The action doesn't seem to be the smoothest and most precise action in the world. The bolt seems to have a good deal of "slop" until it is locked in. Not sure if it will ultimately limit accuracy that way but is not what I would call a precision built action.

I found that when it started getting hot, the barrel would start getting tight to the stock. Found a few high spots in the stock that I was able to cut down to better float it.

And like sp6x6 said, there just isn't much "aftermarket" for it. Maybe you don't need it. As far as I can tell so far the barrel is just fine. But if you wanted to rebarrel, drop in a new action or trigger, there aren't a lot of choices out there... if any.

Overall I am very pleased with it. I find it a very capable rifle that even in my current state of practice with it am already at least "good enough" out to about 500 yards with high hopes of stretching it to 700... at least for target shooting at first. For a whitetail hunting rifle with the possibility of one day doing some big game hunting, I have no doubts it will always suit me just fine. Whether or not I can get it to print targets like yote doctor showed above this year will determine if it really settles with me. Of course... without spending a lot more money, it would be hard to guarantee much better than that anyway.

 

[roninflag]

no experience with browning rifles.

 

[jhibbard24]

i got a browning a bolt mountain titanium .300 wsm. i rebedded the action and shot some cheap factory ammo down the tube to break in the barrel. those $24 rounds shot about 5/8" and 100 yds. decided to try the HSM ammo with 168 gr bergers and it shot .43 moa. my first browning but i'm impressed and my friends enjoy theirs. i love the 60 degree bolt lift. defitintly a hunting rifle. maybe not the best long range rifle (over 700 yds with good performance of say .75 moa) but is there many or any factory rifles that are...