shortgrass
Well-Known Member
I've worked A-Bolts several times. They require special tools to remove/install a barrel or the bolt "guts'. Not everyone is interested in spending more on tools, especially tools you won't use on a regular basis. Gunsmithing is high overhead, to begin with. I've not yet had to heat or make a relief cut to remove a barrel. If you can cut 16 t.p.i. ,, 20 t.p.i. is/should be no problem. I understand some have metric threads. I haven't seen any out of the 8 or so that I've barreled. Not a problem if you're metric capable,,, I am. Most want to use an action for their hunting rifle that was, at least at some point, used in competitions of some sort. That's ruled by the custom actions, now. The A-Bolt is a fine hunting rifle. No more,,, no less. I guess my main gripe is with the trigger. About the most that can be done is to "re-spring" it. There must not be enough demand for one of the aftermarket trigger makers to bother designing one, maybe, there's not a cost effective solution for one. They are of a different design than being pinned on, like a Mauser, Rem., Win., or Howa, where they could be made modular. I have not researched the synthetic stock makers to know who offers for the A-Bolt. As stated previously, aftermarket parts are slim at best, many non-existant, like recoil lugs. I've a small surface grinder and often grind the factory lug. No sense in squaring a receiver face and not using a good lug. Just My 2 Cents on Browning A-Bolts (designed and marketed long after John Browning left us,,,, so his mechanical genius isn't there)
