Browning Hells Canyon LR

[Elkeater]

does anyone have a browning x bolt hell's canyon long range? Not the McMillian stocked model just the one with the heavy sporter barrel. Wondering what you all think of it.

I'm thinking about one in .300 WM. I've got some hard hunts coming next fall and I'm thinking about lightning up my long range gun. I have a Remington 700 5R but at 13.5 lbs it's hefty.

 

[manitou]

I don't have the Hell's Canyon, but both my X-Bolts (.280 Rem) are very, very accurate and a joy to carry.

 

[257Tony]

Don't have that exact model, but I do have a HC speed and a HC McMillan, both are awesome rifles. The HC LR kind of splits the difference between those two. If I could only have one off the shelf hunting rifle, the HC LR would be a great choice.

 

[hunter67wa]

Ive been looking at one also in 7 mag. My wife has a standard xbolt in 6.5 creed and it shoots great.

 

[Elkeater]

Anything bad about the mag length?Was kinda hoping to shoot 181 hammer hunters so not being limited to 3.340" is a must.

 

[cohunt]

My 7 rm stalker LR xbolt mag allows for 3.600" loading, I like it
The rifle seems a bit picky on ammo, but I'm just starting off with it si I hope I can get it dialed in.

The new LR models have a faster twist rate, last years models have the std browning twist rates. There are still 2017 models out there so if you want the faster twist rate make sure you get the 2018 model.

 

[Jerryrva]

The biggest complaint about the Browning is the trigger isn't as good as some others. But I think the one on my 7RM is fine. More like what you are used to shooting. I don't want a target trigger on a hunting rifle when my heart is pounding just before I pull the trigger.

 

[cohunt]

The biggest complaint about the Browning is the trigger isn't as good as some others. But I think the one on my 7RM is fine. More like what you are used to shooting. I don't want a target trigger on a hunting rifle when my heart is pounding just before I pull the trigger.

you can change out the spring for an M-carbo spring, or Timney makes a fully adjustable one now for the x-bolt

 

[Varmint Hunter]

I have a LH Browning Hell's Canyon McMillan in 6.5 Creed. I had two issues with the rifle which were easily remedied.

1. The trigger was ok but I wanted something better in a LR rifle. I put in a Timney and am satisfied with it. I would have installed a better trigger but the Timney is the only one I could find. When the Timney is installed, the bolt release button is no longer functional.
2. The brake is fake IMO. It is a hollow tube with radial holes and a grossly oversized exit hole. Mine was large enough to shoot 338s through. I put a contoured matched Vais brake on it even though a 6.5 Creed doesn't need a brake at all.

With those two issues taken care of I started load development. I ended up shooting Berger 135gr Classic Hunter bullets over 47.0 RE26 in Lapua cases. This load is shooting into 1.25" at 400 yds. Not bad for an almost totally stock rifle.

 

[manitou]

I put the Mcarbo spring kits in both my X-Bolts and it made a world of difference. Neither triggers were bad for hunting rifles, but I like 2.5-2.75 lbs and they both meet that now.
Neither rifle is picky and both will shoot .5" groups handily... but they are .280s.

 

[Campo]

I know this is an old thread, but I wanted to share my piece.

I went with a Timney, and am in the process of pulling it and going with an M*Carbo spring. I can't stand the fact that the bolt doesn't lock. I hunt in some rough terrain, and twice this season had the bolt open up on me.

Regarding the muzzle break, it is decent, but it isn't great. With the release of their new model, I am going to guess it will be much, much improved.

Overall, it is a fantastic rifle platform, and if you can tinker and play, it can be made to be a solid sub-MOA shooter with all the bells and whistles that a much more expensive rifle would have.

 

[Drjones65]

Long read...make yourself a sandwich.
Asking opinions on rifle manufacturers / models is like asking preference / experience with a blonde vs. brunette or Ford vs. Chevy.
I live 25 miles from the Browning / Winchester corporate office here in Utah. My grandfather lived in Morgan and our whole family grew up shooting Browning firearms. My first big game rifle was a Browning A-bolt II in 30.06 which I still have and shoot today. For a long time I was a member of the Browning Collectors Association and I had a big safe full of Browning firearms. Speaking of another manufacturer was peaking blasphemy! However times have changed. I have had an FFL for 28 years now and when someone came to me wanting a hunting rifle the first words out of my mouth were always Browning. Nowadays... the first words are stay away from Browning / Winchester! When Browning moved away from the BBR, one of the reasons was to save costs so the A-bolt was developed. When Browning moved away from the A-bolt the reason was to save costs so the X-bolt was developed. The cost cuts for the X-bolt largely came at the cost of quality. Go to Browning's web site and look at the "Discontinued Firearms" tab and see how many V-bolts have been discontinued. Why? Revisions. Fixing problems. Watch Browning each year now at the SHOT Show and what they are pouring their R & D dollars into. Shotgun after shotgun. The X-bolt line? New camo pattern on the stock. New cerakote color on the barrel. Browning cares very little about the rifle product line and pretty much just keep it around for the namesake. Rimfire rifles. Almost non-existent. Hand gun lines? Almost non-existent. What Browning cares about is their shotgun lines. The other lines are just a side business. Browning is a very small company in Utah. Not many employees. Another things, they pay next to nothing. I have personally known several people that have left because they can't make a living. Do you think Browning can keep top talent with low wages? Not so much.
Now my personal experiences. I was looking for a long range rifle for two limited entry draw hunts I had coming up. I went through THREE (3) different 300 WM X-bolt long range rifles trying to get them to shoot consistently and to group. The first rifle I took to a local gunsmith. I spent a bunch of money trying to get it to me an accurate rifle. The second rifle I took it up to Browning and had one of their employees in their QA / QC department try his hand. He changed my base, my rings, my scope and played with it for two weeks and gave it back to me telling me "It's as good as it will ever be". The 3rd rifle, I paid a gunsmith from a precision rifle company to develop a load and sight it in. after 6 months he brought it back and said he had never had a rifle stump him before. He wouldn't even charge me because he said he wasn't able to do anything.
I have 7 cousins that were raised like me around Browning firearms. They too also bought X-bolt long range rifles (One bought two different rifles) and none of them couldn't get their rifles to shoot any better than I could. All of them sold their rifles too and have moved on from Browning. One major quality defect was that the plastic rotary magazines would not feed properly. You would load 3 rounds in the magazine and the first round would feed but the second one would not. We contacted Browning they insulted us telling us there was nothing wrong with their magazines. We sent them videos and they told us that we didn't know how to reload properly and the feed failure was due to our reloads. For several months we went back and forth with them. They sent us new magazines, a hat, some stickers etc. for our troubles but insisted we were the problem. We ended up taking a Dremel and trimming down the inside lip and we could get them to work. 6 months later Browning issued a recall on their magazines because they found a flaw in the mold that consequently made it so that their magazines wouldn't feed. Hmmm A-bolts have all metal magazines and are expensive but I have never had a misfeed. X-bolt magazines are all plastics, cheaper to manufacturer and have issues. X-bolt magazines a 1/3 the cost for a dealer to buy. The cost savings associated with the X-bolts.
Someone above mention that Browning X-bolts are finicky on their ammo. Truth! Brownings shoot best with a tangent ogive bullet. It's just how they chamber chamber the barrels. So the Hornady ELD X or the Nosler bullets would more than likely be your best bet.
You will find some people that will swear by Browning rifles and really like them. You will find other people that stay away from them. Me personally, I have access to just about every manufacturer of rifles out there and I stay away from Browning rifles. I shoot their shotguns every fall but not their rifles. I personally have seen too many issues and watched too many people fight with getting them to shoot. So there... Let the blonde drive your Chevy! LOL!

 

[fseaman]

Asking opinions on rifle manufacturers / models is like asking preference / experience with a blonde vs. brunette or Ford vs. Chevy.

Truth.

 

[tomcat818]

I have the same barreled action in 300WM on the Max LR platform. Loading Berger 215 HT (1.596" OAL) over H1000 and N570 my COAL is 3.595". Measuring the magazine with calipers I got 3.61" but the official size from Browning I believe is 3.67". With this bullet and COAL I'm sitting at ~.035" off the lands so the magazine and chamber seem to be tuned for compatibility with longer high BC projectiles to a degree which makes since given the 8 twist barrel. That being said, both freebore and magazine are limiting my ability to maximize this combo. Considering @ this COAL I still have .342" of case capacity impacted below the shoulder neck junction .280" of this is the long boat tail which leaves .062" of bullet bearing surface I'd like to use for powder charge so it would be nice to have about .062" freebore and mag length. I recall on the LRO forum someone gave details of loading this same combo (H1000 & 215 HT) in a HC LR rifle they purchase a year or two before I bought my Max LR. He was running a COAL of 3.705 almost 100 thou more than my chamber based on this info I purchased my rifle. Hard to believe there could be that much variance in chamber freebore from one rifle to the next out of the same factory. He also used a dremel tool to hog out the polymer mag so he didn't have to single load. He stated vel. 2950 before pressure using H1000 my loads with shorter COAL maxed out at 2811 before pressure and that was max charge for SAAMI max COAL from Burger. Accuracy wise, during OCW testing the H1000 was less consistent than N570 but produced the best 3 shot grp @.143" and had 2 out 6 charge weights under MOA. The N570 shot 5 out of 6 under MOA with the best 3 shot grp .747". Out of the 12 tested charge weights the largest grp was 1.25".

With regard to weight the stock you are looking at is the MAX stock with OVIX camo. I looked into replacing my tactical colored FDE MAX stock and scope on this rifle to lighten it up and found the McMillan fiberglass stock (I believe Game Scout) and a light weight Razor LHT @ 22oz (Tactical optic on it now 34oz) would save about 24oz overall. This would turn my 11lb 10oz (without bi-pod) current configuration to 10lb 2oz . Then take it a step further by going with a Game Warden carbon stock I can be just below 10lb with my bi-pod which I believe weights ~9oz. These carbon stocks inletted for x-bolt action are not easy to get since McMillan is beholden to Browning from a supply perspective and are not available through Browning replacement parts website which makes sense considering the barreled actions are nearly identical on the x-bolt pro and standard x-bolt line minus a few aesthetics so the stocks are how they are justifying the mark ups between the two. So the HC MAX stock you are looking at with a light weight scope and bi-pod will be right around 12lbs 3oz so just over 1lb weight savings.

Now just a few words about people who want to trash Browning rifles. All you have to do is look at the used gun classifieds and count the number of Browning X-bolts or A-bolts than come up for sale which is very few. Enough said