My new build

bbckfh

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Mar 12, 2017
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372
Location
Michigan
Thought I'd share...

When my wife got pregnant with our first, she bought me a standard Browning X-Bolt Hunter in .308Win. I loved it and the thought, and I think I'm ultimately a sentimental guy. But I could never get it to shoot well (~1.75-3moa).

So I had Pierce (how'd I get so lucky to have a renowned rifle builder so close to me?) put on a Bartlein in 6.5 Creedmoor. Now I know this goes without saying, but it shoots great now! I shot a respectable 0.38" group with it.

That barrel is finished at 19", and is my whitetail rifle. Of course, threaded. (If I'm polite enough to have a muffler on my car, ought I not to have one on my rifle as well?)

That got me thinking... I bought a WSM magazine and tested, and indeed a 6.5 PRC fits in one just fine (unmodified), even at a COAL of 2.950".

4F2D9421-6280-4C72-9316-0FD42454F503.jpeg

4D743E06-B872-453B-B8D2-EE103812D5E8.jpeg

5260E693-613F-4A78-AAC7-74E6AC7E283B.jpeg


I had another Browning, this a LR stalker, that I'd considered just having the chamber reamed out. But a buddy wanted to buy it, so I let it go.

So what to do?

Well, Numrich sells Browning parts. No amount of personal responsibility or sending it directly to a gunsmith would convince Browning to sell me one (grrrr!). So I bought a complete WSM bolt assembly from Numrich. And a Proof .264" tube. And I already had a Brux cut-rifled .284" tube in the basement.

So I marched back up to Pierce. They bedded the action into my McMillan Game Scout, and chambered the Brux in 7SS and the Proof in 6.5PRC. They cerakoted it all, including the magnum bolt in hunter's orange (for safety so I don't interchange them), and threaded a bigger bolt handle onto the factory stem. They put in the mount for the Spartan bios and two flush cups on the left side.

And now I've got a triple switch barrel that will take me from the whitetail woods to the muley/pronghorn plains to the elk mountains!

7CC224CE-7FDD-4D57-B0A0-9EAF60B1ED43.jpeg


And it's still the rifle my wife bought me that makes me think of my daughter every time I pick it up.

I'm a lucky guy! I put in for an elk tag in Wyoming this year, and I'll put in for mule deer in Colorado in a couple of days... we'll see if the luck holds?
 
Thought I'd share...

When my wife got pregnant with our first, she bought me a standard Browning X-Bolt Hunter in .308Win. I loved it and the thought, and I think I'm ultimately a sentimental guy. But I could never get it to shoot well (~1.75-3moa).

So I had Pierce (how'd I get so lucky to have a renowned rifle builder so close to me?) put on a Bartlein in 6.5 Creedmoor. Now I know this goes without saying, but it shoots great now! I shot a respectable 0.38" group with it.

That barrel is finished at 19", and is my whitetail rifle. Of course, threaded. (If I'm polite enough to have a muffler on my car, ought I not to have one on my rifle as well?)

That got me thinking... I bought a WSM magazine and tested, and indeed a 6.5 PRC fits in one just fine (unmodified), even at a COAL of 2.950".

View attachment 178310
View attachment 178312
View attachment 178311

I had another Browning, this a LR stalker, that I'd considered just having the chamber reamed out. But a buddy wanted to buy it, so I let it go.

So what to do?

Well, Numrich sells Browning parts. No amount of personal responsibility or sending it directly to a gunsmith would convince Browning to sell me one (grrrr!). So I bought a complete WSM bolt assembly from Numrich. And a Proof .264" tube. And I already had a Brux cut-rifled .284" tube in the basement.

So I marched back up to Pierce. They bedded the action into my McMillan Game Scout, and chambered the Brux in 7SS and the Proof in 6.5PRC. They cerakoted it all, including the magnum bolt in hunter's orange (for safety so I don't interchange them), and threaded a bigger bolt handle onto the factory stem. They put in the mount for the Spartan bios and two flush cups on the left side.

And now I've got a triple switch barrel that will take me from the whitetail woods to the muley/pronghorn plains to the elk mountains!

View attachment 178313

And it's still the rifle my wife bought me that makes me think of my daughter every time I pick it up.

I'm a lucky guy! I put in for an elk tag in Wyoming this year, and I'll put in for mule deer in Colorado in a couple of days... we'll see if the luck holds?
Thats a great story and some good thinking. Best of luck on your hunt!! Rich
 
Thanks!
I really like switch barrels. Nicely done

I've always liked the idea, but never pulled it off until now.

I'm using (for now) a 3-24x March F, thinking I'll have the bottom end for the woods and the top end to reach out and touch something (it is a Creedmoor, so I need to have glass that can see a prairie dog at 10mi). I've also got a VX-6HD waiting in the wings that is noticeably lighter that I may switch to. I have a lot of work to do to develop drops for all three.
 
Very nice buddy. Reminding you of your daughter every time is the most important part. Good work

Thanks. It is. And she's just getting to the age where she can be my little buddy and come along ...Although her brother seems to be showing more interest.
 
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