Browning - High Volume Shooting

[ktm450]

All,
I don’t hear a lot (good or bad) about Browning rifles used for classes, high volume shooting, or commercial/guided hunts. I have a number of different branded rifles and really like my Brownings.

I am curious to hear from some members who are avid rifle/class/guide shooters as to why we don’t hear more about Brownings?

 

[AntelopeEater]

I absolutely love my Browning BAR Mark 3 DBM.

It is the semi-auto in .308 with a detachable 10 round box magazine.

I have put at least a thousand cheap bulk Wyoming Cartridge Co., 147 grains FMJ's though it at the range and I have never had a jam ever. I just got it this year.

I sometimes "mag dump" and the fluted barrel gets superhot but it still functions fine, and its thin barrel cools off reasonably fast.

I have not hunted with it yet, but I am planning to and love the idea of being able to make super fast follow up shots.

I'd also be quite comfortable skipping a sidearm in Grizzly Country when carrying this semi-auto .308, with its 18" barrel it is very maneuverable.

 

[Taudisio]

All,
I don’t hear a lot (good or bad) about Browning rifles used for classes, high volume shooting, or commercial/guided hunts. I have a number of different branded rifles and really like my Brownings. I am curious to hear from some members who are avid rifle/class/guide shooters as to why we don’t hear nor about Brownings?

Talk to your gunsmith about doing some custom work (barrel change, replacement parts). Mine will give you a few choice words if you mention browning. Not that it can’t be done, but I guess they give him a headache.

 

[AntelopeEater]

My two favorite rifles in this pic: The Browning BAR in .308; and the Ruger M77 in .375 Ruger.

I'm planning to use the Bronwing for antelope and deer later this year, and the Ruger for bear.

 

[John123@]

I’ve been a hunter for about 5 years now, and the Browning I picked up from Jack’s Gun Shop has never let me down. Since that first purchase, I really haven’t been disappointed, it’s been reliable, accurate, and worth every penny.

 

[ktm450]

Mine have also been great. But I never hear/see them recommended for shooting classes or other events where people are putting thousands of rounds through them a year/month.

 

[reynolds243]

They make great rifles and a lot of quality in them.

Main issue is they don’t seem to market them a lot like they do their shotguns (awesome shotguns) and they are really difficult to customize. Most of their stuff is proprietary so everything is harder to come buy or more expensive.

That limits it down to guys that just like really good hunting rifles and shoot it a little each year for fun.

Their old medallion Abolt line was beautiful guns and even the xbolts are great but I almost put them in the same line as leupold in that they have just lived off their name (for rifles) more then anything (not knocking them for it)

Seems they have at least tried to keep up with Public desire more recently with SPR and updated xbolt design. Man they ain’t cheap though other then the AB3 line (which is meh at best) vs for less money you can get tikka or bergara like rifles and customize them for less money.

 

[lil' bear]

Brownings are great but they have a few shortcomings. One being that factory barrels are pretty thin and heat up quickly. Not good for high volume shooting. Also their barrels have a thin thread pitch, and they use loktite to install them. This is why gunsmiths don't like to rebarrel them. Last would be the design for the mag well. It doesn't leave much meat around the trigger and stocks have a tendancy to break, so there are no aftermarket stocks.
But if you can find a good stock, and a good good gunsmith brownings are excellent.

The BLR is my favorite rifle by far.
And my gold fusion 20 gauge I bought when I was 12 will be my shotgun for life.

 

[grfox92]

Fantastic rifles with zero aftermarket support. That's why you dont hear more about them.

McMillan is the only stock option, there is one company from Europe who makes a bottom metal to take AICS mags. Its $650. That's more than my rifle.

I love my X Bolt and am hoping someone starts supporting them soon.

Sent from my SM-G990U using Tapatalk

 

[Scottf270]

I look at it like this. If you build them right at the factory, you don't need a bunch of aftermarket spare parts and shade tree gunsmiths.

 

[grfox92]

I look at it like this. If you build them right at the factory, you don't need a bunch of aftermarket spare parts and shade tree gunsmiths.

This correct and the only reason I still have mine. The factory stock is better than Tikka. Trigger is solid. Magazine length sucks though.

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[TaperPin]

I have to admit Browning rifles are sort of like South American countries, I know they’re there, but it’s far enough off the radar screen it’s hard to say what’s going on with them. This series of videos has been fun to look inside a Browning - watching it makes me feel like an explorer going into the Amazon rain forest to discover the source of the Nile.

 

[grfox92]

I have to admit Browning rifles are sort of like South American countries, I know they’re there, but it’s far enough off the radar screen it’s hard to say what’s going on with them. This series of videos has been fun to look inside a Browning - watching it makes me feel like an explorer going into the Amazon rain forest to discover the source of the Nile.

They really are great rifles that have zero reputation of having issues out of the box, they typically shoot great, have no feeding issues and they sell a lot of them. Why there isnt more aftermarket support is beyond me

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[ElPollo]

Thread 'Browning X-Bolt 2 Speed, 7 PRC Field Evaluation'

Apr 25, 2024

This is Field Evaluation of the Browning X-Bolt 2 Speed in 7 PRC. This rifle was sent to RS to be evaluated. Browning is aware of the other Field Evaluations and that is what they wanted. This will be a long term/high use annd round count evaluation. Browning wanted this rifle to be evaled in 7 PRC.
The ammo so far is Hornady- a mix of 160gr CX, 180gr ELD-M, and 175gr ELD-X factory ammo.

You can see the specs and info here-

X-Bolt 2 Speed - Bolt-Action Rifle - Browning

Experience Total Accuracy with the X-Bolt 2 Speed. This new bolt-action rifle features the Vari-Tech composite stock with Browning OVIX Camo finish and is adjustable for length of pull, comb height and grip angle for a personalized fit to the rifle. Redesigned receiver and bolt. Fluted...

www.browning.com

The base version is that this model has a specific anti bind bolt...

• Formidilosus
• Replies: 167
• Forum: Firearms

• 
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[Formidilosus]

They really are great rifles that have zero reputation of having issues out of the box, they typically shoot great, have no feeding issues and they sell a lot of them. Why there isnt more aftermarket support is beyond me

Sent from my SM-G990U using Tapatalk

I have had off and on use of Browning X-Bolts since they were new. From my observations using the X-Bolt 2 in 7PRC the last year and a half; it continues what I have seen from them.

1). They shoot well.

2). For year(s) at a time, you cannot find spare magazines to save your life.

3). The triggers, while decent, are a bit heavy, and they do not do well in ice and snow.

4). The action does not do well in ice and snow compared to others.

5). The rotary magazine fails spectacularly in ice and snow if water gets in and it freezes.

6). In sand/dust it seems to get very gritty in the little it has been used in.

7). The scope mounting system leaves very little thread engagement for the bases- while no problem has surfaced with this one, it hasn’t been used hard/dropped and it does make me nervous about it.

8). The magazine and bottom metal make aftermarket stocks hard to be durable. So much material must be taken out that they tend to crack at the action.

 

[grfox92]

I have had off and on use of Browning X-Bolts since they were new. From my observations using the X-Bolt 2 in 7PRC the last year and a half; it continues what I have seen from them.

1). They shoot well.

2). For year(s) at a time, you cannot find spare magazines to save your life.

3). The triggers, while decent, are a bit heavy, and they do not do well in ice and snow.

4). The action does not do well in ice and snow compared to others.

5). The rotary magazine fails spectacularly in ice and snow if water gets in and it freezes.

6). In sand/dust it seems to get very gritty in the little it has been used in.

7). The scope mounting system leaves very little thread engagement for the bases- while no problem has surfaced with this one, it hasn’t been used hard/dropped and it does make me nervous about it.

8). The magazine and bottom metal make aftermarket stocks hard to be durable. So much material must be taken out that they tend to crack at the action.

I have a Composite Stalker in 7mm08. I have been on and off debating selling it to buy a 6.5cm Tikka as my dedicated hunting rifle, but the Browning shoots so well its hard to justify moving on from it.

With 41.6 gr of Varget it shoots 162ELDMs loaded to max allowable length, due to its shit magazine, at a 2704fps average which is deadly out to 900 yards at my elevation. Its a 1" gun for 10 shot groups.

So I continue to hold onto it in the hopes someone comes out with some type of DBM and hopefully someone like Stockys inlets for them.

I was unaware of the issues with lack of material around the bottom metal. Maybe thats why no one inet's for them.

Sent from my SM-G990U using Tapatalk

 

[grfox92]

I have had off and on use of Browning X-Bolts since they were new. From my observations using the X-Bolt 2 in 7PRC the last year and a half; it continues what I have seen from them.

1). They shoot well.

2). For year(s) at a time, you cannot find spare magazines to save your life.

3). The triggers, while decent, are a bit heavy, and they do not do well in ice and snow.

4). The action does not do well in ice and snow compared to others.

5). The rotary magazine fails spectacularly in ice and snow if water gets in and it freezes.

6). In sand/dust it seems to get very gritty in the little it has been used in.

7). The scope mounting system leaves very little thread engagement for the bases- while no problem has surfaced with this one, it hasn’t been used hard/dropped and it does make me nervous about it.

8). The magazine and bottom metal make aftermarket stocks hard to be durable. So much material must be taken out that they tend to crack at the action.

You know 6. and 8. Might push me over the edge to dump my X Bolt after this hunting season. You are spot on. Dusty and dirty enviroments make that bolt complete dogshit. We did 2 miles in a SXS yesterday and when I got home and opened the bolt it felt like sandpaper.

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[Formidilosus]

You know 6. and 8. Might push me over the edge to dump my X Bolt after this hunting season. You are spot on. Dusty and dirty enviroments make that bolt complete dogshit. We did 2 miles in a SXS yesterday and when I got home and opened the bolt it felt like sandpaper.

Sent from my SM-G990U using Tapatalk

They are certainly better than most rifles/actions. They are about as reliable in hard use as Howas are. As a pure hunting rifle for normal use, they probably won’t cause many issues for people. When they offered/whenever they were actually available- the compact versions, they were one of the best options for youth and women for hunting. But Browning seems to not want to support the normal rifle models anymore.

 

[Parks22]

My problem with Browning X-Bolts has been the ejection angle. Accuracy has been great for an off the shelf rifle. Throw a RS1.2 on it and it will fail to eject about 30% of the time (6.5PRC). Hey @Formidilosus , has Browning corrected the ejection angle with version 2?

 

[Formidilosus]

My problem with Browning X-Bolts has been the ejection angle. Accuracy has been great for an off the shelf rifle. Throw a RS1.2 on it and it will fail to eject about 30% of the time (6.5PRC). Hey @Formidilosus , has Browning corrected the ejection angle with version 2?

Nope. It’s an issue with the 7 PRC.