Browning xbolt2 v. Winchester model 70

[Lance11]

Browning XBolt 2 or Winchester model 70 chambered in 7prc??

looking for some help/ guidance. I have plenty of guns but shopping my first Hunting Rifle.
Looking for an Elk/ deer gun for western hunts Co, Id, Wy etc.
I’ve kinda narrowed it down between the Browning Xbolt 2 and Winchester model 70. Also open to Tikka but for whatever reason it’s not my first pick. Hoping to keep the rifle alone under 2k.
7mm PRC
22’ barrel
I want some decent long range capabilities this will be my only hunting rifle.

If you have experience with these guns please help me. Any help is appreciated and if you don’t like these guns or ammo I wanna hear about it.

Also with know optics are huge and am leaning towards the Optics- Vortex Razor HD LHT 4.5-22x50 due to discounts through vortex.

 

[elsb0048]

I love my Winchester model 70... But I wouldn't really recommend them for something long range focused unless you're really passionate about them and want to jump through hoops to customize. I don't believe they offer any stocks with more modern geometry, everything they have is a sporter stock, and there's not that many aftermarket options.
Could check out the montana 2022, the marshall with the rokstok probably has most of the model 70 benefits although well above your stated price target.

I'm sure you'll get plenty of comments about chambering and 7PRC being too much recoil so I'll leave that to others.

 

[Tmac]

All the x-bolts I’ve been around shot very well. Only one took any work to get it to do so. Little relieving of the stock bedding compound and better free floating with some washers.

No experience with the Win M70.

My Tikka’s also shoot very well. Just one shoots OK, but shoots everything Ok, very unpicky rifle.

I give the X-bolt a slight edge in accuracy and the Tikka a huge edge in aftermarket parts. If you are OK with the x-bolt as is, be hard to beat one. If you want lots of options, stocks, prefit barrels, etc, Tikka wins. Sorry I can’t help with the M70.

 

[walk2112]

I love my model 70… but It’s been a ‘one variable at a time’ refining project since 2022. Still functioned good enough to get out and hunt/kill things with in that time of course, but to get it where it wanted it took patience and a decent amount of garage gunsmithing, reloading/load dev, bedding and stock mods, etc. and the obligatory chop and thread of course.

Now it’s probably my favorite hunting rifle, it’s got a cool factor and I trust it, but you have to love the process of getting there I figure on an M70

 

[quatin]

Just got the X-Bolt 2 speed in 300 win mag. The trigger is a bit heavy, but it's the best out of the box hunting rifle I've ever owned. I put 6 different factory hunting loads through it and it shot all of them well. 3 of 5 premium hunting loads had the same windage, letting me adjust elevation to co-use. Most importantly, it shoots Walmart Federal Power-Shok well and with the same windage!

Like someone said before, if you like the stock, it's hard to beat. You need to buy aftermarket stocks for the Tikka and have it bedded, that recoil lug is too flimsy to be sitting in that cheapo plastic to hold zero when dropped. I have the T3X Superlite and it is incredibly picky on ammo.

 

[Lance11]

I love my Winchester model 70... But I wouldn't really recommend them for something long range focused unless you're really passionate about them and want to jump through hoops to customize. I don't believe they offer any stocks with more modern geometry, everything they have is a sporter stock, and there's not that many aftermarket options.
Could check out the montana 2022, the marshall with the rokstok probably has most of the model 70 benefits although well above your stated price target.

I'm sure you'll get plenty of comments about chambering and 7PRC being too much recoil so I'll leave that to others.

Thank you for the input. I don’t have the skills to do that much customization. I’m really hoping for a decent gun out of the box with a good scope that I can be accurate with. I just like the cool factor the Winchester offers.

I’m leaning heavy towards the Xbolt. Biggest debate is caliber.
7PRC or 300 winmag. Recoil factor in both but doesn’t seem to scare me away

 

[Lance11]

All the x-bolts I’ve been around shot very well. Only one took any work to get it to do so. Little relieving of the stock bedding compound and better free floating with some washers.

No experience with the Win M70.

My Tikka’s also shoot very well. Just one shoots OK, but shoots everything Ok, very unpicky rifle.

I give the X-bolt a slight edge in accuracy and the Tikka a huge edge in aftermarket parts. If you are OK with the x-bolt as is, be hard to beat one. If you want lots of options, stocks, prefit barrels, etc, Tikka wins. Sorry I can’t help with the M70.

That’s good intel thank you. I won’t be doing a whole lot of custom work or at least I don’t plan too much

 

[Lance11]

Just got the X-Bolt 2 speed in 300 win mag. The trigger is a bit heavy, but it's the best out of the box hunting rifle I've ever owned. I put 6 different factory hunting loads through it and it shot all of them well. 3 of 5 premium hunting loads had the same windage, letting me adjust elevation to co-use. Most importantly, it shoots Walmart Federal Power-Shok well and with the same windage!

Like someone said before, if you like the stock, it's hard to beat. You need to buy aftermarket stocks for the Tikka and have it bedded, that recoil lug is too flimsy to be sitting in that cheapo plastic to hold zero when dropped. I have the T3X Superlite and it is incredibly picky on ammo.
View attachment 1080889View attachment 1080888

That’s a great looking rig. What model X bolt did you go with?
I’m about 90% in on it.
Are you happy going 300 win mag? To me it’s between that and 7mmRPC. I don’t have a lot of long rifle experience but I’m not intimidated by the recoil factor. I’m 6 ft 210 of that matters at all.

 

[Tmac]

That’s good intel thank you. I won’t be doing a whole lot of custom work or at least I don’t plan too much

Recently Cabela’s/BassPro has the first X-bolt model on sale for about 1k, the Speed model with camo stock and cerakoted metal. If you don’t have to have the X-bolt 2, might be worth checking around for close out pricing.

 

[elsb0048]

Thank you for the input. I don’t have the skills to do that much customization. I’m really hoping for a decent gun out of the box with a good scope that I can be accurate with. I just like the cool factor the Winchester offers.

I’m leaning heavy towards the Xbolt. Biggest debate is caliber.
7PRC or 300 winmag. Recoil factor in both but doesn’t seem to scare me away

if it's helpful this is my model 70 that I paid to have put together with similar purpose. But I was about $3k into for smithing and parts + the $500 I bought the donor action for. Not including the scope, rings, or suppressor.
Sounds like not really the kind of thing you're looking to do.

The new kimbers at least have a more modern stock geometry to go with the CRF coolness but I'll bet they're pretty light, too light for what I'd want to be shooting a 7prc or 300win out of.

Thread 'Winchester Model 70 - My First Customized Rifle'

Nov 20, 2025

Haven't seen a lot of custom model 70 builds posted so I thought I would share mine in case anyone found it interesting.




Donor rifle/action: Winchester Model 70 Classic Stainless 30-06
Stock: Pendleton Composites Hunt Tac without adjustable cheek
Forest green w/ black & tan webbing
Barrel: Pac-Nor .270 winchester, 1:10 twist, 21"
Trigger: Timney, 3# pull
Bottom Metal: PTG obendorf
Cerakote: H 219 - Gunmetal Grey
Scope: Leupold Mark 4hd 2.5-10x42 FFP TMR illum + alumina caps
Rings: Leupold Backcountry Medium
Suppressor: Banish Backcountry

Final weight is 9# 6oz with the can...

• elsb0048
• Replies: 43
• Forum: Firearms

• 
• 

 

[quatin]

That’s a great looking rig. What model X bolt did you go with?
I’m about 90% in on it.
Are you happy going 300 win mag? To me it’s between that and 7mmRPC. I don’t have a lot of long rifle experience but I’m not intimidated by the recoil factor. I’m 6 ft 210 of that matters at all.

X-Bolt 2 Speed SPR. It's a bass pro special with their Recoil Hawg muzzle brake. Recoil is mild, not just manageable, but mild. I had a couple 10 year olds shoot it at the range with 180gr Hornady SST at max load and they were having fun. IMO PRC is only if you reload. If you get something extremely picky on ammo, you're f-ed.

 

[204_ruger]

I have my first Browning rifle. I love mine. Its a Xbolt Speed Long Range 280AI. Has a 1@8 26 inch barrel. It has a hawg muzzle brake. Its a 1/2 inch group rifle. With Berger 175gr Elite Hunter bullets. I have mine topped with a Leupold. VX6 HD 4x24x52mm scope.

 

[twistrate]

I've always liked X-bolts and consider them a hard to beat set it and forget it factory rifle. The X-BOlt 2 was a solid step forward from the original with the stock redesign. They should shoot as well as any other "premium" mass produced rifle. Few things I prefer on X-bolt over tikka:
- flush magazines
- bolt unlock button
- stock modularity when compared to the T3X

Modularity and customization goes to Tikka hands down, and for that I would give it the edge over the browning for me personally, I like to tinker. As you mentioned above it seems like you might fall more into the set it and forget it category.

Model 70... I love my model 70's but as mentioned above ( by a fellow custom M70 owner) I wouldn't recommend it unless you know the investment required to make it what you want. An extreme weather would be a great choice but they have fallen behind on a few measures of what a "modern" western hunting rifle is measured by.

Regarding cartridge, my custom M70 is in 7prc, my custom rem 700 is 300 win mag. I no longer reach for the 300. Recoil is milder on the 7prc and I can achieve what required hand loading in the 300 ballistically in my PRC with factory ammo. With that being said, I think many of us are guilty of falling into the cartridge rabbit hole when truly there are more important considerations. I can easily talk cartridges with folks and unintentionally contradict myself every other sentence.

 

[Leaf Litter]

Love my X-bolt, love my Tikkas. If you want a vastly superior product out of the box, go with X-bolt. If you want to tinker endlessly, Tikka has more aftermarket support. I don't think there's a world where Winchester makes a better gun than Browning or Tikka.

 

[twistrate]

Love my X-bolt, love my Tikkas. If you want a vastly superior product out of the box, go with X-bolt. If you want to tinker endlessly, Tikka has more aftermarket support. I don't think there's a world where Winchester makes a better gun than Browning or Tikka.

"Better" is subjective.

Winchester IS a division of BACO, just made in Portugal vs Japan. The craftsmanship on the current Model 70's is every bit as good as when production was in Ct. Tikka has cracked the code on consistent mass production that just can't be matched.

Where Winchester lags behind isn't a matter build quality, it's simply a platform that has not updated or adapted to current trends. The most modern offering, the Extreme Weather and its sub variants were the quitesencial western rifle before everyone wanted vertical grips and carbon.

The XPR will always be a red headed step child of the budget rifles when compared to the Ruger American. If Winchester can update the 70 to match current market trends they would surely regain some market share although at a price that would not compare to X-Bolt and Tikka

Purely my opinion, The downfall of the 700 was quality, the downfall of the 70is stagnation.

 

[Yaremkiv]

Love my X-bolt, love my Tikkas. If you want a vastly superior product out of the box, go with X-bolt. If you want to tinker endlessly, Tikka has more aftermarket support. I don't think there's a world where Winchester makes a better gun than Browning or Tikka.

"Better" in what sense?