Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Browning Xbolt - anyone try one?

Shooters,
I looked at a browning x-bolt last night and liked how it felt. The 308 blued version could follow me home. Heck, even the SS was nice.

Anyone try one of these? It seems like a nice lightweight handy rifle.

H

buy one and tell us all about it. I really like my A-bolt and can't think of why the X bolt wouldn't be a winner - if you liked its looks. I kind of perefer the A-bolt looks and some features.

Why would you want to buy japjunk.

SU35 you beat me to the punch!! I could never hunt here in the good ol USA and look down at the barrell of my gun and read
made in japan. No way!!!

I'm a fan of Abolts as well - have more Brownings than anything else!! Would like to hear how the Xbolt improves on it...

It's a global economy today...if the product you buy isn't from outside the US then chances are the milling equipment, raw materials or component parts are.

I examined a xbolt this evening to confirm my original thought.

It's junk.

The new bolt system is a total joke.
The stock is to small in the pad area.
Four tandem type holes on top of the receiver for mounts?
The stock was quickly dried and and felt cheap not to mention
it had a plastic coating.
The bluing on the cheap pot metal looks like lipstick on a whore.

And all for the Browning price of $$$.

SU35, But other than that did you like what you saw?........Grin........I like Sako rifles and they are made in Finland are they also junk?. Made in America is a thing of the past thanks to NAFTA and free trade agreements it truly is a global economy.............547.

How does nafta affect made in the usa that much for firearms???How many rifles are manufactured in Canada or mexico.

I never liked my A Bolt...it was a gift so I kept it longer than I should have.

Speaking generally The term Made in America is a thing of the past it's not just about firearms it's the cars we drive the clothes we wear and just about anything else you can think of. To worry about whether your rifle was made in USA is small potato's compared to the whole. The guy so proud to carry his good ol American made Remington rifle will be wearing from head to toe clothes that are made in China including his Danner boot's, as both pair of My Danner's were made in China (Pronghorns and Grand Slam's) Rocky boot's also made in China, 10X clothes imported, Whitewater Outdoors clothes imported, and that's only to name a few, It's really hard to find anything any more that actually is made in USA. Even My good Old Chevrolet truck was mostly built from parts made in Mexico or Canada, My wife's Honda Civic is actually more American made than My Chevy truck...........547.

Love my Browning Citori O/U! Loved the Browning A-Bolt I owned many years ago, too! Wouldn't hesitate to buy another Browning firearm! As a matter of fact, I just took a chit not more than 15 minutes ago. And, you wanna guess what the preferred reading material was at the time?! Yep, you guessed it.........the 2008 Browning product catalog! If it's Japanese engineered, then it's certainly alright in my book. Also, as many others have already stated, try going hunting and not have one piece of gear that isn't USA-made! Good luck with that...

The guy's at Field and Stream magazine seem to think highly of the new Browning X-Bolt, In the September 08 issue they named the X-Bolt as the best new rifle of the year and it faced what looked to me to be some stiff competition including a Remington Mod 700 VTR and Sako's new A-7 creation, both fine rifles I'm sure...I believe I'll just try one of those new Browning X-Bolts and see for Myself.........I ain't "skeerd"......Grin's..............................547.

Wow... What a range of responses from good guns to Jap junk.

I looked at a blued version for $699 in 308 and saw a Rem 700 Mtn LSS for $899 in 7-08 and I liked the Xbolt. It was at gander mountain so cheaper prices may be found elsewhere.

Features that caught my eye and appeal to a Minnesota winter hunter...
Slim stock - easy to hold with a mittened hand or for my wifes smaller hands
I have always liked the short lift bolt.
Top tang safetys work better in the cold for me.
The drop out magazine is appealing for cold weather handling.
4 screw mount a bit un-conventional, but I like the ruger mount system since it wouldn't loosen up like my first deer rifle - Rem 788. It may be worth keeping an open mind.
It was fairly light weight and might be good for the wife.
Soo...
And this world is way too small to not consider a japanese product. The cheap russian, italian, and brazil product is what you need to worry about. The supposed remington american made product is most likely made on japanese and korean machining centers and made with out-sourced parts. Not many people would dispute that a toyota or honda car have a reputation for quality.
In summation:
I compared the x-bolt to the 700 mtn LSS because I own that remington and not overly impressed with it as time goes on. I have considered trading it off for a Savage 14 classic or this Xbolt. The new price for the Remington 700 MTN LSS tells me I am not paying a browning premium.
I am keeping the 700 around for the day I can convince my wife to hunt with me so I have not traded it off yet. The Xbolt seems like a good one for me (and her) and avoid putting a bunch of money into the 700 to get the thing to shoot a group (verticle stringing problems).
H

Sorry, humdinger, you have the right frame of mind, but I can't agree with you on the cheaply made Italian things. Maybe some things, but certainly not others. Italy is very well known for producing some of the finest hiking/backpacking/mountaineering boots and footwear in the world. Needless to say, it is very well known in the world of very fine shotguns, too (e.g., Beretta). Did I mention how much I love my Toyota Tundra? LOL... Go get you an X-bolt and enjoy it!

I fondled one back in May and asked the same questions there.
I got pretty just the same responses.
But no one had shot one.
It felt good in my hands, handled well, pointed well, and the bolt cycled smoothly.
I was not impressed with the bottom plastic. Metal would have been better.
So, I guess you and I need to buy one and see how well they shot.

I handled an X-Bolt back a few months ago and really liked it.........especially the trigger!!!


It could be made on Mars for all I care!


Nobody seems to rag on Tikka T3 owners.........made in Finland!

I am shooting a new x bolt hunter 7mm rem mag 26 inch barrel and I LOVE THIS GUN! I have done a lot of shooting already this year and took a mule deer last week with 1 deadly shot!
I was a little leary of a made in japan rifle but the quality is superb and its a tack driver. I am using 160 gr Barnes TSX and they are great, sub MOA at a 100yds numerous times. Already looking at getting another in 25-06?????

I'll continue to buy/use Tikka rifles before I'd buy an overpriced Browning anything...

I picked an X-Bolt in 30-06 three weeks ago. Metal to metal and metal to wood fit and finish are superb. Wood is gorgeous with a fantastic grain and the barrel is free floated and barrel actually runs down the center of the channel (not like a certain green boxed product). Put a inexpensive scope on it (Vortex Diamonback - inexpensive, but certainly not cheap. Super well made but that's a different story.) I've got a Meopta on order, but I'll probably leave this scope on for a while. Three shots to get on target and then these two groups at 100 yards:
3-Shots

5-Shots


And a few of the rifle itself:

Dshoe,
You are right about italian product... I have a benelli shotgun and I know friends that love the beretta's too. There is just some really cheap italian stuff out there to watch out for.

Tikka has been another one on my "watch list" as well as seeing what the new model 70's look like.

The wife goes grouse hunting with me and I have learned that having easy to load & unload guns help me and there are so many new light weight better looking removable magazine guns out now compared to when I bought my Mtn LSS.

One thing about Browning, they will release some unique designed rifles even if some don't make it that long.

A10AII
One word... SWEET.

Humdinger