Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles A-Bolt Hate

I'm all about using what works. I want something that works when everything is wrong, not only when everything is fine.

I'd not expect some silly ass, NY suburb living guy that has to get boys to post pictures for him to understand.

If I were willing to use a rifle that was made in a foreign country it would probably be a Howa or a Weatherby. At least they are cheap.

Of all the firearms in the Browning line I consider the A-Bolt the poorest design. I worked at the Browning Gunsmithing Shop during the time the A-Bolt was introduced, I can't tell you how many were reworked due to trigger deisgn issues. Early rifles also had poorly bedded recoil lugs, I glass bedded several hundred. The recall was so massive that nearly all the 25 gunsmiths working in the shop at the time were reworking A-Bolts. No A-Bolts for me, then or now. Browning should have never abandoned the Mauser and Sako actioned Safari line of bolt actions. The market that Browning aims to serve would have paid for the quality represented in those rifles.

Not sure why some people like brand a over brand b. Ford vs chevy I guess. I've owned two of em. Still have and use the one in 338 WM I bought in 1993. Immediately sent it off to KDF for a muzzle brake and accurizing job. It's my favorite rifle. I also have a 700 CDL SF, Weatherby Vanguard submoa (2 of em), an old savage 110 I inherited and I used to own two Ruger model 77s. I like the ergos of the A-bolt and have recently considered buying another one but I prefer a 24 inch barrel and they don't produce it in the caliber I want.

I have a 7mm composite stalker and a 270 SS, both shoot lights out and have never failed me!

I have a stainless stalker in 30-06. It's been on maybe 5 elk hunts, 7 or 8 caribou hunts, and years of local deer hunting and the pot metal trigger guard is still intact. The gun is accurate and I've never had a problem with it.

I like the detachable magazine and the tang safety. The factory trigger wasn't great so I had a gunsmith lighten it.

Browning sells a lot of em because they offer left hand actions. I have no desire nor need to own one.

I owned 1 in 270 winchester. Very,very accurate. I would own another. Fit and finish was perfect.

I have a SS .270 and a .22-250, my neighbor has 6A-bolts. All are very accurate rifles. Would buy another in a heartbeat..

Anyone know of any problems with the X-bolts ? I have one in a .300 WM and it will take the balls off a bee @ 100yds....

I never cared for the shiny stocks on some models. Do they still use the combination of a drop floor plate and a box magazine? This set up is on my huntin buds BAR and it seems weird to me. The POS Benelli R1 even had that one right.

The only rifles I've absolutely seen freeze up in wet, cold conditions with regularity have been a-bolts. Don't like stuff that doesn't go bang when the trigger is pulled everytime.

I've never heard of one freezing up and I hunt where it's either wet, cold, or snowy most of the time.

My 30-06 stainless stalker was my go to rifle for about 10 years. It would be in the truck from early October till December and used most every day. I cleaned it once a year, if that, and never had a single problem. It's been absolutely abused- the stock is scratched and gouged, the barrel is scratched, there's some rust in places but it's still 100% reliable.

I'm no Browning shill but it's been a pretty good rifle.

A-Bolt Stainless Stalker .30-06 shoots 150-gr Partitions and B-Tips into the same group at 100 yards over same loads of IMR4350 seated with same die setting. Shoots to same POI with bi-pod attached or off a bag. It is light with a 1.75-5x scope attached. The mag box has flutes that keep bullet points from hitting the front and flattening - they may be there for some other reason, such as reliable feed. The mag is easy to take apart and clean. It has been in rain that poured out of the fore end. Easy clean up - no rust, etc.

The RCBS gauges show the throat length to be more like 'blue print' instead of an extra quarter inch plus, as in some other rifles I have hand loaded for.

It keeps its zero, although I guess that synthetic stock might be susceptible to some elements, maybe extreme heat.

A 7 Mag Stainles Stalker took longer to find a load it would shoot accurately. It eventually liked a case full of RL22 and 140-gr Sierra BT hunting bullets. It would not always fire CCI primers, but that could be something I did wrong seating them. Gunsmith found firing pin protrusion was good. Cannot recall if he said anything about how hard the pin hit. Gist was nothing to fix. The rifle would fire other primers w/o problems.

They are offering the 284 Winchester in a limited run in the A-Bolt, or perhaps it is the vestiges of a limited run... Gotta love the forgotten cartridges...

I got one in 260 Rem. Love it.

When I say A-Bolts "freeze" I am not referring to solid water locking them up, but rather the wire trigger linkage corrodes and the trigger will not physically move. It is saltwater corrosion related, not temperature.

I've shot them most of my life and have never had a problem. My family shoots them and they have never had any problems other than action screws loosening over time and that is something you have to watch on some A-Bolts.

All have been pretty accurate and very reliable. I don't know why, but they will shoot a variety of ammo well.

The short bolt throw makes scope mounting easier, but you do get a harder initial lift with the design, but that doesn't bother me.

The tang safety is very convenient. The recoil pads are too hard IMO.

Other than brackish water, I have never hunted in a salt water environment, so I can't comment on problems there, but I believe what Art says.

JM

I think that it is the "more better" mind set that was carried into camp with the A-Bolt, due to the A5, Citori, and the Superposed shotguns being such classics. Win and Rem guys don't take to that.

I don't own an A-Bolt, but I have friends that do, and I think that is great. The hunters that I know don't keep rifles that won't shoot or perform.

I like my Howa's. Two Howa's instead of an A-Bolt. My wooden Vanguard .300WBY from WallyWorld for $379. If I could have bought new SS/Syn A-Bolts for $330, I would have a closet full of them.