Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Why no love for Browing bolt rifles?

During my time here I have mostly sat back and read, added my 2 cents, threw a barb and gotten in a good jab now and then. Ive also taken a few on the chin. SO Im not asking this qestion to stir the pot, or to zing anyone that owns a Browning.

Very few here tout the value of Browing bolt rifles. Is there some inherent accuracy problem? Are the actions difficult to work on? Are the materials of poor quality? Are replacement parts(barrles, stocks, triggers) not avalable? Do people have issues with the fact that they are made in Japan?

Ive handled them, and shot them in the past. I do like the 60 degree bolt throw, but Ive never warmed up to the angular reciever and bolt area. Im a lefty so they do have some apeal to me but I guess Im courious as to why they seem to lag well behind, Rem, Ruger, Savage, Winchester ect.

I have a Medalion in .270 WSM and think it's a fine rifle

I sure like my LH SS in 7-08.

No love? Mainly because John Moses shoots them....

I've had several Browning rifles in the past and never had ANY issues with them. Mine were accurate and fed well without fail. I just think most of it comes down to personal preference and growing up with a certain name brand rifle in your hands so you run into those guys... like my long time friend (loves Remington's). I've had numerous brand names so I can't fall into that niche. LOL

My gunsmith said they are easy to work on so that can't be it.

I like the A-Bolt enough, that i have three of them

made in Japan?

I have owned a couple in the past and never had a problem. In fact the stainles stalker I had in 30-06 was INCREDIBLY accurate. I was too young to realize what a gem it was and sold it...

I think most guys who ACTUALLY use one like them.

The biggest complaints I've heard is the metal used in the receiver is "cheap pot metal".

Yes and they have lozenge for a bolt knob.

My X Bolt 300 WM is the finest shooting bolt action I have ever owned. Fit and finish is as good or better than other brands I've owned or handled. When I pick up other rifles, it's the benchmark I use for comparison.

SubMoa out of the box. No trigger adjustment, no glass bedding, no pillar bedding, no floating the barrel, no fiddling with pressure point on the barrel, no recrowning, no special bench rest shooting techniques, no sending back to the factory three or four times only to be told it is within specs. NO ROULETTE.

I first shot an A-Bolt the year they were first introduced, which I believe was 1985 or '86. It was so accuate and lightweight that I bought it for my wife, who wanted a for-sure elk rifle rather than the .257 Roberts she'd been using.

It shot almost everything well, and Eileen really liked the detachable magazine inside the floorplate. Due to some arthritis, she'd always had a hard time loading a conventional bolt rifle in the typical cold weather of a Montana November. With the A-Bolt she could load a magazine in the warmth of home, then put in the rifle when it was time to go hunting, even in the dark. She hunted with it for several years, never having a malfunction, and at one point shot 10 big game animals in a row with one shot each, including pronghorn, whitetails, mule deer, elk and moose.

Since then I've shot several A-Bolts and a couple of X-Bolts. All were very accurate and worked fine. They might not be quite as rugged as a 98 Mauser, but....

Lost me when they left Belgium.

My 30-06 BBR has always been a consistent shooter.

I've owned Safaris, A-Bolts and X-Bolts,

While the A and X-Bolts don't compare workmanship wise with the Safaris (What does?) they are dependable rifles with above average fit and finish for massed produced guns.

The rifles on a whole are quite accurate. They aren't picky about different loads and will shoot most any factory fodder well.

The pot metal comment above doesn't refer to the action steel , but is a knock on the metal they use for trigger guards.

I've never broken a trigger guard and have hunted with probably 20 different A/X Bolts over the years.

JM

I've never tried an a-bolt but my x-bolt is one of my favorite rifle.Its accurate,lightweight and it handle very well.

My newest bolt gun is a X-Bolt Stainless Hunter in 308 and I have no complaints at all. Three shots led to three deer in the freezer. (4th deer fell to my Kimber Montana in 257 Rob). I also have a couple of A-Bolt varmint rigs that I have no plans of ever selling or trading. They are all accurate and have features I like. I like the new x-bolt stock and magazine better than the a-bolt.

On the other hand I'm a looney and "love" all my rifles until the next gotta have comes along.

You couldn't give me one.

Japcrap.

My next factory rifle will be an X-Bolt.

Do you feel the same way about a Weatherby Vanguard or Howa? Both made in Japan.