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Posted By: limabean Browning B78 6mme - 03/21/17
Anybody have hands on experience with one of these? I saw one today octagon barrel, great condition with a nice Nikon scope on it for 1100.00. Other than it being heavy it seems to be a really cool rifle. Is it worth the asking price? What kind of accuracy can be expected? Thanks in advance.
Posted By: mcmurphrjk Re: Browning B78 6mme - 03/21/17
They shoot well, trigger sucks, and very difficult to tune, and then they tend not to hold the tune.
Price seems a little high to me.
Posted By: magshooter1 Re: Browning B78 6mme - 03/22/17
Depending on which Nikon scope it is that could be a decent price.
Posted By: Pappy348 Re: Browning B78 6mme - 03/22/17
Some of these have incredible wood and if so, and the condition is nice, I'd not hesitate. These are high-quality rifles. $1100 isn't out of reason for a nice one. 6mm Remington is a bonus.

I got a .45/70 from a serial trigger abuser who tried to take it too low, which will simple disable it. I simply took it back up into the reliable weight range. Don't recall the details about the pull, but don't remember it being especially awful either.
Posted By: PJGunner Re: Browning B78 6mme - 03/22/17
I have a B78 in 30-06. A bit heavy but very accurate. Comments about the triggers are spot on but in reality you get used to them. I'd buy another if the price was right.
I do have quite a few Ruger #1's though so you know I like single loaders. grin
Paul B.
Posted By: DoubleCK Re: Browning B78 6mme - 03/22/17
Talk to your Gunsmith first.
Posted By: limabean Re: Browning B78 6mme - 03/22/17
Pappy348, why is the 6mm Remington a bonus? It doesn't seem to be a very popular caliber.
Posted By: stantdm Re: Browning B78 6mme - 03/22/17
I have a .25-06. $1100 is a steal in these parts. There is nothing I dislike about the rifle. It is consistently accurate, has never had any trigger issues (knock on wood), and the wood is way above average.

The epoxy finish is not as good as oil finish (IMO) but it has held up well.
Posted By: tex_n_cal Re: Browning B78 6mme - 03/22/17
I likewise have a B78 .25-06 Octagon barrel; took my first deer with it, too. It is superbly accurate.

If you describe the rifle - monte carlo stock on a High Wall winchester, with glossy wood finish and white line spacers, it sounds like a styling train wreck. But somehow they do look good.

I don't know what on earth they were thinking with the action. Must have been Germans involved, somehow smirk

If you like the 6mm in a single shot, it would be hard to do better, without spending a lot of money
Posted By: Pappy348 Re: Browning B78 6mme - 03/22/17
Originally Posted by limabean
Pappy348, why is the 6mm Remington a bonus? It doesn't seem to be a very popular caliber.


It's a bonus because it's probably the best-designed of the 6mm hunting cartridges with a nice long neck and good powder capacity. The reason it's not very popular has nothing to do with its qualities. Ammo is still loaded by most companies and brass can be found or easily made from other cases.

The 6mm vs .243 story has been told a million times. Google it.
Posted By: OSU_Sig Re: Browning B78 6mme - 03/23/17
I think the 6MM is what the 243 wants to be...
Posted By: Pappy348 Re: Browning B78 6mme - 03/23/17
New powders have narrowed the performance gap a bit, but there's still that ugly case-stretching business. It's possible the 6mm might give a little more barrel life too, I suppose.

If opportunity and resources had ever come together, I'd have a 6mm, but they didn't so I've got a .243 like everybody else.
Posted By: magshooter1 Re: Browning B78 6mme - 03/23/17
A 6mm in a B78 would be sweet. I've got a 6mm in a No. 1B that chunks the no longer made 105g Speer SP's at 3145 fps (avg) into about 1/2" at 100 yds.
Posted By: kroo88 Re: Browning B78 6mme - 03/25/17
B78s are great if your wife is a gunsmith who excels in trigger work.
Posted By: Pappy348 Re: Browning B78 6mme - 03/26/17
It's been over thirty years, but I don't recall the one I had being all that bad. The guy I bought it from had it adjusted too light so it didn't always work, but I fixed that pretty quickly.
Posted By: RCL Re: Browning B78 6mme - 03/26/17
I have a 6mm that has only been test fired after fitting a Canjar trigger. Still have the box it came in. It has the round barrel. I love the 6mm.
Purchased new in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.
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