Browning became THE go to in the south, for a semiauto or O/U, for a status symbol or ‘higher end’ shotgun or rifle, way back when....at least from what I’ve seen. Remington going downhill in quality (especially shotguns) just compounded it. Those that get their feelings hurt by the emblem, probably run hipoints when nobody is looking.
Browning has never been a bolt rifle player to the level of Remington and Winchester, but they built better semi-auto anything than the rest, and cornered the O/U market. I’ve debated trying an Xbolt, but I’ve never really taken issue with the Abolt.....though I always preferred M70/700 stuff for bolt guns. There’s a lot to like about the xbolt, on paper. Most durable, reliable SA shotgun ever built is still the Auto 5.
