Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting X Bolt Pro vs X Bolt Pro Long Range

I'm switching rifles to one of these two for elk out to 600 yards.

x-bolt pro 300 win mag has 26" light sporter fluted barrel and weighs in at 6lbs 9 oz bare rifle. Rifle balances very nice.

x-bolt pro long range 300 win mag has 26" heavy sporter fluted barrel and weighs in at 7lbs 8 oz bare rifle. Rifle is barrel heavy.

When just carrying the rifle in glassing scouting mode the rifle will be carried centered in the middle of my backpack which keeps weight on hips. When in hunting mode I'm putting it on my shoulder using a sling that will put some weight on hips and some on shoulder.

I'm not going to be using the muzzle break. So the heavier the better for this.

I'm planning on shooting out to 600 yards and I'm concerned about the barrel whip and accuracy on light sporter barrel.

Is that extra pound going to really add up at the end of the day considering how I'm carrying it 95% of the time?

I would say yes based on my experience. But the only one who can really answer that question is yourself because everyone perceives, has a different tolerance for, carrying weight depending on their condition, the pack they're using, terrain they're covering, elevation, and how many miles covered. Any extra weight gets magnified the longer you walk and how often you're walking up and down. You also have to consider that extra weight if you knock something down when the real work starts. I started hunting with a .300WM myself that weighed in ~6lbs 8ozs bare/ just under 8lbs ready to hunt. I had a local gunsmith install a brake because of the extreme amount of muzzle jump if you didn't firmly hold the forend and it pounded the shoulder after awhile. It has been a pleasure to shoot since, not to mention accurate and consistent. I carried it a couple of seasons hunting elk and took my first two cows with it before discovering much lighter rifles (in non-magnum calibers) and how much easier they are to carry; I haven't looked back since. I still use that 300WM when I don't anticipate walking a lot, but I go lighter now. In the end, accuracy being equal between your two rifles, I would go lighter based on my similar experiences.

If you're going hunting with your rifle in your pack 95% of the time, then go with the lighter one. You'll have no worries about accuracy. Or recoil, or any of those nasty side effects of shooting.

While hunting the first shot is the one that really counts. A heavy barrel while stiffer does not necessarily mean better accuracy. It won't heat up as fast, so while at the range give it plenty of time to cool off between shots to show how good it shoots. And smokepole is right in his above statement

There are plenty of lightweight rifles capable of 600 yard shots on game the size of elk, "barrel whip" notwithstanding. The weight of the rifle isn't the weak link in that equation.

But whether an extra pound makes a difference is 100% a personal choice. And has more to do with the terrain, the distance, the weight of the pack, and the guy carrying it than any difference in accuracy an extra pound may or may not make.

The balance on the Pro is hard to beat, I have 2 of them in 26 Nosler and 300WM. I do shoot a break on the 300 but have shot it without. The stock manages the recoil very well, and both guns shoot 1/2 moa with very little load development.

We have several posters on here that are competent enough to take Elk at 600 yards and strong enough to carry the rifle they choose. Recoil tolerance and the ability to hump a load in the mountains are the logistic problems.

Shooting enough to take ethical shots on game at 600 yards w/ a 300 WM would, for me, be the practical problem.


mike r