Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Browning BOSS?

Anyone familiar with the Browning BOSS system? I remember them being somewhat popular in the 90's, but you don't see them much anymore. I snagged a stainless ABolt 7mm-08 today with a synthetic stock, which I *think* was called their Stalker, and it has the BOSS in place. I've never owned one before, and curious if anyone has played around with one (and actually seen positive results).

Some have had OK results - others not.. .Most have hated 'em and Win/Browning dropped that offering rather quickly due to chitty sales.. I've had several owners have me cut off those pos BOSS units and recrown the barrels..

I had one for a number of years, a .280 Rem. At the time, I was straight out of school and had neither space or means to hand load. I followed the instructions precisely, used the cheat sheet Browning used to supply with it as a starting point for different bullet weights, and it worked. I could pick the factory load I wanted to use, tune the barrel to it, and buy as many boxes as I wanted because once I had the settings dialed and recorded for each one, I could return it to that anytime I wanted when I switched loads for different purposes. With the tuning process, every load I tried ended up under an inch, two of them way under. The difference in the group size was irrefutable and repeatable between out of tune and in tune settings.

I don't own the rifle anymore. Got older, well down the hand loading trail, decided I didn't like the look of it and didn't need the tuning ability for factory loads any more, so I sold it instead of cutting off the BOSS. But, to your question: yes, the system works well if you follow the instructions properly and have the patience to do the tuning.

1). They work.

2). They are ugly as sin.

3). They are louder than hell.

^^^ Mr Bin speaks the truth. I still have one in 300WM - lefty. She shoots MOA all day long. I've made some decent kills out around 400+/-. You will NOT be making any friends at the range. You can, however, put the sleeve on instead of the ported unit. There are charts online to dial it in to your load as well as a Browning You-Tube vid explaining how it works.

Pretty much this for those I know that had them. That said - I'd like to think that bullet/brass/powder components are getting much better than they were 20-30 years ago when BOSS came out (yeah, early 90 is almost 30 years) and because of that - "tuning" for a hunting rig isn't as necessary today - given the better gear we have. You're going to be plenty accurate.

The loudness is what would make me break out the sawzall.

What is funny is people complaining about the noise and the looks, but I have known people to send off their non comped guns to get one put on and many new rifles are threaded for Suppressor or Comp. You folks are right about the noise, but the blast hitting the side of my face from someone shooting next to me was the worst. It weas akin to getting slapped on the side of the head.

I guy I knew in the service had a Browning BAR with BOSS in 7mm Mag. Once tuned he would shoot well under and inch with it. I have yet to see an inaccurate A-Bolt without BOSS, so I doubt it is necessary on one of those.

I know a guy who touched off a 7mmRM with the Boss unit of his new rifle still inside the confines of his box stand. He said it “got instant daylight” in that stand, and he fell to the floor, floating down in a whirlwind of leaves and candybar wrappers. Might have been a touch theatrical, but it made for a good story and a sound lesson (pun there).

I have an ABolt in 3006 with the boss. It shoots great. Inset the BOSS up based on there suggestion for my ammo. I never felt the need to fine tune it. I really like the rifle but I never got warmed up to that thing on the barrel. I got the rifle for $0 so I never considered selling it. I used it a couple years to kill Alabama whitetails and hogs in FL. Been a safe queen for a decade. Noisy as heck but not too bad with the solid attachment vs the break. I think mine is a hunter with a nice wood stock.
I once removed the end piece and shot it at 100 yard target. Shot the same as it did with it on. I was worried I would screw up the threads so I put it back on. Some day I might put a new tube on it like 25-06.

This in a nutshell.

Multiple people in this thread have talked about "cutting them off". Why not just buy a thread protector? On another note, like others, I've heard nothing but good things with respect to their functionality when utilized per the instructions. They were an easy pass for me; but, apparently they worked as intended.

Yep 👍 pard had a 300 win, my god that bastard was loud!! Think Winchester got on board for a spell too,

I liked the first one I bought in 94 so I bought a spare the next year just in case. Very close to a 3 shot, one hole group hunting rifle in 300win. The noise is the only down fall of the boss.

I have one on an M70 .30-06. Mine came with a solid sleeve also so it's no more noisy than any '06 with that installed instead of the ported one. It is ugly to the point that I bought a non-BOSS take off barrel to replace it, but I can't bring myself to swap it out 'cause it shoots so well! I guess ugly is as ugly does........

Exactly, and if my M70 280 is typical, you also lose some velocity because the barrel is effectively shorter.

And at one time you could get a “BOSS CR”: (Conventional Recoil) . It screws on to the barrel in place of the nuzzle break. Noise is less but recoil is “normal”

You can still find the CR devices online, I've been looking at a few on eBay. I measured mine, getting rid of the threads would drop the barrel back to roughly 19". Honestly, I would probably trade it off before doing that. I haven't had a chance to measure the thread pitch, so I am not sure if it is a standard thread or not...I do know that the CR devices aren't the same. If it uses a "common" thread, may be worthwhile to cut it down enough to use a thread protector, and have the option to suppress.

My original plan was to send the rifle to JES for a rebore to .338 Federal, but may end up using a Sako L579 Forester instead.

Yes ugly but, so are a lot of brakes and suppressors. They do work. I’ve owned three A-Bolts with them. 300 Win Mag Medallion, 25-06 Hunter and still have a 280 Hunter. And the conventional recoil system dampens the noise to normal. Barrel length is 22” for standard calibers and 24” for magnum. No different for anything else. I’ve actually screwed the BOSS completely off and measured it. Also shot it that way and was able to get one hole groups with hand loads. I normally run max safe loads in the 280 I still have, adjust the BOSS so it shoots bug holes,record same and rock on. I would also double check the threads to see if they are commonly used for suppressors or brakes and possibly pick up a thread protector. A gunsmith could likely clean up the measurement markings fairly easy as well.

Yes they work, ported ones were loud and the conventional recoil ones were just like any other standard barrel. I have one and it works very well my father had one and his shot exceptionally well.

Has an Abolt in 300 Win Mag with one. Killed a ton of elk and mulies with it. Dam near a one-hole gun at 200 yards with Fail Safe ammo. Bought it new and foolishly sold it.

Yup they work but are loud.