Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles X-Bolt for dangerous game?

Sort of in keeping with X bolts flying under the radar on the forum, I almost never read articles about dangerous game hunting with one? Rceently saw a brand new X Bolt Hunter in 375HH for what seemed like a significantly lower price than a M70 or a M77, etc. Do the Brownings have a bad rep with safari or bear guides or are folks using them and just not talking about it?

Forgive the ignorance of not knowing what an X bolt is. I shoot Winchester and Ruger bolt guns and am not familiar with the x Bolt.

Browning's bolt action rifle

Yup. Browning makes a few iterations: stalker (synthetic stock), micro midas (youth sized), Hunter (standard walnut), Medallion and Gold Medallion (fancy)... might be others, not sure. I really like the look of them minus the detachable mag. It's just jarring to my eye.

It's basically a short throw push feed rifle made by Browning

Do a forum search on either or both JJHack,or Ganyana about rifle actions. They both had strong opinions about what actually works in the field when conditions are tough.

While I prefer and have uses either pre-64 M70's, controlled feed post-64 M70 or an FN Mauser (I have used them all over there) I would have zero issues using the mentioned rifle. I just used what I already owned.

Thanks, rbell. I'll do that. Was honestly just surprised to see a NIB 375HH for $900 that wasn't a M700 from before COVID when they were getting clearanced.

Does Browning still put 26” barrels on their 375s? I know they did with the Abolts and earlier Xbolts but I’ve been out of the business for a few years. I cut down a ton of the Abolts to a handier length years ago.

I like the ergos of the Xbolts over the Abolts and doing away with the bolt sleeve was a good step in the right direction. But I don’t like the mags. I’d way rather have a blind mag on a bear or Buffalo gun.

24" on the one I saw.

I would have ZERO problems with this rifle/action

I have an old gen 1 A-Bolt that despite bad weather, i.e.. snow, freezing rain, dust etc. has never done anything but run like a piston. I think there is way too much "controlled round Kool-Aid". If a given rifle operates reliably that is enough.

I'll caveat this with the fact that I have never hunted "dangerous game" for sport. Lord willing and the creek don't rise, this will soon change.

I have however, hunted a good amount of "dangerous two legged varmints" in a myriad of bad climates. Every gun I used for that purpose was push feed. (A notable exception to this are 1911s and Glocks which are technically controlled round feed but are also "reserve parachutes" and due to the reliability of the various push feed rifles and machine guns were never resorted to)