Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles I broke a cardinal rule….A-Bolt

When I was younger I thought the Browning A-Bolt was the ultimate hunting rifle. It looked nice, short bolt throw, good “American” company, reputation for accuracy, etc. Then I started reading stories about their failures and shortcomings and my enthusiasm for them waned. Until last month when Cabelas had a used one in one of my favorite calibers the .338 Win mag and they had it out for $395. It has a 26” barrel which is probably at least 4+” more barrel than I’d prefer but it had open sights and was in good condition. I don’t think it ever had a scope mounted to it and was strictly hunted with iron sights. I figured that for less than $400 I might as well play around with it since I’m sure I can recoup my money if I decide to offload it but I’ll likely keep it as a backup and loaner rifle for up north.

I’m going to put a different trigger like a TT and I’ll put one of my extra scopes on it and see how she does. Whatever their weak spots are…..like pot-metal trigger groups or crappy bolt internals I can replace.

For those of you that have experience with the A-Bolt (NOT X-bolt) what do you think are their weaknesses and what would you focus on replacing?

Thanks in advance.

I would not replace anything. I bought my A-Bolt in 1998 for $305. It is .338 winchester mag. The early ones were really lite weight, mine weighs 7.75 lbs with scope. I have never had a problem with my rifle. It was only rifle I used for several years. It has been to Africa 4 times and has taken many deer and elk and couple moose. I use other rifles now but still use it a few days every year. It is the one rifle I would never get rid of.

I concur. I have three of the original A-Bolts (.257 Roberts, .25-06, .284 Win) and they are all superb shooters. Never understood the disdain for the A-Bolt. Not a fan of the X-Bolt (styling, plastic magazine).

Assume its an original or an Abolt II? If thats the case I'd let her ride...I've owned multiples, been around many more. Never witnessed or experienced issues with bolt internals or trigger group. Triggers are not on the same level as a TT but they are entirely serviceable for a hunting rifle - especially if its destined for loaner status. Some folks struggle with the magazine, can't say I've experienced their troubles there.

I'd run it as is.


AB3 - no experience.

Thanks for the replies guys I really appreciate your opinions. Since I’m not current on the various iterations of the A-Bolt I don’t know for sure but I believe it’s a A-Bolt 1 since it has a “retained metal magazine” and no plastic.

It’s actually a fairly lightweight rifle for a 26” barrel and it does balance well the way it is. I wouldn’t drag it to Kodiak for 2 weeks of hard hunting but I think for a general knock around rifle it should be perfect.

Thanks again guys.

Leave it alone and just shoot it . I don't think Triggertech makes a trigger for it but if they did that would be the only change.

I have only owned 2 a-bolts, so my experience is limited. First, I had a 300 RUM that I felt like the overall mag length was to short so I traded it away, and then I have a 325 wsm mountain Ti. The only thing I did to either one of them was to replace the trigger spring in them. They both shot great so no reason to do anything else to them.

I still have my Abolt Hunter in 30-06. It is a shooter. The action is smooth. I should have bought another one in short action at that time. You can replace the trigger spring easily with a lighter one. It is glass bedded at the recoil lug. 60 degrees bolt throw with plenty of clearance from the scope. You are going to love that rifle.

Their trigger can be made much better with a low cost spring kit. I have done several had have been surprised with the result.
They can be as good or better than most mid range aftermarket triggers with little work or expense. They are easy to install and can be found at Brownells or Cabela’s. Last kit I ordered had 2 springs that you can try and decide between 2 to 4 lbs. with no noticeable creep. Most required only swapping out the spring and no other adjustments.

I have an A-Bolt Medallain in 300 Win Mag. Nice rifle, hunt with it a fair bit. It isn't "range friendly" as it has a brake on it. My shoulder appreciates the brake for sure.
I wouldn't get rid of yours. Like most, I haven't had any issues. Trigger is plenty good enough for hunting and the rifle is are nice to look at when not shooting. Browning's are good guns.
Jeff

Junk, wouldn’t own one.

Have 2 in the safe today, owned several through the years , never any issues with any.

As you can tell by my campfire handle, my answers are biased. I bought my first one, a 30-06, in 1989 and right now, I have eight of them from .22 LR to .338 WM. I bought the .338 in 1999 for $425.00 at Kittery Trading Post in Maine, for my first trip to Newfoundland. I had the barrel of the .338 cut to 23 inches. To me it's better balanced, but I carried it a lot of miles with the 26 inch barrel.

A lot of people here want to bad mouth the A-bolt, but I've never had one problem. It's accurate and dependable. I like how they fit me. If there's any thing to change, it might be a better trigger, although I'm happy with mine. From my experience with other brands of rifles, I would buy the trigger spring kit from McCarbo and rock on.

Congratulations on finding the .338. If you use it, you may find yourself needing a different rifle for a loaner.

I once visited a guy, in upstate NY, who had a gun business he operated out of his garage. He shot almost every rifle he sold and he told me the most accurate rifles, on average, were the A-bolts.
I am not a fan of the trigger lever and have seen a couple which broke at the pin. Replacing it with a steel piece fixes that but it's a bit spendy to do. I was never a fan of the detachable mag but it actually works pretty well. I like the bolt design although I prefer a 90 degree lift. I dislike the bolt handle. There were issue with light primer strikes for a while (late 80's) but I think they fixed that. All in all, I think they are a better rifle than many give them credit for being. Having said this, I don't think I would buy one but that is just prejudice talking. GD

Thanks for all the replies gentlemen.

This rifle will be put through her paces this year and once I’m comfortable with it I’ll use it as another loaner rifle. I think I’ll take it up with me when I fly back on Tuesday….

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


THIS...for damn sure.


I worked for 22 years behind the counter at the LGS...we had two top notch gunsmiths in there. Any time anyone questioned about the A- bolts I'd take them 'in the back' and ask if they see any A-bolts in the racks waiting for repairs....nada.

Reported accuracy was always excellent.

What was the cardinal rule that your broke?

I had a left hand A-Bolt 30-06 stainless stalker for a few years. It was a shooter. The previous owner had magnaport put a radial brake on it and the finish was very well matched to the barrel, almost looked seamless. Recoil was minimal with the brake and the limbsaver pad.

I wasn’t in love with the magazine system and my bolt wasn’t that smooth, but it shot very well. I liked the bolt throw, the bolt handle, safety position and the fact that it was stainless (not a ton of left handed stainless rifles out there).

I ended up selling it on here a few months back. Sometimes I regret selling it, but most of the time I don’t. I ended up getting a short action X-Bolt, which seems to be a better rifle for me.

my primary elk hunting buddy has an older abolt in 7mmremmag. he's used that same rifle for at least 25 years, killing probably 22 elk and i imagine easily over 100 deer and hogs. to my knowledge he's never had the first problem with the rifle. i think they are great rifles. not so for the ab3 though.

Abolt 2 owner for about 30 years. Have a medallion 7mag with boss system. 1st year the boss was offered. I he only thing I did was replace the trigger spring. Much lighter pull and feels nice. Cheap addition.

Killed my first elk and mule deer with a composite 7mm RM that I paid $330 for in 1988. Shot great and no issues. Only reason I sold it was because I went to a Gunwerks in 7mag. Great rifles.

I have three ABolt's that I bought new. SMOOTH !!! Accurate - all are 3/4 to 1/4" guns with loads they like. Have had them for 30 years also. All mine are BOSS

I replaced two trigger springs and clipped one - the one I clipped is the best and most accurate of the bunch. Would never get rid of them.

I figured for sure this was going to be about a proposed rifle build where the OP shot the donor, and, the donor shoots so good the OP needs another donor.

The cardinal-rule-sin would have been buying a Savage.

Dude…..my first “all around” rifle is a Savage 116 FSAK in .338wm that an ex girlfriend bought me in 1994 or so. I killed everything with that rifle and it is without question the MOST ACCURATE rifle I’ve ever owned. I haven’t hunted it in years but I shoot it a couple times a year just for nostalgia. I had put a Bell & Carlson stock on it years ago but the Duratouch finish turned gummy and sticky so I just sent it back to B&C with $80 for them to refinish. They refinished it and returned it within 2 weeks!

The Savage has always gotten the job done with my longest shot at an elk at 537 yards. I head shoot grouse for camp meat and annoying Stellars jays have taken 225 grains to the chest. It ain’t pretty but she always got it done, I think the Browning will exceed it in looks and hopefully equal it in accuracy and dependability. 👍🏼

Thanks guys 👍🏼👍🏼

My two A-bolts..an AB2 in 7mm-08 and an AB3 in .30-06…are fine shooters. I call my AB2 the best “out of the box” rifle I’ve ever owned.

I’ve definitely heard that about them and that’s why I decided to try it out for myself….a fun project. I’ve been going 10 or 20 MOA Pic rails recently for durability and usefulness of elevation that would otherwise be below the waterline so I’m thinking about ordering a Murphy 10 MOA for it unless I stumble across something similar.

I gave her a good cleaning and I’ll get it set up soon, in fact I need some more tarred seine twine and I think that shop has some choices that’ll work.

Word to the wise because i just went through this when I started playing around with my AB2 7 mag Boss system. I had a Nikon 4-12x50 AO (pre monarch) with duel dovetail mounts. Great scope but gave it to my son for his rifle. It was long so it worked perfect in my LA 7 mag. I picked up a S&B Klassic and was going to change the rings out to fin the DD mounts and noticed that the scope was shorter and thus didn't give me alot of play room to move back and forth for eye relief and positioning. So i decided, like you, to get a rail and would give me tons of options. Every rail I tried, and I tried several, didn't fit the action worth a chit. All of the holes lined up, but every rail had the arch cut out and it didn't match up with the ejection port. Small cosmetic detail, but i wanted it right. So after several attempts of buying and returning, I ended up buying 2 piece Warne rail mounts and put my Optika 6 3-18x56 on it. Because the ejection port is open, like the Rem 700 and 700 clones, it kept the port open by going 2 piece. If you definately want to go rail mount, get a flat rail not any arched version. But then it will enclose the ejection port.

Interesting….. I appreciate the tip. 👍🏼

My boy has a 270 wsm a-bolt medallion. Shoots anything put through it, very accurate. He wanted to change the stock from wood to synthetic. I suggested not touching a thing because of how well it shot. He left the stock alone and never had any issues at all. Only thing done to it was a trigger spring by, ernie the gunsmith, was put in to lighten it up.

I'd replace the trigger spring with a McCarbo and I'd shoot it. My first big game rifle was/is a 30-06 stainless stalker that will be passed down to my kids. It has been semi-retired now after accounting for at least 100 deer, but no way I would get rid of it. I could take it to the range this afternoon and get sub moa groups with 150 SST or 180 AB (or probably a dozen other loads). Not much you can't kill with one of those options.

I've shot and been around at least 20 A-bolts and never seen a single issue. I have a couple friends that shoot 7mm RMs with the 26"barrels and they wouldn't chop them down if it was free.

A-bolt I and A-bolt II both have the metal magazine that clips into the floor plate. The difference between the two models is easily distinguished by looking at the bolt. The I has a round bolt with grooves cut parallel to the action. The II has a triangular bolt shroud.

The X-bolt had the AB3 have plastic magazines.

I have 3 ABolts. Bought them in 1992, right before gun stores had to pay tax on their end of the year inventory in Minnesota. Two with the synthetic stocks and one with a wood stock, that I picked up cheap.

All three were very accurate rifles...scoped.

Came into a few extra bucks, so I went all out... bought an 06, 300 Win and a 338 Win. Paid $200 each, out the door.
Between Christmas and New Years Day.

Still have all three...

I like A-Bolts, but would shun one in a magnum as the butt end footprint is so small. Recoil became a bit less than fun.

See below the buttpad off an A-Bolt 375H&H along side with the std butt off a 700.

Correct, you'd swear that my Abolt 2 medallion 7mag but pad was mad of granite. I was able to find a limbsaver for it. Its not quite an exact match, but real real close. Preferably I'd need to get a grind to fit and have a gunsmith feather its shape to the stock, but this will do for now.

I have an ABolt hunter in 30-06. I like the rifle and it handled very well. It was as accurate as I can shoot. It shot 1 inch to 1.25 inch groups with all the inexpensive ammo I have bought for it. I tried any premium or handloads. I never have been able to love the BOSS system so the rifle never became a favorite.

I put a swaro 3-10x42 on it and used it for a couple years for whitetails in Alabama. I ultimately put a
VX3 1.5-5 x20 on it and used it for a atv rifle for jump shooting hogs in Florida.

I cant find anything to complain about with the rifle other than the BOSS and thats just a personal issue. It mostly sits in the safe as I have new rifles I like better. I got zero dollars in the rifle and I have put some thought into having another barrel put on it. Just never did.

I have seen more A-Bort failures in use than all other failures combined... for a long while the metals in the trigger group turned orange at the sight of salt. standard common failure was frozen (with rust) trigger links.

I've owned a BUNCH of A-Bolt II rifles. There's still a 243Win, Composite Stalker in my safe.

Trigger Tech doesn't make a trigger for an ABII or they didn't last time I checked. The only thing I would do is replace the factory trigger spring with a Timney spring. You can thank me later. It's the best, cheapest and really the only needed upgrade for an ABII.

I’m glad that you responded and I appreciate your experience. I recall hearing that the triggers were less than durable which was why I thought that replacing it with a good aftermarket would solve that problem. I’m just tinkering with this one right now….

I think I’ll thank you now…..thanks. 😀

Does Timney make a drop in trigger? Mine is an A-Bolt I according to the info posted by the knowledgeable guys here.

Supercub…..I found that out years ago….Browning could have ground the stock to a sharp point but they did us a favor and left something that resembles a buttstock, only smaller. 😂

I was sighting my 338 in one day at my buddy’s ranch when 1 friend brought his Supergrade in 338 over for me to check his zero since my rifle was dead on accurate and my shooting was repeatable. Then another buddy brought his A-Bolt for me to check zero. My goodness the difference between the perceived recoil was significant with the Browning being the worst. I’m not recoil averse and I don’t possess enough common sense to avoid it so I’m not worried….I went into knowing that it’ll beat my fillings loose, besides it’s a loaner rifle….😂😂.

No sir, no drop in trigger.

Here's a link to the springs you'll need. I've always used the lighter of the two and been happy with the results.

Got my spring from M-Carbo about $10. And it does make a difference. Its sweet to shoot now.

Have a .375 Wby Stainless Stalker 26" barrel that started life as an H&H. It's been my bear rifle since 2005 or 2006. I've crawled MILES through dark spruce on my belly and lips pushing that rifle ahead of me. It has never failed to feed, fire of function in any way. It'll go a thin whisker over 1 1/2" for 5 shots at 100 yards with 250 SGK's at 3060 fps. I added a LimbSaver pad to the hind end.

Only thing I "changed" was I swapped the 6-32 mount holes for 8-40's.

I’ve had probably mix of 10 A-Bolts and A-Bolt II’s. They’ve all shot as good as any custom I’ve had. Still have a Stainless Stalker in .270 Win. No hiccups from anything Browning.

I bought an A-bolt II new in .338 WM right around the time the BOSS came out. That has to be the loudest muzzle brake every created and I'm sure it contributed to me wearing hearing aids now-adays. The biggest issue I had with mine was the screws would all loosen up after a dozen or so shots and the stock doesn't take "character" well. Would be an easy fix but she currently lives in the back of my gun safe.

My first center fire rifle was an a-bolt hunter in 223. The only thing I have done to it is swap scopes for no particular reasons and shoot it.

It is actually all ready to go in the field with me early morning to see if we can call a varmint or two.

I would just shoot it unless you had a problem with it, or was taking it on a lifetime hunt.

YMMV

-John

I really appreciate all the replies and suggestions! I ordered the spring kit and a rail as well as an extra mag. The only rings or bases available locally was a set of 1” Talley LW so I bought them since I like having at least 2 sets of rings and bases for each rifle. I mounted a Leupold VX II 3-9 in the Talleys but when the rail comes I’ll bed it to the receiver and put a Meopta 3-9 on it and keep the Leupold for a backup scope.

I couldn’t warm up to the high gloss pimp-daddy finish so I removed it and refinished the stock with a matte finish. It looks like a hunting rifle now. 😀. I’m looking forward to getting it sighted in and maybe it’ll get bloody this year.

Thanks again for all the replies.

Mine never did me wrong

As far as recoil on the Browning A Bolt in338 Win Mag, I load 225 grain and 250 grain Hornady SP bullets in it,
but use 4064 for powder, vs 4350 or 4831 powders.

I might give up 50 to 100 fps MV, but at the same time, I also give up a big difference in recoil also..

Using RL 15 or IMR 4895 has given me the same results. My rifle has the black synthetic stock as does the 30/06.

The 300 Win Mag came with a wood stock. Occasionally I hunt with it, or loan it out to a kid, with a 150 or 165 grain bullet, with a load of 22 grains of Unique....it is running at 30/30 speeds, but the ergos on the stock, it kicks much less than a Model 94. I can wind it up to 300 Win Mag speeds, using 300 Weatherby loads with a 180 or 220 grain RN, and 83 grains of H 1000. Which for some reason recoils less than a load of H 4831... or at least perceived recoil.

Good info Seafire and when it comes to reloading I appreciate your input.

I've owned, or still own, A-Bolts from .22 mag to .300 WM and they were/are ALL great rifles. I did swap out the trigger springs as mentioned above. Give yours an open minded chance and I think you will like it....

I scrubbed the barrel clean and got all copper out of it. Yesterday I fired 3 fouling shots that were about an inch with 2 different loads. I then decided to try a 3 shot group from a lousy rest over the porch railing and put 3 into 3/4” so I think this old rifle still has more life left in her. I’ll dial it in more later but I used my old boresighter and never touched the dials….at least not yet. I’m sure this will work just fine and it definitely shows potential. It appears to like the 225gr TBBC which is fine with me but I’ll run some 210TSX’s through it and see how it likes the 200gr ballistic tips too. Those are the go to bullets for me in this caliber. 👍🏼

Aces, all due respect but I'll be damned if I understand the concept of buying a rifle just to loan it out. If I ever came to the conclusion I had to provide a loaner I'd go find a bubba sporterized 7.7 jap arisaka complete with piss poor irons and original retard safety. Just to make sure they only asked once. I don't loan dogs, women, guns , vehicles ,money, or any kind of cutting tools..mb