Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles M70 EW, Kimber Montana, or X-Bolt

Posting for a good friend of mine. He's been hunting with an old 30-30 and is upgrading to a new bolt gun. I have an EW and love it and so does he but unfortunately I don't have any experience with the other 2 to give him any advice. Primary use will be for deer/predator hunting. He primarily hunts out of a stand but will still hunt about 30% of the time. Accuracy is the biggest factor followed by weight/handling

Weight and accuracy go hand in hand. Not everyone can shoot a rifle as light as a Montana. My XBolt shot lights out with no work. My Montana took some work with bedding. Montana wins on trigger and stock. Never shot a EW and being quite a bit heavier than my Montana I dout I ever will.

Kimber

EW

EW

A gun dealer couldnt run fast enough to give me a Browning. Jumping up from a dirty thirty I would go EW in '06...

Second thought, boat paddle Ruger, same caliber. Take the savings and put a good scope on it.

I'd take a Ruger over any of the other three choices

IMO the X-Bolt isn't on the same level as the Kimber and Winchester. The Kimber rifles are by far my favorite hunting rifle but they're kind of a specialized rifle as they're such light and trim rifles so some people may not shoot them as well as "normal" rifles. Some of them need a little work to get them to shoot really well, while some are good to go right off the shelf. Either way the Kimber is a rifle that he'd probably need to spend some extra time with to get used to it and shoot as well as he'd like. That being said i can highly suggest the M70 Extreme Weather. I own both Kimber rifles and a M70 EW and for a rifle you just want to buy, throw a scope on and shoot the M70 EW is the way to go. They're a little cheaper than the Kimber, it has a nice B&C stock, fluted stainless barrel, balances very nicely and every new FN made M70 I've had (4) had been a 1" or better @ 100 yard rifle right out of the box with no tweaking. If he has the option to handle all three side by side that's a really good idea and although the X-bolt handles nicely, its not made with as good of materials as the other two especially in the stock. The Browning's are also made on Japan which is a huge turnoff for me, And "made in japan" is clearly stamped right in the barrel. Icky...
Anyway, my vote goes to the M70 Extreme Weather. Let us know what he ends up choosing.

Cory

+1 ^

My question is, how much money does your friend have to spend??? I'd change it up a bit: $400-$600= Ruger M77, $600-$800=Winchester classic model 70, $800-$1,000.00= EW

That's not a bad idea either. All three of them rifles are well made, accurate guns. All CRF too

Stop making rational posts, don't you know everyone needs a high dollar custom rig!

I love my Montucky, but those current M70 EW rifles are hard to top.

^ haha i feel the same way. The ONLY modern Browning that id take is a BAR. I have one and its a nice autoloader. The big plus is its the one Browning rifle that's not made in Japan. Made in Belgium assembled in Portugal!

Browning doesn't get much love on this forum but imo the x-bolt is one of the nicest handling rifle out there and they are also very accurate.I own one and a second is on its way.

I also got good result with the Fn Mod 70 but they are more bulky and heavier than a comparable x-bolt.

I don't have any experience with the kimber so I can't comment.

I have had all three and still have the kimber 84L and win EW model 70. They are all equally accurate but I liked the browning the least. It's a good gun but I liked the others better. I really go back and forth on the kimber and winnie. Haven't elk hunted though since I got the kimber.

Thanks so much for the replies guys. I've got a pm from someone possibly wanting to unload a EW wrapped nice and tight in a Micky which I think would be the best option

I agree. I've shot and handled a couple of X-bolts. My brother has a stainless stalker in '06 and it's a nice rifle. Light, points and shoots well at least for me.

That said, at heart I'm a M70 guy. And since your buddy is looking to spend upwards of a grand or more, and since weight would be a consideration, why not buy a M70 featherweight (new FN made or used classic) and stick it in McMillan stock? You'd be not much over a grand and have a nice stick at a reasonable weight.

Or like some others have mentioned, don't rule a Ruger M77. Hard to beat them for the cost/benefit and ruggedness.