26-04-2006, 12:40 PM
At the Range: David E. Petzal tests the new Browning A-Bolt
Dave liked this tempermental rifle enough to buy one for himself despite its quirks. Here's his review.
by David E. Petzal
![[Image: abolt.jpg]](http://img.timeinc.net/fieldstream/images_large/abolt.jpg)
THE INSIDE STORY: When it first came to me, this A-Bolt rifle couldn’t have hit Montana if I were standing in downtown Billings. Why? The fore-end had warped and was pressing against the barrel. I sent the gun back to Browning, where the problem was quickly corrected. When I got it back, the A-Bolt turned out to be a nice firearm, albeit a somewhat temperamental one. It does not shoot the three available bullet weights anywhere near one another, and it finds a certain weight to be much more to its taste than the others.
Here’s how it went on the target range: 180-grain Ballistic Silvertips averaged 1.649 inches; 200-grain AccuBond CT slugs went into 2.74 inches, and 220-grain Power-Point groups measured .598 across. This A-Bolt really likes Power-Points.
All told, it is a light, handsome rifle with a nicely figured, well-checkered claro walnut stock, a good—not great—trigger pull, and very positive feed for a gun that handles shortfats. I wish Browning would dispense with the gold-plated trigger, but that is a minor quibble.
Browning considers this an all-around gun, but I disagree. It’s not really a deer gun, but I would certainly use it on bear, elk, or African game. Its real advantage is that it’s a genuinely light gun that shoots a heavy bullet and won’t kick you to death in the process.
CALIBER: .325 WSM
PRICE: $764; right-hand, $734
WEIGHT: 7 pounds 1 ounce without scope
BARREL: 23-inch, chrome-moly
STOCK: Checkered walnut
TRIGGER PULL: 3 pounds 12 ounces
SCOPE USED IN TEST: Bushnell Elite 4200 2.5X–10X
ACTION: Left-handed A-Bolt
MAGAZINE CAPACITY: Three
fieldandstream
Mvh
Kim
Jeg er ikke fejlfri,men det er så tæt på at det skræmmer mig.
Dave liked this tempermental rifle enough to buy one for himself despite its quirks. Here's his review.
by David E. Petzal
THE INSIDE STORY: When it first came to me, this A-Bolt rifle couldn’t have hit Montana if I were standing in downtown Billings. Why? The fore-end had warped and was pressing against the barrel. I sent the gun back to Browning, where the problem was quickly corrected. When I got it back, the A-Bolt turned out to be a nice firearm, albeit a somewhat temperamental one. It does not shoot the three available bullet weights anywhere near one another, and it finds a certain weight to be much more to its taste than the others.
Here’s how it went on the target range: 180-grain Ballistic Silvertips averaged 1.649 inches; 200-grain AccuBond CT slugs went into 2.74 inches, and 220-grain Power-Point groups measured .598 across. This A-Bolt really likes Power-Points.
All told, it is a light, handsome rifle with a nicely figured, well-checkered claro walnut stock, a good—not great—trigger pull, and very positive feed for a gun that handles shortfats. I wish Browning would dispense with the gold-plated trigger, but that is a minor quibble.
Browning considers this an all-around gun, but I disagree. It’s not really a deer gun, but I would certainly use it on bear, elk, or African game. Its real advantage is that it’s a genuinely light gun that shoots a heavy bullet and won’t kick you to death in the process.
CALIBER: .325 WSM
PRICE: $764; right-hand, $734
WEIGHT: 7 pounds 1 ounce without scope
BARREL: 23-inch, chrome-moly
STOCK: Checkered walnut
TRIGGER PULL: 3 pounds 12 ounces
SCOPE USED IN TEST: Bushnell Elite 4200 2.5X–10X
ACTION: Left-handed A-Bolt
MAGAZINE CAPACITY: Three
fieldandstream
Mvh
Kim
Jeg er ikke fejlfri,men det er så tæt på at det skræmmer mig.