Browning a Bolt 7mm Mag With Boss Review
April 03, 2014
If y'all're a fan of professional athletics, yous've certainly heard the term "depth." Depth is a critical element to the success of any sports squad, and even the greatest athletes have had a supporting cast that helped balance their game.
When the Chicago Bulls were the NBA's powerhouse franchise, Michael Hashemite kingdom of jordan was the star of the team, simply he was surrounded by fantastic role players similar Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman and Toni Kukoc.
The 1993 Dallas Cowboys had Emmitt Smith and Troy Aikman, only that team would never have been such an offensive threat without Michael Irvin and Jay Novacek. Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Earle Combs, Bob Meusel and Tony Lazzeri made upward the 1927 Yankees' famous "Murderers' Row."
And Franco Harris wouldn't take been a leading rusher in four Super Bowl seasons without one of the best offensive lines in history. Having i or ii superstars simply isn't enough.
Such is likewise the case with firearms companies. Doing one or two things well is fine, only the largest and most successful gun companies have reached that status because they offer a lot of options that meet the needs of many different shooters. 2 decades agone, shotgun manufacturers began offering specialized variants of their guns for every imaginable subject: turkey hunting, waterfowl, home defense, sporting clays, slug guns, upland hunting and others.
The increase in concealed-acquit licenses inspired a similar motion in the handgun market, and at present in that location are guns that weigh less than x ounces, guns that cost less than $300 and guns with laser sights, easy-to-rack slides and pink grips.
Information technology's happening in centerfire rifles, also, and the influx of budget-priced rifles capable of producing excellent accurateness has spurred companies to offer their own inexpensive bolt deportment in an endeavor to stay competitive.
Browning has a long history of producing quality products, merely few of its guns have e'er been classified as "budget." The Browning A-Bolt and X-Bolt rifles are well built and authentic, but neither one is inexpensive. Fifty-fifty the to the lowest degree expensive X-Commodities has a suggested retail price over $750, and some variants of the X-Bolt and A-Bolt run more than $one,000.
If Browning were going to provide a rifle that could lure budget-minded buyers away from the likes of the Ruger American, Cruel Centrality and Remington 783, the visitor would have to exist able to beat the cost points established by its premier hunting rifles. Enter the A-Bolt III, Browning's entry-level commodities-activity burglarize. The gun's design lineage is unmistakable: Information technology has the profile of the A-Bolt and many of the design cues of the 10-Bolt in a package that retails for around $600.
Merely merely looking good and wearing the feature Buckmark symbol is not enough to convince shooters to crush out their hard-earned greenbacks on a new burglarize. If the A-Commodities III is to succeed, it has to offering the features consumers now expect in even the cheapest rifles: a neat trigger; free-floated, crowned butt; and a level of accuracy that just a few years ago was reserved but for high-end rifles.
I'k happy to say that when I opened the Browning box and took a look at the A-Commodities Iii, I wasn't put off by its structure. The recent craze toward ultra-accurate, ultra-cheap rifles has led some companies to let cost cut to dictate every pattern element, with the result a gun that shoots well but is coarsely built. The A-Bolt Three doesn't demand that the shooter cede aesthetics for the sake of savings.
The matte blued finish on the receiver and barrel is meliorate than most entry-level guns and on par with more than expensive models. Fit and finish are good for a gun in this cost range, and the stock isn't dramatically angled in an effort to look avant-garde or futuristic. The overall look of the burglarize belies its price tag, and the A-Bolt III doesn't scream "inexpensive."
The rifle incorporates the increasingly popular fat-bolt design where the locking lugs are the aforementioned bore as the commodities. In the case of the Browning, there are iii locking lugs that allow for a short sixty-degree bolt lift, and there are a pocket-size extractor and a plunger-blazon ejector on the bolt confront.
The oversized bolt fits tightly in the receiver, and there is very little slop when working the activity. The bolt handle is flattened and angled just like its more expensive A-Bolt and X-Bolt cousins, and the rear of the bolt shroud is enclosed. A highly visible cocking indicator is located just under the shroud, and a tang-mounted safety pays homage to the burglarize's Browning roots. There is a bolt release button located just backside the bolt handle, and the activity tin can be cycled with the safety in the "on" position.
The matte-finish receiver is drilled and tapped and has scalloped edges that give the gun a modern look. The barrel is hand-chambered and complimentary-floated and has a target crown to protect the rifling.
A-Bolt 3 rifles are currently bachelor in iv calibers: .270 Win., .30-06, 7mm Rem. Mag. and .300 Win. Mag. Non-magnum calibers have a 22-inch barrel; magnum calibers get a 26-inch pipe.
The stock of the A-Bolt III is unproblematic and understated. Information technology is a straight-rummage, American-style stock, and the wrist has a correct-manus palm corking that fills the hand and helps anchor your grip on the burglarize (if you're a correct-handed shooter). Large textured panels along the length of the stock allow for a secure grip fifty-fifty in wet conditions.
The stock doesn't "feel" cheap. Some budget guns audio like a snare pulsate when you tap the stock with your knuckles, just the A-Commodities 3 doesn't — which reduces the chances that banging the stock against a tree will spook all the game in a quarter-mile radius.
The A-Bolt III burglarize comes with Browning's high-quality Inflex recoil pad, which, Browning says, is engineered to straight recoil down and away from the shooter'southward face, reducing felt recoil by as much as 25 per centum.
I've shot Browning'due south Maxus, the new 725 Citori, the Ten-Bolt and now the A-Commodities III with this recoil pad in place, and I must admit that it seems to reduce the touch of recoil. I shot a handful of rounds from both sitting and standing positions, and I found the recoil of the 7mm Rem. Mag. to be moderate just not painful.
It'southward now widely accepted amid shooters that new product rifles must accept a crisp, pitter-patter-gratuitous trigger, and the A-Bolt 3 has a make-new design that is on par with most rivals. Though the trigger performs well, information technology looks large and blocky. The swollen appearance doesn't actually jibe with the polish lines found on the remainder of the gun, and its large, rounded-plastic exterior probably won't entreatment to traditionalists.
The box mag, however, will please traditionalists considering it is non made of plastic. Information technology's a elementary and constructive design with a recessed magazine release push button located but in forepart of the magazine itself.
Ultimately, the A-Bolt III is cosmetically and mechanically a stride higher up almost of its slightly less expensive competitors in the world of entry-level rifles, but that segment of the market is purchasing a gun because it's a good value. For the A-Bolt Three to win over this audience information technology has to be capable of very practiced accuracy with factory ammunition.
I tested the rifle on the range on a beautiful, clear fall mean solar day- rare for southwestern Ohio. Even rarer was the fact that the range was empty almost all solar day, so I had the chance to spend a lot of time with the A-Bolt 3 at both the 100- and 200-yard ranges. I mounted and bore-sighted a Nikon Monarch iii 3-12x42 telescopic (see sidebar) on the burglarize. With a stack of ammo on the bench beside me I went to work.
There were no feeding or extraction/ejection problems, but the box mag sometimes required a solid tap with the barrel of my hand to be sure that it locked firmly in place.
Results are shown in the accompanying table, and accuracy was sufficient with all loads tested. The Browning favored the Federal loads, and ii of the three groups that I shot with those cartridges held right under one inch at 100 yards for an overall boilerplate of one.04 inches.
For a budget-priced production burglarize that's pretty good, simply the Browning faces stiff contest from two other upkeep guns I've tested recently: Weatherby'south Vanguard and Ruger's American, both of which are extremely accurate.
The Weatherby Vanguard retails nigh $50 more than than the Browning, and the Ruger American is about $150 less. But one of the Browning's best features is that information technology is inexpensive without feeling inexpensive. The stock looks good and isn't as radically designed as the Ruger American.
The A-Bolt Iii is a solid entry into the highly competitive budget-centerfire market. Browning has managed to produce a gun that provides price-conscious hunters and shooters with the accuracy they demand without feeling shortchanged by the overall package, and this newest fellow member of the Browning family plays an important role in the success of the company's growing team of centerfire rifles.
The bolt shroud is reminiscent of the original A-Commodities, and the three-position condom allows the commodities to be cycled with the gun on Safe. The bolt release is conveniently located at the rear of the receiver.
While the trigger pull on the A-Commodities III is good, breaking cleanly at 3.v pounds, the author wasn't a fan of the trigger'due south blocky look.
Of the nine groups fired from the A-Bolt III in 7mm Rem. Mag., iii were under an inch. Thanks to the Inflex recoil pad and stock design, recoil was quite manageable.
The burglarize feeds from an aluminum detachable box mag (three magnum rounds, five standard), and the recessed release push won't be hit accidentally. The magazine did occasionally require a sharp rap to seat properly.
'Fat ' bolts are pop on economic system rifles (less machining). Browning's sports a three-lug design for a 60-degree lift.
Browning didn't skimp on the recoil pad with the A-Bolt III. Information technology'south the aforementioned Inflex pad found on many of its other long guns.
Notes: Accuracy results are averages of 3 three-shot groups at 100 yards off a stock-still rest. Velocities are averages of x shots measured on a ProChrono digital chronograph fix 10 feet from the cage.
Source: https://www.rifleshootermag.com/editorial/browning-bolt-iii-review/83778