X marks the spot, and this Browning is spot on in many ways. Featuring a beefed-up action and bolt it’s likely the unlikely candidate in this group. A lightweight in this collection, it features a fluted barrel with Browning’s Recoil Hog muzzle brake and an action with a very short throw. In Ballistic’s Best’s past, Browning showed up in hunting rifle form. This time it’s a full-on target rifle that could easily pull duty as an occasional competition rifle in say, NRL Hunter comps.
The stock is the lightest and most basic of the group with comb adjustability. LOP is adjustable with spacers (same for the Altus). It’s nothing fancy but actually serves this rifle well. On an interesting if not odd note, the 6.5 Creedmoor-chambered barrel features a 1:7 twist. All evaluators found that “interesting.”
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Browning upped things with a proper AICS detachable magazine, though, giving it a chance in the competitive space. Is the Browning outclassed in this eval?
Browning came in and showed how good a straightforward, very affordable rifle can be. First, it’s the least expensive by a long shot at $1,729 MSRP. But don’t let that fool you, it doesn’t mean it’s cheap or incapable. In fact, we think it’s right at home in this class of rifles as it can serve the shooter with many goals well.
Its light weight is welcome, and it is balanced well. There’s a simplicity about it that’s hard to explain. All of us liked the action and early on in the evaluation we were seeing signs of the Browning taking top marks. So why didn’t it? It was likely the lack of modularity and accuracy. This rifle can do target, hunting and even some competitive work if the user so desires. But it only has a Pic rail section up front, and its proprietary action and trigger mean upgrading is less likely. But it does take AICS mags.
The muzzle brake was a beast but tamed the light rifle. The 1:7 barrel twist made shooting 140-grain bullets impossible. We couldn’t get it to group collectively. I threw down Black Hills and Hornady branded 147-grain offerings and the gun tightened right up. This move outside the industry standard of 1:8 twist hurts the rifle. That’s a shame because we think price per pound it’s a hard rifle to beat and it competes outside its weight and price class.
