Browning Eclipse Target Rifle Review
There is a swivel stud up front for the attachment of a bipod. Your sling can be attached with the flush mounts installed at the factory. This is nice for the bench shooters so your barrel studs do not tear up your rests. I mounted my Swarovski X5 .34-18x56 and headed to my bench. The Eclipse has four mounting holes front and rear. This is evident when you pick up a new one and you will see a plastic "X" front and rear of the action. These connect the hole plugs. Currently Browning sells a ring/base combination for the rifle. It is the same design as the DNXZ, one piece base and bottom ring. There are other suppliers selling compatible scope bases. Personally I cannot see the need for four hole bases, but it worked well for me.
For testing I pulled together most of the available 6.5 Creedmoor ammunition on the market including a new comer, Prime ammunition out of Las Vegas, NV.
Five shot groups were fired at 100 yards and three at 200 yards. These were the best groups of several days at my range. It was unusual in my experience for nearly all the ammunitions to shoot so well. The exception was the Hornady Superformance which shot well enough for a hunting round but did not stay up with the others. With Nosler Match I shot an amazing five shot group at 100 yards but at 200 yards the new Hornady ELD M shot the best with a .765" group. My results are a testament to the potential accuracy of the new Eclipse Target rifle.
The Prime ammunition I used was their 130gr. HPBT match round. It performed very well considering the competition. It actually had the third best five shot group at 100 yards. RUAG Ammotec makes the ammunition. This company is based in Switzerland and is well known in Europe for its dependability, consistency and accuracy. The 6.5 Creedmoor is also available in a hunting round. This ammunition can be purchased directly from Prime, saving the markup of a middleman.
At a suggested retail price of $1069.99, the Browning Eclipse Target Rifle is a great value for an exceptionally accurate factory rifle. It is definitely not your grandfather's Browning.
After twenty-five years with a major law enforcement agency, John Johnston retired to the hill country of central Texas. His law enforcement career was diverse with assignments with the tactical/motorcycle unit, patrol, and criminal investigation. After retiring, writing became his calling. He started with a newspaper column which, he still writes and then moved up to major magazines in the area of shooting and hunting. He is known for his unbiased product testing and evaluations. Having a full size range from 25-450 yards next to his home was his dream come true. 2010 marks his fiftieth anniversary in the hunting, shooting and reloading sports. You will notice his writing style is quite relaxed and he prefers to write like he is speaking to you around a camp fire. John welcomes questions and comments whether good or bad. You can reach John at [email protected].
For testing I pulled together most of the available 6.5 Creedmoor ammunition on the market including a new comer, Prime ammunition out of Las Vegas, NV.
Five shot groups were fired at 100 yards and three at 200 yards. These were the best groups of several days at my range. It was unusual in my experience for nearly all the ammunitions to shoot so well. The exception was the Hornady Superformance which shot well enough for a hunting round but did not stay up with the others. With Nosler Match I shot an amazing five shot group at 100 yards but at 200 yards the new Hornady ELD M shot the best with a .765" group. My results are a testament to the potential accuracy of the new Eclipse Target rifle.
The Prime ammunition I used was their 130gr. HPBT match round. It performed very well considering the competition. It actually had the third best five shot group at 100 yards. RUAG Ammotec makes the ammunition. This company is based in Switzerland and is well known in Europe for its dependability, consistency and accuracy. The 6.5 Creedmoor is also available in a hunting round. This ammunition can be purchased directly from Prime, saving the markup of a middleman.
At a suggested retail price of $1069.99, the Browning Eclipse Target Rifle is a great value for an exceptionally accurate factory rifle. It is definitely not your grandfather's Browning.
After twenty-five years with a major law enforcement agency, John Johnston retired to the hill country of central Texas. His law enforcement career was diverse with assignments with the tactical/motorcycle unit, patrol, and criminal investigation. After retiring, writing became his calling. He started with a newspaper column which, he still writes and then moved up to major magazines in the area of shooting and hunting. He is known for his unbiased product testing and evaluations. Having a full size range from 25-450 yards next to his home was his dream come true. 2010 marks his fiftieth anniversary in the hunting, shooting and reloading sports. You will notice his writing style is quite relaxed and he prefers to write like he is speaking to you around a camp fire. John welcomes questions and comments whether good or bad. You can reach John at [email protected].
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