Xbolt max

It can be really tough to give up on a rifle but sometimes you just have to cut your losses, BUT I have attached a comment I made about Nosler BT's, AB's and ABLR that may be pertinent to your rifle especially if you really like the ABLR's.

"Nosler BT's, AB's, ABLR etc may not shoot as well as you would think near the lands. The following is a technical note from their webpage for ABLR's but I have used this thought when loads were not performing as well as I thought they should when near the lands. I have actually reversed how I load BT's and AB's when I am not getting the accuracy I think should be by starting at SAAMI and then lengthening the CBTO or COAL to no more than 0.010 off the lands. And yes, I have found the sweet spot closer to or even at SAAMI for them.

Something to think about when realizing Berger says similar with their CBTO load guidance in some respects.

"TECHNICAL NOTE
*When loading the AccuBond®-LR bullet, Nosler ballisticians have found that loading to the maximum SAAMI cartridge overall length tends to provide best accuracy. "

link to page: Nosler ABLR Page
 
Sheephuntr said:
I'm having a hard time getting my xbolt to shoot very good. Can't seem to get anything I've tried to shoot under an inch. What are some tips you fellas can give me, any advice is helpful! Powders, bullets, primers, reloading techniques. It all helps. View attachment 185145
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I had problems with a X bolt in 300 Wm with a boss and was about to give up on it but fluke day load using a 180 gn Nosler ballistic tip sub .6 at 100 meters so percevere
 
Do your loads have good chronograph numbers/spreads?

My xbolt long range prefers hornady 160s elds or same for Sierra gamekings but shoots 160Accubond and partition at moa or slightly below if I really find the sweet spot. No experience with 175 because mine is the older 9 1/2 twist
 
I had one and tried all different loads and depths and still couldn't get it to shoot. I tried 4-5 different scopes it wasn't a scope issue. I called Browning and they recommended shooting 175 gr factory Remington, Winchester and I believe Federal. I bought a box of Remington's and it still wouldn't shoot. I sent it back to Browning they kept it for about 1 1/2 months and sent it back to me with a couple holes touching on a target. I mounted a scope took it out to my range and it shot just like it did before I sent it back. I sent it back to Browning with a letter telling them how I felt about their product , about 3 months later I got a new one back from Browning. It's still in the box unfired if anyone is interested in it. It the Max long range in 7 mm mag.
 
I have 3 X bolts. 7mm-08, 7mm mag and 300 win mag. All of them are tack drivers. Triggers are pretty stiff at 3.5 to 4 lbs but they still shoot when I concentrate. My 7 mag is a long range also. And I shoot 168 ABLR. Funny everyone says Berger but that's apple's and oranges. The beauty of the ABLR is they're bonded. Took me some playing to make them shoot but they eventually did with H1000 CCI 250 primers, Nosler brass and definitely have some jump. I had to slow them down to 2950 to get them to shoot 1/2" groups but there's nothing wrong with that speed. I've taken 3 mule deer and 2 bulls. 180 to 585 yds. Worked prefectly. I'm shooting them in 4 of my rifles now. Wish they made one for my 25-06. It's counterintuitive but move away from the lands not closer. Good luck!
 
montana bob said:
I had one and tried all different loads and depths and still couldn't get it to shoot. I tried 4-5 different scopes it wasn't a scope issue. I called Browning and they recommended shooting 175 gr factory Remington, Winchester and I believe Federal. I bought a box of Remington's and it still wouldn't shoot. I sent it back to Browning they kept it for about 1 1/2 months and sent it back to me with a couple holes touching on a target. I mounted a scope took it out to my range and it shot just like it did before I sent it back. I sent it back to Browning with a letter telling them how I felt about their product , about 3 months later I got a new one back from Browning. It's still in the box unfired if anyone is interested in it. It the Max long range in 7 mm mag.
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I would be interested with playing with it for you if you would like, or buying it.
 
T3ninja said:
I don't mean to laugh, because it's not funny at all. But I've yet to see or hear of one of these shooting worth a hoot. I had one in .300 mag. "Iron worker" on here had one as well. I spent over $600 on components trying every combo I had access to. 4 or 5 different bullets close to 10 different powders. Browning accepts 1.5 MOA from this model and they were on about a 3-4 month turn around to "look" at it. But they made it clear to me that if they were able to get a 1.5 moa group out of it, it was within their specs. I ended up having mine rebarreled ($900) and it shot better. BUT I will say that the stock may seem like a neat one, but it IMO is in fact junk also. If it NOT stiff enough for bipod work. Even with the mcarbo spring installed, if you watch closely (hard to explain, without sounding like my form is garbage) you can actually see the stock flexing enough to make the cross hairs slowly drift down on the target... this may not be the case on I'll of them, but it was on mine. The Max LR was about a $2700 mistake I wish I would have never made. But, I'm glad it happened , makes me never buy another rifle that I cant work on myself. This is just how I feel about the rifles. I know some people love them, but I HATE them. I'll NEVER buy another browning again.


Hopefully you can get yours straightened out.
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Wow. Wildly over-react much?
 
I worked for literally 2 decades to get my wife's SAKO Finnbear 7mm RM to shoot well. It always shot "goodish" 1.0--1.25 MOA):); finally found 68 gr. RL-25, 160 gr Federal Trophy Bonded bullet, Fed 215M primer, Nosler custom brass. That combo shoots a ragged hole now. Not sure hers will stabilize the 175-180 gr pills. Anyhow you might play with the RL-25...
 
Oh yeah, try dropping down to the 160 gr bullet, forgot to put that on my thread, and also get a trigger job or drop in--I think Jard has an after market for the X-Bolt...and after a LOT of gnashing of teeth I think Timney or Jewel has a trigger now for the browning. I had a trigger job done by my gunsmith on an A-Bolt and he got it down to about 3 Lbs and pretty dry, which was great for the kid's first hunting rifle.
 
T3ninja said:
Considering the amount of money and time wasted on the rifle, and seeing how many other people have piped up in the last 2 days having similar issues with this model. No, I don't think so. Thanks for the concern though. Like I said my opinion.
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LOL. Ok.
 
I think you are on the right track. I had to experiment with several bullets and loads in my x-bolt before I found what it preferred. And a drop in Timney replacement trigger also helped.

Different rifle barrels can be finicky eaters and sometimes spit out what they don't like!:)
 
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