Browning x bolt western hunter 26 nosler

ok. So I recently started sighting in a browning xbolt. Western hunter in 26 nosler. It seems to be all over the place. I shoot and wait 8-10 minutes between shots. I always use the same time on a particular day but time varies day to day. Warmer the day longer I wait. I shot a box and half of factory loads 129 able from nosler. All my groups where 3". At least. I will show you a picture and mark my first few shots to get an idea.

After those it seemed to settle in. I did clean the rifle before shooting it every time but just a powder jag through it. So I guess. What I am trying to decide is should I run a third box of factory loads through it before I start working up a load or do I start with reloads now. If I do another box of factory should I try a heavier bullet. I really wanted to shoot the 129s or lighter. Only plan on shooting deer or antelope with it. Any input or suggestions. Also curious if anybody else has jad this trouble.

Did you follow Browning's break in procedure? They recommend cleaning after every shot with an ammonia based cleaner for at least the first 6 or 7 shots. Then shoot a couple more and clean again and then clean after 10 more shots. All without using a brush, just solvent and patches. Not sure that has anything to do with your shots being scattered, but I followed their break in procedure and my x bolt shoots very well.

Didn't follow that regiment precisely but did clean with patch only and carbon remover a lot.

I would clean it down to bare metal and keep putting rounds down it until your barrel speeds up before doing any load development. You need to remove the copper fouling and keep shooting until it is fully broke in or you will be wasting time with your load development and may have to start over later.

I bought a brand new x bolt long range 26 nosler a few years ago was very excited to get it then when I went to put scope base on it nothing about the receiver was square. I tried every factory load i could find and tried many hand loads and could never get it to group anything. Was very disappointed. I know others have had good luck with the x bolts but I would never buy another one.

Great. That's about when I bought the rifle. I guess I need to give it some more time to find out. Hope that's not my issue.

Did browning do anything to make it right. I have always had good luck with their customer service. Jjlo63

I hope you get yours figured out Gills but i don't think the the one i had would ever shoot good groups. I had several hundred rounds down the barrel and it never showed anything good. I feit like i was going to shoot out the barrel before i figured mine out and got discussed and took it to the auction

I shoot a 2506 x bolt and I have 2 sons that shoot 7 mm mag x bolts and all are great rifles. If I was in the market for a new rifle it would be another x bolt.

Easy steps first: Scope mount and rings tight? I mean, REMOVE the scope and physically recheck the mount screws (as in loosen them, then retighten and then add some green 'wicking' loctite.) Then remount the scope, torquing to specs of whoever made the rings. Just 'wiggling' the scope isn't going to tell you if it is right.

Next CLEAN the barrel with a bronze brush and a copper removing product. Then do it again. Might even need some JB Non-Embedding Bore Compound to move things along. A wet patch isn't "cleaning" a bore that hasn't been broken in yet. I know - it's a pain. I feel for you. But I have to believe Browning didn't make you a piece of c-r-a-p. Assume, for now, that your rifle was made properly. Only after you exhaust the obvious fixes would I go down that rabbit trail. Apparently jjlo63 got that rare Friday @ 5pm model (

Another thing to consider is...maybe your scope is dying? Try another scope before declaring the rifle 'bad'. Some people tighten the rings too much and that makes the scope do weird and bad things. (Hence my recommendation to torque them properly to specs manufacturer provides.)

Another thought? Are the action screws torqued properly? I'd loosen them, then torque in the correct order and to the correct amount. A warped action can cause a gun to shoot really poorly.

When I had a *** Remington 700 Titanium .308 Win that wouldn't shoot, I fire-lapped it and that helped some, but not enough. Then I sent it to a gunsmith and he re-crowned it. Viola! Shot awesome after that. But again, you fix everything YOU can first. Then you sent it back to Browning or engage a gunsmith.

I truly wish you luck sorting this out. It is so frustrating when a gun won't shoot.

Since I brought up TORQUING things correctly, here is some info I've gathered and saved over the years. Maybe it helps others:

Torque Specifications for Gunsmiths
By Eric Kiesler from BROWNELLS

Action Screws:
· Remington - "no more than 45 in/lbs" on the action screws of the 700 VS
o (10-15 in/lbs on the standard 700)

· Weatherby (65 in/lbs).

· Winchester (25 in/lbs)

· HS Precision (45 in/lbs)
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SCOPE BASES & RINGS
From Leupold:

• Base screws 14 in/lbs
• Ring screws, 15-17 in/lbs
  • 45 in/lbs on the windage screw
  • 65 in/lbs on the cross bolt for the Mk IV ring

From BURRIS (for Signature Series rings w/plastic inserts)
· Ring Tops - 18-24 in./lb.
· Bases - 28-32 in./lb.
o Rear windage base screws - 40-45 in./lb.

For other Burris products:

Eliminator® / LRFP Base Clamps: 40 inch-pounds

Signature / Zee Ring Tops: 20 inch-pounds

Signature / Zee Base Screws: 30 inch-pounds

Rear Windage Base Screws: 40 inch-pounds

AR-P.E.P.R.™ / Tactical Ring Tops: 20 inch-pounds

AR-P.E.P.R. / Tactical Ring Crossbolt: 65 inch-pounds

Signature Rings™ Clamps: 30 inch-pounds

Rimfire / Airgun Rings: 20 inch-pounds

Rifle Action & Scope Mount Torque Specifications; for two or three receiver SCREW ACTIONS:

First ensure that the recoil lug is seated securely against the stock by just lightly tightening up the front receiver screw then gently but firmly bumping the butt pad against the floor.

Next, tighten up the front (one or two) receiver screw(s) to 20 inch pounds, then work up to 30 inch-pounds in 5 inch-pound increments, and always tightening the front screw first and then the second screw (if there is one).

Once the front two receiver screws are torqued to the final torque setting, I will set the rear receiver screw to 5 inch-pounds and shoot a 5-shot group [to evaluate accuracy.

Increase Torque Incrementally on Rear Action Screw

After the group is shot, allow the rifle to cool off to about the temperature that the first group was shot at then add 5 inch-pounds to the rear receiver screw and shoot another five-shot group and allow the rifle to cool again.

Repeat this process until you have tightened the rear receiver screw to 40 inch-pounds or have seen the groups get smaller and then start getting larger again. Once you have seen the groups decrease and then start to increase in size then you will have found the area of torque to work in. You can then fine tune this to the exact inch-pound torque settings. *** 15 to 25 inch pounds is the 'sweet' zone, usually.
===============================================

From Wheeler Fat Wrench instructions:

What torque should I adjust my fasteners to?
Always refer to manufacturer's specs, but we recommend:

· Base Screws 30 inch-lbs

· Ring Screws (aluminum) 10 -15 inch-lbs

· Ring Screws (Steel) 15-20 inch-lbs

· Windage Screws 30-40 inch-lbs

· Guard Screws:

o (with bedding pillars) 65 inch-lbs

o (no bedding pillars) 40 inch-lbs

*note: middle guard screw should not be torqued

FYI - I asked Browning for the action torque specs for my x-bolt pro, and here is what they said: "When installing the action screws, you want to torque them to 35 inch-lbs. Step them down together and make your final torque on the front lug and then move to the rear."

M x bolt in 28 nosler shot like crap with factory ammo, didn't matter what it was. It didn't shoot below 2 inches. Once I started reloading for it it shot great.