What do you guys think about my first rifle setup? any opinions appreciated

[mustardtiger56]

Hi all,

So for a while now I've wanted a solid hunting rifle in either .270 or .308. The primary features i was looking for were ruggedness, reliability, and basic functionality at a price that didn't break the bank. As much as I appreciate a beautiful rifle, I wanted one that didn't need "babying" and that I wouldn't mind knocking around in the bush or snow for years to come.

So I recieved a Browning AB3 in .270 as an unexpected gift which is browning's new budget minded rifle, ( essentially a redesigned x-bolt/a-bolt mashup with simple features to reduce cost) and am mounting a Nikon Prostaff 4-12x40 on top.

So I have a couple questions
1. What do you think of this rifle? especially in comparison to others in its price range like the t3 lite or 700 sps?Or is it more comparable to an axis or remington 783?
2. will this scope/rifle combo do what i need it to reliably for years to come, or is it a budget setup that will fall apart after a few trips in the cold of winter or thick bush?



Thank you all for any replies

 

[Bigeclipse]

Hi all,

So for a while now I've wanted a solid hunting rifle in either .270 or .308. The primary features i was looking for were ruggedness, reliability, and basic functionality at a price that didn't break the bank. As much as I appreciate a beautiful rifle, I wanted one that didn't need "babying" and that I wouldn't mind knocking around in the bush or snow for years to come.

So I recieved a Browning AB3 in .270 as an unexpected gift which is browning's new budget minded rifle, ( essentially a redesigned x-bolt/a-bolt mashup with simple features to reduce cost) and am mounting a Nikon Prostaff 4-12x40 on top.

So I have a couple questions
1. What do you think of this rifle? especially in comparison to others in its price range like the t3 lite or 700 sps?Or is it more comparable to an axis or remington 783?
2. will this scope/rifle combo do what i need it to reliably for years to come, or is it a budget setup that will fall apart after a few trips in the cold of winter or thick bush?



Thank you all for any replies

I have not used an A-bolt3 yet but I have owned both an A-bolt2 and an x-bolt. Both shot well with factory ammo. I had to purchase several different factory bullets before I found one the xbolt liked which were federal fusions. There are many guys on here with rifles that cost thousands of dollars so dont let them make you feel bad if you get bad comments about your rifle. Any factory brand rifle can have it's share of lemons. That being said, I have always been a fan of browning and think they produce some fine rifles. Could it be a sub-MOA rifle with a certain factory load. SURE! you will need to go out and tes though to find out. What are your expectations? If you are expecting to shoot deer under 300 yards, you will most likely have a winner as you really only need a rifle to shoot 2 inch groups at 100 yards (2MOA) to be in the deer's vitals at 300 yards. If you plan to shoot further, you will want to shoot many factory rounds until you find sub-MOA load or if you already reload then get out testing loads for it.

To answer your questions:
1) I think it's closer to the tikka and remington 700sps than the axis.
2) The scope is not top of the line but prostaffs do many people just fine. Your set-up should last many years if you take care of it. The first thing you should do is take the scope off and make sure the bases are snugged down nice and tight to the receiver of the rifle with a small amount of blue loktight. Then mount your scope rings the same way. Be careful to not OVER tighten the screws though which can damage the scope. I take an allen wrench and tighten hand tight with the short end of the allen wrench in my fingers. Using the short end helps to prevent over tightening. Once you do this, clean the gun inside and out focusing on the barrel. They come a mess from the factory. Read about how to clean a new barrel and how to break it in. Let us know how you make out!

P.S. my buddy has a savage AXIS that shoots right around 1 inch at 100 yards and he has put over 200 rounds through it and it is still going strong so yes an axis or 783 may be budget rifles, but that does not mean they WILL stink.

 

[ShootnMathews]

Personally, all I can afford is budget rifles. There is nothing wrong with them if you are willing to put a lil elbow grease in them to line them out. I've posted on here a few times about my budget guns and don't exactly get positive comments.

My favorite gun is a budget gun. I picked it up a few years ago for $319 new. It's a Marlin XS7 in 243 win. I did a lot of web surfing to find out what I thought to be the best shooting budget gun and all I could find was good about this gun. And I am extremely pleased with it. I will say that it did not shoot stellar with the 2 types of factory ammo I have tried over the years, purely out of curiosity. Other than those I have hand loaded from the start with it. I have a 55 grain coyote load that shoots .75" at 100 and 3600 fps. And a 95 grain load for deer that shoot .3" - .5" at 100 at 2860 fps. And less than 3" groups at 500. It will hit a 12" steel play at 800 pretty easy also but for energy reasons I limit shots to sub 500 on deer. Yotes are free game as long as I can see them. What Impresses me the most about this gun, is that it's always on target. Some of my other guns it seems like perhaps if I change powder lot or bullet lot or brass or anything, sometimes my poi will shift a little, but not with this gun. It's always dead nuts.

I also run a Nikon buckmasters 6-18 on this gun and it does extremely well. I have less than $700 TOTAL in this gun and love it.

Sorry for rambling on there but I said all that to say, don't let these guys fool you into the "you have to have a 4 digit price tag gun to hunt long range"

Good luck with your gun. Let us know how it does.

 

[ShootnMathews]

my budget Marlin XS7 .243

 

[gohring3006]

My budget TC venture. The target is 3 shots circled in green at 250 yards. Don't mind the AR spray. Lol.