atmoshpere
Beginner
- Jun 8, 2011
- 196
- 0
I've been looking for something in 260 rem for my wife's hunting rifle. Been watching online and 260 seems to be pretty popular as most guns chambered in it go for a fair penny. I had the chance to spend Saturday perusing some gun shops with a friend and in about the 4th store we go to he finds a used Savage 10 in 260 rem, the only problem being it is a heavy fluted barrel and I knew my wife wouldn't be too pleased with me if she had to pack that around! So I'm a little disappointed and decide to lift my spirits by looking at the new guns! The guy says here's a browning a-bolt II in 6.5 creedmoor. Now to be honest, neither a browning nor a creedmoor were really on my radar (not sure why though in hindsight). It was perfect for her first big game rifle. Light 22' barrel, smooth short bolt throw, and best of all chambered in a capable round that will be light on the recoil even in a 6.4 lb gun.
So now that I've determined it will qualify, I get to seriously looking at the rifle. I've never owned a browning but the more I get to inspecting this one, the more I like it. It has a hinged floorplate but the box magazine detaches from the floorplate once you've got it open. Seems like it combines the best of both worlds. I like being able to pop open the floorplate without the shells wanting to jump out all over. The recoil lug/front receiver comes glass bedded from the factory and upon taking the gun apart last night, it seems to have been well done. Bolt cycles very smoothly with the gun empty, so I decided to fill up the mag and see how it did with some shells in it (picked up some Hornady superformance ammo loaded w 129gr SSTs). All I can say is, this thing was made to eat ammo. The third bolt lug points straight down when the bolt is retracted, placing the lug right behind the top shell with plenty of engagement. That bolt is not going forward without a shell. I cycled it through the 4 round mag capacity a few times and as far as I can tell, the engineers at browning did an excellent job of making sure the bullets go into the hole, no questions asked. Even with the sharper shoulder angle of the creedmoor case I didn't notice any binding as you pull the bolt back over the next shell, which is something I've experienced with the 284 cases in my savage 10 action, usually when the mag is full and you retract the bolt to load the top round it wants to hang up on the shoulder due to the spring tension and shoulder angle.
Walked out the door with it for $520, which I felt was a good value for the quality of the rifle. It was also at least $200 cheaper than any lightweight 260 I had seen.
...I've gotta share this last part cause I'm pretty sure you guys with daughters/wives/girlfriends will be able to relate. I bring it home and show it to my wife and one of the first things she says is "ooohhh, I like the gold trigger!" :mrgreen:
Now "we" just need to get it to the range!
So now that I've determined it will qualify, I get to seriously looking at the rifle. I've never owned a browning but the more I get to inspecting this one, the more I like it. It has a hinged floorplate but the box magazine detaches from the floorplate once you've got it open. Seems like it combines the best of both worlds. I like being able to pop open the floorplate without the shells wanting to jump out all over. The recoil lug/front receiver comes glass bedded from the factory and upon taking the gun apart last night, it seems to have been well done. Bolt cycles very smoothly with the gun empty, so I decided to fill up the mag and see how it did with some shells in it (picked up some Hornady superformance ammo loaded w 129gr SSTs). All I can say is, this thing was made to eat ammo. The third bolt lug points straight down when the bolt is retracted, placing the lug right behind the top shell with plenty of engagement. That bolt is not going forward without a shell. I cycled it through the 4 round mag capacity a few times and as far as I can tell, the engineers at browning did an excellent job of making sure the bullets go into the hole, no questions asked. Even with the sharper shoulder angle of the creedmoor case I didn't notice any binding as you pull the bolt back over the next shell, which is something I've experienced with the 284 cases in my savage 10 action, usually when the mag is full and you retract the bolt to load the top round it wants to hang up on the shoulder due to the spring tension and shoulder angle.
Walked out the door with it for $520, which I felt was a good value for the quality of the rifle. It was also at least $200 cheaper than any lightweight 260 I had seen.
...I've gotta share this last part cause I'm pretty sure you guys with daughters/wives/girlfriends will be able to relate. I bring it home and show it to my wife and one of the first things she says is "ooohhh, I like the gold trigger!" :mrgreen:
Now "we" just need to get it to the range!
