Browning - X-bolt, Composite Stalker .223 - Review

About 2 years ago i decided i needed a new bolt action rifle, so as the funds became available the hunt was on. I wanted something suitable for hunting small game/varmints, as well as being practical to just take to the range for a day of punching paper. I decided that i would look for something in the .22 caliber range that would shoot relatively flat, and beyond that it came down to what was cheap and readily available. Around here the logical choice was .223 or .22-250. I decided to go with .223 as bulk ammo is regularly available at local gun shops and basic hunting/varmint ammo can be found at Canadian Tire year round. Now that i had a starting point it was time to find a rifle.

After looking at countless different rifles i had it down to two rather different platforms, the Remington 700 VTR, and the Browning X-bolt. The differences that i really looked closely at between the two were the barrel, magazine, and the weight. The Remington features a 22 inch triangular barrel with an integrated muzzle brake and a 1:9 twist. The Browning sports a 22 inch free floated barrel with a 1:12 twist. While I would have preferred the 1:9 twist of the Remington, I really like the fact that the Brownings' barrel is entirely free floating. One point Remington. One point Browning. The magazine on the Remington is a hinged floor plate type vs. the Brownings' detachable rotary box magazine. While there is nothing wrong with the Remington magazine, I personally prefer the detachable box, as it allows quicker loading and unloading of the rifle, as well as giving you the option to carry a spare mag with you. Point Browning. The weight is where the Browning really shines coming in over a pound lighter at 6lbs 3oz vs the Remington at 7lbs 8oz. That's a lot of weight i don't mind leaving at home. Final point, Browning. After getting my hands on variations of both guns in store, and with Brownings' 3-1 win in the basic comparison in mind i decided that i could forgo the 9:1 twist in favor of the floated barrel, box magazine, and some serious weight savings.

Browning offers the X-bolt in a variety of finishes in virtually any combination of wood, composite, stainless, or blued. I went with the Composite Stalker which is a Black Composite stock and blued barrel. I chose this combo because i wanted a stock that would not be as easy to scratch up or damage in the field, and i do not like the reflections and glare that stainless can produce under some light conditions. This really comes down to personal preference, all the models i looked at were gorgeous.

Finding the specific model i was looking for proved to be a bit of a challenge the local browning dealer proved to be far less interested in getting me what I wanted, rather then trying to sell me what they had in stock, after trying for far to long to get the sales reps to find what i wanted, I gave up and hit the search engines to find another browning dealer. Looking around the outdoorsman forums one name kept coming up, Bashaw Sports. They are about 2 hours from where i live but at this point it was worth a shot, and i was pleasantly surprised. The staff were great to deal with, and out of sheer luck they had the exact rifle i was looking for in stock, and priced well below the local options list price, that is if the local option would even get it. I drove down and picked up the rifle and a Bushnell Yardage Pro Scope that i had been looking at for quite a while which was also priced too well to pass up. I will have a review of it up soon. One issue i did have was finding cross slot bases for the X-bolts' x-lock mounting system, which features four bolts per base vs the usual two. (these mounts have become much easier to find since i purchased mine, and can now be found almost anywhere) Again Bashaw Sports took it on themselves to get them ordered and shipped them directly to me at home, no charge for the shipping. They earned my business that day, and i have been back since with great results.

Picking up the rifle the first thing I noticed is how good the rifle feels to hold. A slight palm swell and the textured grips feel great to hold up. The coating on the rifle is smooth and slick enough to slip past your cheek comfortably. The rifle balances great and is quite comfortable to shoulder. The rifle has a top tang safety which is crisp and quiet to disengage. It also has a bolt unlock button on top of the bolt lever which allows you to open the action without taking the rifle off safe. The action itself features a 3 lug locking bolt system with a 60 degree lift (this has proved to be great for mounting low slung optics which i will talk about in the Bushnell - Yardage Pro Review) The bolt can be cycled quickly and is extremely smooth, definitely among the smoothest actions i have used. The bolt release is on the left side of the action and is tucked nicely out of the way against the stock. The rotary magazine is made out of a sturdy polymer and fits the rifle perfectly, no wobbles, no rattles. The magazine release is integrated into the front of the mag so that pulling the release results in the magazine rotating smoothly out into your hand. At first i was worried about the durability of this "plastic" magazine, especially in the cold, but it has proven itself to be excellent.

I fitted the rifle with the Bushnell Yardage Pro 4-12x42, using Weaver aluminum bases and I am super impressed with the X-Lock mounting system. After almost 2 years of regular shooting, beating though the fields and brush, and bouncing around my car I have not had to re-zero once.



Shooting this rifle is a blast, its fitted with Brownings' Inflex recoil pad and felt recoil is non-existent. The .223 does not recoil much to start with, but with this rifle it feels more like a .22WMR. It is great, if it didn't heat up so quickly, you could sit at the range and shoot all day. The trigger is clean, crisp and very comfortable to shoot, absolutely no extra travel. Out of the box my trigger was set a little shy of 4lbs (Browning says it should be about 3.5 out of the box, not sure why there is such a difference but I'm not worried about it either) The trigger is screw adjustable from 3-5 lbs. Accuracy is very good, even shooting from a bi-pod with cheap ammo and relatively inexpensive optics. It will comfortably shoot about 1 MOA groups at 100 yards, with my best group to date being slightly over a half inch @ 100. Shooting at 300 yards has resulted 4.5 - 6 inch groups, and I'm sure that could be improved with a better shooter at the trigger.

Tight clearance between lifted bolt and scope mount.

I have heard of some people having ejection issues with larger caliber x-bolt rifles but I have had no such problems with this version and I have yet to have any issues with chambering or ejection. If you are looking to buy a larger caliber x-bolt I would recommend considering this issue in your purchase, but it is not an issue with the .223

Overall I have been very happy with this rifle, for the price I doubt it gets much better. While I would hesitate recommending this rifle for purchase in a large caliber for the reason listed above, I would absolutely recommend it to anyone looking for a smaller centerfire rifle. I sat staring at this screen for a long time trying to think of a problem with this rifle and honestly the only thing I can come up with is the 1:12 twist instead of the 1:9. Frankly though after shooting this rifle for this long I don't care anymore. Its great to shoot, great to carry and in my experience 100% reliable. If your looking for a small caliber centerfire rifle, take a good hard look at the Browning X-bolt, it is absolutely one of the best choices you could make.

My Rating: