Hunting Washington Forum
Equipment & Gear => Guns and Ammo => Topic started by: zach1234 on February 28, 2010, 05:14:00 PM
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So my wife wants to get in to hunting with me...that's the good news. The bad news is we went and looked at rifles and the one she likes the best is the browning A-Bolt. She would pick out the expensive one :'(. What do you all think of these rifles? Everything I have found says they're good. She will use it for deer and elk I found a brand new .270 one for $650. Do you think that is a good deal and a caliber for her?
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First off, the A-bolt is an awesome rifle, its all I will use. .270 is a great deer round, I have never used it on elk, it can be done, and often is, though for elk it may not be ideal. But they do take down bears fine, so I would assume it will be fine on elk as well. Great gun, but I would look around for a while and try to find one used. I bought a used A-bolt a year and a half ago in .30/06 for $350. So I would shop around for a bit, but it is a great gun and a great round.
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A-Bolts are excellent rifles. Just the price keeps me from buying them. Look around, see what you can find used. If she has shot a 270 and did not bother her, try letting her shoot an 06, that way it is good for anything in the state.
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I would recommend a different round. The .270 is great but recoils pretty hard. I would recomend a .308 or a 7mm-08 for a woman. You don't want to scare her away from the spot with the first scope to the face. :twocents:
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As robescc said a 270 is an excellent round but does have some recoil. My wife shot a 270 for 20 years but as she got older she wanted something a little lighter with less recoil than her Ruger 270 so we bought her a 7mm/08 in a Tikka t3 lt. It is all that the 270 was and our 6 year old grandson shoots it, awesome gun. One shot kill on a mature cow last fall at 275 yards. When asked about recoil she say's, what recoil. :) :)
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I would recommend a different round. The .270 is great but recoils pretty hard. I would recomend a .308 or a 7mm-08 for a woman. You don't want to scare her away from the spot with the first scope to the face. :twocents:
But i thought that a .270 had less recoil then a .308 am i wrong?
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I love my Browning A-Bolt Stainless Stalker. The A-Bolt Micro Hunter in .308 would be a sweet rifle.
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The .308 has much less recoil. It is a smaller cartridge than the .270
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I have a abolt in 7mm WSM love it. The wife shoots it also, great rifle recoil is just a state of mind ;)
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I'm 40+++ years old and this last year I bought the last rifle till the next one that I will ever need. Had the money to get the gun of my choice. I was going to get the Browning a-bolt in 325 WSM. Looked and read about them for months thought it was the ONE.. Went and started looking at them and was SO very unhappy with what I found. I ended up buying a Rem 700 Mountain stainless 30-06 with a synthetic stock..Browning has gone down in quality and up in price if you ask me.. I would not trade 2 browning a- bolts for my rifle not a chance in Hell..Go and handle the guns and see for your self. As far as cal. 270 Great deer round b- on Elk and beer.. Thats just my thoughts..Jamng
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I would recommend a different round. The .270 is great but recoils pretty hard. I would recomend a .308 or a 7mm-08 for a woman. You don't want to scare her away from the spot with the first scope to the face. :twocents:
But i thought that a .270 had less recoil then a .308 am i wrong?
kind of a wash...more powder in the .270, more lead in the .308. the .270 will slap a little harder where the .308 will be more of a push(at least comparatively). 7-08 would definitely kick less.
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:)270 is a super cartridge.Kill Elk and deer with great authority. Browning Abolt is average at best. I'd buy most anything before a browning in general the Howas, winchesters and Wby. Vanguards are all as good. get her a Tikka or Sako( heavy on the Sako). If you insist on Browning type quality, buy a Remington.
Carl
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I shoot a browning A-bolt in 270 win. Its a pretty good rifle, wish the barrel was 2 inches longer as its only 22 inches long. Its fairly light and well balanced though. Overall fit and finish seems to be very good. The action is smooth, though not as smooth as some other rifles. And the rifle is not what I would cosider a tack driver, but it will shoot close to MOA most of the time with 140 gr nosler accubonds. Generally the first shot is dead on the money, the second shot is also very close to the first one, but the third almost always to be a flyer. (when shooting a 3 shot group).
Don't let anyone tell you the 270 winchester isnt enough gun, I shot my mule deer in Montana last fall at 475 yards, 1 shot, complete pass through. Deer ran 50 yards and died.
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I've been happy with my 30-06 A-bolt but it is also from the late 80's so I don't know what the newer ones are like. It was a spendy rifle even back then.
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The A-Bolt is one of the best push feed bolt action rifles out there. They've got great lugs, a nice easily adjustable trigger, and a detachable box mag. 270 is more than adequate for what you described. As some have said.... some configurations can recoil a bit but w/ 130s it shouldn't be too bad. Would suggest replacing the stock pad w/ a limbsaver and you should be good to go.
260 or 7mm-08 would be two cals to consider if you wanted to drop down a bit for recoil purposes. I tend to think you'd be OK with 270 and new pad though.
IMO the X-bolt changes with the magazine diminish the value of the gun.
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Firefighter4607 and I both shoot Browning A-bolts in .270 and we have killed a bunch of game between the two of us. FF4607 killed a 7x7 bull elk that scored in the 340's with his. My Uncle toasted a 320'' 6x6 bull in Colorado with his A-Bolt .270. You and your wife will be very happy with a .270 A-Bolt! Buy or reload ammo using a premium bullet. We use Noslers, ether the Partition or the Accubond.
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I had an A-Bolt stainless stalker 30-06 and sold it. I really liked that gun, it shot well and felt like you were handling a quality firearm. the A-Bolt action is great. I love the short bolt throw to work it.
I'll get another one one of these days...great rifle and 270's a fine caliber for everything we have to hunt here.
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I bought the A-Bolt Medallion in 375 H&H Magnum the first year it was offered (works great on crows). Beautiful, excellent shooting arm. Whenever I pull it out of the safe, folks always go OOOO, Ahhhh!
Your wife may be better served with the 7mm WSM. My wife shoots a 7-08 in the Remington Model 7 just fine. It is a little light for elk and bear but with the Partition and my wife behind the trigger (she is very cautious about taking her shots). the dead critters keep piling up.
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I agree, abolt's a good rifle, i had one in 30-06, and let it get away from me. 270 will work for anything in north america, if she is bothered by recoil the limbsaver pad is worth it, there are also reduced recoil loads available for it.
someone mantioned the weatherby vanguards and howa's... the vanguards are howas. ( and they are good)
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someone mantioned the weatherby vanguards and howa's... the vanguards are howas. ( and they are good)
They're ugly though, and the A-Bolt is not...I had a vanguard too and agree they are great rifles, but they lose it in the looks dept for me. If I had a choice I'd definitely go A-Bolt...but then again I love the look of my T/C Encore too...take it for what it's worth I guess.
:dunno:
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Ive got an A bolt in 338 win mag its a total tack driver. There great guns.
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My girlfriend shoots my .270 without any issues, but if you're worried about recoil you might try an a-bolt in .25-06, .308, or 7mm-08 as mentioned. Jack O'Connor killed just about everything on earth with his .270, so I wouldn't worry about it's ability to take down big animals. Love the A-bolts.
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My primary hunting rifle is an A-Bolt in 270 that I bought 12 years ago. I've used it every year since, for deer and elk. Accuracy is great, haven't seen the need to buy another rifle. If I remember right, I paid $527 including tax. I'd say I've got my money's worth. And the nice thing about the 270 is the low cost of ammo. Even though I reload, I like to have the option of picking up a couple cheap boxes of ammo at Wal-Mart sometimes for $12/box. Also if the recoil is too much you can use the reduced recoil loads that Remington sells. Federal also loads the 110 grain Barnes bullet and that shouldn't recoil too badly, although at 3400 feet per second I'm not sure. :o
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I shoot an A-bolt II in 325wsm and it's a great shooter i shot a mule deer this last fall at 310yds dropped in it's tracks.
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I have eyeballed the Abolt a few times. It will only be a matter of time until I own one. They seem like good rifles to me. .270 is a fine caliber. Besides if it isn't "just the right caliber" then that's a good reason to collect another rifle which is!
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I have a Browning BLR in 7mag and my dad shoots a A-bolt in 243 both are high quality firearms, Browing has always had a name for quality I don't think you will ever regret buying one.
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As I said previously, a Browning A-bolt in 270 is my main hunting rifle, but I would also say, to me, the only downside is they are made in Japan. If I had it to do over again, I would spend my money on a rifle made here. If that's something that matters to you, it's something to think about. I would rather spend my money with companies that provide jobs here in this country.
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As I said previously, a Browning A-bolt in 270 is my main hunting rifle, but I would also say, to me, the only downside is they are made in Japan. If I had it to do over again, I would spend my money on a rifle made here. If that's something that matters to you, it's something to think about. I would rather spend my money with companies that provide jobs here in this country.
Why do you care.... quality or just support US? I can tell you that quality shouldn't concern you. Miroku is the company that makes the Brownings and they been making guns since the late 1800s. They renowed for their work and the quality of steel they use. They also make the Citori... another well respected firearm with a tradition of quality.
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No problem with the quality. Optics and cars from Japan are also good. I wouldn't use my A-bolt if I didn't think it was good quality. But I bought it 12 years ago. Back then I didn't think so much about supporting American companies. Now, especially with the recession, I think we should all try to buy products that are made here, so we can keep our money here and help support the companies that provide jobs.
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A-Bolt's :tup:, if she's ok with a .270 :tup:, my opinion for what it's worth would be a 7mm-08 or .308
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Now for a quick rant: Why the heck does the discussion almost always get turned around on here? Went from talking .270 A-bolt to buy American.
I think it is ironic that the buy American drum gets beaten while typing on a made in china keyboard looking at a made in japan monitor while listening to a made in japan tv or radio.
Just as i was reading this i turned over my keyboard which says microsoft on the front, came with my dell computor, the label on the back says "Designed by microsoft" MADE IN CHINA.
I try to buy American but it is really hard...
Note: how many people just turned over there keyboard and looked??
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The discussion didn't get "turned around." The title of this topic is Browning A-Bolt what do you think." In my first post I let it be known that I have the same rifle and it is my primary hunting rifle and has been for 12 years. Later I added another post that also was telling him "what I think." Which is that if I were looking for a rifle now I'd be looking at American made rifles, not Japanese. He asked for opinions and he's getting them. Of course our computers are made overseas. Are there any made here? I doubt it. But we do have a good selection of American made rifles to choose from. How about Remington, Ruger, and Savage? All made in America, all good rifles. I think it's important to keep jobs here in our country. To do that we need to support American businesses by purchasing products from them rather than their competitors. But if you like Browning feel free to buy one. I did.
There, that's my "quick rant." If he didn't want opinions he shouldn't ask for them. And if it bothers you to read opinions that you don't agree with, then don't read them.
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Was not directed at you bobcat, and opinions are fine in fact if you read my post i indicated that the A- bolt is fine and gave my opinion on what calibers i thought were better, my rant was directed to the fact that the buy American rock was thrown in the dicussion and he never asked if he should buy American or not.. I absolutley try to support my country as much as i can, and in fact i buy alot of firearms used from pawnshops owned by local people, i do look for Browning and belgiums at that so my money not only stays in country but local.
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No he didn't specifically ask, but he asked what I thought and I told him what I thought. He can take it or leave it.
I actually have three rifles. The A-bolt, a Weatherby Vanguard, and a Remington model 7. So 2 out of 3 are made in Japan. If I had it to do over again I probably wouldn't buy the Browning or the Weatherby, and instead would look at Remington, Ruger, or Savage.
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Haven't Weatherby rifles been made in the U.S. for several years now? Prior to that they were made by Howa in Japan and before that they were made in Germany.
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I don't know about the "real" Weatherby rifles. What I have is the Vanguard, which is made by Howa in Japan.
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I love my a bolt 270 have killed 10 or so deer with it in the last 15 years ive owned it.I would definately recommend it.My rifle shoots 130gr. remington core lokt.dead on at 200,-6 at 300.Last year in wyoming 250 yds. double lung shot deer ran 20yds piled up,it was a complete pass through absolutely liquified the lungs.It was a beautiful thing I say go for it if she can handle it you will never regret it.Thats my :twocents: Kram
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great rifle and 270's a fine caliber for everything we have to hunt here.
Its a well built rifle and as Jack said the caliber is good for anything in the lower 48. I know several women that shoot .270's and none of them complain about the amount of recoil. I own a couple in that caliber, if you would like her to shoot one to try out I'm sure we could figure something out.
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I have a 338 Stainless Stalker purchased several years ago for Alaska hunting. It is the best shooting gun I have and I have several. The 270 is a fine cartridge and should be great for a gal. If the recoil is a problem there are several manufactures of recoil pads that will help with that. For me that would be the smallest I would go for Elk, I have heard some folks shooting them with 243s but I would not recommend it.
Good luck and you are a lucky man to have wife that wants to go hunting and actually hunt!
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Any new rifle is a good rifle :chuckle:
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My wife shoots a ruger m77 in .270 she is 5'1" and weighs 110 pounds and she has no problem with recoil. With a limbsaver recoil pad it has just a little bit more kick than a .243. And hell yes it is more than enough gun for elk people forget that it was the standard gun for elk for many many years. R.I.P. Jack O'connor!
