Browning X-Bolt Mountain Pro .300 PRC

[huntandfly]

I did a quick search of the forum (and others) and can’t find many reviews or experiences with these rifles. It looks like a slightly lighter, more expensive version of their X-bolt line.

Does anyone have any experience with this model? What kind of ammo do they like?

I own a Hells Canyon in 6.5 Creedbro that is an absolute shooter. I picked a Mountain Pro up on gunbroker today chambered in .300 PRC for what I think is a deal. I plan to top it with a VX-5 or VX-6 HD and I will report back with my findings

 

[dodgermax]

I have a xbolt hells canyon speed in 28 Nosler. I love it. In my opinion, as a hunting rifle it's near perfect. I have no complaints. I am sure you'd be happy with one.

At 300 PRC if you want a 30 cal magnum, it is designed to work with modern low drag bullets. If you reload, the fact that it is beltless is a plus. The X-Bolt is a solid hunting rifle, I think it is really up to you to determine if that particular model is worth the extra cost over others and or how it compares to other high-end rifles in that price range.

 

[belshawelk]

I have an x bolt and an x bolt pro. Both are fantastic. I shoot Accubonds through one ( .28 Nosler)and heading out today to sight in the 30-06. Got a bunch of Hornady precision hunter with it. I haven't shot Precision hunter yet so I will see how it shoots.

 

[WNC2500]

I have a 300PRC and it shoots the Hornady ELDM 225 grains awesome

 

[huntandfly]

, I think it is really up to you to determine if that particular model is worth the extra cost over others and or how it compares to other high-end rifles in that price range.

Thanks for the perspective I love my Hells canyon longe range but I haven’t shot an x bolt in a magnum caliber yet.

For the price I paid I really just want to give it a shot in hopes I fall in love with it the same way I did with the HC LR

 

[huntandfly]

I have a 300PRC and it shoots the Hornady ELDM 225 grains awesome

Right on, is it a Mountain Pro model by chance?

 

[WNC2500]

No sir, it is not. It is a custom.
I have shot/loved Brownings in my lifetime, and they have shot the Hornady's lights out.

 

[dodgermax]

Thanks for the perspective I love my Hells canyon longe range but I haven’t shot an x bolt in a magnum caliber yet.

For the price I paid I really just want to give it a shot in hopes I fall in love with it the same way I did with the HC LR

You are welcome and yes, for the price you paid it's worth every penny.

 

[huntandfly]

Was able to go pick the rifle up from the shop today. First impressions are that I like the finish and the feel is very nice, but I expected that based on owning a Hells Canyon LR and loving that gun.

The brake is pretty sizable, but it’s something I’ll deal with until I come up with a good plan to put a suppressor on it.

First thing I did was reduce the trigger pull to their min weight from the factory which is about 3 pounds. I really like the short trigger pull and the placement of the trigger near the back of the trigger guard.

Next up with be some Talley lightweight rings (likely medium height). I think I have settled on a VX-5HD 3-15x44 to keep things slightly lighter and reasonably priced

 

[buckbull]

That's a great looking gun. I grew up with an a-bolt and any rifle that doesn't have the tang safety feels weird.

 

[huntandfly]

That's a great looking gun. I grew up with an a-bolt and any rifle that doesn't have the tang safety feels weird.

Grew up with Rugers and my dads old M77 has one. One of the features I really like on these brownings is that tang safety

 

[huntandfly]

Update: finally decided on a scope for it. Wanted to stay lighter and found a lot of good research on Trijicons over at RS.

Decided to go with a Trijicon 2.5-15x42 Credo HX with Talley lightweight medium rings. Don’t have a scale but the whole unit weighs less than my Hells Canyon LR in 6.5 creedmoor

Have some ammo on the way, excited to go see how it shoots. I will report back with my findings

 

[OpenCountry]

What’s your initial impressions on the credo @huntandfly ?

 

[huntandfly]

What’s your initial impressions on the credo @huntandfly ?

So far, I love the ease of adjustment. It’s all done by hand no tools required. Elevation and windage adjustment are very firm which I like. 20 MOA in one full dial rotation is another plus. The illumination is also very easy to manipulate and turn on/off and adjust brightness

It seems pretty sturdy and the tests I have read done on it verify this.

Haven’t had an opportunity to look at glass quality at longer range, looked fine in the living room but that doesn’t mean much.

 

[Braveheart]

I am interested in your scope review as well as the gun. Not alot of folks talking about trijicon scopes.

 

[huntandfly]

Finally got around to taking the rifle out last weekend and shooting it for the first time.

Feel and operation: ammunition cycled very well, no jams or feeding issues with the 25 rounds I shot. I did notice that I had to firmly press the bolt forward when loading in order to roll the bolt down and locked. This is something that my Uncle’s .300 PRC also does, so I’m not sure if it is normal for the caliber. It wasn’t a big factor, I just noticed it slightly different than cycling my X-Bolt HC in 6.5 creedmoor. Recoil was much lighter than I expected for a rifle that weighs in around 7.5 pounds scoped. The large brake definitely did its job in that regard.

After zeroing the rifle, I shot a barely sub-MOA group at 100 yards (unfortunately forgot to take a picture of that target before tossing it). I then moved out to 200 yards and shot 3 rounds of 212 grain ELDx and 3 rounds of 225 grain ELDm. The picture below depicts the ELDx (the rounds I sighted the gun with) circled in red, and the ELDm shots outlined in blue.

I would say I’m a good not great shooter, so the disparity between the 2 sets of shots almost certainly is affected by mistakes that I likely made. Bottom line is that the gun seemed to really like ELDx and shot somewhere in the neighborhood of a 1 MOA 3-shot group on my first attempt with the gun.

 

[huntandfly]

Before we left, I dialed up a quick 380 yard shot uphill just to check my ballistics at a slightly longer range. Dialed up 4 MOA and took aim at what I estimated to be about an 8-inch rock. Took these screenshots from the video, a near bullseye.

 

[huntandfly]

Overall, I was very happy with the gun in the feel, accuracy and ease of shooting. I can’t wait to line up some longer shots on steel and see what it can do before my hunts this fall.

 

[huntandfly]

I am interested in your scope review as well as the gun. Not alot of folks talking about trijicon scopes.

The scope performed very well in the limited time I used it this weekend. Love the lighting, and the hand adjustable turrets made zeroing and adjusting the rifle on the range easier than any other scope I have used. I’ll have more when I stretch out to longer ranges