Browning A-Bolt problems??
Question:
: I have had a Browning A-bolt for 10 years now and have never experienced : the problems that were listed here about the safety. Ironically however, : my rifle seems to have a better grouping with each shot at the target : range…I suppose that my barrel has a slight warp that is corrected by the : heat of successive shots. Not much condolence when you only take one shot : at a deer in the woods. : Bart Your rifle sounds like the ideal candidate for a freefloating barrel. What you need to do is to wrap a piece of medium-fine sandpaper around a wooden dowel, and sand the forearm under the barrel (you gotta remove the action from the stock). Sand enough that you can slip a dollar bill between the wood and the stock the entire length of the barrel. When you’re done, reseal what you’ve sanded with polyurethane, or the like, and try the dollar bill again, after it’s dry. Total cost is next to nothing, and the rifle will shoot much more consistent, hot, cool, wet or dry. samg Hewlett Packard/Colorado Springs Visit the rec.hunting and rec.hunting.dogs FAQ Home Page at: http://sportsmansweb.com/hunting/ To leave the Hunting listserv list, send a message with SIGNOFF HUNTING
Response:
Uh, Oh. I just bought a Browning A-bolt medalion 7mm Magnum, then came home and read one persons experiences with the safety problems. Has anyone else had similar experiences? Visit the rec.hunting and rec.hunting.dogs FAQ Home Page at: http://sportsmansweb.com/hunting/ To leave the Hunting listserv list, send a message with SIGNOFF HUNTING
Response:
> Uh, Oh. I just bought a Browning A-bolt medalion 7mm Magnum, then came > home and read one persons experiences with the safety problems. Has anyone > else had similar experiences?
That was the first time I ever heard anything bad about A Bolt safeties. I will admit it got me thinking, and I have come to the conclusion that Jim Cuda’s experience is not cause for general concern. I will begin with the first case he cites, the rifle that came back from the gunsmith. >A friend of mine just got his Browning A-Bolt back from the gunsmith. >The safety had stopped working. What had happened is that the little >clip holding a pin had broken. The gun would fire in the safe >position!
SNIP That little clip is safely shrouded inside the stock. It is only exposed to breakage when the rifle is out of the stock. Just like everyone else I can only offer an educated guess as to what happened, but I think that it is likely that the rifle was either damaged while it was disassembled or it was improperly assembled. Those little clips are not a new idea; they have proven their reliability for decades, and we know that they do not spontaneously disintegrate. There is no way of knowing if the damage occured at the gunsmith’s shop, or when Jim’s friend was fiddling with his rifle. Either way, I think it probable that the failure was the result of human error. Jim continued: > The other Browning I ran into would actually fire when you rammed the >bolt home hard. I wasn’t positive [the friend's] gun wouldn’t do the >same.
SNIP Firing when the bolt is closed is typical of a rifle whose trigger has been excessively lightened. It cannot be a safety switch problem because you cannot close an A Bolt when the safety is engaged. Just about any gun will fire when you close the bolt if the trigger has been excessively lightened. This is as true for A Bolts as it is for Winchester model 70’s. If you have a rifle, any rifle, with an adjustable trigger then you should be careful not to reduce the trigger weight too much. If you need an extremely light trigger, then it might be a good idea to pay for the extra engineering that goes into a Canjar or Timney. Regular huntin’ rifle triggers (Win 70’s or otherwise) were never intended to be ultra light, so do not try to make them do something they are not supposed to. Again, my diagnoses are just intelligent guesses. I could be completely wrong and there could be a real problem with A Bolt safeties. I doubt it, but it is possible. By the way, the A Bolt is sometimes criticized because the safety does not block the striker. THIS IS NOT TRUE! There is a pin that rises out of the bolt raceway when the safety is engaged. This pin fits into a recess in the bottom of the cocking indicator and blocks the striker. This puts the A Bolt a step ahead of many other designs including Mauser 98 variants that use Rem 700 style side safeties. Keep your stick on the ice, Thos. Visit the rec.hunting and rec.hunting.dogs FAQ Home Page at: http://sportsmansweb.com/hunting/ To leave the Hunting listserv list, send a message with SIGNOFF HUNTING
Response:
I have had a Browning A-bolt for 10 years now and have never experienced the problems that were listed here about the safety. Ironically however, my rifle seems to have a better grouping with each shot at the target range…I suppose that my barrel has a slight warp that is corrected by the heat of successive shots. Not much condolence when you only take one shot at a deer in the woods. Bart Visit the rec.hunting and rec.hunting.dogs FAQ Home Page at: http://sportsmansweb.com/hunting/ To leave the Hunting listserv list, send a message with SIGNOFF HUNTING
Response:
> : I have had a Browning A-bolt for 10 years now and have never experienced > : the problems that were listed here about the safety. Ironically however, > : my rifle seems to have a better grouping with each shot at the target > : range…I suppose that my barrel has a slight warp that is corrected by the > : heat of successive shots.
(snip) > Your rifle sounds like the ideal candidate for a freefloating barrel.
(snip) Or, even more likely, cryogenic treatment. Typically runs $40 to $50. Have both the barrel and the action done, just remove all possible things like springs and the bolt … scope, picky stuff. It’ll get rid of group wandering and or expanding due to residual stresses in the steel. It isn’t a cure-all for everything, but it sounds like it should work here. Generally, free floating is a great idea also. I’d do both. Some guns have to have some forend pressure, and some guns, like I believe Browning, are bedded in something full length. Might be a better idea to try your action, after cryo-treating, in an aftermarket stock so that if free floating is not the answer, you haven’t ruined your stock. Tom Visit the rec.hunting and rec.hunting.dogs FAQ Home Page at: http://sportsmansweb.com/hunting/ To leave the Hunting listserv list, send a message with SIGNOFF HUNTING
Response:
> Uh, Oh. I just bought a Browning A-bolt medalion 7mm Magnum, then came > home and read one persons experiences with the safety problems. Has anyone > else had similar experiences?
I’ve got the exact rifle and never had the slightest problem with it. Love it to death. Brett R. Wenner Visit the rec.hunting and rec.hunting.dogs FAQ Home Page at: http://sportsmansweb.com/hunting/ To leave the Hunting listserv list, send a message with SIGNOFF HUNTING
Response:
> Uh, Oh. I just bought a Browning A-bolt medalion 7mm Magnum, then came > home and read one persons experiences with the safety problems. Has anyone > else had similar experiences?
There WAS a recall, by serial number. Call them and see if yours is one. Mine was, and was out of my hands for about three weeks. Browning paid all the shipping and handling. I love the safety on mine, heck, I love all the things about it. For a quick synopsis of what I like about my browning go to http://www.igs.net/~daremo/dj/tool1.htm DJ MacIntyre Visit the rec.hunting and rec.hunting.dogs FAQ Home Page at: http://sportsmansweb.com/hunting/ To leave the Hunting listserv list, send a message with SIGNOFF HUNTING
