Browning X-Bolt 2 Hunter in 243 Winchester

The Browning X-Bolt rifles I have shot in the past have never failed to impress with their consistent accuracy. Browning has been offering fine Belgian and Japanese-made rifles for years, but the X-Bolt series proved a further refinement of earlier models and became renowned for flawless cycling and shooting tight groups with a wide variety of ammunition.

Even so, Browning believed there was room for improvement, most notably, how well the rifle fits the

shooter. In synthetic-stocked models, the 2024 X-Bolt 2 Vari-Tech stock offers the adjustability of a precision chassis-style stock while maintaining traditional lines. The X-Bolt Hunter rifle tested here did not include a Vari-Tech synthetic stock but instead a trim, grade 1 black walnut stock with a low-glow satin finish and bordered 18 line-per-inch laser checkering in the grip and forearm areas. Grip checkering also included a tiny Buck Mark logo. The walnut stock did not include the modern adjustability of the synthetic models. It did include upgrades like a new 1-inch-thick, soft Inflex recoil pad, including internal directional ribs that coax the comb away from the face during recoil for greater shooting comfort, a new thinner alloy bottom metal and a crisp DLX adjustable trigger. Blued steel sling swivel studs were included front and rear and the alloy trigger guard holds a gold Buck Mark logo. Many new X-Bolt 2 models include carbon barrels, but the classic-styled X-Bolt 2 Hunter test rifle held a sporter-weight carbon steel tube (.60 inch at the muzzle) with a non-reflective blued finish to match the action.

At 6 pounds, 8 ounces, out of the box, the walnut-stocked X-Bolt 2 Hunter, chambered in 243 Winchester, was easy handling and sleek – the perfect tool for mountain hunting or sitting for whitetails. The 135⁄8-inch length of pull is a good middle-road compromise but perhaps a touch long for true youth and petite female hunters. This stock included a 11⁄16-inch drop at the comb and a half-inch drop at the heel, which when combined with the light 22-inch barrel and 42-inch overall length made it lively in the hand, coming to the shoulder quickly and pointing naturally. The action was bedded at the recoil lug and front and rear action screws for stability and the barrel was free floated for accuracy. By bedded, I mean a decent-quality glass-bedding job a gunsmith would find at least adequate, not a couple of stingy dabs of hot-melt glue in the indicated areas as I’ve seen on some recent rifles.

The carbon steel barrel of the X-Bolt 2 Hunter test rifle was button rifled and triple inspected at the Miroku, Japan, factory – first to ensure a smooth interior finish, second for straightness and then air-gauged for uniformity. Each chamber is hand-reamed like a custom rifle to guarantee concentricity and the muzzle received a recessed crown to protect muzzle rifling from unintentional wear or damage. Chambered in 243 Winchester, the test barrel included a traditional 1:10 rifling twist, which will reliably stabilize cup-and-core hunting bullets up to 100 to 105 grains and lead-free designs up to 90 to 95 grains.

The X-Bolt 2 Hunter feeds from a detachable four-round rotary magazine, a patented and durable Browning design that has proven quite reliable on past rifles I have tested from the company. The rotary design centers rounds in the magazine so they are pushed straight into the chamber during cycling, without the potential jams that staggered systems can introduce. The magazine sits flush to the bottom metal. The polymer magazine loaded quite easily, with rounds popping straight down through the feed lips in AR fashion, which makes it possible to top off the magazine while it is snapped into the rifle. The X-Bolt 2 also allows the use of the new Plus Magazine System, an optional Browning-designed extended polymer magazine that increases round count up to 6+1, depending on caliber. Center feeding is still a part of this option. Both magazine styles include a shoulder retention system to protect bullet tips from deformation during recoil. The provided magazine was released with a front lever, which was integral to the magazine proper and popped back into place cleanly and positively.

The short-action receiver has also been reconfigured for the new X-Bolt 2, now including additional bolt guidance and a high-gloss bolt slide to provide smoother cycling completely free of binding or chatter. Part of its smooth functioning is also the reworked bolt, milled from a single piece of bar stock for strength and including a redesigned

bolt knob with improved ergonomics and handsome spiral fluting. Like past X-Bolts, this three-lug system included a short 60-degree bolt throw. This makes cycling faster but also aids in clearing the ocular bell and extended throw levers of today’s chunkier long-range scopes. Another nifty addition is the bolt unlock button, located on the bolt/bolt-handle junction, which allows the rifle to be safely unloaded while the two-position tang safety is in the rearward/safe position. I have long appreciated a top tang safety after a lifetime of upland bird hunting with side-by-side shotguns, finding them quick and wholly intuitive. The safety blocks the sear as well as locking the firing pin for ensured safety.

Form and function are certainly paramount, but a great trigger brings it all together. Browning’s patent-pending DLX Trigger includes a three-lever mechanism that results in zero creep, take-up or overtravel during and after the trigger break. The trigger arrived preset to 3.5 pounds, which I found entirely satisfactory, so I found no reason to fiddle with it. Tension adjustments involve a simple set screw, but the action screws and bottom metal must be removed to access it, the trigger pull is then adjustable down to 3 pounds, which is plenty light for a hunting rifle likely to be fired while wearing gloves. The alloy trigger is gold-plated in classic Browning fashion. Overall, the trigger proved crisp enough that it felt much lighter than my scale indicated.

Choosing an optic to top this lightweight rifle proved a toss-up between maintaining the rifle’s feathery nature or making the best of the 243 Winchester’s long-range talents. Ultimately, I split the difference with a Swarovski Z8i 2-16x 50mm P riflescope equipped with the company’s simple 4A-I reticle. Browning supplied sleek, 6.4-ounce, medium-height (.50 inch) X-Lock Scope Mounting System hardware. These are 30mm rings with integrated bases, a four-screw design to match Browning’s four-hole-per-base tap configuration. Securing each base at every corner makes for more solid anchoring than traditional two-hole/in-line mounting taps/holes. This system is also milled from 7000-series aluminum, translating into low mass combined with exceptional strength.

It goes without saying this is a fine riflescope, providing 93 percent light transmission, 50 yards to infinity side parallax adjustment, and capped MRAD adjustments (custom BTF – Ballistic Turret Flex – exposed turrets can be purchased as an option, allowing 54-MOAs of vertical and windage corrections). Perhaps this scope’s biggest selling point is its remarkable SwaroLight illumination system, which includes a fine center red dot with 0-32 twilight and 33-64 daytime brightness settings manipulated by clicking a

control lever left (twilight) or right (daytime) and then using the tactile plus or minus buttons to select a preferred brightness level. Illumination is extinguished when the scope is tilted past 45 degrees, such as lying on your lap while on a stand, or when the muzzle is pointed downward or upward severely, such as when leaning against a tree or blind wall. When the rifle is returned to level, illumination automatically returns. SwarClean coatings repel dust and moisture to keep lenses clear of clutter. The scope measures 14 inches long and weighs 23.8 ounces. Adding the rings and optic brought the finished weight to a reasonable 8.64 pounds without further accessories or ammunition.

I’m a sucker for the venerable 243 Winchester, as it was the cartridge I literally grew up with, using it to take everything from prairie dogs, jackrabbits and coyotes to mule deer and pronghorn to black bear and bull elk before I’d even graduated from high school. I never found it lacking in any way, so long as I handloaded the right bullet for the job at hand and placed my shots with care. I’m not advocating the 243 Winchester as an ideal elk cartridge, nor would I choose it today for such tasks, but it was what I had and it was legal under New Mexico’s big-game regulations.

The 243 Winchester is certainly versatile and has become even more so with the advancement of bullet technologies that create more accuracy and terminal dependability. This accounts for the round’s continuing popularity.

In fact, it is so popular, finding factory rounds before press time proved a challenge, with some last-minute horse trading required to secure a good cross section of examples. Three of these were from Hornady, including 90-grain ELD-X Precision, 95-grain SST Superformance and 100-grain InterLock American Whitetail loads. Nosler’s 90-grain Ballistic Tip Ammunition arrived late in the game. This provided a representative sampling of long-range, aggressive expansion and dependable heavy-game options. Despite a conspicuously windy day, all factory ammunition tested combined to provide a five-shot, 100-yard group average just north of an inch, with Hornady’s 90-grain ELD-X Precision Hunter load clustering into just less than an inch.

I’ve been handloading the 243 Winchester for about 47 years, so I have gained some small amount of insight. But here, I stepped outside my comfort zone, choosing both bullets and powders that breathe new life into the classic cartridge. Barnes’ 85-grain TSX BT, with a .333 G1 ballistic coefficient (BC), feeds the modern lead-free craze – and provides an option for our California readers – combined with accuracy juggernaut Hodgdon Varget. Berger’s 87-grain VLD Hunting is one I would choose for southwestern Coues’ whitetail or pronghorn due to its .427 G1 BC and reliable expansion at longer ranges. I was also curious to see how Shooters World Long Rifle would perform with this bullet. Though only 90 grains, the tapered-jacket, bonded-core Swift Scirocco II is a bullet I would trust on larger big game. It included a .419 G1 BC and newer Vihtavuori N555 seemed a safe bet for accuracy. Nosler’s 95-grain Ballistic Tip Hunting is the modern poly-tipped equivalent to the Nosler Solid Base bullets that I used to take many game animals with as a teen, while including a higher G1 BC .379. Ramshot Hunter was a powder that was around way back then and still serves well. Finally, Sierra’s 100-grain GameKing SBT, including a .430 G1 BC, is a bullet I used to tag many mountain mule deer as a kid. Loading hunting ammunition for a recent Kansas whitetail foray, newer Winchester StaBALL 6.5 produced some very respectable groups.

Every handload auditioned provided more than adequate big-game accuracy, despite some admittedly random seating depths (that could no doubt be improved with some minor tweaking) and the annoying wind. The Barnes’ 85-grain TSX BT with 40.5 grains of Hodgdon Varget combination produced one of the better groups of the entire test, with three shots at 100 yards clustering into less than an inch.

Nosler’s 95-grain Ballistic Tip Hunting and 41.5 grains of Ramshot Hunter produced the best group of the test that measured less than ¾-MOA center-to-center. The load consisting of Sierra’s 100-grain SBT and 41 grains of Winchester StaBALL 6.5 shot as well from the Browning as the rifle I took to Kansas a couple years ago, stacking three shots into ¾-MOA at 100 yards despite those gusty 10-12 mph winds.

Browning’s 2024 X-Bolt 2 Hunter makes me want to own a 243 Winchester again. Though trimmer and much easier toting than my original Remington Model 700 ADL, this rifle shot every bit as well. I can also attest to the effectiveness of the Inflex recoil pad that made this rifle quite pleasant to shoot with felt recoil more on the level of a 22-250 Remington than a typical 243 Winchester. This would make an awesome mountain-hunting rifle or one to tote into a remote whitetail stand. It is also quite handsome, with its high-grade walnut stock and tastefully implemented and functional wraparound grip and forend checkering.