Which factory rifle out of the three?

[Benjaminrusso89]

this will primarily be my big game hunting rifle. I will be doing some paper and steel punching too but I’m not looking to weigh it down to much. I’m trying to buy a factory rifle that’s ready to rock. Here is what I’m looking at. 1-browning x bolt speed. Pros, glass and pillar bedded, cerakoted, fluted barrel, threaded with removable muzzle brake, good weight, adjustable trigger and decent caliber selection (probably 300 wsm to keep it shorter and lighter) cons, non moa guarantee, kinda new with not a lot of info out there and just seems to pretty. 2- Christensen arms Mesa. Pros, probably the cheapest of the three, pillar and “spot” bedded (glass/epoxy maybe idk), threaded and removable muzzle brake, cerakoted, good weight, adjustable trigger, moa guarantee. Cons, not fluted, not great caliber selection. 3- kimber mountain ascent. Pros, lightest weight, fluted barrel, threaded with removable muzzle brake, adjustable trigger, best caliber selection, moa guarantee. Cons, most expensive off the three, stainless steel non coated/non cerakoted barrel kinda hard to find.

i do reload so I like the odd calibers like 300 wsm and 280 ai. Any input or experience with any of the three would awesome, thanks in advance!

 

[NewsShooter]

You might consider a Seekins Havoc too. I believe they're going to chamber the 6.5 PRC.

 

[brianf]

cant go wrong with a Kimber for hunting. from what ive seen they have better quality control compared to the large manufactures. not a better rifle but i have not seen gross problems or accuracy issues.
but if you are looking at a mountain rifle/lighter weight, they dont make the best for banging steel.
choose the one discipline and lean more that way. getting a do all rifle and going right down the middle never works out from my experience.

 

[Greg Langelius *]

My choice would be the Kimber Mountain Ascent 280AI.

Plenty of terminal performance, flat shooter, more realistic degree of recoil for a rifle that gets shot in the volumes of fire associated with steel and paper, and you can fire factory ammo, either regular or AI and the regular gets automatically fireformed to the AI configuration.

I tend to shy away from the 30 caliber magnums on the basis of excessive recoil for repetitive shooting. I don't use muzzle brakes because of the noise factor, and my own experience with the 280 (plain) is that they don't really need brakes. But believe me, the.280 is good and loud enough to begin with; though not a deal breaker for me by any means.

The mountain weight can be an issue with repetitive shooting, but a handloader can download the chambering for non-hunting applications. I have hand loaded with 120, 140, and 150gr bullets, and found accuracy fairly easily, while the combination of flat trajectory, good accuracy, and good reach make the chambering pretty close to ideal for both target and hunting applications. Heavier rounds can stretch the envelope to well beyond 1000yd for target work, but I'd really prefer a heavier rifle for that, and see haunting and precision ELR target work as a compromise that is better served with two optimized rifles and no compromise. Just the optics alone really demand that approach.

Not currently in my inventory, the .280 is due for re-acquisition back into my collection. IMHO, it applies the .30-'06's case capacity (which I consider to be my own upper tolerable recoil limit) in a more efficient package that shoots further for the same level of recoil. Until recently, my own hunter was a Mod 70 .30-'06 Featherweight; if I could have one in a 24" .280 Rem chambering, I'd be very happy.

Greg

 

[envy5000]

Have you looked at the Weatherby Accumark or Weatherby Weathermark? These are in the same price range and have comparable features.

 

[BobinNC]

http://shop.nosler.com/nosler-custo...-liberty-rifle-280-ackley-improved-13462.html

 

[GASSR20]

I'm in a similar dilemma just with a Win Model 70 Extreme Weather in place of the Christensen. I've never really cared for the aesthetics of the Christensen. Just my personal preference.

To me, if you want a Model 70 action or derivative, the Winchester is top dog in smoothness of operation.

The HC Speed is very nice and packed with features that would make it a great hunting rifle. The 60-degree bolt and tang safety are ideal. I kind of know what you mean about it being a too nice. I look at this way; people paint/modify their rifles all the time and the Browning just has it all done for you. The flush fit magazines are nice too for carrying hand position. The x-bolt magazine gives it a polar opposite feature to the Kimber with it's blind box mag. The only drawback I can see is the lack of aftermarket support and I'm not a huge fan of the x-bolt stock feel, so you'll need to like what you get out of the box. I could get over it, but I like the traditional bell and carlsons, mcmillans, and manners hunting style stocks too much.

The kimber seems just a tad too light for me.

Anyway, unfortunately my input doesn't include experience other than holding the rifles in the stores since I'm shopping as well and I've been hunting with the same rifles for the past 20 years. I agree with not trying to make it too much of a do-it-all rifle. I think sticking around 7.5 pounds (think regular sporter barrel) for the bare rifle is your best bet which makes some of these rifles a bit too light, which is probably why I have the EW in there. Now, you could go with the HC Long Range for that reason too. My $.02. Looking to hear your thoughts and others as well.

 

[jLorenzo]

I'm sure they're all nice guns, I've never been into the brownings,

Anybody check out the new Barrett hunting rifles? Might be worth a look also.

 

[stephen r]

The Kimber Mountain Ascent .308 (at 4 lbs 13 ounces)performed admirably last week in its first range practice with my Nephew in North Dakota.

Weeks before that session was the breaking-in of this new rifle using the David Tubb process and ammunition. The North Dakota range was rolling hills with placed steel plates from 100 to 750 yards. Weather was still and sunny. The prairie and draws scented with ripe chokecherries and the fondest memories.

The promised MOA was fulfilled and the recoil is subdued by the stock muzzle brake (gentler than my Remington 870's recoil). The optics are Kahles 624i (34.9 ounces) on Talley Tactical rings (34mm) and picatinny base for Kimber 84M with 20 MOA (PSM258749) .

Total carrying weight of rifle and optics with rings and rail is 6.49 pounds.

That is one fine shooting and backpacking rifle!

The United Airlines and TSA agents were seriously envious... though not a deciding factor for spending the equivalent of a vintage Mercedes.