Shooting the 6.8 western browning Xbolt hell’s canyon long range. Shooting the Winchester expedition long range 165 grain accubond long range. The results are…. Interesting… make sure you’re subscribed!
I don't think the rifle is the problem.I believe you hit the nail on the head when you said you've never had great luck with Winchester ammo.Neither have I.I believe the rifle,and the round,has lots and lots of great potential,but if Winchester/Browning doesn't increase the quality control of their ammo,or doesn't release the round to other manufacturers,THEY ARE GOING TO KILL THEIR OWN CARTRIDGE!
That gun will shoot, just a process finding right combo your rifle likes. I hand load and my Brownings will consistently shoot .75” moa. Triggers are rocks and practically no adjustment. I was fortunate to have a gunsmith snake a spring in and reduce to 3 lbs. It would be easier if it wasn’t a new cartridge. Limited dies, etc. Browning is a good off the shelf rifle. Good luck and don’t get frustrated with hunting season right around the corner. Keep us posted!
Its not anything special, Id spend $1,000 more and get a Christensen in my opinion! But for budget guys it works but theres so many other options out there Orx base, Howa 1500 uppers and get some good stuff out there in an AR platform. Many many options out there! Some really nice glass out there that's affordable too!
Honestly, it makes me happy for someone actually testing a product who, 1. Knows how to shoot. (Very good, repeatable form by the way) 2. Isn’t afraid to say something they bought sucks. Albiet, using a scope that appears not to have adjustable parallax, you didn’t have your head all over. Probably not going to be throwing shots that far off.
If it continues reach out to Browning to replace/fix the rifle. I have the Hells Canyon Speed in 6.8 Western and I shoot the 165 ABLR. I have shot 22 total rounds and have very tight and consistent groups.
first its a plastic stock with a bipod on it. second if you need a muzzle brake then go get you a 22. a Man would shoot it like a man not a girl. I have a winchester model 70 super grade and with the same ammo you are shooting I get .621 moa at 100 and 1.12 moa at 200. Buy a better gun and grow A SET OF NUTS AND SHOOT LIKE A MAN AND LOOSE THE MUZZLE BREAK
There is undoubtedly a culprit to be found here. I've seen first hand the performance of the 6.8 Western and it is probably one of the best commercial rounds on the market right now. I have even seen it beat the .300 Weatherby Magnum in penetration tests consistently. Hope you find the issue, there are a number of possibilities.
While it could be a good cartridge, a NASCAR driver in a Pinto, is still driving a Pinto. Browning continues to jump the shark and jazz up some junk rifles with old-school lines thereby ignoring hunters’ demands. They invest more in foolish advertising than most companies rather than selling good stuff. It’s a brand, not a rifle manufacturer. They outsource it all. Browning, guaranteed to have a 4 lb trigger that breaks like a stringy wet twig, but hey, it’s gold! 🤦♂️ Props to the reviewer for showing us what garbage is.
Have to try a bunch of different ammo! I have the same gun and went through at least 10-15 boxes of ammo before I found the one that was the best… lots shot 1in at 100 yards but i like to shoot sun moa
I can shoot my bow with groups almost as good on that kind of windy day. Im not a fan of these Browning rifles, some guys get good ones but ive seen more negative then not. These rifles cost morw then what you're getting. After owning a Christensen rifle I wont buy another rifle for the money $1800-$2100 it feels like a $4k-$5k custom rifle!!!! I have the Christensen MPR in 300 win mag but my next build will be the 6.8 Western in a Christensen Titanium
175 grain will do better. Take that shirt off and get a Vortex or some other scops out there, I stay away from Leupold after issues with them and gave me a fight to do a return and my brother worked for them at the time, so I know the insides and I definitely go with Vortex over Leopold any day!
Opposite experience for me with optics. But yes I’ve heard the 175s shoot better. However if other ammo companies don’t get on board I fear the cartridge may die out
@@gear101. its all about who dunps money back into the company and who keeps using the same old equipment and always paying cheap wages to save money. Its always like that it seems
My Xbolt in 6.8 western shoots sub moa with all ammo except the copper crap! I don’t know what your problem is but don’t dis the caliber just because you can’t get it to group.
Good vid. The ABLR is a very fussy projectile to seating depth. Interesting they have loaded it. Also add a tiny bit of lock tight to the muzzle brake as they often rattle lose on the xbolts. Hope you get it.
Try different ammo! If that’s doesn’t do it start going through the process of elimination, action bolts, bases torque, rings torque, try on sand bags not bipod. My money is on the ammo! Almost 60’s of hunting and reloading and that is the most common problem. And don’t forget the bedding in the action
Yeah,free-floating,bedding,Trigger work,& bags.Then of course dies and load your own coming up/down .3 grain increments.How many rnds downrange? Any and EVERYTHING with threads needs Lok-Tite! Pull the bolt out and the Bbl will cool faster. That group is SCOPE MOUNT RELATED!!!!
The 6.8 commercial initial batch of ammo had bad QC. As a reloader I found off center primer holes and powder charges that ranged several grains from each other. Also had some hot loads that ruined the brass. 2” group was good with factory ammo. After initial, reloading sub 1/2” groups all day long and still working on the loads.
Do you still think (it's currently 9 months after your initial comment) that it was the factory ammo? My 6.8 HC LR groups about 2" or a hair more at 100 yards with initial factory run ammo in 165 ABLR and 176 TGK. What bullets are you hand loading?
I have a Browning Medallion I believe is the XBolt handed down from my late uncle. Have not shot it nearly enough due to ammo prices 22-250. However this video has me wanting to get it out to the range! Browning makes fine firearmso as far as I'm concerned!
I'm getting 1moa groups out of browning speed lr in 6.8 with 175 Browning ammo. I'm having trouble adjusting to such a light rifle, any little motion affects my sight picture. Way more sensitive than my 15lb bull barrel setup.
Wind looks like more than 5 with that grass . Ballistics on ammo box not to be trusted. You said you wanted a hunting rifle! Browning trigger can be swapped out for a timney that will shrink the group
run a dollar down the barrel channel and give it some clearance if needed torque the reciever screws to 60 inch pounds put a bag under the kick pad and get up on a bench dont give up until you find nothing worked and the last thing magpul has been getting a ton of crap for that bipod is so sloppy decreasing your accuracy hell try the other load it's always something simple Brother.
Jesus Christ I don’t know how many videos about a browning X bolt in 6.8 western I’ve seen by now. Everyone’s been talking about the same crap on and off. Is that really how that US hunting industry is working? It is so boring it is so mediocre it is so not new in the whole concept and it is just so misleading to people looking for some guidance that’s really worth more than just sh…
Mcarbo makes a spring for Browning X Bolt $25, night and day difference. Great how to do you tube video. I have the trigger tech and Timney triggers on other guns. Browning feather trigger is as good with spring upgrade.
I would check the COAL on every bullet and then weigh each one separately. Any variation will cause bad groups. I've had to check all my factory loaded or custom loaded ammunition in order to find the most accurate rounds to save for hunting.
Look at who the who on you tube he has same problem with his rifle think he has 3 videos on the subject worth watching it he has the Winchester XPR with same problems good video good luck
I bought a winchester m70 which is together with browning the gun wouldn't shoot i shot probably 100 rounds through it from cheap winchester super x to nosler e tips and the gun wouldn't group I finally got a group at about three quarters inch group with super x went and shot the same box of ammo the next day it went to 2 inch group and I call browning/winchester asked some questions found out they don't have a MOA garuntee they said there gun should do a 1.5 inch group atleast no matter if its a 800 dollar gun or a 3,000 dollar gun so i guess I should have stuck with what I know and got a savage
The Winchester ammo in anything for me has never been very consistent I think that’s letting down the 6.8 marketing wise I can wait to put a few reloads through mine and see what it can do
I'm doing the same. The only thing that the 6.8 is better for is punching paper at 1000 yards. I'm not going to shoot an animal at those ranges in the first place.
I am avoiding Winchester. The qaulity control is terrible. Browning makes high quality products. 6.8 western is the best compromise everything in North America. Don't need anything else. 175 grain bullet with these balistics is the best. Period. Looks like you gun just needs to broken in.
I have the 68 Western In a browning long range hunter and at 200 yards shooting with the browning ammunition I could take a dime and cover up the group and them groups are cutting into each other the fourth one went through the middle that rifle was made to shoot to have your bullets and they’re probably not stabilizing for the twist rate in the barrel because mine are 178 grain Sierra Game kings try a different bullet it might shoot better 308 does the same shit with Winchester ammunition
Not saying this is the case with your rifle but I have two Browning HCs rifles, one in 6.5 CM and other in 300 WSM. Both are a very finicky as to what I can feed them and still get them to perform. My CM will not shoot any Barnes, e-tips and GMX bullets under an 1" but if I load up with Federal accubond or fusion 140 gr, I'm consistently under .5 for 3 shot groups. The 300 is pretty much the same. Keep trying different ammo and see what happens. I say that knowing that is no easy task in 2021. Good luck
3 moa out of a Browning....sounds about right...hahaha. Just kidding. I like the tip of the lock tight on the muzzle brake. I had a rifle giving me fits and it turned out that the muzzle brake had loosened up.
Havent had time to make any vids but i shot a one three shot group at 200 yards from a death grip tripod and it was 2" with browning 175gr sierra. So i think that ammo is going to shoot better for sure but cant say 100% yet.
Prolly a simple fix or maybe it doesn’t shoot that particular ammo well.I have a Hells Canyon in 28 Nosler and it shoots .6 or so groups at 100 yards all day long
Having a similar issue. Browning Hells Canyon Speed, VX5, Leupold rail, Warne rings. The 165s won't shoot under 2 inches at 100. The 175s were just over an inch at 100. Going to play with the torque settings on the action screws. I'm at 35 in/lbs now. Hope I can get the 165s to shoot.
yea the attractive part of the cartridge was shooting those 165 ablr bullets. If it wont shoot them well then idk if i want to keep it. However it may shoot them well in handloads. I havent ever had much luck with winchester ammo honestly.
@@gear101. Exactly my thoughts. I've planned to hand load this round from the beginning, waiting on components to become available. Certainly expected better results from the factory stuff.
Have you had any luck figuring out the problem? I have the exact same gun. Some of my first groups were .75", now I'm struggling to get under 2". I've shot 2 winchester loads and the browning load, and they all shoot about the same. I was hoping for tac driver.
@@gear101. would love an update vid if u do figure it out. Had 2 x bolts and had to get rid of both due iratic groups, we tried everything bar a rebarrel,
@@gear101. don't give up, I think the barrel just takes awhile to get broken in. I've shot over a hundred rounds and am now getting less than 1" groups. I got one group today that was 0.4".
Since you're using higher quality ammo, I would suspect free float or bedding issues. Your bipod could be flexing the stock or there's a factory burr causing a intermittent touch point. Also, check those action bolts. There's no way something isn't wrong.
If you notice some times the gun would rock others it would bounce. If you watch the bi pod. That is why I refuse to use one very much. Bi pods destroy accuracy in my experience from the oast
Although you have a point and everything you said. high quality ammo doesn't guarantee you accuracy. You gota know your twist rate and use bullets that are appropriate for it. But yea its always a process of elimination. Im sure the rifle is well made
@@sparky_-mf2cs You are speaking truth, for sure. My opinion is coming from ignorance of that rifle/cartridge. I'm also giving him the benefit of the doubt that his technique doesn't suck. I'm also basing on my experience. My cheapest rifle (Rem 770 in 270win) gets 2" groups or better with even the cheapest (Win super x) ammo. I'm too cheap, so I haven't splurged on the high end ammo. Perhaps, it would have the same lack luster results. I'm sure he'll figure it out. I just feel his pain of disappointment. You spend hard earned money on "quality" rifle/ammo and get spray groups. Tough pill to swallow. Edit: Case in point. His more recent vid trying 6.5prc ammo shows what I, and probably he, expected from a Browning rifle and high quality ammo.
@@sparky_-mf2cs agreed very much. Most people truly do not know how to address accuracy issues. Ammo, scope, scope rings, barrel seat, bedding, stock comfort, trigger, scope base, dirty bore, crown of the barrel could be messed up. Basically everything on this ride affects how it shoots. So much to ever figure out in an accuracy issue unfortunately.
Seems to me you have a lot of wind to deal with. My gun club has a rifle range that's protected on both sides with heavy brush and trees to block the cross wind. Once zeroed in at 100 yards we move to the other range where there aren't any trees or brush to block the cross wind. This is where you learn how to adjust for windage. If it's too windy we'll come back another day and try again. If wind is above 8 mph or so pack it up for another day. Next time use a dead cat to remove wind noise while recording video.
I never run to buy a new caliber no matter how good it is, I wait a bit for new offerings. The 6.8 Western is the updated .270 WSM and even holds 2 grains not much but does hold more powder even know its a tad smaller of a casing so people wont be shooting the rounds in another rifle! The 6.8 Western hits harder then a 7mm rem mag at long range unless its using the same 175 grain projectiles! The 6.8 Western keeps up with the 28 Nosler, 7 PRC its right there beating magnum numbers IN A SHORT ACTION RIFLE!!!!! CANNOT BEAT THAT!!!
Try some and loaded rounds, you will have to pay extra expensive rounds, but you will find out how much of that spread if your rifle and how much your ammo
Also check the scope, you know a very tiny variation can throw your groups into the stratosphere. If you have a proven one then put it real tight, zero it and try those shots again. Also, try som plinking with that scope you have there, you might find a faulty scope, but you will only know if you "torture test it" to say it some way. I would say scope, ammo and finally, maybe it is the rifle itself. If it is the rifle i would go either for a sloppy trigger group or bad lead in the barrel.
Probably only one 1 in every 100 rifles from the Xbolt line will be accurate enough to consider 1 MOA. The rest will be 2+ MOA at best. That's probably true for must rifle manufactures like Browning, Remington, Savage, Ruger and many others. Especially if you pair it with factory ammo. If you stroll into your local gun shop and pickup a "Mass produced" big brand name rifle that consistently prints 1 inch groups you got VERY LUCKY. VERY LUCKY indeed. You found a Unicorn for sure.
You may have sorted this rifle out by now but I have dealt with 2 versions of this rifle, 7mmRM and 30 Nosler, and the rifle to stock fit can be suspect. I re-bed the 30 Nosler and it was shooting much better than before, with all bullets and loads I tried. It was finicky before and would shoot great then crap. The 7RM is a little better but somewhat the same. So I would look at pillar bedding for a stress free fit.
As much wind noise as there is in the video I assume it’s windy out. Tough to get good groups with wind. There are so many fluctuations with wind that affect one shot to the next. Please repeat on a no wind day.
Make sure that brake is tight. If they aren't tight they will come loose from recoil and the heating up and cooling down. They will rattle and throw your shots all over.
The beauty of Leupold for a hunting gun is that light weight. I'm amazed at how many guys on the range getting ready for hunt run nearly two-pound scopes. I guess they do a lot of truck hunting.
I always take a .22 to the range and shoot 50-100 rounds through it before shooting the harder hitting rifles. It's easy to fall out of fundamentals with harder hitters, the 6.8 recoil is in the 7 mm RM territory. When I'm consistently printing tight groups with the .22 I switch to the 7. Also shooting 50 rounds of .22lr is what $5. I'll say my 7mm RM x-bolt shoots tighter groups consistently with the 168 - 175 gr vs. say a 139 or 150, no matter what. My thought is the bigger bullets are a bit slower and have correspondingly slower recoil which I hear makes a difference,
Your groups are no good because of your ammo. You need to try the Winchester Match. The groupings are much better. That,,, and I'm not a fan of Browning guns because of this reason also...
Do all??? That my friend was done in 1925 when Winchester made the 270 Winchester. 130's for deer, 140's for mule deer and 150-160 for elk and bear and the magic of that round is it kills well up to 500 yards; if you need more than that, the 7RM has been around long enough to have proved itself as the 270 has. You just spent ? How much on that gun writers promise? Agree on the current Winchester dump as they are nothing of their former selves. Try a Tika and put the money you save in glass and be done.
I have watched several videos on this caliber and it seems very consistent to shooting terrible groups. My thoughts ... this is a reloading only rifle, factory rounds don't shoot worth a crap.
Get a real scope Leupold new optics are third rate shit I've spent over $1800 on two of their new scopes sent one them back and waited 7 months before they got me another guess what it's shit put a $200 riton x1 primal scope guess what less than 3\4 inch groups I'm done with Leupold I even quit promting them in the store I run and have signed up with hawke and promote their products and riton products
muzzle breaks do nothing to tame recoil jsut keeps the muzzle "flip" down it may seem that its mitigating recoil but what your noticing is the breaks ability to flatten out the rifle during firing. felt recoil is the same with or with out.
