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A Day Full of Shooting and New Guns - 2007 Pre-SHOT Show

From Russ Chastain,
Your Guide to Hunting / Shooting.
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Browning BAR Shorttrac, A-Bolt, and BLR Rifles

More impressive than the Super-X was the Browning BAR Shorttrac I fired, in 270 WSM (Winchester Short Mag). This gun worked perfectly, and has an easily-accessible bolt release... though the release does stick out a bit, and looked as if it might tend to get hung on stuff in the field. This gun was very accurate, using Winchester Supreme Elite ammo, with the new 130 grain XP3 bullet, which is designed to penetrate and then expand even more. This rifle was marked "Made in Belgium - Assembled in Portugal."

Sticking with Browning centerfires, I shot A-Bolts in 270 Win and 270 WSM, both with Winchester Supreme Elite 130-grain XP3 ammo. Both shot well, with the old workhorse 270 Win cartridge performing better for me (about 2") than the 270 WSM (roughly 3"-4"), as has been my experience in the past.

Next up, a Browning BLR Takedown model, in the shoulder-abusing 450 Marlin belted magnum cartridge. Love the gun, but the cartridge just plain hurt me. Ammo was by Hornady, with no specs given as far as bullet weight & type, all I know is it was a blunt-nose jacketed soft point. Loading it in the BLR's box magazine was a bit tricky, as the belt near the head of the case sometimes got in the way.

The takedown feature is a great one, and is incredibly simple and easy to use. Flip one lever and pull the gun apart, and the gun is taken down into two pieces for easy storage and transport. Reassembly is just as easy. This gun was made in Japan by Miroku.

I later sat down with a Browning BLR in 22-250 (Japan - Miroku), and shot a couple magazines' worth of Winchester Supreme ammo, with 55 grain Ballistic Silvertip bullets. What a fun rifle! It was one of the most accurate rifles I fired that day, and just a pleasure to shoot.

Browning BLR Lightweight Takedown Lever-Action Rifle
Browning BLR Lightweight Takedown Lever-Action Rifle
Browning
  1. Starting With a Bang - the Winchester Super-X Rifle
  2. Browning BAR Shorttrac, A-Bolt, and BLR Rifles
  3. Rimfires - Winchester Wildcat and Browning T-Bolt
  4. Browning Gold Hunter & Winchester Winlite Slugs
  5. Smith & Wesson 460 XVR and 500 S&W Magnum
  6. Browning & Springfield Armory Pistols
  7. Sig Pistols
  8. Rock River Arms Pistols & Blackhawk Holsters
  9. Mossberg Rifles & MTM Case-Gard Shoulder Gard Rifle Rest
  10. Sako 85S 338 Federal & my Benelli SuperNova Shotgun

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