Browning X-Bolt Max Long Range – 2019 Rifle of the Year

The Browning X-Bolt Max Long Range is a great all-around rifle and easily 2019's greatest introduction.

January 22, 2020 By Guns & Ammo Staff

During the last year, the X-Bolt Max Long Range has been used by several G&A editors and contributors to harvest everything from Hawaii’s axis deer to Missouri’s whitetails. It also demonstrated unbelievable long-range accuracy potential. This rifle targets those of us who like to hammer steel set several hundred yards away, as well as those who prefer to hunt a little farther out.

Being a line extension of the X-Bolt should have prevented the new X-Bolt Max Long Range from winning this category, but the universal appreciation for this rifle’s performance and value overwhelmingly scored Browning this award over all others.

Retail price for the X-Bolt Max Long Range is advertised at $1,269.99. We couldn’t find this level of feature-rich value in another new rifle having a lesser price, or in any other production rifle currently offered for less than $1,500.

Further, this smooth-action bolt gun is available in the hottest flat-shooting chamberings, including 6mm Creedmoor, 6.5 Creedmoor, .28 Nosler, 6.5 PRC and .30 Nosler. (Of course, it’s also available for traditional cartridges such as .308 Winchester, .300 Winchester Short Magnum, 7mm Remington Magnum, .300 Winchester Magnum and .300 Remington Ultra Magnum.

The X-Bolt Max Long Range features a composite stock with an adjustable comb and a 26-inch, heavy sporter contoured barrel. Our first assumption was that this would be a heavyweight and impractical rifle to carry in the field. We were wrong. The X-Bolt possesses subtle lightweight details including barrel fluting for weight savings and a composite stock. The floorplate is also a polymer composite and the triggerguard is lightweight alloy. The sum of these parts equals a rifle that only weighs 8 pounds, 3 ounces, and 4 ounces more in some chamberings.

The trigger pull measured less than 4 pounds, and in no way compromised this rifle’s accuracy potential. In fact, nothing about Browning’s new X-Bolt Max Long Range is a compromise. It’s just a great all-around rifle and easily this year’s greatest introduction.

Browning X- Bolt Max Long Range

Type: Bolt action, det. magazine
Cartridge: 6.5 Creedmoor (tested)
Capacity: 4 rds.
Barrel: 26 in.; 1:7-in. twist; stainless steel
Overall Length: 46.125 in.
Weight: 8 lbs., 3 oz. (tested)
Stock: Composite, adj. comb
Length of Pull: 13.75 in.
Finish: Black gray splatter; matte
Trigger: 3 lbs., 7 oz. (tested)
Sights: None
MSRP: $1,270
Manufacturer: Browning, 800-333-3288, browning.com

BUY IT NOW! Log on to galleryofguns.com, select this firearm, pay a deposit and it will be at your local gun store in two days. When purchased from galleryofguns.com, Davidson’s guarantees to repair or replace this firearm for life.

Trijicon's New Specialized Reflex Optics (SRO)

The Trijicon SRO is specifically designed for pistol use. The wide field of view and clean, crisp dot makes it easy for users to find and track the dot in both target and competitive shooting applications.

Shooting 600 Yards with .300 Blackout

The .300 Blackout cartridge was developed to provide greater effectiveness than a 9mm at short and medium ranges when fired from a short-barreled suppressed firearm. Just because the cartridge wasn't designed to go long doesn't mean Rifles & Optics Editor Tom Beckstrand won't take it there, using a large-format pistol, no less. Armed with SIG Sauer's 9-inch-barreled MCX Virtus Pistol loaded with Black Hills' 125-grain TMK ammunition, Beckstrand attempts to ring steel at 600 yards with help from Hornady's 4DOF ballistic calculator in this segment of “Long Range Tech.”

Cameras Don't Lie: Subsonic 9mm vs. .300 Blackout

In this segment of "Cameras Don't Lie," a subsonic-ammo showdown, 9mm vs. .300 Blackout fired from AR rifles.

Trijicon RMRcc Reflex Sight – Perfect for Optics-Ready Concealed-Carry Pistols

The people asked and Trijicon answered. Introducing the RMRcc miniature red-dot sight for compact, concealed-carry pistols. Trijicon's new RMRcc features the durability and reliable controls that have made the RMR so successful, but its reduced dimensions make the “Concealed Carry” model better suited for the popular small-frame pistols designed for discreet carry and personal defense.