I've got a Browning A-Bolt in 7mm Rem Mag & really want to make the gun a long range tack driver, by long range I mean out to a max of 600 yards, but I'd be happy with a decent group at 300 yards.

Question is what kind of accuracy (best case with factory amno) should I expect from the gun?

Right now I can shoot about 3 or 4 inch groups at 300 yards with Winchester 150 grain Ballistic tips, but nothing I hunt with the gun will thoses shells do much damage too. I've tried everything from Hornady Interbonds, Accubonds, Interlock, & the gamit from Federal, Remington, etc & nothing will group like the Winchesters.

Do I need to hand load, rebarrel the gun, sell the gun?? I'll try anything at this point.

I'm really thinking about just sending it to Christensen & having it rebarreled & go from there but I'm just looking for some thoughts.

Thanks for the help.

Talk to your gunsmith before rebarreling. Brownings are known to be difficult removing the factory barrel. They put them on with some kind of stickimus maximus. If a guy does not know what he is doing, an action can easily be twisted removing a factory Browning barrel. The groups you indicate do not sound too bad for a factory rifle.

You can probably do better reloading, find a hunting bullet you want to use, then fiddle around with powders, charge weight and primers until you find the right one.

I don't know what you are hunting, but there aren't a lot of game animals that a 150 gr BT isn't going to do plenty of damage to. I've heard a lot of the BT's blowing up stories, but it is typically at close range and high speed, I think the ranges you are talking about the BT is about an ideal bullet. If you're hunting brown bears at that range, then everything you're talking about is a bad idea, but figuring that ain't the game your talking about, I think the bullet/ammo you are using is a great setup.

3" groups at 300 yards is basically MOA accuracy, and that is damn good if you are shooting that well with any ammo. I wouldn't do a lot of screwing around with that rig, I definitely don't think a new barrel is in order. 30378 is dead right also, rebarreling A-bolts CAN be a tricky proposition. I think money and time better spent would be to get your trigger worked on if you have a smith capable of that, there is even an aftermarket trigger from a company called 'Rifle Basix' (spelling?) that I understand is a good trigger--better than the factory. I think this would help your accuracy as much as anything you could do. A-bolts aren't considered high end rigs by many, but they are known for their accuracy. I have one still, have had several, and they all shot excellently, but they all would have benefitted from some trigger help.

There is a fellow who posts here on AR as "MALM" who can work on Browning triggers, you might see if you can get with him, I think he is a stand-up guy!
Two other suggestions, on ammo, would be to try the Federal Premium ammo loaded with Barnes triple shock bullets--these bullets are Hell for Stout and just shoot great out of everything I have shot them through. Also, the Winchester supreme ammo with the Accubond typically shoot well for me with rigs that shoot the BT well, and they are a bit stouter bullet than the BT--just another thought.

Good Luck--Don

I own an A-Bolt as well. You really have little to complain about with the results you are getting. Before you spend money on a new trigger, try the Timney spring kit. I put one in mine, and it made a huge difference. You can install it yourself. It takes longer to to remove the stock than it does to install the new spring. I believe Brownells sells them for around $20. You didn't mention what scope you have on that rig. You might look at a higher end quality scope with magnification of 16x or more if you hadn't already done so.

Have a look at Varmint Al's Reloading Pages. He goes nutz on accuracy. Al is an structural engineer, used to make atom bombs with Lawrence/Livermoore.

http://www.varmintal.com/arelo.htm

Everything you'd want to know about accurate loads, accurate guns.