Rifle Shooter Magazine Calls the Browning AB3 Hunter “…A Winner.”
Rifle Shooter Magazine Calls the Browning AB3 Hunter “…A Winner.”
Recently veteran gunwriter Stan Trzoniec reviewed the Browning AB3 Hunter for Rifle Shooter Magazine, and declared the wood-stocked beauty “…A winner for nimrods and veterans alike.”
“Browning introduced the A-Bolt 3 (AB3) a couple of years ago,” Trzoniec began. “It was first available only with a synthetic stock, but last year the company brought out a wood-stocked Hunter version chambered in nine cartridges from .243 Win. to .300 Win. Mag. At a penny under $670, this rifle is going to appeal to many.”
AB3 Hunter
“It has clean, classic lines, and while the wood is select grade, I would put it slightly above that level,” Trzoniec notes. “In addition to my test gun, I looked at nine samples in one of the major sporting retailers in my area, and there was not a bad piece of wood in the bunch. The finish is smooth as silk and evenly applied. There is more than ample checkering, with two panels on the fore-end and one on each side of the pistol grip.”
“The finish is smooth as silk…”
“Browning went the extra mile by adding bedding pads in the receiver and rear-barrel areas, and there’s bedding around the rear action screw as well,” explains Trzoniec. “Like the rest of the action, the barrel is finished in a matte blue, and it’s button-rifled, tripled checked for uniformity, interior finish and straightness. Barrels are free-floated, hand chambered and finished with a target crown.”
“Browning went the extra mile…bedding…the receiver and rear-barrel areas...”
“The detachable magazine is the trend in hunting rifles these days. It’s a good way to have extra rounds in your pocket, and depending upon your choice of cartridge, the polymer magazine will hold three, four or five cartridges,” observed Trzoniec. “When the magazine is in place, the bolt just kisses the top of the follower, adding to the overall smoothness of the rifle’s operation.”
“I found the gun a pleasure to shoot…”
Trzoniec also spent some time behind the trigger, putting the Browning AB3 through its paces on the range. “I found the gun a pleasure to shoot…The stock fit me in all the right places, and with Browning’s proprietary recoil pad, the push-back was soft.” According to the author, accuracy results with the rifle’s favorite factory load hovered right around an inch at 100 yards.
“While this AB3 only occupies only two pages in the (Browning) catalog, to me sales of this particular version will be significant,” Trzoniec concludes. “It’s a winner for nimrods and veterans alike.”
You can read Trzoniec’s entire article online at http://www.rifleshootermag.com/rifles/review-browning-ab3-hunter/#ixzz4t8c4XzCS
Original article copyright Rifle Shooter Magazine 2017. Photos are copyright Rifle Shooter Magazine, Browning and/or used with attribution or permission or are in the public domain. Review written by Browning staff writer Scott Engen. Copyright Browning 2017.