Browning's X-Bolt 2 Wins in Africa

Published on October 17, 2024

I vividly remember thumbing through the pages of my favorite hunting magazines, prowling for Dark Continent adventure stories. I read the works of Boddington, Ruark, J.A. Hunter, Capstick, and others. I couldn’t get enough. I’d close my eyes and see myself, rifle slung over my shoulder, inching across an untamed wilderness where the golden savannas stretched to the horizon. The sun was always dipping, setting the horizon ablaze.

Like most dreams, I do my best to make them a reality. So many times, after months of planning and budgeting, I was close to pulling the Africa trigger but never could. Life happens, right? Something would come up when my bank account finally told me I could entertain the idea.

Finally, this past June, with the help of some remarkable friends and industry partners, my African dream became a reality. I would join a crew of fellow outdoor writers and friends from Browning, Leupold, and Winchester for an Eastern Cape adventure.

My vision became a reality, and when I made that first stalk across the vast expanse of calf-high grass intermixed with Acacia thorn, a Browning X-Bolt 2 Pro McMillian SPR Carbon Fiber chambered in .300 Win. Mag. was slung over my shoulder.

Why the McMillian Pro in .300 Win. Mag?

I’d done my research. Many legendary African hunters relied on the caliber for its versatility, power, and uncanny long-range accuracy. The West is vast, but the expanses of the African landscape can’t be captured with words, and after a few discussions with those who’d hunted the area before, I knew some shots would be extended. I wanted precision, maximum energy transfer, and deep penetration every time I fingered the new, adjustable DLX Trigger.

My mission was plains game: kudu, impala, various species of wildebeest, bushbuck, and more. The .300 Win. Mag has enough stopping power to break down a monster kudu bull, but it’s also suitable for smaller antelope species like the bushbuck. The caliber’s high velocity ensures minimal drop and is available in a wide range of bullet styles and grain weights. I was able to perform lots of testing beforehand to get comfortable and confident with my choice of ammo.

As for the X-Bolt 2 Pro McMillian SPR Carbon Fiber, you won’t find a more accurate from-the-factory rifle. Period. The McMillan Game Warden 2.0 stock is crafted from lightweight carbon fiber to ensure a rock-solid platform. The comb is tall, which provides ideal stock-to-optic eye alignment, and there is a deep recess where the stock drops into the vertical grip with a top thumb rest.

Having previously field-tested other X-Bolt 2 builds, I knew the spiral-fluted bolt with extended bolt handle and improved bolt knob design were ultra ergonomic, and, of course, the fast, silky-smooth, no-hangups 60-degree bolt lift screams BROWNING! The new receiver includes additional bolt guidance surface area, making bolt operation even smoother than the original X-Bolt.

Aside from being an easy-to-operate fast-action bolt design, I planned to top the rifle with Leupold’s VX-6HD 3-18x44. It’s a sizeable scope, and I know from previous testing that the design of the 60-degree bolt lift clears large optics.

The top-tang safety is easy to reach, and though I didn’t plan to add a can to the barrel, I appreciate that the carbon fiber barrel from Preferred Barrels is four inches shorter than the standard barrel length. Browning’s main goal was to allow the end user to add a suppressor and maintain standard barrel length. On this particular African adventure, I wanted a shorter, more maneuverable build that would carry well and ensure easier handling when a right-now shot was necessary. I also applaud the Bolt Unlock Button, which works with the top-tang safety to add extra stay-safe insurance when checking and unloading the chamber.

I love the Recoil Hawg muzzle brake, preferring it over a radial brake. It dramatically reduces felt recoil, and when you plan on burning a lot of powder and sending rounds on the range and in the field, you’ll appreciate this when shooting a caliber like the .300 Win. Mag. Many stray from this caliber because of recoil. The Recoil Hawg break works with the Pachmayr Decelerator pad to control recoil and reduce shoulder abuse.

The X-Lock Scope Mounting System utilizes four screws per base, and if recommended base torque is applied, your bases won’t move. I added a lightweight bipod to the aluminum Picatinny rail at the rifle’s slim, functional fore-end. The rifle shot lights out on my home range, and when I arrived for the hunt, my first Africa shot was at an 8-inch diameter steel gong 400 yards away. When the trigger broke, the gong clanged.

As for the hunt, I could get dramatic. I could write about the breathtaking landscape and dive deep into each stalk. However, that’s different from what this article is about. You want to know how the rifle chambered in the caliber I bragged up performed. I took 10 plains game species, including a 2,800-pound eland, heavy-boned kudu, and blocky black wildebeest. Eight of the 10 animals I squeezed the trigger on were one-shot kills. The red hartebeest took two rounds from 536 yards, but the second shot was just insurance. As for my first African animal, a hyped-up African first-timer let his nerves get the better of him, and we will leave it at that.

The rifle and caliber performed brilliantly. Since that South Africa hunt, I harvested a 320-inch bull elk with the same rifle and 190-grain bonded bullet. The rifle has a custom feel you must experience to appreciate fully.

All Hail the New King in Town

Browning launched the 6.8 Western in 2021. Why? Browning is constantly innovating and has a forward-thinking mindset. Browning strives to fulfill its customers’ needs and saw a need to fill the gap between the high-velocity long-range calibers and the heavy-hitting short-range calibers. They wanted to develop a caliber capable of extreme long-range effectiveness and deliver terminal results on big-game animals at longer ranges without the recoil magnum calibers are known for.

Mission accomplished. The 6.8 Western has the “it” factor. Recently, while sitting in an elk camp with an outdoor gun writer I respect and admire, we talked about the 6.8 Western. The writer had just harvested a 6x6 bull elk with the caliber at 225 yards with a single shot.

We discussed the 6.8’s short action, pin-point accuracy, killing power, etc. However, we both agreed that there’s just something magical about the caliber that can’t be described in an article about its perfect balance of recoil and power or high ballistic coefficient. The caliber simply kills quicker and better than most.

While in Africa, I hunted with Browning’s Senior Marketing Manager, Shaundi Campbell. On that hunt, I watched Campbell execute multiple one-shot kills with what she calls her “magic stick.” This magic stick is Browning’s X-Bolt 2 Speed SPR in 6.8 Western.

“If I had to shoot one rifle in one caliber for the rest of my life, this would be it,” Campbell said. “I'm a small-framed shooter, and I noticed I was developing a pre-shot flinch when shooting magnum calibers. I hated that. I pride myself on my ability to shoot accurately. However, because I hunt a lot of different types of animals in various environments, I need long-range accuracy and crazy kill-’em-dead power. Typically, this is where many shooters lean towards high-powered calibers like the .300 Win. Mag., .300 PRC, and others. What I discovered, though, after harvesting multiple elk, a caribou, and lots of other big-game animals with my 6.8 Western, is that it did what the magnum calibers did. I got crazy accuracy and ridiculous killing power in a short-action caliber that produced significantly less recoil. Accuracy happens when a shooter can focus on the shot and not have what will happen after they pull the trigger in the back of their mind.”

Campbell was already having a banger of an African adventure. She had harvested a massive sable from over 300 yards, a zebra, and a slew of other animals, all with the 6.8 Western. All one-shot kills. Then, with light fading and after a lengthy run across a mountainside to get into position, I watched Campbell execute a 400-plus yard shot on a giant kudu bull. It was another surgically placed shot, and the bull made it only a few yards before tipping over.

“That shot was pure shooting confidence,” said Campbell. “Not just in myself, but in my rifle. My X-Bolt 2 Speed SPR with adjustable length of pull and comb height fits me like a glove. That rifle is my magic stick. I took the shot standing off shooting sticks. The bull had a destination in mind, and we couldn’t stop him. The window of opportunity, because of the dense tree cover, meant I had to take a walking shot. Though I don’t recommend a walking shot, especially at this distance, I knew I could execute. This was my dream animal, and I had one chance to make it happen. I would have let the bull walk if I had another rifle chambered in a different caliber. But with the magic stick, it was game on.”

When we walked up on the bull, we found the entrance hole made by the Browning Long Range Pro Hunter 175-grain bonded bullet. It took out the bull’s heart. I’ve witnessed phenomenal shots over the years, but none more precise than this one. When we pieced the bull apart, the bullet had sliced the heart almost in half, which is why I call her Shaundi “The Surgeon” Campbell.

Recently, Campbell went on an adventurous Newfoundland moose hunt. Moose are big, tough animals. She didn’t waver. Campbell took her trusty 6.8 Western, made a perfect shot from 460 yards, and dropped the massive bull.

A bull moose with a short-action caliber from over 400 yards. If nothing else in this article caught your attention, that should! If you’re in the market for a new X-Bolt 2 from Browning, they don’t come any finer than these two models.