Good deal on AB3

Hitzy

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Under $500 the MIR.
w w w.cabelas.ca/product/57619/rebates.browning.com
 
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I guess I'm the only ####### that bought one of these....lol
Anyway I'm quite glad I did, it's one of the "budget" rifles that's not a cheaply made bag of ####. It's up there with the Howa/Vanguard in terms of build quality... possibly because it's also made in Japan (Miroku). Barrels are threaded with the standard washer type recoil lug you see on Rem700 ect, not the cheap n ugly Savage nuts type on all the other budget type rifles (again, vanguard excluded), and it's factory bedded as a bonus. 3 lug 60 degree bolt is nickel plated and smooth as a baby's ass. Stock.is rigid yet still fairly light, big right handed palm swell, sort of grippy stippling where needed. Fit and finish wasn't skimped on either, no tool marks or imperfections in any of the metal parts. Trigger is plastic, but it's beefy, and my Glock told me not to sweat it, breaks clean and light enough for hunting use.
Mags are great, which is a nice thing to see in a low cost rifle like this. Best mags by far out of the ones I've owned (783,Axis,RAR). Staggered box but solid and a mix of steel/plastic. Inflex recoil pad is fantastic.
And yes it shoots, shot factory Winchester Power Max bonded 130grs and it would throw 2 side by side every time. Reloading will be better still I'm sure. It's in the god awful 270Win chambering BTW.
I like this one enough that a 308 Hunter (wood stock version in .308) will be on order shortly.
I think this is the standard the RAR should have been built to. It's not quite a Vanguard/Howa level of quality but close...but it's lighter and has mags.


 
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What's the price point on the wood version?

Oh, yew gonna dawn the BuckBuck emblum?

$679 or so...at least that's the cheapest I've seen it.
But hell yeah, gonna get the decalz fir the truk, the hat fer ma head, the vezt and even some undies, maybe even a tattooo.
 
I had a AB2, which wasnt quite the AB Original, think more plastic stock... but it had metal triggers and the detatch/top load mag which was tops.

I considered an AB3 as the pricing is decent but i think it just doesnt quite cut it for me.

Agree however, it is one of the better budget line rifles.

The Hunter wood, does it have plastic trigger?

A young lad was after a rifle suitable for our big deer, so a 270 minimum, id seen a decent Abolt Hunter second hand in 270 and its been a good outfit for the Lad!
They tend to have a shorter length of pull, which i find nice.

Enjoy
Cheers
WL
 
I guess I'm the only ####### that bought one of these....lol
Anyway I'm quite glad I did, it's one of the "budget" rifles that's not a cheaply made bag of ####. It's up there with the Howa/Vanguard in terms of build quality... possibly because it's also made in Japan (Miroku). Barrels are threaded with the standard washer type recoil lug you see on Rem700 ect, not the cheap n ugly Savage nuts type on all the other budget type rifles (again, vanguard excluded), and it's factory bedded as a bonus. 3 lug 60 degree bolt is nickel plated and smooth as a baby's ass. Stock.is rigid yet still fairly light, big right handed palm swell, sort of grippy stippling where needed. Fit and finish wasn't skimped on either, no tool marks or imperfections in any of the metal parts. Trigger is plastic, but it's beefy, and my Glock told me not to sweat it, breaks clean and light enough for hunting use.
Mags are great, which is a nice thing to see in a low cost rifle like this. Best mags by far out of the ones I've owned (783,Axis,RAR). Staggered box but solid and a mix of steel/plastic. Inflex recoil pad is fantastic.
And yes it shoots, shot factory Winchester Power Max bonded 130grs and it would throw 2 side by side every time. Reloading will be better still I'm sure. It's in the god awful 270Win chambering BTW.
I like this one enough that a 308 Hunter (wood stock version in .308) will be on order shortly.
I think this is the Standard the RAR should have been built to.

This one "feature" is what made made me hand it back over the counter. I know.... Plastics have come a long way blah, blah, blah...... They're in everything now, yada, yada, yada.

But the the trigger on a centerfire? Come on Browning!

Other than that it seems like a good rifle. Better than the Winchester XPR.
 
If you are able to strip one down, you can see how the trigger functions.
Just a couple pics off the net, but the trigger is basically a lever that pushes on a bar that trips the sear. It's kind of a neat sear/safety/trigger design actually. A handy fellow could make a metal trigger if it really bothered them a lot. I'm sure Timney will come out with something at some point.
ab3-trigger-l.jpg

Top is AB3, bottom is Xbolt.
ab3-xbolt-bare-action-l.jpg
 
I see its got a detachable drop box mag, I wonder if that could be swapped over to the A-bolt?

I don't think so....Abolt mag attaches to the hinged floor plate, there is no mag release.
AB3 mag release is at the front, and it's also supported at the rear in the mag well.
319491.jpg

BROWNING-A-BOLT-101.jpg
 
WS has these on for $535 now, with $60 off for spending $500, plus the $50US MIR.....well that's an even better deal then I got, around $410+tax.
 
So it would kinda be like messing around with an ugly chick. ;)

An ugly chic with a rocking bod....
She's alright if you got her at the right angle and the ugly parts are out of view...but you still feel weird bringing her around your friends.
 
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