06/23/2021 – A second bike has been added to the garage. Purchased as a new, left over 2023 CFMoto 300NK, with a really big discount, I can now ride down to the lake fishing, run some very local errands and practice skills drills at under 200 MPH. It seems the developing skills transfer over the the big bike.
With only 30 HP, it gets 100 MPG, but it tops out at over 80 MPH. ABS brakes and suspension are terrific, and it makes lock to lock U Turns easy, plus it weighs 200 lbs less than the Suzuki. The two year warranty coverage is twice the standard Suzuki warranty. Where the Suzuki carries the license and registration cost of a new car in Maine, the 300cc NK is transferred on a bill of sale, and registration cost a few bucks. Insurance was less than half the cost of the Suzuki.
The electronics are super, including a variety of full displays of overall status and condition, built in navigation, and an app that reports if someone is attempting to move the bike. The built in GPS system tells me its exact location with power off. I set up the CFMoto app and the settings on the bike at home, when the bike was 25 miles away at the dealer. The app indicated the street address of the bike’s location, and any movement at the shop when it was being readied for pickup.
So now I can ride a lot more, the Suzuki for highway and longer distance rides, the CFMoto for trips down the hill, and practice drills. Each machine has its place and purpose. No, it can’t produce a 10.1 sec 1/4 mile E.T., or cruise endlessly at 100 MPH+ without breaking a sweat. It probably won’t make an appearance in a YouTube recorded traffic stop. That’s why I have the Suzuki. What does this have to do with firearms? Glad you asked.
The Browning X-Bolt 2 Speed SPR Part Two – Live fire
For as much as I wanted to not like this rifle, this uppity little Browning, with its Smoked Bronze Cerakote metal finish, Browning OVIX Camo finish stock, and 308 Winchester caliber, I did. Why?
The Browning X-Bolt 2 Speed SPR is a perfect fit for New England hunting, and anywhere else shooting is a less than three hundred yard proposition. It is light, fast handling, and more than enough gun for anything that would be encountered.
The 18″ barrel is responsible for my “less than three hundred yard” caveat, as it shaves enough muzzle velocity from the 308 Winchester, to warrant some general purpose limitations. Although that is a soft limitation.
The action is slick; feed and ejection without hesitation. With a silencer in place, despite a sonic crack from supersonic ammo, it is a non-barking short barrel gun. Not silent, but much easier on the ears and less likely to drive game into an adjacent county.
Using a well traveled set of Warnes bases and rings, I mounted the scope, popped in an optical bore sight, and the reticle fell square on the target grid. Luck, that does not often happen.
Between the recoil defusing silencer, and excellent Inflex recoil pad, this is a rare lightweight, short barrel 308 Win that is soft shooting. This made made my time with the rifle enjoyable, to the extent I probably went a bit overboard putting shots down range.
Loading same, or mixed, ammo was easy with the detachable rotary mag. Maybe better than loading a magazine through a rifle’s ejection port on a hinged floorplate gun, or emptying the same.
Raising the adjustable comb a bit kept my face planted against the stock, and the contact was solid. No adjustable comb wobble. I did not need to alter length of pull. I did not need to change to a more vertical grip angle. The short action made for an abbreviated bolt throw.
Not a hand warmer. Not a sledgehammer
Neither the silencer, nor the barrel held onto much heat. Even ejected brass was relatively cool to the touch. Maybe that is due to the moderate case capacity of the 308 Winchester, or the fluted barrel dissipating heat, or maybe ambient temperature a tick over 100°F reduced the temperature differential. I like that word “differential”. It adds a technical tone where there is a lack of technical substance.
I am not a believer in overkill. Yes, a 300 Win Mag for deer would definitely kill deer or moose, with thunderous muzzle blast, shoulder wrenching recoil, 180 – 220 grains of tough jacketed bullets whistling through the air. Impressive.
However, the 308 Winchester is confidently, competently all that is needed for North American hunting. A sobering clash with reality. When it comes to deer, or moose, both the 300 Win Mag and 308 Winchester would rack up solid one shot kills, but the 308 Winchester does it without the drama of beating the shooter profusely about the shoulder, head and ears.
Three cherry picked factory loads… No, not really
The three factory loads were selected… mostly because they were sitting in boxes on the floor and readily available. They are also, coincidentally, a good weight range, and of bullet construction that typifies modern 308 Winchester factory ammo.
L-R: Federal Power Shok 150 grain Copper, Federal Premium 165 grain Nosler AccuBond, Federal Premium 175 grain Edge TLR. Below, manufacture’s velocity ratings, based on a SAAMI standard 24″ test barrel for the 308 Winchester, and what the Browning’s 18″ barrel and a chronograph thought of that.
| Cartridge | Bullet Weight Grains |
Rated MV 24″ Barrel FPS |
Actual MV 18″ Barrel FPS |
Short Barrel FPS Loss |
| Federal Power Shok |
150 | 2820 | 2741 | <79> |
| Federal Premium |
165 | 2700 | 2508 | <192> |
| Federal Premium |
175 | 2600 | 2518 | <82> |
It is fun to watch come ammunition makers come up with new bullet combinations, forcing obsolescence of existing ammo, and forcing a cycle of price increases.
Every few months, they negotiate and contract with another bullet manufacturer, label the new combination with ridiculous names and tag lines, and last year’s best is pronounced an inferior product. Unless the range is extreme, the application is match shooting, or the game is Jurassic, $25/20 PPU jacketed soft point will kill deer as surely as $70/20 Nosler Trophy Grade AccuBond.
About that self imposed 300 yard effective range… OK, Maybe 400 yards
| Best Zero Results | |||||||
| Near-Zero – yards. | 23 | Mid Range – yards. | 120 | ||||
| Far-Zero – yards. | 212 | Max Ordinate – “ | +3.0 | ||||
| Point Blank – yards. | 226 | ||||||
| Best Zero : Range 0 – 500 yards | ||||||||||||
| Yards | 0 | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 | 300 | 350 | 400 | 450 | 500 | |
| Velocity – fps | 2508 | 2412 | 2319 | 2228 | 2139 | 2052 | 1967 | 1885 | 1804 | 1726 | 1650 | |
| Energy – ft.-lbs. | 2304 | 2132 | 1970 | 1818 | 1676 | 1543 | 1418 | 1301 | 1193 | 1091 | 998 | |
| Momentum – lbs-sec | 59 | 57 | 55 | 53 | 50 | 48 | 46 | 44 | 43 | 41 | 39 | |
| Path – “ | -1.50 | 1.43 | 2.87 | 2.69 | 0.76 | -3.07 | -8.97 | -17.11 | -27.70 | -40.96 | -57.13 | |
| Drift – “ | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | |
| Time Of Flight – sec. | 0.00 | 0.06 | 0.12 | 0.19 | 0.26 | 0.33 | 0.41 | 0.48 | 0.56 | 0.65 | 0.74 | |
Above, what a 165 grain load looks like in table form. The 18″ barrel is not really limiting for anywhere in the northeast. Funny how that works out with a little bit of research and analysis. The 400 yard cap is determined where hold over become mortar fire. The point blank range of 226 yards suggests range estimating and bullet drop will not come into play.
The high sectional density and ballistic coefficient of the 175 grain allows it to outperform the 165 grain bullet at 400 yards in all areas by a tick: 2 yards more point blank, 50 ft.lbs. of energy, 1″ flatter trajectory. So little more bullet with, essentially, no ballistic penalty.
Accuracy… Precision?
The 150 grain put up 0.9″ – 1.1″ five shot, 100 yard groups. The 165 grain shot 0.7″-1.0″. The 175 grain went 0.4″-0.8″. From a rest, but hot, humid, sticky shooting conditions.
Maybe I’m amazed…
Even though computers have taken over our lives and made us slaves to endless waves of useless video clips, they have also revolutionized manufacturing processes, replaced skilled labor inconsistencies and delivered the best made sporting firearms, ever. Too strong?
For the pragmatic hunter, modern rifles, like this Browning, are arguably the best tools for the job. Thanks to modern manufacturing, no matter where or when an example is purchased, it will deliver the same high level of performance. And it will do so, day in and day out, lasting several lifetimes of the typical hunter.
Joe , great article . A short barrel .308 gets it done here in PA also . I got one as my first firearm purchase . Four other members of the family warmed up to .308’s later , mine eventually made its way to Colorado w/ Dad to take a young bull elk & later a PA black bear.
Martin,
A life long friend of mine lives outside of Towanda, PA. Every time I try to tell him how good deer hunting is in Maine, he tells me about the deer herds that run through his yard.
Joe
Joe , still true in many places here . Not at home like it was . I worked an environmental job in Illinois for a few months . I met another gun nut like myself , I mentioned how many deer we would see throughout the summer on the farm & the amount we would see through the hunting season . He was flabbergasted ! The deer were huge in his state but sparse .
Right on the money, again, Joe. Were I still hunting, this is exactly the rifle I would buy (or build) for hunting down south here in Virginia. Whether in the Appalachian or Blue Ridge mountain forests or the mixed woods and fields of the Piedmont, this rifle will do it all. And you are absolutely right about factory ammunition. For all practical purposes and all realistic ranges, the $10/20 pointed soft point ammunition of the 1970’s is just as effective as this year’s shiny new super bullet.