Is the Browning Boss worth the $$

elkhntr340 · #1 10-14-2009, 09:43 PM

Gunners I am looking for a new 300 win mag. My old savage has paid her dues and after being dragged around the mountains for the last 7 or so years she is done. I am interested in the Browing A-Bolt or X-bolt and would like some feedback on this rifle and the Boss.......is it all they say ?

catnthehat · #2 10-14-2009, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elkhntr340

Gunners I am looking for a new 300 win mag. My old savage has paid her dues and after being dragged around the mountains for the last 7 or so years she is done. I am interested in the Browing A-Bolt or X-bolt and would like some feedback on this rifle and the Boss.......is it all they say ?

Nope - something else that someone designed to sell to someone who thought they needed it.
Cat

Tundra Monkey · #3 10-14-2009, 10:14 PM

I'm gonna vote yes that it is worth it.

I've got one on my a-bolt in the same cal.

Positives:

It makes it kick like a 243 and for work at the range it is great for not enhancing any flinch at all. It's a nice feeling when your scope doesn't leap off the target when you pull the trigger.

Once you dial it in it will truly turn your rig into a tack driver.....no question about it. It instills a level of confidence in your rig that is priceless.

Negatives:

Man she's loud!!!!!!! Hearing protection is a must. When hunting I would switch it to the CR (will not change your POI). If not, the ringing lasts for a day but the damage it'll do is there forever.

Man it's ugly...Kinda like Ron Jeremy......but ya can't argue with "success" and performance.

I really think that it is a personal thing. If you handload you can work up a load that works well in a rifle without it. Unfortunately, that load may not be all that the rifle can do and with your calibre choice it can do alot. With the Boss you can make your rifle shoot lights out at velocities that you want and not let the rifle dictate it to you.

Hope this helps a bit,

tm

huntinstuff · #4 10-14-2009, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catnthehat

Nope - something else that someone designed to sell to someone who thought they needed it.
Cat

x23....what Cat said......

elkhunter11 · #5 10-15-2009, 06:01 AM

I owned one rifle with the BOSS,and I will never own another.It was no more accurate than my non BOSS rifles with proper loads,and it kept coming loose which changed the point of impact.BOSS equipped rifles also have shorter barrels to compensate for the length of the BOSS,and therefore they produce less velocity.The worst feature of the BOSS,is that they are EXTREMELY LOUD.Never fire a BOSS equipped rifle even once without hearing protection if you value your hearing.

Tundra Monkey · #6 10-15-2009, 06:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

I owned one rifle with the BOSS,and I will never own another.It was no more accurate than my non BOSS rifles with proper loads,and it kept coming loose which changed the point of impact.BOSS equipped rifles also have shorter barrels to compensate for the length of the BOSS,and therefore they produce less velocity.The worst feature of the BOSS,is that they are EXTREMELY LOUD.Never fire a BOSS equipped rifle even once without hearing protection if you value your hearing.

Ummmmm, tighten it

When you put the CR on does it sound any louder than a plain ol' 300?

I believe the barrel is still 26" so no change in velocity.....but the Boss makes it physically longer which some may find more cumbersome. However, you can adjust the Boss to deal with a hotter load that may not work in the "fixed" barrell unless you luck out and find one that likes to spit em' out at the higher velocities.

tm

Jerry D · #7 10-15-2009, 07:11 AM

The Boss is 2.5" long roughly. The barrels advertised with a boss are in then 2.5" shorter than a barrel length advertised w/o the boss of the same advertised length.

Of the one rifle I own with a boss, I have the conventional recoil model.

I've found that it does work with factory ammo pretty good. Made groups go from about 2" down to on average around 1.5" - Not a huge improvement, maybe more, maybe less depending on load.

I wouldn't be specifically looking for a rifle with the boss, but if a rifle came up that had a CR boss on it that I liked, I'd get the rifle (as with the case above)

ACKLEY ABE · #8 10-15-2009, 07:25 AM

I'm with CAT and HUNTINSTUFF on this on.......No Nadda ...Not.... A freind of mine that had a gun shop once said......With that Boss system... When you finally find the "sweet spot", it's shoot darn near as good as a Remington outta the box.

roadkill · #9 10-15-2009, 07:30 AM

Never fired one with a BOSS on it, but I was next to a guy with one at the range recently. I couldn't wait till he left. That's neither here nor there for this convo, I guess. But I don't know if the benefits really outweigh the extra noise.

Tundra Monkey · #10 10-15-2009, 07:07 PM

[QUOTE=Jerry D]Of the one rifle I own with a boss, I have the conventional recoil model./QUOTE]

OK....now I'm confused. Mine came with both and they are interchangeable depending on which one you decide to put on.

tm

elkhunter11 · #11 10-15-2009, 07:58 PM

Quote:

Ummmmm, tighten it

It was tight,I had to eventually resort to loctite to keep it from loosening.

Quote:

I believe the barrel is still 26" so no change in velocity

Have you actually measured the barrel on a BOSS equipped rifle?I have,and it was approximately 2" shorter than a non BOSS equipped rifle of the same model and chambering?

Rackmastr · #12 10-15-2009, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catnthehat

Nope - something else that someone designed to sell to someone who thought they needed it.
Cat

Yep...+1.....

Tundra Monkey · #13 10-15-2009, 08:23 PM

Hey Elkhunter11,

I was just trying to be a smartazz with the tightening comment....sorry....sometimes I get like that

No I haven't measured it but I'll take your word for it.....I was guessing

I think that with a maxed out load of handloads I could compensate for the for the 80 or so fps the barrel length would drop though.

I do think that you have a technical problem/issue with your Boss though....it should tighten up and stay that way.

I thinks I'm in the minoirty on this one

tm

elkhunter11 · #14 10-15-2009, 08:26 PM

Quote:

No I haven't measured it but I'll take your word for it.....I was guessing

You could simply go to the Browning site and compare the overall length of the same rifle,in the same chambering,both with and without the BOSS.They are identical,so with the BOSS being about 2-1/2" long,the barrels obviously are not the same length.However Browning does mislead people by including the BOSS when stating the barrel length.

http://www.browning.com/products/cat...35&type_id=032

Quote:

I think that with a maxed out load of handloads I could compensate for the for the 80 or so fps the barrel length would drop though.

Then again that same handload would produce 80fps or so more with the longer barrel.

Tundra Monkey · #15 10-15-2009, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

Then again that same handload would produce 80fps or so more with the longer barrel.

Sorry...I was editing

Yeah.....but it might not work in that rifle!!!!

tm

elkhunter11 · #16 10-15-2009, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Yeah.....but it might not work in that rifle!!!!

It's just as likely that an even hotter load would work with the longer barrel.

Tundra Monkey · #17 10-15-2009, 08:45 PM

Ok.....I just checked the Browning website....barrell length on the 300 a-bolt with the Boss is listed as 26".....are you telling me that it's actually 24"??

I still think it's worth the $50 on a $1000+ rifle.....but again....I'm in the minority.

tm

elkhunter11 · #18 10-15-2009, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Ok.....I just checked the Browning website....barrell length on the 300 a-bolt with the Boss is listed as 26".....are you telling me that it's actually 24"??

Obviously,you didn't read my previous post after the edit.Browning includes the length of the BOSS when listing the barrel length.How else could the overall length of both the BOSS equipped rifle and the non BOSS equipped rifle be the same when the BOSS itself is about 2-1/2" long?

http://www.browning.com/products/cat...35&type_id=032

Tundra Monkey · #19 10-15-2009, 09:05 PM

Not sure....I'll put a tape on mine tomorrow afternoon when I get up....night shift and all

I'll measure the barrel and overall length.

I tried to find an e-mail contact on the site as well to no avail....I'll try their 1-800 # and ask them about the effect on velocity due to the barrell length difference with the Boss attached and get back to ya on it.

tm

elkhunter11 · #20 10-15-2009, 09:09 PM

Quote:

..I'll try their 1-800 # and ask them about the effect on velocity due to the barrell length difference with the Boss attached and get back to ya on it.

Adding the BOSS does not increase muzzle velocity over the same barrel without the BOSS.At least not on my chronograph.However cutting 2" off a barrel will reduce the muzzle velocity.How much depends on the cartridge,and on the load.

Tundra Monkey · #21 10-15-2009, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

Adding the BOSS does not increase muzzle velocity over the same barrel without the BOSS.At least not on my chronograph.However cutting 2" off a barrel will reduce the muzzle velocity.How much depends on the cartridge,and on the load.

I never said that there was going to be an increase in velocity.

As I understand it, you are saying that the velocity on a rifle with the Boss is going to be less than one without it because the Boss equipped rifle has a shorter barrell. You used the example of overall length being the same and came to the conclusion that the barrell must be shorter because both rifles are the same overall length. Am I not reading it correctly?

tm

elkhunter11 · #22 10-15-2009, 09:32 PM

Quote:

As I understand it, you are saying that the velocity on a rifle with the Boss is going to be less than one without it because the Boss equipped rifle has a shorter barrell.

Correct.It is no secret that a longer barrel has more velocity potential.

Quote:

You used the example of overall length being the same and came to the conclusion that the barrell must be shorter because both rifles are the same overall length. Am I not reading it correctly?

I used a measuring tape to see for myself that the barrel on my BOSS equipped rifle was shorter.I used the link and mentioned the overall length because I thought that once you saw the data,it would make perfect sense to you that the barrel on the BOSS equipped rifle could not possibly be as long as the barrel on the non BOSS equipped rifle.I guess that I thought wrong.

Tundra Monkey · #23 10-15-2009, 09:45 PM

Gotcha....I will pose the questions to Browning:

"Does a rifle equipped with the Boss produce less velocity than the same rifle not equipped with one?"

"You advertise a 26" barrell on a rifle without the Boss and a 26" barrell with one equipped......How are the overall lengths identical?"

Will that cover it?

tm

elkhunter11 · #24 10-15-2009, 09:54 PM

http://www.browning.com/customerserv...ail.asp?ID=113

By the way,when the BOSS was first introduced,Browning claimed that there was no increase in noise to the shooter with the BOSS.So why did they bring out the CR if that was correct?

As for the velocity,it is common knowledge that a longer barrel increases the velocity potential.
Their claim about the velocity difference being negligible might be true for some people,but the difference does exist,just like the increased noise to the shooter.

Tundra Monkey · #25 10-15-2009, 10:09 PM

So in other words they're gonna lie to me

No noise difference.....that one's a hoot

I AGREE that it's common knowledge that longer barrells produce better velocities. If they use the word "negligible" in their response I'll know what they mean and include that in my response to you.

tm

elkhunter11 · #26 10-15-2009, 10:12 PM

Quote:

So in other words they're gonna lie to me

They already told you that you in the specifications that you had a 26" barrel,but my link proves that it is 26" with the BOSS,and only 24" of actual barrel.

For those people that never bothered checking out the link:

Quote:

Question:
On comparable models, what is the difference in the barrel length between BOSS and non-BOSS barrels?
Answer:

There is no difference in the overall barrel length. The BOSS-equipped rifle has 2" less of actual barrel length. Our testing revealed, however, that there was negligible or no velocity loss.

To some people 60fps to 80fps is negligible,but it does exist.

Tundra Monkey · #27 10-15-2009, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

For those people that never bothered checking out the link:

I would be one that didn't check that link

Ok....I looked at it now. Guess I don't have to measure anything or make a call

tm

Tundra Monkey · #28 10-15-2009, 10:29 PM

That was a long chat over a $50 hunk-o-metal

Should apologize .....I think elkhunter11 and I should not get on a plane together.....quite the hijack

All the best....tm

elkhunter11 · #29 10-15-2009, 10:39 PM

Quote:

That was a long chat over a $50 hunk-o-metal

Closer to $100 in most places.

Quote:

Should apologize .....I think elkhunter11 and I should not get on a plane together.....quite the hijack

We may have taken over the thread,but our discussion was all related to the BOSS which the OP wanted feedback on.Hopefully the feedback,and the links posted will be of use to the OP.

SCO · #30 10-15-2009, 10:40 PM

Tundra Monkey
I am with you on the BOSS system. I Purchased one of the earlier ones and it came with both ends. The muzzle brake version is LOUD and will deafen you for a day. I use the brake for sighting and the CR for hunting. I have the a-bolt II eclipse model with laminated thumbhole stock in 7rem mag. The best feature is like you said you can shoot what ever load you like and adjust the gun to the load not the load to the gun. I fine tuned my load from 1.7" group at a 100 to 7/16 of an inch . 3 shots from a bench rest. I shoot a 168 grn bullet at 3147 fps. Have a second on order and would not buy one with out.
The gun shoots better than I can shoot.