Finally, a cocking indicator under the rear of the bolt reveals the rig’s status. The safety is tang-mounted so it’s ambidextrous its movement is minimal so it’s fast and quiet. The Pro’s bolt handle terminates in a custom-looking fluted knob while its root houses one of the line’s innovative features: a bolt-unlock button that, when pushed, allows the bolt to open even when the safety is engaged and the bolt is otherwise locked. During testing I had only silky smooth feeding, which is also a product of the rifle’s rotary magazine that does not stagger shells but aligns them with the chamber. The three-lug, spiral-fluted bolt features a hybrid extractor and a plunger ejector. While it looks somewhat like a wart, the bump prevents the bolt from binding no matter how hard you try to bind the thing. A raceway on the right side of the receiver’s interior accepts a small nodule on the bolt. The X-Bolt’s action is a six-sided, steel affair with the recoil lug sandwiched between the receiver and the barrel. In terms of engineering and quality manufacturing, Miroku holds its own with anyone, something that’s apparent the moment you heft the Pro.

The rifle is made in Japan by the 124-year-old Miroku company, just as Browning firearms have been since 1977. In essence, it’s a bolt-action, 6.5-pound rifle featuring a detachable box magazine, true carbon-fiber stock, sporter-weight fluted barrel, innovative trigger and striking bronze-colored Cerakote finish. The Pro’s streamlined design appears modern to my eyes but not abstract as it did back in ’08, so I’ll spare you the description of its aesthetics and get right into the guts of the gun.

While the original X-Bolt was an evolution of the company’s excellent A-Bolt, the X-Bolt Pro is a deluxe version of the X-Bolt that borders on semi-custom. For its latest version, the iconic Utah-based company rolled out what is likely the finest pure hunting rifle to ever be stamped with the Buckmark. Today Browning offers the X-Bolt in nearly two dozen variations in an array of calibers.

Browning x bolt