anybody have one?

[Muskie Hunter]

I am a little worried about the Browning rifles. I don't see much activity on this forum about them. I never owned a rifle in that color before. I am thinking about the Micro Hunter in 7mm-08. Does anybody have a Micro and how do they shoot and function with that 20 inch barrel configuration. I'll have to order sight unseen as there isn't one of those puppies on the racks around here anywhere to hold and check for fit.When I get home from work,I'll check to see if anyone answered to my plea but I'll have to trip over four dogs to do it but I will make it to my computer,I promise.

[fknipfer]

Muskie Hunter,

I don't have a Micro in a 20" barrel, but I do have a .308 Win BLR in a .308 Win.  It really likes 150gr bullets, I have only fired it once with some  cheap 150gr Remington rounds  and it shot a little under MOA at 100yds.  I have now loaded some 150gr Nosler rounds up to see if I could do better.   

You are right as there doesn't appear to be much activity on this Browning Forum.  Maybe you and I could drag some of the old timers out of the closet.  There are a lot of items of which I would like some help on my rifle.

I don't know if I helped you much but I tried.

fknipfer

[Muskie Hunter]

fknipfer,
Thank you for answering back. I appreciate the response. Other then a shotgun and a couple 22 pistols,this Micro will be a newcomer. I have shot a few Browning bolt action rifles before, that I mounted scopes on and bore sighted and I was truely impressed with the accuracy of them. One was a A-bolt Medellion in 30-06 and anther A-bolt Medellion in 243. Both were tack drivers right out of the box with factory ammo. I have Winchesters,Marlins and a few Remingtons and Rugers but all needed something done to get them to shoot less then 1-1/2 inch at 100 yards.Not so with the two Brownings that I zeroed in for a couple of young hunters.
Both rifles actually printed that nice clover leaf three shot group. I really tried to buy either one of those rifles from my friends but no dice,they aren't giving in to my temper tantrems,crying,stomping my feet or threating to go on a hunger strike.I guess at 61 years old though, I look kind of foolish. At least I tried.
Good shooting friend !

[sandcritter]

Got an email from the gunshop back home, that my new a-bolt II .30-06 is done  . Am "on the job" in the middle east and looking forward to deer hunting when get home after some years of forced hunting-layoff. It's the first rifle i've bought outright; my other arms were shotguns or borrowed. With so many fine rifles to pick from... it boiled down to knowing the a-bolt's feel a bit personally, the trigger is at the least, "good", both the metal and woodwork fit and finish is appreciated, and by reputation it would shoot at least as well as most shooters (something i'm sensitive to after watching shotgun slugs string this way and that out of a warmed up barrel). The cost is not necessarily that much more than the competition, either. And I got over the "Japan" thing years ago; my girlfriend's from there, lol. Will get home to shoot it in a couple months, may have a few observations then.

This is all lofty non-expert hot air, but with something durable like a firearm, am attracted to designs that first of all do what they are supposed to, but are also reliable/consistent, have appreciable engineering, maybe have a little story and something a little off the beaten trail - it doesn't make the gun shoot better but it is enjoyable. And it should be built "about right", right out of the box; i don't want to spend money on a gun just so can spend money on a better stock or a different barrel and needing a gunsmith to do this part or that... i've got too many hobbies already to be getting sucked into gun building, too!

Have lusted for a certain CZ and Sako for years, too, but never got closer than the shop floor. This Browning was a limited time opportunity I couldn't pass up. It gave me "the disease", however. The Sako i fantasized about but was out of production showed up at auction one day and i caved in (what can you do?). The closest i've ever hefted was a Tikka, but if i don't like it at least it's re-saleable. It's gonna just sit for a spell until sort out the Browning and see how the optics/base/rings setup turns out before getting (more) crazy. The Sako ring setup is a bit of a hassle anyway, should do that in person.

[Muskie Hunter]

 Well, I have one now. It took my local gun shop that called 6 different warehouses all over creation to find that only three Micro Hunter's in 7mm-08 were out there. When the box was opened in the gun shop,quite a few people came to my side with comments of praise and warm gestures. The wood stock is quite impressive and has custom tastes to it,very beautiful,indeed.The fit and finish shows good work.The trigger breaks clean at 3 -1/2 pounds. The rifle is very light and shoulders very nicely to me.It broke my heart but I pulled the Luppy 2x7 off my Winchester Model 70 featherweight and mounted it to the new rifle. I was just about to go out in the cold and snow to try it out behind the barn at my rifle range when all of a sudden,company came by. No shooting today. I fed the horses,put the chickens to bed,grabbed up the eggs and am now ready to go watch that stupid TV set. All in all,I am very pleased with the new prospect so far. I'll let you know how it shoots out of the gate.

[Hairtrigger]

I am betting it shoots as good as it looks.
I had an A-Bolt in 7-08 and traded if off on another Browning, I wish I would have purchased the rifle instead of trading a perfectly good 7-08 for it.

[MZ5]

Hello, Muskie.  I'm glad you're happy with your new 7-08 so far.  I have an A-bolt II in .30-06 that I really, really like.  It'll shoot under a minute at 250 with factory Winchester 180-gr. Silvertips.  Also, the 60-degree bolt lift is just plain beautiful.  It has the BOSS on it, which makes absolutely perfect hand-load development very complex and slow, but I'm happy with it.

I'd be happy with a little more Browning traffic here myself, though I doubt I'd have much useful to contribute.  I'd really love specific instructions for taking the bolt apart to clean and such.

[Muskie Hunter]

Well,here goes. I just couldn't stand it any more. I had to go shoot it out back at my little hundred yard range. It was 9 am and the cold air was gusting about 20 mph. pass my bench with 6 inches of snow and ice on it here in Northeast Ohio. I usually break my rifles in with that one shot and clean method but since I have never noticed a great deal of difference other then spending a lot of money on components and early wear and tear on a barrel,I chose not to do that with this rifle. I just shoot short session then clean very well,removing all the copper and crud. Realizing that it will take about a hundred rounds to break the barrel in and get it settled in the stock I was quite happy with my first group which was right at 1.531" and the second group was at 1.820". I can assure you that those large groups were for the most part the fault of me and the use of 7x max on the scope and perhaps the weather conditions as well.The ammo was the Remington fatory loads of 140 gr. core-lokt psp.,three shot groups. Oh yes, the first round out of a clean barrel was right in there with the others.
I have a feeling though , that a 3x-9 scope is going to come off of my other rifle for target work . That 2x7 just doesn't lend itself for the tight stuff at a hundred yards.
To shorten this story, I walked away from the bench with a smile and thinking, how sweet it is.

[1sourdough]

 The only micro I have is a 'as new' Micro Medallion in 284 Win, which is almost a twin to your 7mm-08. They are very fine rifles & not that one needs to do it but the only thing I have done to mine was the Timney trigger replacement spring. I put the medium one in my hunting A-Bolts.

[Muskie Hunter]

The more I shoot this new Micro in 7mm-08,the more I am liking it. I took it out the other day when it was fairly nice and put several groups just inside an inch at 100 yards. A few groups would open to around an inch and a half or a little more. Today, I replaced the spring with a Timney spring and it is breaking at 2.5 lbs. That's fine for target work but for me,I like about 3.5 lbs. for hunting. My point is: when I went to losen the bedding screws to take the stock off,I noticed the the front bedding screw was already a little loose. Hmm! I wonder what the old girl will do now since everything is tight,the way it should be? See,even old soldiers forget to check screws for tightness after years of experience. Must be a lazy thing or something.

[jcn59]

I have a Micro Hunter in .300 WSM that shoots 3 shot groups under or over an inch at 100 y. depending on the load.  It's a small, light rifle that fits me well.  Boy, does it kick.   First time I shot a deer with it, it knocked my hat off.    Rifle recoil generally doesn't bother me as I shoot bigger calibers frequently w/o much trouble.  Got one of those pre-fit Limbsaver recoil pads next and that took care of it.

[Muskie Hunter]

jcn59,
I too have great kickers in my gun safe,such as 338's,45-70's and very lightweight 06's.I also have neck and back problems along with rotator cuff tears. I think I am getting old. I am really liking this 7mm-08 in that little Micro. A 7mm-08 in any other rifle/scope combination would also be a great choice.I have been working on some nice loads for it and it is very hard trying to pick one load to call my pet load as it seems to shoot everything pretty well. Right now,I have it shooting just over.700" three shot groups and I believe that it will even do better then that. H414 and 139 gr. Hornady interlocks give me the .700 groups while H4350 with the same bullet gives me 1.250" groups or a little under.I'll give the H4350 another go since the rifle is broke in now.I have many more bullet/primer/powder combinations to try but it is hard to overlook the chores here on the farm. I get so anxious and usually end up shooting between rain drops and work. BTW, I put the Limbsaver pads on my 338 and the 45-70 Guide Guns and it helped quite a bit. Two things are really getting me to flinch now that I am older.The big magums and my darn horse when he doesn't want me on his back.Did I mention my wife?

[jcn59]

I made a brake for a friend's .375 H&H last year and it really took the bite out of that cannon, bringing the felt recoil down to that of a .280 Rem. in a 7.5 # gun, or so it seemed.  Did the same a few years ago to a Warbird with the same results.  Couldn't tell if it was louder because of previous hearing loss.  Anyways, it made those guns EASY to shoot. 

Having said that, I have a 5# Marlin .44 mag model 94 (?) with a 16" barrel and a few "Guide gun" holes on either side of the front sights that remains unpleasant to shoot.


(His name was Tim)

[backstrap]

Muskie hunter are u trying diffrant ammo or just useing the core loks? i bought a browing a-bolt in 25-06 last year and it didnt like the 100gr core loks took me awhile to find the factory load it like ,and once i found the round it liked it shoot under a inch at a 100 yds so keep trying diffrant makes and wieghts of ammo u will find 1 that it likes real well i am sure,now i reload so it makes it easyer to find the right load for this rifle

[Muskie Hunter]

Backstrap,
The core loks aren't bad but my handloads do better. I haven't bought any other factory ammo yet as it is through the roof on price. The factory ammo will just collect dust around here as I enjoy hunting with my home made stuff more. It won't take this rifle long to find what it likes.It doesn't seem to be picky so far. Now,where did I put that piece of wood to knock on.