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Winchester XPR

Winchester XPR

In terms of iconic American bolt-action rifles, the Winchester Model 70 must be the grand daddy of them all. First created in 1936, it has gone through a number of models and version, with production stopping and starting sporadically, but it’s still with us in 2016. In Sweden this year I was at the Browning press event and amongst the new guns and gear they were still showing the Model 70, in this case a 270 Win 150-year anniversary model; classic! But also the newest addition to the family the XPR (Extreme Performance Rifle), which is far removed from the golden oldie.

Old school

These days, Browning owns Winchester, though markets it as a separate brand along with its range of rimfire, fullbore and shotgun ammunition. Given Browning also offers their own A-Bolt and newer X-Bolt series of bolt-action rifles, you might think that the Winchester product would clash. However, and especially in the USA, brand loyalty is a massive thing with both companies products having an appeal to various sections of the market. I have met many American shooters who swear by the Model 70 and would not give those upstart Brownings a look in, such is freedom of choice!

I know I keep saying this; but the budget, bolt-action rifle market has become an intense and lucrative one in the last 15-years. The premise being that not every shooter wants to lay down a load of money for an expensive rifle. Instead, they want a cheap and accurate deer gun; so no fancy woodwork or clever mechanical features, just a practical bolt-action and maybe even a scope and mounts in the package!

My first brush with this was when Remington launched their 710. This was no Remy 700, but to my eyes a rather cheap, synthetic stocked and unlovely design. My example came in 270 Win and fitted with a Bushnell Banner 3-9x40 scope all for under £500! I wrote it off even before I shot it and had most of the article roughed out when I took it to the range for photography. Well, after seeing it could shoot sub-1” groups at 100 yards I had to go back, revaluate and re-write my findings. Over the following years, more companies produced budget hunters of similar specification and as I have tested most they all seem very capable. To some shooters it begs the obvious question, why do we bother with anything else?

At odds perhaps?

Given the fact that Browning launched its first budget rifle – the AB3 (A-Bolt 3) last year, it did seem inevitable that Winchester would follow suit. I tested the AB3 and found it more than fit for duty, unsurprisingly the Winchester XPR is pretty much the same animal with a few mechanical and cosmetic tweaks to give it brand originality. Much like the Sauer 101 and Mauser M12, which are near identical in all but looks. However, and as we shall see, the XPR offers a more sensible attitude to barrel length as to calibre.

The stock is a black synthetic and follows the same basic design as most black plastic units with two QD sling studs fitted. It shows strengthening plates in the forend for more rigidity and feels OK! The layout shows integral, textured panels for added grip, with finger boards in the top of the forend. The butt is ambidextrous, with a low comb and Inflex recoil pad. Feed is from a polymer, 3+1 box magazine, the well and guard is a one-piece moulding with a medium sized trigger guard and a mag catch at the front of the well. Length of pull (LOP) is 13.75”; not too bad! Unusually the tip of the forend comes to a point!

Slide-in lug

I was surprised to see that Winchester has not gone for the traditional, fixed, receivermounted recoil lug. Instead, there’s a slot underneath the action with the actual lug sitting in a pocket at the front of the action void. I have never cared for this type of approach!

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Winchester calls their trigger unit the M.O.A. It’s a serviceable design offering a crisp, short 4lb break, so no complaints. Inspection shows a dollop of mastic compound over what I assume are the adjusters; doubtless a litigation-busting feature! The bolt is near identical to the AB3, with a massive, one-piece body using three locking lugs, which give a 60° lift angle. The head is fully supported and shows a spring/ plunger ejector. The bolt handle is long and swept back and offers easy operation and good leverage. At the rear is a tapered, polymer shroud with a cocked action indicator tag.

The safety is a 2-position rolling lever, rear/right of the receiver and pushes forward to FIRE and reverse for SAFE (bolt locked).
However, it also incorporates a separate unlocking catch, as pioneered by Browning’s X-Bolt and also used in their AB3.This allows you to open the bolt with the action cocked on SAFE; good idea!

Dull is better

The overall finish is flat, with matte black on all metal surfaces; even the bolt body is subdued, just how I like a hunting rifle! The ejection port is nice and large, so single loading and unloading is easy. From the box, my example came with both 30mm Tally mounts (one-piece ring and base) front and rear and a set of Weaver-type bases should you want QD rings. I set up the Talleys with a Nikko Diamond Hunter 3-12x56 scope. Winchesters website for the XPR says rifles come with a spare mag, but none was evident with mine.

One of my niggles with many modern rifles is a trend towards shorter barrels (20-22”) even in calibres like 270 Win and 30-06 etc. Fine for 308 Win etc but not ideal for these faster/more powerful numbers. My tester came in 30-06 and Winchester has wisely made the barrel 24”, which does get the best out of the old 06! The tube is light/medium and button rifled, free-floated with a target crown. Calibre choice covers the major players: 243W, 7mm-08 and 308 W (all 22”), 270, 300 and 325 WSM, 270 W and 30-06 (all 24”), 7mm Rem Mag, 300 and 338 Win Mag (all 26”).

Load and lock

I was supplied with the latest Winchester ammo – 150-grain Extreme Point in 30-06. It’s a non-bonded design with a massive ballistic tip (BT) that when it hits exposes around a 40% + striking area, as opposed to a standard BT of around 20%. I will be testing this soon as they sent me a number of different calibres. But given the light bullet and high velocity I wonder if it might be a bit too much for roe and muntjac; we shall see!

The single column magazine loads from the front and ejects and fits easily. Feed was 100% and even just dropping a single round into the ejection port the bolt picks it up and chambers it cleanly. The safety is well positioned for operation by the firing hand thumb with minimal disturbance to the shooting position. What I did like was that you can, without breaking your position flick your eyes down and see both the cocked action indicator and also the position of the safety, always a bonus! The separate bolt unlocking catch is also easy to operate.

The stock feels comfortable with decent gripping panels front and rear and an acceptable LOP for all. The barrel is well free-floated and the forend rigid enough to shoot off a bipod with no barrel contact. What I did not like was the rather obvious moulding line, as it felt like Winchester could not be bothered to smooth it off!

Smooth shooter

I also had some old Winchester, 180-grain Ballistic Silver Tip for comparison. Starting with the Extreme Point, the XPR was shooting a solid inch, which is good enough; recoil was acceptable for a 30-06. Over the chrono, the 24” barrel proved its worth, with an average of 2960 fps/2972 ft/lbs. To show why barrel length is critical in these more powerful calibres, the AB3 I tested last year (also in 30-06) had a 21” tube and using Winchester’s 150-grain BST (Ballistic Silver Tip) load was only making 2750 fps/2500 ft/lbs, which is what a 308 would do. The 180 BST was slower at 2744 fps but with a very impressive 3022 ft/lbs and shooting around the inch; give me bigger bullets ever time!

Compared to the AB3 the XPR shows both plus and minus points. The Browning offers a higher capacity magazine (4+1) and I do prefer its tang safety catch and feel its general presentation is better overall. However what clinches the XPR for me in the medium calibres is its 24” barrel and that’s money in the bank as far as I’m concerned!

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  • Winchester XPR - image {image:count}

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  • Winchester XPR - image {image:count}

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  • Winchester XPR - image {image:count}

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  • Winchester XPR - image {image:count}

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  • Winchester XPR - image {image:count}

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  • Winchester XPR - image {image:count}

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  • Winchester XPR - image {image:count}

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