Browning A Bolt

[RJT]

Hi folks
I bought a Browning A Bolt in 25-06 about twenty years ago. Brand new in box. The strange thing is the barrel length- a mere 20”. It has the BOSS harmonic balancer which makes the barrel appear slightly longer, but the bare barrel is only 20”.
I cannot find any similar examples of this rifle online. It has definitely not been modified. I am just thinking that this barrell length would be less than optimum for 25-06. Anyone have any opinions or does anyone own one?

[bladeracer]

Hi folks
I bought a Browning A Bolt in 25-06 about twenty years ago. Brand new in box. The strange thing is the barrel length- a mere 20”. It has the BOSS harmonic balancer which makes the barrel appear slightly longer, but the bare barrel is only 20”.
I cannot find any similar examples of this rifle online. It has definitely not been modified. I am just thinking that this barrell length would be less than optimum for 25-06. Anyone have any opinions or does anyone own one?

I don't know that the shorter barrel is going to be significant, unless you're shooting very long distances, though it might make it a fair bit louder for the shooter.
Does it shoot okay?

[RJT]

Thanks for responding. It has a very loud report - even with ear muffs. It shoots 1 MOA. Apparently that can be improved with careful adjustments of the BOSS, but I don’t think I’ll bother. It is just so unusual to find a 25-06 with such a short barrel.

[niteowl]

There were two versions of the BOSS. One had the "holes" for recoil reduction and the other was just the balance adjustment. You probably have the reducer version if it is loud ?? Although a 25-06 is not a baby thing. Even so the 20 inch barrel will be a bit noisy in its own right.