Browning B.O.S.S.

[cdoc42]

Is anyone still using the Browning B.O.S.S. rifles? I don't recall what year they came into play, but I bought a .22-250 at the time, over time followed by a 7mm RMag Stainless Stalker, a Win model 70 in .338, and finally a Win Model 70 in .270.

I was fascinated by the process at the time, and with the .22-250 I diligently worked to get the smallest group possible in order to get into the contest Browning was promoting. Fortunately I never consistently achieved my goal in time and ultimately someone with a larger caliber won with a group I would never have gotten close to.

As time went on, there were less raves and reviews and it appears interest has diminished, and I wondered if any FL colleagues are still using them.

I rather quickly got the impression that tuning the BOSS successfully pretty much replaced the need for exhaustive powder-charge increments in establishing an accurate load. However, if a different bullet was used in the same caliber, one had to re-dial the "sweet" spot all over again.

I did get a fabulous 200-yard, 10-shot group with the .270 but as time went on the groups started to expand to the point that I had the rifle re-barreled into .25-06 without the boss. The .338 was great principally because the recoil dropped into the .270 neighborhood, but, of course, that would have been achieved just with a muzzle brake. I sold that one just because my chances of going out west again diminished as my age increased. I still have the 7mm and I'm quite happy with tight groups with both Hornady 162gr and Sierra 160gr at a BOSS setting of 7.0, so I stopped experimenting with that one.

I'm back to trials with the .22-250, comparing Hornady and Sierra 52gr Match bullets as my records reveal good groups at both 3.4 and 4.0 settings, and I need to confirm those findings.

Has anyone else had good or bad experiences with the BOSS?

[Unclenick]

I thought the BOSS was discontinued by Browning a few years back. The A-bolt was, but I see there is still some BOSS stuff up on their site today. I assumed it was due to a lack of interest by their customer base in having another complication to fiddle with. Or maybe it was discontinued and brought back. I haven't followed closely enough.

I still have an A-bolt with a BOSS in 30-06 that I got about 1994 or so. I find the BOSS works, as does any barrel tuner, but you want to use a temperature-stable load to avoid having to retune it as conditions change. I can't help you with the 22-250 numbers, but Browning did have a chart of tuning number ranges for each bullet weight for each caliber in their instructions, page 8/9 (8 in the image and 9 on Acrobat Reader's page counter). For a 52-grain bullet in 22-250, it says a calibrated BOSS (see page 3/4, figure 2); a starting point is number 4 for the standard rifle and 5 for the Varmint version of the rifle.

[Paul B.]

The .338 Win. Mag. is a cartridge that I just never got along with. Just flat out hurt me. A friend was looking at a Browning BAR in .338 Win. that had the BOSS. Steeling myself to get hurt once more I shot the rifle and it was a pleasure.
There was an outfit for a while that sold a device very similar to the BOSS Maybe if I'm lucky the name will come to me. Anyway a friend go one and put it on a Ruger $1B in .300 Win. Mag. It not only tamed the gun down it improved the accuracy. I decided to get a couple of the things to put on a couple of stubborn rifles but the company was long gone. Seems Browning sued them for patent infringement and got them shut down. Too bad, I have some seriously hard kicking rifles and that thing did a good job taming recoil.
Paul B.

[cdoc42]

Unclenick, thanks for the link. Just to be sure, I checked the .22-250 for calibration and it was right on the money. It's supposed to be 47 degrees on Wednesday, so I might be able to test the loads I worked up.

[eastbank]

i have a browning A-bolt left hand SS in .280 and i don,t like it and i,m going to sell the rifle or cut the boss off.

[jmr40]

The BOSS system worked. But it wasn't the only way to make a rifle accurate. Most people decided it was too ugly to justify the gains in accuracy.

A good rifle, with a quality barrel will usually shoot pretty much any ammo well. It is lower quality barrels that need to be tweaked to be accurate with just one load.

[cdoc42]

I recall criticisms of the BOSS in the past being related to aesthetics, but I wonder how that compares to today's acceptance of the much larger rifle suppressors-?

Barrel quality is tough to assess prior to purchase, but I have to say my A-Bolt in .22-250 so impressed a fellow shooter that he went out and purchased one. As it turned out, my handload for my rifle seated at 0.02" from the leade was exactly the same for his when I worked up the same load for him. I thought that was very unusual.

[bamaranger]

I was in a big hunt club for when the BOSS was in its heyday. Several of our guys went out and bought A-bolts so equipped, mostly in 7mm Mag which was also the rage.

At the range, on the bench, the results were acceptable but......to a man, all complained in the field that the BOSS rifles were LOUD. especially when shot from shooting house windows, which was how most fellas hunted in that lease. One guy carried a set of muffs with him for the remainder of the season. He sold the rifle at the close.

That was close 30 years ago, I've not seen a BOSS rifle in a long time.

[Jim Watson]

There was a version without muzzle brake holes.
Would they sell you just the outer sleeve to convert? I don't know.

[cdoc42]

Speaking of loud, that is probably an understatement. When I was in my 50's I was shooting a Browning Stainless Stalker with a BOSS in 7mm Rem Mag at a roof-covered range at table 3 of 6. At table 1 was a member in his 80's, sitting on the ground, resting his back against the table legs, shooting a .223 off his knees. I fired a few shots and he got up, said nothing, walked into a storage shed and brought out a 4 x 4 sheet of plywood, and set it against table #2, totally blocking my view of him. And also blocking the sound.

[cdoc42]

Yes- Jim Watson, it is available as the "BOSS-CR" - no muzzle brake noise, but no recoil reduction, either.

https://www.browning.com/news/tech-t...cy-system.html

[cdoc42]

WOW!!! I HAVE to share this one! Right after my last post I emailed Browning and asked about the cost of the CR version so I could exchange it on my .22-250 since I don't need the recoil reduction. The almost immediate response was they'll ship one out to me at no charge!!

[eastbank]

after reading cdoc42,s post, i called browning yesterday and ask about the CR and they are going to send me one FREE OF CHARGE. HAPPY DAY.

[Paul B.]

I mentioned that someone was selling something similar to the BOSS and browning sued them out of existence. I couldn't remember the name at the time but it was called QUE. You heated the muzzle of your rifle and slid the device onto the barrel. When it cooled it was rock solid. It sure did a nice job taming my friend's .300 Win. mag. Ruger #1. You could get it two ways; as a muzzle brake system or one without the ability to brake recoil. IIRC, the one without braking may have been adjustable. To paraphrase Mr. Shakespeare, "To brake or not to break, that is the question.
Paul B.

[cdoc42]

Paul B., I sense that the Browning system might be more advantageous since the BOSS is removable and replaceable with a non-brake system. The disadvantage is that you may have to re-establish the "sweet spot."

An upgrade. The staffer who got my email misinterpreted my communication. Since I mentioned that I have a "Silver Stalker" in 7mm RM as well as the .22-250 in Euro-A-Bolt but clearly mentioned I'm after a non-brake BOSS, he accidentally sent me a stainless version that appears to be for the 7mm. I re-emailed and he immediately recognized the error and is shipping the .22-250 BOSS. (It took about 4 days for the first one to get to me.)

I opened a discussion on the "Smithy" link here to see if I could blue the stainless BOSS but then I considered the possibility -since it was longer -but did fit -that it might have a 7mm bore diameter. I didn't measure it, I just re-emailed Browning.

I will add, that during that time, another manufacturer, whose name I cannot recall, made a similar device for a .22 caliber rifle. No muzzle brake, obviously, but the goal was for greater competitive accuracy. I was not in the competition so don't ask me why I bought one. I put it on one of my .22 rifles but it came off super fast because it really looked like a grenade launcher and I was afraid it would ruin the barrel blueing and decrease the value of my rifle. But, hello....I was never planning to sell the rifle and I still have it, probably 20-30 years later.

[Paul B.]

"Paul B., I sense that the Browning system might be more advantageous since the BOSS is removable and replaceable with a non-brake system. The disadvantage is that you may have to re-establish the "sweet spot."

It isn't hard to remove the QUE. My friend did it by heating it with a propane torch, then reinstalled it just as if it was first being put on. I alway thought it was pure chickendung of Browning to put QUE out of business.
Paul B.

[Bart B.]

Anyone who understands why barrels are wiggling mostly in the vertical plane as bullets leave the muzzle should challenge Browning's claims otherwise.

Tuning weights on the muzzle end are used to change the frequency vertically so slower ones leave the barrel at higher angles than faster ones.

[cdoc42]

Bart B., is that evident when you're looking for the "sweet spot"?

E.g, At Boss setting 7.0 in a 7mm RMag with whatever bullet you have, would the group of 5 or more shots tend to move higher or lower than a setting of 6.8 or less? Is there any effect on the lateral distribution or should one focus on the vertical?

I ask, because I never paid attention to anything other than the group getting tighter, say from 6.8 to 7.0, then going back out at 7.2. I did not focus on the vertical position of any groups, just how tight the groups got.

[2wheelwander]

Fun thread. Early 90's there was a big sporting goods store going out of business near me. SCUBA, firearms, everything. They were selling guns for quarters on the dollar, literally.

They had a 7mm BOSS Stalker that supposedly had a deposit on it, the one I wanted. So I put a deposit on a 12 gauge Mariner, but told the clerk if the buyer of the stalker went AWOL, move my deposit to the Stalker. I don't recall why we couldn't walk out with them at the time. Dad put a deposit down on a 30-06 Medallion. As I recall you were allowed one gun for purchase.

Went back to pick them up, I was given a box which I didn't check and went and checked out. Got to the car and we opened our new guns. Dad had a beautiful new Medallion. I opened mine thinking I was getting the Mariner. Nope, I had the Stalker.

We each paid $300 for our Brownings. Deal of a lifetime. Also scored some SCUBA equipment dirt cheap.

[std7mag]

@cdoc42,

The BOSS system is nothing more than a tuner brake.
Proper load development is still required, first.
Then you could use the BOSS for fine tuning.

Issue i saw was people didn't know, or bother to actually use it as a tuner.

[Nathan]

A decent load can be tuned to great accuracy with the tuner and also horrible accuracy. The weakness with the boss system is most would buy it, not tune it and then complain about the accuracy.

I seriously think most folks would buy this and a single box of ammo and expect to be good for the year.

Where, the knowledgeable boss owner would buy the rifle and 200-500 rounds of ammo. Shoot a tuning session of 2-20 shot groups until validated. Basically shoot at each setting until you shoot 20 shots or exceed your accuracy target.

I think the typical customer can kill a good idea!

[Plainsman]

I had a Winchester “Pre-64” .25-06 new in the 90’s that had the BOSS on it. Boy was that a LONG rifle! It also got heavy with a 6-24x40mm scope and Harris bipod. But boy, was I able to get some good shot placements with it. It was way too heavy for how I hunt deer though and was sold a couple of decades ago.