Browning X-bolt Hell's Canyon Speed

Testing a 7mm Remington Magnum in the Elk Woods.

- John Haviland

Since Browning introduced its X-Bolt in 2008, the bolt action has become the company’s flagship rifle with 29 current variations listed in its catalog. The Hell’s Canyon Speed is one of the newest X-Bolt rifles and was named after Hell’s Canyon on the border of eastern Oregon and western Idaho to imply rugged and tough hunting conditions and play off its apparel line of the same name. The Speed is a pure hunting rifle chambered in 11 cartridges from .243 Winchester and 6.5 Creedmoor to the .26 Nosler and .300 Winchester Magnum.

The Speed I’ve been shooting is a 7mm Remington Magnum. While shooting a variety of factory and hand loaded 7mm magnum cartridges through the rifle, the Speed shot fairly well from a bench at targets at 100 yards. In fact, two Hornady and two Federal factory cartridges shot tighter groups than four of my five hand loaded cartridges. I also shot the rifle extensively from field positions to practice for an elk hunt. The Speed showed it was very accurate and had features to help a shooter take advantage of that accuracy.

Encroaching years have made me review every pound of gear I pack up an elk mountain. My rifle is the first item up for assessment. The Speed weighed 6 pounds, 13 ounces as it came from the box. I added a Leupold VX-3i 3.5-10x 40mm scope in Leupold steel standard bases and rings. The whole outfit weighed 8.5 pounds. It would be nice if a horse would carry that weight up a mountain, but my hunt would be on foot, and that is a bearable weight for an elk rifle chambered in a magnum cartridge.