Purchased an X-Bolt Long Range Hunter Carbon Fiber/Stainless in March.. Caliber is 300 Win Mag. Before I bought this gun I did a lot of studying, reviewing, comparing, looking, talking to people, handling, etc... did my homework.. Bought this rifle over many others that I liked as well including the Tikka T3, Savage 116, Sako, and Rem 700. I am very happy with the gun and the performance of it.. Its a beautiful gun and handles nicely. Took a buck with it a couple of weeks ago. Has a Vortex Crossfire 4x16x50 Scope on it.. I love this gun.. However, yesterday I noticed some splotches on the stock of it.. Like milky bubbles on it.. I hadn't noticed them before. I am sick about it and totally deflated.. I tried uploading pics but I get the message that the file is too large.. Tried one at a time.. I know that the Duratouch is sensitive to Deet and other chemicals so I have been very careful not to get anything near it.. Not impressed with the duratouch at all if its going to do this.
Ive got the DuraTouch on my Stainless Stalker and so far so good. I would contact Browning if you haven't already. Hopefully they will take care of your issue. Ive been a little paranoid about any harsh chemicals or cleaning agents making contact with the DuraTouch too after reading the manual, so Ive been inspecting it after cleanings and so far so good. All I really use to clean is Ballistol. I even caught myself being worried after walking through the bushes and trees this past week for hunting whitetail here in Western PA. Ive got some scratches on me, but my Stalker looks OK.
They sent me a UPS label and told me to send it back. I'm going to pack it up and send it to them and hope for the best. On the bright side now I will be hunting with my Safari BAR 300 Win mag that I bought a few days after the X-Bolt!
Pictures here should be no larger than 600x600... Both these sites are free...just register...upload your pics to the site...edit / resize...download to any site: 1.) Photobucket 2.) Imgur
Let us know how it all turns out. Im curious and hopeful that Browning will take care of you. Good luck! Deer season (for rifle) came to a close this past weekend here in western PA. The good news here is that I didn't waste any ammo. Went in with a 20 round box and came out with a 20 round box. Here's to next year!
If I understand your post,,, you said you have a long range hunter with a 'Carbon Fiber Stock" but then you say the dura touch is having the problem. Please correct me if I am wrong but are not the Carbon Fiber and Duratouch 2 different stocks. I see on the browning web site the long range hunter comes with the carbon fiber stock and the long stalker has the duratouch. Maybe Im the only one confused here.
The scratches and dings in my A-bolt add character to the gun and hunts I've been on. I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The X Bolt stock I have seen I and a number of others like best is the black laminate All Weather. Unfortunely this really attractive and tougher than the rest is now extinct! The thumbhole model though is still,available and I know of NO ONE who would hunt with one in the field! This was one of the more unfortunate shifts. Meanwhile the less durable Dura Touch etc., keep,rolling off the line, and after awhile look pretty beat up. One reason buy the way is why the X Bolt Pro is coming on strong as that stock is tough. But it sure is expensive!
Yea, not sure why they call it Dura Touch. Should be called “Don’t Touch”. My Stalker Stainless in .30-06 has some scratches on the stock which to isnt a big deal to me, but it’s already got me thinking of a nice dark wood stock sometime down the road.
To cupton and other great guys! Two of the most innovative and straight shooting rifles on the planet at a reasonable price tag are the Browning X Bolt and the Winchester Model 70. As only accurate rifles interest me I chose this as a starting point. The Stalker Stainless is one of the best starting point rifles I have seen, and 30-06 is a great cartridge for practical hunting. Years ago I was a Fish & Wildlife student and ventured to Idaho to grad school. I had a prof, Craig MacPhee who was into hunting Big Horn Sheep etc., and was a friend of Jack O Connor. I sure could shoot when I went out there. But being in the company of older guys who were passionate about hunting and specifically about hunting rifles taught me a lot. Later I got drafted by the US Army, but when I was there I got to see what great hunting rifles were all about. Wood stocks hold up so better than we think it is unreal. Now enter an era where synthetics are being pushed. The US Military feels laminates are about the toughest, but weigh more. Here is my current solution. I buy the rifle I want in Model 70 or X Bolt. Preferably in stainless barrel and action like cupton has. Then find a Black Laminate Boyd stock in a finished Model. Now you can choose an exact length of pull, ckeckering pattern, two crossbolt stock and replace the stock and occasionally put your Dura Touch back on for a specific reason? Not even sure why you would do that! I have done that with both Model 70 and X Bolt. Recently I ordered from the Shot Show first day a Model 70 Dark Maple Featherweight Stainless. Beautiful rifle. Now add a backup exact fitting Boyd Pararie Hunter Black Laminate stock set up the way I want it, and I have the best of both worlds. The Browning X Bolt Pro is an attractive rifle. The route I have chosen will be adding an X Bolt hopefully in All Weather in a caliber like 6.5 Creedmore.
Thanks for the backstory David and thank you for your service! I love my X-Bolt and honestly I will probably have the DuraTouch stock on it till the day I die but that doesnt prevent me from looking at a nice wood stock for it. Thats half the fun! Besides, my wife wont let me spend another dime on my hunting gear until I actually come home with something as a result of my hunting. I'm 0-4 so far. I have a couple rifles with wood stocks to hold me over if and when that time comes for my X-Bolt. Most notably my M1 Garand and my grandfather's ol' Remington 721 in .2.70. My son's Remington 870 synthetic wood doesn't count!
A Boyd Black Laminate stock costs about $250. But that is more than a dime. That is what I think looks best on your X Bolt. Boyd also does straight wood stocks and the best finished from them are reasonable. Browning thru their parts department should also make a wood stock you could put on your rifle but as yet they pretty much are just into replacing defective stocks which are rare. That is where an outfit like Boyd comes in. MidWay USA should start carrying the Pararie Hunter in their product line as a finished replacement stock. That way you have a big company going to bat for you. I supply some wooden stock blanks from my tree farms as well as blanks for premium Maple baseball bats. We do Ash as well, but that is strictly a baseball bat species. Never saw an Ash stock on any rifle. I have Remington Model 700 .222 with a great stock I bought in 1962. Dura Touch is being dropped by Browning. 2018 Master Browning Catalog has a number of X Bolts with Dura Touch. 2019 Browning Catalog will see Dura Touch Stocks all GONE. They feel slippery to me. The reason they are being discontinued is the higher percentage of failures. It was not just DEET. Apparently a number of solvents did not like the Dura Touch. One problem with the most durable, attractive, etc. laminate stock is weight. One of the most single popular stocks ever on the X Bolt was the ALL WEATHER. Of course that was a total rifle package, down to the trigger and the exvellent checkering, muzzle break etc. Now only the Eclipse Hunter continues in the All Weather style, but with the Thumbhole Stock. There are plenty who want the All Weather X Bolt brought back.
