Browning X-Bolt 2 Speed 6.5 PRC
Model: 036006294
Browning X-Bolt 2 Speed 6.5 PRC
Model: 036006294
Full Specifications
About This Firearm
Browning replaced the original X-Bolt platform with the X-Bolt 2 in January 2024, and the Speed is the synthetic-stock, Cerakote-and-camo configuration of that redesign aimed at Western walk-and-stalk hunters. The receiver was lengthened at the rear and thickened on top for stronger scope mounting, the ejection port was reshaped, and the action ships with the new DLX trigger — a three-lever design adjustable from 3.5 down to 3.0 lbs that owners and Outdoor Life's review describe as breaking cleanly with effectively zero overtravel. The Vari-Tech composite stock adds adjustable length of pull, comb height, and grip angle without a chassis, which is the headline change a hunter actually notices on the gun.
Compared against the previous-generation Browning X-Bolt Hunter 6.5 PRC, the Speed keeps the same 1:7 twist and 24-inch barrel but swaps the walnut sporter stock for the adjustable Vari-Tech, ships with the Recoil Hawg muzzle brake installed from the factory, and trims weight to 6 lbs 14 oz versus the Hunter's 7 lbs. A Tikka T3x Lite at roughly 6 lbs 5 oz is the closest synthetic-stock competitor at this weight, but Tikka does not offer LOP and comb adjustment without aftermarket parts.
This is the X-Bolt 2 to buy if you are walking ridges in cold-weather Western country, want a brake from the box, and need the stock to fit you and a heavy winter coat without a gunsmith visit. Hunters who want classic walnut should step down to the Hunter; precision shooters who want a heavier rifle for prone work should look at the Bergara B-14 HMR instead.
Best For
Strengths & Limitations
- Vari-Tech stock gives you adjustable length of pull, comb height, and grip angle as shipped. No other big-brand sporter at this weight matches that range of fit adjustments without aftermarket parts.
- Recoil Hawg muzzle brake is installed from the factory on a rifle that already weighs 6 lbs 14 oz. The combination makes 6.5 PRC genuinely shootable for shooters who would otherwise want a heavier 8-lb precision rifle to manage recoil.
- The 1:7 twist is faster than the 1:8 most 6.5 PRC factory rifles ship with, which stabilizes the heaviest 147gr and 156gr match and hunting bullets without question marks at extended range.
- DLX trigger ships near 3.5 lbs and adjusts down to 3.0 lbs with zero overtravel, putting it well above the factory triggers on entry-level bolt guns and close to what a TriggerTech aftermarket upgrade gets you on competitor rifles.
- The M13x0.75 metric muzzle thread is not the 5/8-24 used by almost every U.S. suppressor and brake. Adding a can means buying a thread adapter or having the barrel re-cut, which most owners do not expect on a rifle at this tier.
- The 3-round detachable magazine is the smallest in the 6.5 PRC field — the Bergara B-14 HMR ships 5-round AICS-compatible mags, and Browning's rotary magazines are proprietary and not cross-compatible with anything else.
- Vari-Tech adjustments require removing the stock from the action to change LOP and comb on early production guns, per owner reports — it is a one-time setup tool, not something you fiddle with in the field between shots.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What changed between the original X-Bolt and the X-Bolt 2 platform?
Browning released the X-Bolt 2 in January 2024 and ceased production on the original. Per Outdoor Life's review, the rear of the receiver was lengthened for better bolt-to-receiver contact, the receiver top was thickened for stronger scope mounting, the ejection port was reshaped with angled sides, and the action ships with the new DLX trigger (adjustable 3.0-3.5 lbs versus the original Feather trigger that ran heavier from the factory). The Speed variant adds the Vari-Tech adjustable stock and the Recoil Hawg brake on top of those base X-Bolt 2 changes.
How is the Vari-Tech stock adjusted, and is OVIX camo suited for late-season Western hunts?
The Vari-Tech adjusts length of pull, comb height, and grip angle, but on current production it is a benchtop setup — you fit the rifle to one shooter (or one shooter in winter layers) and leave it, not a between-stand adjustment. The OVIX camo pattern is a multi-environment design with neutral browns, grays, and greens that works in transitional terrain — late-season aspen, sage, and snow-dusted ridges — rather than the dense-green-forest patterns better suited to early-season whitetail timber.
