Why do you think the Browning X Bolt stainless is so much more expensive than the blued version? I'm used to seeing maybe a $100 difference in most rifles, except Browning. Supply and demand?

Your thoughts?

I have a Micro hunter in 7mm-08, This rifle shoots really, REALLY good. The only thing I wish is it had a replacement trigger available for it. The Featherweight trigger is very good, crisp, but won't adjust below 4lbs.

Doesn't answer your stainless question, I like blue/black Cerakote guns and stainless will rust if neglected .

I have one in .270 Win. (X-Bolt White Gold Medallion) and it is a WONDERFUL shooter. Also the best looking rifle I own. I love the Feather Trigger on it. I believe there is a spring available (aftermarket) that brings the pull weight down. Mine breaks clean at three lbs.

Why do they charge more? It's a Browning and they know they can get more.

Folks will pay it.

You get what you pay for with a Browning, no doubt about it.

I agree.

White Gold Medallion X-bolt are beautiful rifles. Next favorite is the maple medallion.

I don't have the answer to your question, but I do like the X-Bolt. Bought one for my son & in the process of buying one for my daughter (X-Bolt Hunter - bottom line). They are good shooters and good looking guns IMO. The higher end X-Bolts are very pretty but out of my price range. I see no advantage having a S/S barrel for our use. Stainless is always more expensive, some guns more than others. That carbon steel barrel will last just as long if you take care of it.

Like Buzzsaw above, I also own an X-Bolt Micro Hunter, but mine is in .22-250. It is also very accurate, especially considering it weighs less than 6 pounds. The trigger is crisp, albeit heavy; I haven't gotten around to replacing it yet.

It handles like a wand and is a delight to carry, making it a fine walkabout rifle.

But it's not stainless either. Frankly, unless you're planning on a hunt to SE Alaska, or somewhere known for lousy weather, I wouldn't bother with the extra expense of an X-Bolt in SS.

Thanks for the feedback guys, I guess the real stainless vs blued question answers it self with history. Many of us hunted the same blued rifle for 30+ years, maybe because they didn't offer stainless in a rifle barrel and those old guns still shoot sub MOA today. Thinking I'll save myself some cash and be going blue this next time around...in an XBolt!

I'd like to toss in another vote for stainless.. I live in Houston, TX and it's humid here almost year round. I've found that rifles that have been put in storage MUST BE pulled out of the safe & re-oiled every 6 months, or they will have surface rust on them. It pisses me off to no end to think I put a nice slicked up rifle away and forgot about it for a year only to come back and see that the nice blued barrel has a wonderful rusty sheen over every square inch. I know, I should have a golden rod, or some other such device in my safe but I don't.

Every rifle I have bought in the last 2 years has been stainless, and I can tell you factually that I don't have to stress over surface rust on the barrels nearly as much as I do the blued guns. My AR-10 is stainless and God as my witness I have NEVER wiped down the barrel after hog hunting over the last 2 years and there is not a spot of rust anywhere on it. So, stainless might be more money, but 30 years from now it will look EXACTLY like it did the day it was purchased. Blued guns here in the humid south WILL NOT look the same unless they have been re-blued once, twice, or cerakoted, or some other type of super armor applied, or they will have that nice rusty sheen look. Yuck!

I have an X-bolt Stainless Stalker in 30-06 that is an absolute dream rifle. If I could only own 1 rifle, that would be the one.

This is probably much ado about nothing for the OP's info, but my brother owns a stainless Browning A-Bolt with a synthetic stock in .338WM. He used this gun on our last black bear hunt in SE Alaska in May of 2013.

He shot his bear the second day of an 8-day hunt and wiped it down before putting it in his hard case. When it was time to leave, he was shocked (as were we all) that every square inch of surface metal had a fine patina of rust. Our outfitter told us that SS is always a good idea in Alaska, but even stainless is subject to rust if you're not diligent with your gun care.

Once home, a little Barkeepers Friend on a damp rag and some elbow grease cleaned things up nicely, but we were taught a new lesson. Mother Nature will eventually win every time.

Wish Timney, Jewell, somebody made a replacement trigger for the X-Bolt