Tested and Reviewed: Browning X-Bolt 2

After making a gnarly 1,000-foot descent into the belly of a jagged canyon in Spain's Sierra Nevada Mountains, the buck appeared. He was alone, working slowly along a chalky ridge that dropped into endless drainages. The range was just shy of 400 yards. Going prone wasn't an option; tall grasses on the mountain's north face would obstruct my crosshairs. Luckily, I found a boulder—a very obscure boulder—but a boulder, nonetheless.

Tossing my backpack on the gnarled granite rock, I crouched, found my cheek weld, acquired the ram and squeezed. It was a high-pressure shot. Adding to the difficulty was the backdrop and the buck's position. From my shot angle, the distant...

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