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Browning’s X-Bolt 2 Speed Dark Maple & X-Bolt 2 Medallion Maple

Published on August 4, 2025 by Jace Bauserman

My father was a high school baseball coach, and I have been around the game for as long as I can remember. I love it to this day. Like any kid, there was a time when I dreamed about being a Big Leaguer. In high school, I played in wood-bat leagues in the summer and fall. I swung a maple bat. I wouldn’t swing anything else. Many Major League players I looked up to swung maple, sighting its “pop” and “undeniable durability” as why.

Bonds swung maple, and we all know what he did. I couldn’t hit like Bonds, or I wouldn’t be typing this blog. Still, that didn’t stop me from swinging maple and loving the look and feel of the closed-grain structure — the creamy, almost pale brown color and high-gloss finish.

I still love baseball, and I still love maple, but these days, I spend my time chasing game animals rather than trying to swat homers. My affinity for Browning’s X-Bolt 2 lineup is no secret, and two of my favorites — a pair of sweet-looking, smooth-shooting, ultra-durable tag punchers —are the X-Bolt 2 Speed Dark Maple and Medallion Maple.

Browning X-Bolt 2 Speed Dark Maple

A 2025 Shot Show Special, Browning’s X-Bolt 2 Speed Dark Maple sports a stabilized AAA dark maple stock with checkering and an oil finish. Unlike X-Bolt 2 Speed rifles fitted with Vari-Tech stocks, comb height can’t be adjusted. However, the 11/16-inch drop at comb, which is the vertical distance between the top of the newly designed receiver and the top of the comb, will feel right to most. The fluted, sporter contour barrel slopes coming out of the receiver, allowing a lower optic mount, even if you go with a high-magnification, big-belled scope.

CLICK HERE: Mounting Your Scope for Maximum Accuracy

The barrel features a removable radial muzzle brake to reduce felt recoil, and the durable Tungsten Cerakote finish blends perfectly with this darker maple wood-stock rifle.

Like all X-Bolt 2 models, the receiver and bolt have been redesigned, and they make the X-Bolt 2 a better rifle than its predecessor. X-Bolt 2 rifles feature additional bolt guidance surface area for smoother operation, and the bolt knob is larger than before. It features a bell shape that’s easy to grasp and combined with the traditional 60-degree throw; you can reload quickly.

The DLX Trigger, much like the previous Feather Trigger, utilizes a multi-lever design with zero creep and a crisp break. The DLX Trigger is also user-adjustable but comes factory set at 3.5 pounds. It feels great and is extremely crisp. It’s the kind of trigger that builds shooting confidence. The Bolt Unlock Button works in conjunction with the top-tang safety to boost safety when checking and unloading the chamber.

Scope attachment, thanks to the X-Lock Scope Mounting System, which uses four screws per base to ensure zero movement when attached to the receiver, adds a piece of mind. The magazine is detachable, and the rifle is available in a smattering of popular calibers in barrel lengths (caliber depending) of 22, 24, and 26 inches.

Our Do-All X-Bolt 2 Speed Dark Maple All-Around Recommendation

From elk to mule deer and pronghorn to bear, it’s tough to beat the speed, accuracy, and hard-hitting power of the Browning-designed 6.8 Western. A short-action cartridge that pushes heavy-for-caliber .277-diameter bullets close to 3,000 fps; the 6.8 Western promises more retained energy than the 6.5 PRC or 280 Ackley with less recoil than magnum calibers like the 300 Win. Mag. and 300 PRC.

Browning X-Bolt 2 Speed Dark Maple 6.8 Western Specs:

Barrel length: 24"
Overall Length: 44"
Weight: 6 lb., 9 oz.
Magazine Capacity: 3
Twist Rate: 7-1/2"
Magazine Type: Detachable
Muzzle Threading: 5/8-24 SR
MSRP: $1,819.99

Browning X-Bolt 2 Medallion Maple

There’s something about this rifle. When I saw it at the 2025 Shot Show, I went directly to it. Then, each time I passed the Browning booth, I locked eyes with it, and it sucked me in.

It’s the combination of the engraved receiver with polished blued finish, gloss-finished AAAA checkered maple stock with dark rosewood fore-end and grip caps, and black 1-1/4-inch Inflex recoil pad that make this X-Bolt 2 rifle stand out from the crowd. The spiral-fluted stainless-steel bolt doesn't hurt the rifle’s eye appeal either.

Aside from its looks, the X-Bolt 2 Medallion Maple is available in the same calibers, minus the 6.8 Western and 300 PRC, as the Dark Maple. The rifle is quick to shoulder, and the checkered fore-end ensures a positive grip.

My Elk X-Bolt 2 Medallion Maple Recommendation

Elk are the symbol of the Rocky Mountain West, and when I look at the Medallion Maple, I see an elk rifle. I see a stout buckskin gelding with dark saddle and scabbard holding a Medallion Maple chambered in .300 Win. Mag. moving across the side of a leafless aspen hillside. Of course, the rifle is available in an array of elk calibers, but when it comes to big bulls and rough country where shots can be long, I want energy and accuracy. I tend to lean on a 195-grain bullet moving at 2,900 feet per second, creating over 2,000 foot-pounds of energy at 500 yards. When it comes to elk, it’s hard to beat the 300 Win. Mag. Last October, I watched Browning’s Rafe Nielsen crumple a 6-point New Mexico bull with a single shot. His shooting position was far from stable — squatting amongst boulders — and the bull didn’t give him the best angle. It’s moments like these where the heavier weight of a wood-stock rifle chambered in a hard-hitting caliber with a long barrel and a 10-inch twist shines. The gun fell into Rafe’s pack, and he was able to get steady and make a perfect shot.