S&W I-bolt 30-06 review

[RPRNY]

Not the most exciting rifle to be reviewed here or the most recent, but I appreciate the reviews on this site and thought this might be helpful for future buyers.

I bought this rifle on a tip from another forum member who linked it in a discussion about 30-06 "Alaskan" rifles. For $299 NIB with Williams sights factory installed, I could not pass it up. I will note the seller - Ray Tanner in PA - because he was a joy to deal with. A friend of mine purchased the same rifle and it looks like Ray has a few left. http://www.gunbroker.com/All/BI.aspx?IncludeSellers=250902

So, first of all, the "I" in I-Bolt is supposed to mean "innovation". I do not see anything in this rifle that is truly innovative, other than perhaps the slightly intricate manner of removing the bolt by twisting it around. Is the 60 degree lift nice? Yes it is. Innovative? Not so much. So, with "Innovation" debunked, let's move forward:






Now, I am not a fan of black synthetic rifles or shotguns. But I believe that there are weather and environmental conditions in which I see them as being quite useful. Those same weather and environmental conditions dictate, in my view, that a rifle also have iron sights available should your scope fog, or get knocked about. This I-Bolt having factory installed William sights, themselves worth a few pennies, and a Weaver rail was a big bonus.

I have almost no experience with "budget rifles" although I am somewhat of an H&R Handi Rifle aficionado, so I really cannot compare this rifle with others in that price segment. I will give general impressions.

Good exterior finish. All metal, including Williams sights seem to be covered in the same "Melonite" a flat black coating. It is even across all parts and there were no obvious blemishes or patches of discoloration. Metal to polymer fit is good. The stock is quite rigid for "plastic" or polymer and has what S&W refers to as "X-bedding". This means cross supports are integral to the forend creating a re-inforced chassis to the stock. The barrel appears to be fully floated from the stock and the action is very snug to the stock. The stock has a slim wrist, which I like, and the "checkering" is neat and grippy. LOP at 13 7/8" is a little shorter than ideal for me. The recoil pad seems a bit slim, has a good mix of smoothness to stock and slight grip for when placed in the shoulder socket. The somewhat hog-back Monte Carlo stock is comfy and sets the eye up well for the iron sights but may perhaps be slightly low with a scope (odd as the standard I-Bolt comes with no iron sights). Mine weights 6.7lbs unloaded.

The bolt is also coated in black "Melonite" and after some manipulation in the receiver is wearing at points where it was slightly sticky. My guess is that 20 rounds will have it running smooth. I can't test yet as we are still digging out from under Sandy and are now getting snowed on by a Nor'easter but will follow up with a report on accuracy, recoil etc. Getting the bolt in an out is a bit fiddly. There is no bolt release button. The safety is placed in the "loading position" (middle of three) and then rotated and fiddled into the receiver. The bolt feels solid but light (I didn't weigh it but will try to). Magazine is classic internal mag (4+1) with a release button at the inner front of the trigger guard. It seems far enough away that even with gloves it wouldn't be released by mistake and needs an assertive push. Safety is a three position - easy to move but with strong detent points. It has a smallish lever to activate and that might be an issue with bulky gloves. Bolt lift is 60 degrees and it's a little sticky out of the box.

The trigger is made by Timney and is externally adjustable with a small tool provided with the rifle. It inserts into a little hex screw next to the trigger. I did not measure trigger pull but my guess would have been 5lbs out of the box and that I lightened to between 3.5lbs and 4lbs, with a little room left to lighten. No creep and a pretty clean break.

The barrel, 23", is a sporter contour and is made for S&W by Thompson/Center. They seem to use Bergara barrels from Spain in the T/C Venture but I don't know whether that is the case for the I-Bolt.

Ejection is crisp and clean. Ergonomically, the rifle feels very Remington 700 albeit somewhat light.

I will shoot it and revert with my thoughts and some more detailed pics.

General impression. It's a lot of rifle for $299. It seems like a good sporter and it feels well made. I am not of changed view about black synthetic being a weather based compromise.

 

[Nathanael_Greene]

Thanks for the review! There sure have been a lot of entrants in this low-end market.

Now if only someone besides Savage would make some left-handed versions...

 

[adelbridge]

Its a nice gun, too bad they discontinued it in favor of the T/C Ventture. I guess it makes more marketing sense to have the T/C arm handle the hunting guns

 

[SleazyRider]

A caveat ...

Missed a nice whitetail with my S&W i-bolt 2 years ago, thanks to a light primer strike. Seems that for the 60-degree bolt lift to work, a lighter firing pin spring is sometimes necessary. S&W blamed the Remington .30-06 Core-Lokt ammo, but after sending the ammo back to Remington, it was determined that the problem was with the rifle; and to S&W's credit, they replaced the bolt, tested the rifle and returned it to me on their dime. It has functioned flawlessly ever since, and I plan to hunt with it this season. I found the rifle to be extremely accurate.

As an aside, S&W recoil reducers made specifically for the i-bolt appear on Ebay from time to time, and I added one last year. Not sure if it helps or not, to be perfectly honest.

It's a really a very good rifle, and I wish you the best of luck with it!

 

[RPRNY]

So Sleazy, do I understand you correctly that while "recoil reduction chamber" is one of the features listed in the marketing bumf, and picturing the actual reducer, that's all it is, a chamber without the actual reducer? That's fairly cheeky is that! I haven't pulled the recoil pad to check.

Thanks for the heads up on the light strike issue. I'm a big fan of Core-Lokt as factory ammo and have always had good luck with it, so it's no surprise that the ammo wasn't at fault. As an aside, there was an I-Bolt recall specific to the bolt and the firing pin spring (the issue was that the spring might release and fire the rifle when on "safe" - bad) and bolts that were inspected and fixed or found in spec have a small punch indent on the bolt handle. Mine has this. I wonder if the issue you had was related?

 

[SleazyRider]

Yes, that is my understanding. I don't believe you'll find a recoil reducer under the recoil pad; you'll only find a hole ("chamber') into which you can purchase and install a recoil reducer. I think I paid around twenty bucks for mine, and what's inside---springs, mercury, snake oil, etc.---is anybody's guess.

 

[SleazyRider]

I might also add that on my particular rifle, Uncle Mike's swing swivels would not fit the recessed fitment holes. The only ones that fit were made by Hush Stalker, which does not feature the quick-connects as do the UMs. A small matter to be sure, but one that you should be aware of.

 

[RPRNY]

So, a far from ideal first outing with the rifle, but I can't yet fully evaluate the rifle as there were confounding factors. I got a last minute window to get to the range and grabbed one box of Winchester Silver Tip 150 grs and what I thought was a box of Remington Core-Lokt 150 gr. In fact, when I got the the range and turned over the Remington box, they were clearly marked handloads that I had made up for my 30-06 Handi Rifle to be used by the young. 17.5 grs of Trail Boss under Hornady 150 SP. Not ideal for sighting in.

It was cold at the range, @ 38F, which shouldn't be an issue for factory ammo. Nevertheless, I had 4 light strikes on the Winchester ammo (none on the TB rounds). Three of the four light strikes were the first three rounds fired. I cleaned the bolt again, better, when I got home. I'm guessing gummed bolt rather than cold ammo. I had a helluva time getting sighted in. I had used a Bushnell Arbor Boresight and it was waaaay off. Basically a waste. I finally got sighted in (also, a poor scope, Simmons 3x9x40, but that's what was lying around and at 100 yds, it should be fine...) by the end of the 16 rounds that did fire. I then got something resembling a group out of the TB handloads. Inconclusive.

It's a kicker! Looks like I will want one of those recoil reducers. It's quite barky.

 

[mshootnit]

My I bolt was chambered incorrectly, I sent it into s&w and they sent me a check for the rifle that was it. They were nice people

 

[SleazyRider]

Your post brings back the disappointment I experienced when my i-bolt failed to fire on that morning when I missed the whitetail, RPRNY, and on second thought, maybe I'll take my trusty Model 70 on opening day this year. I need to trust my hunting tools 100%---98 or 99 isn't enough. After all, it's that first shot during the season that counts; and that shot is usually taken out of an ice-cold barrel with an ice-cold bolt. The bolt and firing pin need to work slick as owl poop regardless of temperature.

Somewhere on the Internet, I recall seeing step-by-step directions on how to disassemble the bolt on the i-bolt rifle. Someday I'll disassemble mine and see firsthand if there are areas that could use some improvement. Quite frankly, even though I like the rifle, if S&W offered me a check for it I'd take the check and buy a Ruger American. Who knows, if I continue to behave myself for another month or two, maybe Santa will come across with one anyway.