Use of a composite sleeve on the bolt reduces its weight by three ounces.

The design of the magazine makes the A-Bolt just as quick and easy to unload. Simply remove the cartridge from its chamber, drop the hinged floorplate, remove the magazine, and the rifle is safe to go. The magazine assembly is also easily taken apart for cleaning: Slide off its bottom retention plate, remove the follower and its spring, and the job is done. Magazine capacities depend on the case diameters of various cartridges: five for the .223 Remington, four for the .30-06 and three for the various magnums.

The A-Bolt action is made in three lengths: long for cartridges in lengths up to .375 H&H Magnum, short for cartridges such as the .308 Winchester and .300 WSM and super-short for Winchester's .223 and .243 WSSM cartridges. (The latter action is a half-inch shorter than the short action.)

As I write this, 23 model variations with stocks made of natural wood, laminated wood and synthetics, along with barreled actions of blued steel and stainless steel, are available. In fact, if you bought one each of every variant in every caliber available, you would be the proud owner of more than 200 A-Bolt rifles (you'd also need a really big gun safe). Optional stock styles include Monte Carlo, Classic and thumbhole, the latter available only in laminated wood on four variations of the M1000 Eclipse. The Medallion and the Micro-Hunter are available with right- or left-hand actions.

The latest variant is the Mountain Ti, and it just happens to be my favorite A-Bolt for hunting big game where the mountains are tall and steep and the weather often turns nasty. As the name implies, its receiver is carved from titanium, a metal that is about 40 percent lighter than steel. That trims away four ounces when compared to the steel A-Bolt receiver, and the utilization of a bolt-body sleeve made of synthetic composite sheds another three ounces.

Due mainly to its scissors-style follower spring, the A-bolt feeds the fat and stubby .300 WSM like grease on glass.

The stock, according to Browning, is 10 ounces lighter than the synthetic stocks of other A-Bolt rifles. Lose an ounce or two here and another there, and before you know it you've got an extremely light rifle. The Mountain Ti in .300 WSM I used to take a very nice New Mexico elk during the 2005 season is a perfect example. Fully outfitted for the field with a Zeiss 3-9X Diavari MC scope in a Browning two-piece lightweight mount, a Weatherby nylon sling and three .300 WSM cartridges resting in its magazine, it weighs precisely 7 1/2 pounds. I didn't weigh the rifle alone, but the scope, mount, sling and cartridges total 27 ounces, meaning the Mountain Ti is around 5 3/4 pounds--just a bit more than Browning's advertised 5 1/2 pounds.

I remember a time when sheep hunters would have traded their souls for such a rifle. By the way, this same rifle with its shorter action in .223, .243 and .25 WSSM is rated at four ounces lighter. In addition to those three and the .300 WSM I've already mentioned, other chambering options are .243 Winchester, 7mm-08 Remington, .308 Winchester, .270 WSM, 7mm WSM and .325 WSM.

Moving on to other Mountain Ti features, a sliding tab atop the receiver tang operates the two-position safety. A spring-loaded detent discourages inadvertent movement of the safety tab from the desired position when in use, and yet it is easily pushed and pulled to its two positions by the thumb. Just as important to those of us who hunt big game, the safety can be operated as quietly as the proverbial mouse.