Franchi Momentum All-Terrain Elite: A Rifle Going Places

The All-Terrain Elite, a Scout-style rifle, joins Franchi's Momentum Elite lineup.

September 19, 2024 By Layne Simpson

Franchi introduced the Momentum bolt-action rifle in 2018, and it is still going strong. A modified version called the Momentum Elite came along in 2021, and it was initially available in .223 Rem., 6.5 Creedmoor and .308. Also unveiled that year was the Momentum Varmint Elite with a heavy barrel in .22-250, .223 Rem. and .224 Valkyrie.

The latest variation from Franchi and the star of this report is the Momentum All-Terrain Elite in .223 Rem. and .308. Putting camouflage finishes on hunting rifles is mostly an American thing, so the same rifle is sold in other countries as the Horizon All-Terrain Black Synthetic.

The Action

Beginning with the action, the cylindrical receiver measures 1.350 inches in diameter, is 8.5 inches long and has the same roof contour as the Remington Model 700 receiver. A 21-slot Picatinny rail held in place by four screws extends almost four inches beyond the front of the receiver—allowing a forward-mounted, Scout-style scope to be used in addition to traditional optics. Unlike the Remington with its washer-style recoil lug, a thick V-shape lug embedded in the Momentum stock engages two deep grooves in the receiver ring.

Machining away steel from the front of the 0.860-inch diameter body of the bolt left three locking lugs equally spaced on 120-degree centers. As Roy Weatherby and other rifle builders discovered many years ago, using this type of bolt in no way compromises strength, and it reduces production costs by eliminating the need to broach raceways in the receiver for locking lugs that extend beyond the surface of the bolt body.

Functional "Beefiness"

rifle action — The rear sight presents an aperture in the up position, a traditional notch when folded down. The gun comes with a slick-feeding Magpul magazine. (Photo courtesy of Layne Simpson)

At 13 ounces, the bolt does add a bit of weight compared to a two-lug bolt of more conventional shape, but it does offer advantages. Bolt travel can be smoother and less binding than for a two-lug bolt, and reducing its rotation to about 60 degrees minimizes the possibility of bolt handle interference when a scope is mounted low on the receiver. Rather than brazing the handle to the body of the bolt as on some other designs, the Franchi’s is mechanically attached.

The bolt has a spring-loaded, plunger-style ejector, and while the face of the bolt encloses about 0.130 inches of a chambered round, the counter-bore wall is interrupted for passage of a Sako-style extractor. In the event of a pierced primer or ruptured case during firing, most of the escaping propellant gas and debris would be dumped into the magazine well, while any gas that makes its way back around the body of the bolt should be deflected away from the shooter’s face by a well-designed bolt shroud. A slight protrusion of the cocking piece serves as a visual indicator of a cocked firing pin.

Franchi calls the trigger Relia, and the owner’s manual clearly explains its adjustments. From-the-factory pull weight on the test rifle averaged 3.5 pounds with very little variation and no detectable creep or overtravel. Strong spring detents hold a two-position safety lever firmly in its two positions, with a slightly oversize knob making it easy to operate when wearing gloves. Engaging the safety blocks trigger movement, but it does not block bolt rotation.

Here’s a tip for those who might be concerned about the bolt accidentally flopping open as the rifle is carried. With the chamber empty, hold back the trigger while pushing and rotating the bolt to its locked position. This leaves the firing pin resting in its uncocked position, and due to resistance from its strong spring, the bolt will not likely be fully rotated in the event its handle snags on something in the field.

Finish Quality

With its extended Picatinny rail, the All-Terrain Elite allows the mounting of a traditional optic or a forward-mounted Scout-style scope. (Photo courtesy of Layne Simpson)

Finished in a green/gray camo pattern called True Timber Strata, the injection-molded stock has three flush-attached sockets for quick-detach sling swivels: one at the bottom and one on each side. Moving to the fore-end, we see M-Lok receptacles, two on the bottom and two on either side. Measuring two inches wide at its center point, the flat-bottom fore-end is nicely shaped for shooting over a sandbag at the range or atop a daypack in the field. Girder-style reinforcing in the barrel channel minimizes deflection when pressure is applied to the bottom and sides of the fore-end.

Everything including appearance, stock-to-metal fit, overall quality, rigidity and attention to detail considered, this one is several levels above most injection-molded stocks I have examined. And just how strong is it? After removing the stock from the barreled action, I placed it on the floor with both ends supported by short sections of 2x4 boards and then stood on it. The stock did flex slightly, but it resisted 180 pounds of solid muscle with no damage whatsoever. The rifle’s molded-in checkering is aggressive enough to offer a no-slip grip while offering very little resistance to sliding over a sandbag during recoil.

modular stock — The rifle comes with two easily switched comb risers, allowing shooters to get the right head position whether using the irons flipped up or down, or a scope. (Photo courtesy of Layne Simpson)

Turning out the two Torx-head action bolts and removing the polymer bottom assembly allows the front of the grip to be removed and switched to other styles. Two easily switched comb risers are included with the rifle—one high enough to position the eye for scope use and the other low enough to use when shooting the rifle with its iron sights folded down.

In order for its objective to clear the top of the rail, the scope I used required high Weaver six-screw 30mm rings, and the higher of the two comb risers proved to be just right for a solid cheek weld. Length of pull with Franchi’s own TSA recoil pad is 141⁄8 inches. Recoil pads, comb risers and grip inserts of other sizes are available at ShopFranchi.com.

Iron sights on bolt-action rifles have become scarcer than hen’s teeth. But a rifle designed for all-around use should have irons. This new outfit from Franchi does, and the design is quite interesting. The rear sight is attached to the aft end of the Picatinny rail while the front sight is out on the barrel. The rear sight is adjustable for windage, while the front sight is elevation adjustable.

With the sights in their folded position, the picture consists of a 0.135-inch notch flanked by white dots at the rear and a 0.180-inch-wide blade with a single white dot up front. With the sights in that low position, I found it necessary to install the lower of the two stock comb risers. Flipping up the two sights presents a very small aperture at the rear and a black post at the front. With the sights in that position, most shooters will use the higher comb riser, as I did. If the rifle were mine, I would take a Dremel tool and increase the size of the aperture a bit, although others may be quite happy with it.

The 18.5-inch, hammer-forged barrel measures 1.060 inches in diameter at the receiver, and from there it tapers to 0.545 inches at the muzzle where it is crowned and threaded 5/8x24 for an included 18-port muzzle brake.

While I was wringing out the rifle over sandbags, another club member a couple of benches to my right was shooting a .22 rimfire, so I removed the brake. After he finished and departed, I rapid-fired 10 rounds with the brake and 10 rounds without it at 300-yard steel plates. As expected, the device virtually eliminated what little recoil the .223 Rem. produces. I like the extreme durability of the Cerakote coating on the barrel and receiver, not to mention its effectiveness at keeping rust at bay.

As detachable magazine designs go, the top-quality Magpul P-10 polymer single-stacker chosen by Franchi may be the best of them all in terms of smooth feeding. The magazine is easy to load to full capacity, and each round flows from magazine to chamber with almost no resistance felt as the bolt is pushed home.

Pushing a loaded magazine home in the polymer bottom unit is smooth and snag-free, and extending the trigger finger to punch a paddle-shaped, ambidextrous latch drops the magazine when it goes empty. Unlike some magazine release designs that are just waiting to snag on something, this one is smoothly contoured and hardly noticeable until it is needed.

Accuracy

Every Momentum rifle is accuracy-tested with commercially loaded ammunition, and if it fails to shoot three shots inside an inch at 100 yards it is tweaked until it behaves. A group included with my rifle fired with Sako ammo measured a respectable 0.83 inch. I tried six different factory loads with bullet weights ranging from 55 to 77 grains; three shot inside an inch, with a fourth coming awfully close. The thin barrel was water-cooled after each nine-round string.

A few months after Phyllis and I were married, we loaded two rifles in .243 and .25-06 along with everything else that could be squeezed into a Volkswagen Beetle and headed cross-country to Wyoming for mule deer and pronghorn antelopes on a cattle ranch owned by Dick and Dorothy Keenan.

We became very good friends, and Phyllis and I hunted with them several more times in the following years. And what does this have to do with the price of eggs? Well, Dick absolutely hated coyotes, especially during calving season, and his medicine for them was a Remington Model 722 in .222 Rem. He mostly shot from his truck, and shortening the barrel of the rifle to 18 inches made it easier to maneuver in cramped quarters. The old cowboy passed away many years ago, but if he were still with us I am sure the compact Franchi Momentum All-Terrain Elite in .223 Rem. would meet with his approval.