The newest rifle in the safe is the Franchi Horizon in .308. It can be a rough time at the gun shop looking for a bolt action hunting rifle under the $1000 AUD / $600 USD mark and navigating all the choices at the price point on the rack. Theres plenty of options in front of you such as the Sauer 100, Howa Varmint, Ruger American, Remington 700 SPS, Mossberg Patriot to name a few.
Having never used a Franchi rifle before there is always a kind of curiosity when looking at photos online. Getting hands on with one and picking it up and at the shop, its ergonomic design and stock impressed me. Couple that with Franchi’s Sub 1 MOA accuracy guarantee and that was half the battle won for me. The other half is how it performs in the field. In this article we will look at the Franchi Horizon, from its design and build to how it stacked up in the field.
Ammo prices for .308 have been steadily going up since COVID but luckily my hunting rifles don’t send as many rounds down range compared to my target rifles, so ammunition cost wasn’t a huge deciding factor when choosing a cartridge and I was able to choose a hard hitting round. I have a long history with the mighty .308 so its a comfortable hunting cartridge for me. The Franchi Horizon does come in other cartridges including 223, .243, .270, .30-06, 6.5 Creedmoor and .300 WM, so there are plenty of options available.
Construction
Right off the bat the stock is my favorite part, its sleek, feels nice in the hand and really reflects the Italian design touch. There is a soft recoil pad on the butt of the rifle that did a good job reducing the felt recoil. There are sling swivel mounts at the front and rear of the stock. The fore-end and grip are both textured adding some extra help when handling the rifle in wet conditions.
It weigh’s in at a very low 2.9kg making it a great weight to carry on foot. The overall length is 1075mm which is a fairly standard length and means I can still stow it in a hunting pack.
Bolt & Trigger
For a budget minded rifle the bolt is really well made and includes fluting to reduce the overall weight as well as three lug’s to ensure reliable performance. At the price point the bolt is nice to run and the short 60 degree bolt lift is satisfying. One thing I especially liked was the bolt knob, its more of a tactical style that you see alot of folks upgrading their rifles with, so its nice to see such a great one out of the box. There is very little play in the bolt when open and to the rear as well. This is a tribute to the engineering in the rifle and I wish the same could be said for all rifles at this price.
The trigger is satisfying and good for the price. It is adjustable with a range between 0.8 and 1.9 kg which allows you to alter the trigger to a weight that best suits you. It didn’t take long when sighting the rifle in to get used to the clean brake of the trigger and having adjusted it to be a lot lighter it was great to use. The safety is located on the right side in the traditional spot and when engaged the trigger wont fire.
Barrel
My .308 version has a 22” barrel with a 1:11 twist, so a heavier projectile around 180 grain mark stabilise the best over distance. With this in mind, I used mostly 178g Hornady ELD-X ammo to see how it would go when sighting in the rifle. Luckily it worked out well with groups within the 1 MOA guarantee out to 200m.
The barrel is chrome lined and another surprising addition is the threaded barrel, allowing muzzle brakes to easily be added or a suppressor if its legal in your area.
Magazine
On my 308 variant the mag fits 4+1, the larger calibers the magazine fits 3+1. The removable magazine that comes with the rifle is good quality, doesn’t feel cheap and its great to see Franchi didn’t cut any corners here like some of its competitors. For those that will be working the rifle hard and don’t want to burn time reloading the empty mag there are extra magazines available for purchase. I haven’t run into any feed issues and its run well. The magazine release button is just inside the trigger guard and is easily pressed with the index finger.
In the Field
Matching the rifle to a good hunting scope, I mounted the Burris Signature HD 3-15×44 with a duplex reticle onto the rifle. This provides a good mag range coupled with good glass and a super simple reticle.
For reliability, the Franchi Horizon has been running without issue. For me, I need a dependable rifle out hunting as I don’t want to be let down after all the time and effort to get into a position when taking a shot. The action is smooth for the price bracket and held up with no feeding issues or light strikes. Maintenance is really straightforward, with the bolt easy to remove, making it nice and simple to run a patch through. If you do experience any issues with the rifle, luckily it does come with a large 7 year warranty. This is on the longer side of rifle warranties as I have some much more expensive setup’s that fall shorter on the warranty period.
With a budget minded rifle there has to be some negatives and the biggest one for me is that there isn’t a lot of room for customisation such as swapping out the stock. Luckily it’s not a massive problem as the stock is one of the best parts but something to consider for those that like to have more control of length of pull, cheek height or attaching thermals.
Overall, the Franchi Horizon is a lightweight hunting rifle that comes in at an extremely competitive price point. The rifle is ideal for those on a budget or who are new to shooting and are looking for a great value for money option. When compared to other rifles in the price bracket, the Horizon stands out for its balance of quality, performance, and affordability.
Quick Stats
- Caliber .223 REM / .243 WIN / 6.5 CREED / .270 WIN / .308 WIN / .30-06 SPRG / .300 WM
- Lop (mm) 355
- Length (mm) 1075 (.223 REM, .243 WIN, 6.5 CREED, .270 WIN, .308 WIN, .30-06 SPRG); 1125 (.300 WM)
- Weight (kg) 3200 (.223 REM); 2990 (.243 WIN, 6.5 CREED, .270 WIN, .300 WM); 2950 (.308 WIN, .30-06 SPRG)
- Barrel (cm) 56/22″ (.223 REM, .243 WIN, 6.5 CREED, .270 WIN, .308 WIN, .30-06 SPRG); 61/24″ (.300 WM)
- Rounds 4+1 (.223 REM); 3+1 (.243 WIN, 6.5 CREED, .270 WIN, .308 WIN, .30-06 SPRG, .300 WM)
- Bolt Fluted chromed steel
- Twist rate 9 (.223 REM); 10 (.243 WIN, .270 WIN); 11 (.308 WIN, .30-06 SPRG, .300 WM); 8 (6.5 CREED)
- Stock Black Techno polymer
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