Gun Of The Week: Colt CBX TacHunter

by
posted on August 2, 2024

Welcome to another American Rifleman Gun Of The Week video, and in this episode, we’re on the range with a bolt-action from Colt. This is the CBX TacHunter and it is no ordinary hunting rifle of yesteryear. Watch our video above to see this Colt bolt-action with controlled-round feed in use on the range.

Gun Of The Week title screen box around text overlay Colt CBX TacHunter bolt-action rifle with gray stock white background

To know Colt is to understand that it is a bedrock name in the firearm industry with a history that goes back over 180 years. The brand has been a huge influence on firearm design, launching arms such as the M1911 service pistol, the Single Action Army, Walker and more. Today, Colt continues to innovate, coming to market with updated classics and cutting-edge options such as this CBX TacHunter you see here.

Most might know Colt’s name as a maker of America’s rifle, the AR-15, but at SHOT Show 2023, Colt received some head-turning attention when it unveiled a manually operated, bolt-action rifle dubbed the CBX Precision Rifle. It featured a bull barrel and modular chassis. But it didn’t take long for Colt to announce it would offer a hunting rifle. Based on the CBX action, this TacHunter is a modern take on the turn-bolt hunting rifle.

Colt AR right-side view overlay text on image GUN OF THE WEEK

With the CBX TacHunter, like the CBX Precision rifle, you’ll get a six-lug bolt—think three pairs of two lugs 120 degrees apart—housed within a Nitride-treated carbon steel receiver. The barrel is modest at 20” long, made of carbon steel and features button rifling for supreme accuracy and a threaded muzzle for accessories. Colt offers its CBX TacHunter in two well-loved cartridges, too, 6.5 mm Creedmoor and .308 Win. What’s particularly interesting about the CBX series of rifles is that Colt engineered a unique way of providing controlled-round feeding of cartridges, which is a concept that seems to have been abandoned in recent years.

The rifles receiver is also a bit different than typical rifles of today. Its bottom side is flat and integrates with the stock’s inletting and bedding system to provide consistent and rock-solid support. An aluminum bar spans the entire length of the fore-end, which gives the gray polymer stock extra support throughout. As for creature comforts, you’ll find Colt offers up a few noteworthy features. First is the adjustability in the buttstock for length of pull and simple cheek riser replacement. There’s also great texturing and contours long the fore-end that aids in field shooting. The stock’s wrist has near-vertical pistol grip shape to it, and panels of aggressive texturing will surely be of help with gloved hands during cold-weather hunts.

American Rifleman Presents text on image nine images of Colt CBX TacHunter bolt-action rifle arrangement tiles

On the range is where one can truly appreciate the CBX TacHunter. The action is smooth and fast thanks to the large-diameter bold body and 60-degree throw. We found magazines drop smoothly when needed, thanks to the articulating lever just forward of the trigger guard. Our testers very much appreciated that Colt included an adjustable trigger on the CBX. Its single-stage pull was light and it broke crisply and consistently without overtravel.

Colt’s hybrid approach to successfully creating a hunting rifle with modern appeal at a price that is attainable is yet another feather in the cap for the legendary brand.

Colt CBX TacHunter Specifications
Action Type: bolt-action, centerfire, repeating rifle
Chambering: .308 Win.
Barrel: 20" button-rifled carbon steel
Receiver: carbon steel
Finish: black Nitride
Stock: gray polymer
Sights: none; drilled-and-tapped receiver
Magazine: five-round Magpul AICS
Trigger: single-stage adjustable; 2-lb., 10-oz. pull
Overall Length: 39.75
Weight: 6 lbs., 15 ozs.
MSRP: $999

Latest

 American Revolution painting
 American Revolution painting

The Shot Heard Round The World: The Arms & Events Of April 19, 1775

April 2025 marks 250 years since the momentous events at Lexington and Concord—the opening salvos of the American Revolution. Today, exhaustive research of primary accounts and surviving firearms and artifacts give us a clearer picture of what really happened.

Gun Of The Week: Browning Citori 825 Field

Learn about Browning's latest version of the famed Citori shotgun, the Citori 825 Field, in this week’s range video.

The Armed Citizen® April 18, 2025

Read today's "The Armed Citizen" entry for real stories of law-abiding citizens, past and present, who used their firearms to save lives.

"The Shot Heard Round The World:" 250 Years Later

On April 19, 1775, simmering tensions between Great Britain and her colonists erupted into warfare with the engagements at the Massachusetts towns of Lexington and Concord.

Watchtower Firearms Re-Organizing

Watchtower Firearms, a veteran-owned firm based in Texas filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection in late February 2025 to restructure and re-organize its financial structure.

The Road To Revolution: 250 Years Later

The militiamen who stood in defiance on Lexington Green are the first who fired upon the British regulars, but the road to revolution was paved long before gunfire erupted on that cold April morning in Massachusetts.

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.