MY TURN....
For the record...YES - I have read every post. ( I grin as I consider some them...). I am a hunter - long distance shooter with a terminal disability - I am left handed and left eye dominant.
So - most of you know that limits the number of factory rifles available to us left handers who want to shoot left handed. ( Yeah - I can shoot RH, and was trained to shoot from a fixed position with a RH rifle...).
So - I will be brief, but try to insert all the pertinent facts about my experience ( otherwise known as PURGATORY ) with with a Christensen Arms Ridgeline 6.5 PRC.
Preface: I read everything concerning Christensen. And if I had I given proper weight to the averages...I would have not bought a Christensen. But I thought..." O.K. - the guys that complain about them are likely not experienced hunters or shooters". Because I WANTED that sexy looking Christensen. Let's face it - they ARE a nice looking rifle. But, looks are only skin deep.
My experience mirrors what the OP has had. And - guys, get off the "it's a carbon ring" crap. SO WHAT? It is crappy quality control issue at Christensen. PERIOD. You can parse it down who "what you think - but I followed their instructions TO THE LETTER.
1. I followed their break in procedure TO THE T..... Shoot 3 - allow the rifle to cool ( I defined that further in detail as verity, open bolt, place vertical in a rack,with a cooling fan- barrel cooler and a digital thermometer. So I am anal retentive about KNOWING that I am giving the rifle the best opportunity to perform.
2. Then - shoot 3 - and CLEAN. thorough. copper solvent and carbon removed. Scrub, soak, scrub, swab - patch until clean. Allow to cool as above included in the process as above.
I spent MORE on factory Hornaday 143 ELD-X ammo than the rifle costs. READ THAT AGAIN.... And what I had after months of it sometimes not picking up the second round, sometimes not ejecting - and sometimes JAMMING so that it took 3 people to get the bolt to lift in order to remove a spent cartridge. Picture this: 2 guys holding the rifle - and me cursing the fact that I had to use a rubber block or rubber hammer to whack the bolt enough to get it to lift.
Was the gun accurate? Like a laser.....6 attempts at a 6" target at 860 yards - verified hits. What else would you want from a rifle - right?...
I will tell you what else you want - you want to KNOW that you can get a follow up shot if you ever need it. Otherwise - it was a sometimes functioning single shot rifle. PERIOD.
But - surprisingly, that is not the worst part of this vomitous diatribe and personal rant. The worst part is the 2nd time it went back to Christensen- and throughout the entire experience - it was a genuine PIA to actually reach anyone at Christensen. They DO NOT call back. They rarely answer the phone. So, on the 2nd time it went back, I waited, and waited - and finally called them, and was not going to be pacified with he "usual company line"...I finally got thru top Erich - the Customer Service Mangler
....AND HERE IS THE "BOOM"....
I said - DO NOT send THAT rifle back to me again - I want a replacement - and I will even buy "up" if there is a better or more expensive model. That was met with a chuckling response of " We are not in the business of replacing rifles that we can fix under warranty. My response: "Gee....you would have thought that was possible 2 trips back to the factory ...but here we are". DON'T SEND THAT rifle back to me. I want a replacement. Answer was
and I will swear on any thing you want to satisfy that I am telling the truth....HE SAID-" Clearly we can't make you happy, so we will refund you. We can sell that rifle to someone else because it is a functioning gun."
So, I know there will be some of you that choose not to believe me - that is on you to decide. But, to my grave I can swear with a clean and fully clear conscience that is the truth and what happened.
NEVER will I consider, or recommend a Christensen rifle. I will tell what happened and let others decide if they want o be a victim.
T