Christensen arms?
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Similar threads below are nice start. Good luck!
I bought a Hunter model a few months ago for the Fiance she thought it looked purdy...
Any way we have mounted an old leupold 4.5-14x-44mm, with 30mm tube to it in Leupold rings and mounts, its a .300rum, and to tell you the truth I think I will be buying another in 7mm STW, for my self. it is lighter then my Weatherby Accumark's, shoots better then most rifles should, aside from a full on custom.
only put factory Remington ammo through it so far but the 180 cor loc has been a great performer.
100yrd's 3 shot, 3/4" and at 200 it has been printing 1" - 1 1/4" 3 shot groups.
now with some good handload's and the berger bullet's I know I will be able to shrink those, but for a semi- factory rifle with Junk Factory ammo it is performing very well. I will never replace my 280AI but I will be ordering one in 7mm STW. for myself.....
There is nothing bad I can say about it, the Carbon Fiber wrapping on the stainless barrel makes it very stiff and strong, also makes the Rifle lighter, you will want the muzzle break on it for sure, but all in all I love it and will be adding a few more to the collection here.
Any way we have mounted an old leupold 4.5-14x-44mm, with 30mm tube to it in Leupold rings and mounts, its a .300rum, and to tell you the truth I think I will be buying another in 7mm STW, for my self. it is lighter then my Weatherby Accumark's, shoots better then most rifles should, aside from a full on custom.
only put factory Remington ammo through it so far but the 180 cor loc has been a great performer.
100yrd's 3 shot, 3/4" and at 200 it has been printing 1" - 1 1/4" 3 shot groups.
now with some good handload's and the berger bullet's I know I will be able to shrink those, but for a semi- factory rifle with Junk Factory ammo it is performing very well. I will never replace my 280AI but I will be ordering one in 7mm STW. for myself.....
There is nothing bad I can say about it, the Carbon Fiber wrapping on the stainless barrel makes it very stiff and strong, also makes the Rifle lighter, you will want the muzzle break on it for sure, but all in all I love it and will be adding a few more to the collection here.
angus-5024
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+1 for what eddybo said. You can get more gun for less money going custom. I've never shot a Christiensen Arms rifle, but have handled them at the local dealer. I only handled it for a few seconds and then gave it back.. just thought that it felt cheap and gimmicky (not offence 280AIman). I really like the ABS carbon wrapped barrels that other members have on this forum. i Know that's what Im getting when I re-barrel my .338 RUM.
Shooter264
Well-Known Member
I have been around two of them and both of them have left a lot to be desired. For the amount of money they want for them there was not a lot of attention to detail on the guns. Neither one of them shot worth a hoot either. If I spent that amount of money and no matter what load I tried I could only get it to shoot 1.5 MOA at 100 I would be sick!!!
Autorotate19
Well-Known Member
I had one for awhile. Put 300 rounds through it trying to find a consistent sub moa load. Wouldn't do it, attention to detail wasn't very good. The one I bought was the hunter which is basically a factory remington sps with the barrel carbon wrapped and the bolt lightened. I found this out after I bought it and I was a little disappointed. The guy at the store was selling me the accuracy guarantee which I believed at the time and went ahead and bought it. After researching it I found out you had to pay around 6 grand for an accuracy guarantee which only comes on the carbon one custom. Learned my lesson on doing research before purchasing. Anyways I agree with most everyone else, for the money you spend on the christensen you could get a twice the quality rifle from a builder here for probably half the cash depending on which model. Just my .02 cents Good luck!
LongRangeJunkie
Well-Known Member
I have exchange several e-mails with Todd Bettin (Bettin Custom Guns) about building me a rifle. I was up front and asked him about the differences in the ABS Barrel vs. the Christensen arms carbon wrapped barrels. I realize he is trying to sell his product/service, but he gave me pretty much the same answers that your have read on this forum. Christensen's do not shoot consistently.
There is also a difference in the way they wrap and the materials used. There are some articles out there which tell you about these differences. I believe it was in "Popular Science" magazine that there was an article about the process as well.
There are several other custom rifle builders that use the ABS method (Jense, MPI). I am sure any of them will give you the same story. It is actually quite interesting to read for yourself. For instance, carbon fiber actually holds heat and shrinks when heated. I guess you can imagine what that does to accuracy. ABS system eliminates this inherent property of the carbon fiber. There are also different qualities of carbon fiber as well.
I have not talked to anyone at Christensen, but the builders that I have talked to about the ABS method are very open about their method and materials. used.
They are more expensive, but you pay for what you get. Bettin guarantees 0.5 or less with his rifles. He is very accessable and willing to answer your questions.
There is also a difference in the way they wrap and the materials used. There are some articles out there which tell you about these differences. I believe it was in "Popular Science" magazine that there was an article about the process as well.
There are several other custom rifle builders that use the ABS method (Jense, MPI). I am sure any of them will give you the same story. It is actually quite interesting to read for yourself. For instance, carbon fiber actually holds heat and shrinks when heated. I guess you can imagine what that does to accuracy. ABS system eliminates this inherent property of the carbon fiber. There are also different qualities of carbon fiber as well.
I have not talked to anyone at Christensen, but the builders that I have talked to about the ABS method are very open about their method and materials. used.
They are more expensive, but you pay for what you get. Bettin guarantees 0.5 or less with his rifles. He is very accessable and willing to answer your questions.
LongRangeJunkie
Well-Known Member
No problem. What caliber are you thinking of. I was going to go with 280 AI but have changed my mind on to 6.5-06 AI. I have a semi custom 300 Weatherby for large game shooting 165's and 180 grain bullets. I had only planned on shooting 140 grain bullets and the ballistics are better with the 6.5-06 AI with a 140 grain bullets compared to the 280 AI.
I already have a Remington action from a 30-06 I am going to use as the foundation. I wanted something really lite but would shoot long range, that is why I am going with the ABS barrel. It will be my new deer rifle. I have a 270, but I have always wanted a custom rifle with all the Bells and Whistles that I desire.
In a couple months I will be shooting a Savage I am having built in 260 AI for my practice gun to start my long range shooting (beyond 300 yds). It is going to be a heavy barrel gun. Since Savages are so easy to change barrels and inherently accurate out of the box, it will eventually be my varmit rifle.
Good luck with your project.
I already have a Remington action from a 30-06 I am going to use as the foundation. I wanted something really lite but would shoot long range, that is why I am going with the ABS barrel. It will be my new deer rifle. I have a 270, but I have always wanted a custom rifle with all the Bells and Whistles that I desire.
In a couple months I will be shooting a Savage I am having built in 260 AI for my practice gun to start my long range shooting (beyond 300 yds). It is going to be a heavy barrel gun. Since Savages are so easy to change barrels and inherently accurate out of the box, it will eventually be my varmit rifle.
Good luck with your project.
LongRangeJunkie
Well-Known Member
Unless you know something I do not, which may be a lot LOL. I do not know a gun builder who will use a Weatherby Vangard action and Blue Print it. I know of some that will do a Weatherby Mark V action. All of them will do a Remington 700 action. Jim
angus-5024
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Weatherby vanguards are the same as Howa and are very good actions. actually IMO the Howa's/Vanguards are a better design, and are very workable as donor actions. The down side to them is that there are way more readilly available aftermarket parts for the remmy. I have had both. you wont be dissapointed with either.
