New Rifles: The Good, the bad, the ugly

[jbronner13]

Those granite mountain arms custom Mauser actions look pretty…

 

[Upsidedownjack]

Bergara HMR-PRO 300 WM. Have owned or still do. Winchester "feather weight 300 WM, Rem 700 300 WM. Out of the three, give me the Bergara! Little heavier, but every bit a BETTER SHOOTER! As "Smooth" a Action as nice a stock trigger and with a Break on all of them less recoil! And is/was a better. Shooter than a friends "T" 3.

 

[kdstitt]

I always wanted the TC Icon, frankly, I don't know why I don't own one. Of course, I don't really need another rifle. I try not to stay up to date on the new stuff, it's bad for the credit card bill.

 

[CMP70306]

I just wish there were more controlled round feed rifles. I have yet to find actions even in very expensive rifles as nice as the Mauser dad and I built 45 years ago. My featherweight pre64 model 70 is a close second. I ordered a Cooper a few years ago very good looking and accurate, but I had several feeding and functioning issues with it after 3 times back to the factory it is now reliable. There is no fix for the poor magazine design.

I probably should have spent the money for a Dakota but hindsight is 20/20. If I buy another rifle, it will probably be a 300PRC I just haven't seen anything that I want in that caliber yet.

The things that I see manufacturers do never ceases to amaze me. Kimber spends a fortune on advertising and then loses customers with poor quality control and totally awful customer service. It is generally well recognized that it costs 4 times as much to acquire new customers than it does to keep existing ones.

I personally like the American Rifle Company actions specifically because they are CRF. I haven't had any feeding issue with them not related to stock or cartridge choices and they are smooth. They lack the 3 position safety like my model 70s but that's pretty much all actions that use 700 triggers except one option from defiance but even that is gone.

 

[JMB 1911]

ARC is definitely on my list I had never heard of Granite Mountain before but those have promise as well. I was hoping to just buy a rifle and not assemble one from parts and deal with a separate gun smith.

 

[G19Jeeper]

some of the new tikka models look good, only problem is availability. Bergara just released a few budget rifles and then look decent for a budget lightweight.

Might get flamed for it but I have yet to see a Henry rifle I felt was worth it's price. The rimfires aren't horrible but the center fires are so cheesy. Who makes an "All Weather" rifle and used smooth painted wood for stocks. Absolutely stupid and evidence of their cost cutting.

 

[jbronner13]

some of the new tikka models look good, only problem is availability. Bergara just released a few budget rifles and then look decent for a budget lightweight.

Might get flamed for it but I have yet to see a Henry rifle I felt was worth it's price. The rimfires aren't horrible but the center fires are so cheesy. Who makes an "All Weather" rifle and used smooth painted wood for stocks. Absolutely stupid and evidence of their cost cutting.

I also don't get their rifles at all and the articles I have read show not great accuracy. If I wanted a centerfire lever gun I'd stick with a Sako Finnwolf or Winchester 88 or the Savage 99 (which I own in 308). I left be that MPI makes fiberglass/Kevlar stocks for the Winchester 88 and Savage 99.

 

[CMP70306]

ARC is definitely on my list I had never heard of Granite Mountain before but those have promise as well. I was hoping to just buy a rifle and not assemble one from parts and deal with a separate gun smith.

All my rifles I put together myself using prefit barrels and a torque wrench, it's actually pretty simple and you can buy all the components you want.

 

[blvette75]

I haven't heard from many people who own Christensen Arms rifles, but I know about 5 people who bought mesas or ridge lines. I used past tense specifically because they all got rid of them for different reasons. Kimber I have heard similar QC issues, specifically I have heard their pistols are really hit or miss. I think their camp guard model has had quite a few negative reviews. I also heard the rifles have grouping issues that people have hypothesized come from the wafer thin barrels they use….the open range models I think some wear a heavier contour carbon fiber barrel so maybe that's helped?

Well heard about the quality issues, but I bought a CA Mesa 300 win mag on sale and after the Rebate the price was $750.00, not fully broke in yet but during sight in it avg about .5 MOA I can't complain. But looks Like I have a dial in load 200 grn eldx load that will get it close to a 3 shot ragged hole when optimized. I will get another stock, but I am very happy with the rifle, the action out of the box was a bit stiff for my taste but it loosened up after about 30 rounds.

 

[Firedad]

Well heard about the quality issues, but I bought a CA Mesa 300 win mag on sale and after the Rebate the price was $750.00, not fully broke in yet but during sight in it avg about .5 MOA I can't complain. But looks Like I have a dial in load 200 grn eldx load that will get it close to a 3 shot ragged hole when optimized. I will get another stock, but I am very happy with the rifle, the action out of the box was a bit stiff for my taste but it loosened up after about 30 rounds.

From where?

 

[G19Jeeper]

I too have seen a lot of people with issues with their Christensen Arms. I personally wouldn't waste the money. A custom build equivalent might be $3000, why spend $2000 on a hit or miss factory gun with poor customer service. They get hyped up cause they do a points system for retail employees. The more you sell, the more free stuff you get including free guns.

 

[Firedad]

I too have seen a lot of people with issues with their Christensen Arms. I personally wouldn't waste the money. A custom build equivalent might be $3000, why spend $2000 on a hit or miss factory gun with poor customer service. They get hyped up cause they do a points system for retail employees. The more you sell, the more free stuff you get including free guns.

He said $750 though

 

[G19Jeeper]

He said $750 though

That's a steal for even a baseline rifle from them. Retail those Mesas are $1200 or $1400. IMO, something fishy if they're able to give you essentially a 50% rebate. Means you're overpaying. JMO.

 

[Jon Bischof]

The money is spent. Won't be getting it back now.