Which rifle, to get. Christensen, kimber Montana, bergara premier highlander

[Weatherby Fan]

Another 2 cents from me, i want a kimber montana in 280 ai also! If u decide to go custom buile call benchmark barrels. They dont advertize as they have alk they can handle. Their barrels are amazing, see how many shooters at nationals in tbe top ten are shooting benchmark. They can save you a bunch on a custom. Just my thoughts.

Ive used about 40 Benchmark Barrels
Nothing short of awesome for me anyways, nice thing about Benchmark is they have a SS #1 contour which a lot of companies won't sell.

 

[Butcherman88]

Thank you for all the replies! With all the information y'all have given me. A lot of doors have been open, Alamo maverick, the three that mentioned in the first post along with maybe even a custom gig. I got lots of useful information for this post! Butcherman88

 

[RWThurston]

My only experience is with the Christian Arms ELR in 300WM. My buddy took it on a cow elk hunt earlier this month. Prior to going, we were ringing a 8" diameter gong at 650 yards with 180g factory ammo. Thinking about getting one myself in 338LM.

I have one with a Nightforce sitting on it that I would make you a deal on?

 

[GW Hunter]

Hello, all been following the site for sometime finally made the jump to be a member. I'm in need of some advice I'm to get a good factory rifle chambered in 280 Ackley. I've knocked off the savage ultralight since it had a 22 inch I want full potential of the caliber. Thanks all!

I just finished what you are going through. I looked at them all. Cooper, Fierce, Bergara, Kimber, Weatherby... all of them. I agonized for months and finally pulled the trigger on the Cristensen Arms Traverse in 280AI. I picked it up Saturday. I scoured for every bit of info on every rifle and basically came up with that you can find a bad review saying this rifle or that rifle has this or that issue. As I whittled down my choices I came across a N.I.B. Traverse for 2K. Best price by far that I had seen and pulled the trigger on it. I'm waiting on my new dies and brass to start shooting it since there is no local ammo in 280AI. The gun looks and feels simply awesome. My advice is to handle as many of the rifles that you can before choosing. Don't let someone else's opinion steer you.

 

[Gcan]

Everyone one is a factory built rifle, you have a chance of getting a turd with any one of them.

I am reaching the point if I am going to spend more than the price of a tikka t3 then I may as well save up a bit and have one built to exactly what I want.

I agree with longbomber. If you are going to pay $2000-$3000 or more for a factory mass produced semi custom gun, you are already at a price point that affords you a plethora of custom options.

I have seen factory rifles that shot like true custom guns, but many more that didn't. Unfortunately, I've also seen gun smiths build- so called, "Custom Guns" that are a collection of off the shelf assembled parts that aren't much better than throwing stones.

My first bit of logic is this: While you can get amazing performance from blueprinted OEM actions, if factory guns approached custom performance the Precision Rifle Shooters wouldn't be shooting Bartlein, Brux, Krieger, etc. precision lapped barrels. They'd all be shooting Begara, Browning, Ruger, Weatherby, etc barrels.

NOT ALL CUSTOM RIFLES ARE THE SAME.

We were recently approached by an irate man at a gun show who wanted us to tell him why his $4000 custom gun didn't shoot. He had full custom a 6.5 Creedmoor built on a Rem 700 action that a local Tampa area shop, just down the street from us, had built for him. The guy Claimed the gun wouldn't shoot any ammo under 1-1/2"@100 and the bolt wouldn't close on some factory ammo. The man had supplied the action, trigger, stock, break, mounts and scope. He asked for a heavy Palma 26" Bartlein or Krieger fluted barrel with a precision match chamber. The smith charged him $2700 to supply and chamber the barrel, full blueprint the customer's 700 action/bolt, bed the action, thread the muzzle for the break and assemble the gun.

The first thing we noticed was no machining whatsoever had been done to the bolt. A Remington factory recoil lug was used. Not a good sign. The original finish of the action still wrapped around the action face and went under the recoil lug. We removed the action and found no bedding work. We pulled the break. The threads looked like they'd been die cut. The bolt wouldn't close because the headspace was short. The chamber was straight SAAMI cut at the max ID spec. When we pulled the barrel and confirmed no machine work had been done to the action. The action face retained the factory machined finish. The threads were 1.062 not 1.072. While we couldn't identify the barrel, it was a cheap button rifled unit. I'm sure it was a pre-chambered barrel bought off eBay or the like.

The guy finally got his custom one-hole rifle for another $1500. ($5500) He was so happy he's sent us several customers.

Build or buy a true custom gun if it's even a close call.

BUT Find a reputable smith and talk with people who shoot their guns before you write a check. Buy your gun once and be happy.

The smiths that screwed our guy have a huge social media presence. This is where they put their efforts. They claim to be ex spec ops warriors. Huge FB following. They run combat pistol classes for snowflakes. They have lots of tattoos. We couldn't find anyone actually shooting their guns. So I PM-ed them on FB like a potential customer. They tried to get me to order a rifle by phone. I went back and forth a few times with them and eventually asked for a tour of their shop to see how they built rifles. They had a bunch of reasons why customers could not go into their shop. The one person I did manage to speak to who had seen the shop told me they had a drill press, a grinder and a bunch of hand tools on pegboard but they are selling $5000 rifles regularly.


The moral of the story is you might get a $2000 to $3000 factory gun that will shoot 1/2" or even 1/4". There are other considerations in addition to accuracy. I'm a BART fan. Their bore finishes are virtually flawless. Mine shoot and shoot and don't foul. Like most tier one barrels, they clean easily, while factory barrels can often shoot well for a while then foul and fall off.

For the kind of money factory customs cost you can build your gun on a rem action. Find a real gunsmith with a real reputation for building accurate rifles who will help you spec your rifle. He will ask questions and also answer your questions. Get everything in writing. A trustworthy Smith will put everything in writing and give you an accuracy guarantee. Run from anyone who won't.

 

[Tony Fontanesi]

What is the turn around time?

Really depends on how you configure your rifle. They also have a small selection of ready to ship rifles that rotate all the time. I bought my 300 Win Mag from them last year when I was down in Dallas for work. All the guys were super friendly and since I was in from out of town they took me on a tour of their shop. I would not hesitate to buy from them again when I'm in the market for another rifle.

 

[Jluck]

That savage 110 ultralight

CA and Seekins can't be happy about this entering their market at probably $400 less.

I highly doubt anyone views Savage as a threat...

With that said, Take a peek at Steyr rifles. I have many and all have performed amazing. I also have a CA but juries still out on that one. Haven't shot it much.

I'll echo what GW Hunter said... Try to put your mitts on as many as possible.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

I highly doubt anyone views Savage as a threat...

They brokered a deal with proof barrels, which we all know is legit. Any company offering a carbon fiber barreled rifle over $1200 is going to look at this savage as a threat. As mentioned, throw a mcmillan or something on it and everybody will assume its a custom.

 

[Jluck]

will assume its a custom.

But know its a Savage... Not a fan. Not saying they cant shoot, I just don't like that action.

 

[ddavis5030]

Just saying, you may look at E.R. Shaw. Mark X, or VII, pick your barrel, break, or no break, pick a trigger, and extra mags., on Mark X only, and pick your stock. All for around the price of an assembly line rifle.

 

[Krosebil]

Don't fear the Christensen Arms product.....have several and all shoot great with a bit of handloading. As others have said don't look past the Cooper product either....have a number of those and they are shooters too!

 

[wbyman1]

I purchase a couple of Montana rifles. The X3 in 7mm WSM and 6.5 x 284 Norma and they are well made, light, and tack drivers with factory ammo. At around $1500 they are an excellent buy.

 

[freddiej]

Hello, all been following the site for sometime finally made the jump to be a member. I'm in need of some advice I'm to get a good factory rifle chambered in 280 Ackley. I've knocked off the savage ultralight since it had a 22 inch I want full potential of the caliber. Thanks all!

I can only give you a thumbs up on the rifles listed I know..
the Kimber 8400 Montana. stunning rifle and superb out of the box accuracy.


I do not know Christensen rifles. heard they were good. I have also heard their carbon fiber barrels are crap.. so I would get their full steel barreled rifle.

Bergara.. know their barrels and they are excellent. as a rifle company I do not know. but have yet to hear a bad thing about them.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

I have also heard their carbon fiber barrels are crap..

This is exactly what you hear about Christensen....no first hand experience, but willing to voice a negative opinion because he "heard" something bad about them...

I have shot several of their carbon fiber barrels and they are excellent.