Christensen Arms

[Bustedknees]

Kicking around the idea of buying another gun I don't need but want at the moment. I spent the weekend with old friends and our forever discussion of going on a moose hunt came up again. I have a few rifles that would do the job just fine but I'm thinking of adding another in the 300 Win Mag. A Christensen Arms Mesa FFT caught my eye, but I've heard very little about them. A little net search didn't help much. Some raved about the quality / accuracy while others like Google reviews were not so good at all. A search on these forums turned up very little, only a few discussions about their .22 rimfire So, what say you all. Experiences and hearsay about them, Share them up please.
here's what I'm looking at right now.

Mesa FFT | Christensen Arms

The new Mesa FFT is one of the lightest, most accurate Stainless Steel-barreled rifles on the market. It starts at just 5.5 pounds.

christensenarms.com

 

[FLA45fan]

FWIW when I lived in Florida I worked a Christensen dealer and a few of the staff owned them. Absolutely loved them. Well built, top of the line, aerospace technology rifles. Super light weight and match grade. Do the break in procedure.
Now I've never shot one, but I do have a Ruger Hawkeye Compact in .308. It weighs around 5.5 lbs naked, same as the CA. Its not much bigger than a 10/22. Ok, so what? It will kick the snot outta you. I put a Limbsaver recoil pad on it and it really helps, especially doing a 50 round break in. 300 Win mag? Whew! Now nobody ever mentioned the recoil on the CAs so I'm assuming they have a high tech recoil pad too.

What are you thinking about for glass?
Ya know what they say about the difference between American hunters and European ones? Americans use a $200 scope on a $2000 rifle - Europeans have a $200 rifle and $2k glass . . .

Remember, I'm the guy who just put a hunnert dollar red dot on a Beretta 92X . . .

 

[Tisto]

The location of your moose hunt has a great deal of influence over your choice of gun for the hunt. Many locations in which you will find moose sre so thick that you will hear them breathing before you are able to see them. In that case, a lever gun in .45-70 is a fantastic choice. You don't need a pricey scope on it, either. Keep in mind that most moose hunting takes place when it is raining or snowing or both. Constantly. Spending a ton of $$$ on a gun that is going to get abused may not be such a great idea. A stainless / synthetic is probably a much better choice than beautiful bluing with English walnut. I almost guarantee that if you buy an incredible rifle like a Dakota Arms and take it moose hunting, you will hate yourself for destroying a beautiful gun. And, it WILL get beat up. There is no getting around that.

As for Christensen Arms rifles themselves, they are excellent rifles. Very well designed and manufactured. Extremely accurate for a production gun. Silky smooth actions.

I've been moose hunting several times. Nova Scotia, way north Ontario ( Timmons and Yellowknife ) and I always took 2 guns. The first is a Tikka T3 in 7mm RemMag, topped with a respectable Leupold, and a Marlin 1895 SBL in .45-70. I fount the Marlin more useful most of the time. Some of the moose hunts I went on were combination caribou hunts. For caribou, I found the 7mm was the choice. Caribou don't let you get close to them.

 

[Edwardteach72]

Instagram

www.instagram.com

 

[Bustedknees]

So it seems I lost my boner for the Christensen Arms rifle, it's a sexy looking piece but I can't get all the bad reviews I read on Google out of my head. I've been looking at Bergara's , Winchesters, and Brownings lately. I found the Bargara B-14 wilderness and the browning x-bolt in a local gun shop. I think the Bergara was a youth model, so it was hard to judge but I liked it and it would still most likely be a good fit with a heavy hunting jacket. The browning was okay and had a box magazine which I like a lot, but the barrel was awful thin for my liking. Nobody ever seems to keep Winchesters in stock but I know the all-weather model 70 would be a great gun but is also a no thrills buy because I another in 7-08.
I'm still trying to find a way to get to the Syracuse gun show next weekend.

 

[Bustedknees]

FWIW when I lived in Florida I worked a Christensen dealer and a few of the staff owned them. Absolutely loved them. Well built, top of the line, aerospace technology rifles. Super light weight and match grade. Do the break in procedure.
Now I've never shot one, but I do have a Ruger Hawkeye Compact in .308. It weighs around 5.5 lbs naked, same as the CA. Its not much bigger than a 10/22. Ok, so what? It will kick the snot outta you. I put a Limbsaver recoil pad on it and it really helps, especially doing a 50 round break in. 300 Win mag? Whew! Now nobody ever mentioned the recoil on the CAs so I'm assuming they have a high tech recoil pad too.

What are you thinking about for glass?
Ya know what they say about the difference between American hunters and European ones? Americans use a $200 scope on a $2000 rifle - Europeans have a $200 rifle and $2k glass . . .

Remember, I'm the guy who just put a hunnert dollar red dot on a Beretta 92X . . .

Yep I'm American, never spent over $400ish on glass. But then again I've never had a scope fail and it's not a worry when your hunting home turf. But for this gun I will put a high-end scope on it, within 1G.

 

[Bustedknees]

The location of your moose hunt has a great deal of influence over your choice of gun for the hunt. Many locations in which you will find moose sre so thick that you will hear them breathing before you are able to see them. In that case, a lever gun in .45-70 is a fantastic choice. You don't need a pricey scope on it, either. Keep in mind that most moose hunting takes place when it is raining or snowing or both. Constantly. Spending a ton of $$$ on a gun that is going to get abused may not be such a great idea. A stainless / synthetic is probably a much better choice than beautiful bluing with English walnut. I almost guarantee that if you buy an incredible rifle like a Dakota Arms and take it moose hunting, you will hate yourself for destroying a beautiful gun. And, it WILL get beat up. There is no getting around that.

As for Christensen Arms rifles themselves, they are excellent rifles. Very well designed and manufactured. Extremely accurate for a production gun. Silky smooth actions.

I've been moose hunting several times. Nova Scotia, way north Ontario ( Timmons and Yellowknife ) and I always took 2 guns. The first is a Tikka T3 in 7mm RemMag, topped with a respectable Leupold, and a Marlin 1895 SBL in .45-70. I fount the Marlin more useful most of the time. Some of the moose hunts I went on were combination caribou hunts. For caribou, I found the 7mm was the choice. Caribou don't let you get close to them.

If I have my way this will be a Newfoundland hunt. So longer range shots are most likely from the people I spoke to.
My back-up gun would be a Ruger paddle stocked .338wm. If there is any chance of close range hunts, I'd love to take my Marlin Guide gun in the 450.
and yes its awful hard to pass on some of the super grade, maple stocked Chesters and Brownings I've seen!

 

[FRANKIE]

Benelli Lupo or R1?
Take a look.
Chambered in 300 wm and 338wm.
The R1 is a semi!
Benelli makes good stuff.

 

[Tisto]

While not the sexiest of guns, you won't be unhappy with a Tikka. They shoot very well, and have silky smooth actions. If you insist on spending more, Tikka's big brother Sako is a fabulous rifle. The Finn's know a thing or three about hunting big and dangerous animals in cold, crappy weather, and their firearms show it. The biggest drawback to a Sako or Tikka is the proprietary scope mounts. Not really an issue, but still something to think about.

 

[Saltwater60]

I know you said you’re not looking at them as a manufacturer anymore, but I saw this in case you come back to them.

 

[Bustedknees]

I know you said you’re not looking at them as a manufacturer anymore, but I saw this in case you come back to them.

ya, I saw that. that's a great rebate offer.

 

[Bustedknees]

Well, after searching through the threads here, local gun shops, and a whole lot of web surfing I went with a Bergara B-14 Ridge Rifle IN 300WM. this rifle took a lotta looking at before I could find it sexy enough to buy, but it is a rugged piece. I'm without a doubt a huge carbine, compact fan but after handling a few Christensen, Browning, and Tiaka's with fluted bolts and barrels they just felt wimpyish to me. Second runner up on buy list was going to be the Ruger Hawkeye M-77 All Weather. So thanks for all the replies and other "gun Discussion" threads on here! Next up is finding a scope in the $500-1000 range.
Now for the kick-n-the -nuts.. The reason for this purchase was with a strong intent of driving and ferrying over to Newfoundland to shoot a moose in company of old, longtime friends and family. Cant go!! My blood is pure and unvaxed. and unwelcome in Canada at least through Trudeau's term ending in 2025.

 

[Carlos Hathcock]

Well, after searching through the threads here, local gun shops, and a whole lot of web surfing I went with a Bergara B-14 Ridge Rifle IN 300WM. this rifle took a lotta looking at before I could find it sexy enough to buy, but it is a rugged piece. I'm without a doubt a huge carbine, compact fan but after handling a few Christensen, Browning, and Tiaka's with fluted bolts and barrels they just felt wimpyish to me. Second runner up on buy list was going to be the Ruger Hawkeye M-77 All Weather. So thanks for all the replies and other "gun Discussion" threads on here! Next up is finding a scope in the $500-1000 range.
Now for the kick-n-the -nuts.. The reason for this purchase was with a strong intent of driving and ferrying over to Newfoundland to shoot a moose in company of old, longtime friends and family. Cant go!! My blood is pure and unvaxed. and unwelcome in Canada at least through Trudeau's term ending in 2025.

What are the scope qualifications you're looking for?

 

[Tisto]

There is a ☆ CHANCE ☆ that Canada is going to drop the clot-shot mandate reasonably soon. I'm not welcome there for the same reason. It cost me my job.

 

[meketrefe]

Mention one feature a bergara doesn't do better than this and other rifles sometimes x3 the Vergara price tag. Seriously.

 

[Bustedknees]

What are the scope qualifications you're looking for?

a hunting scope, No tactical.
a simple Reticle. I like the fire dots I'm seeing from Leupold and a few of the dead holds from Vortex.
side focus, side parallax adj.
closed or low turrets.
I'm thinking a variable to 15-18x zoom
44 minimum objective lens. I think I'd prefer a 50, My eyes struggle at dusk and dawn.
I'd prefer the ffp but I'm not stuck on it.
also it has to be low or satin gloss to match the gun barrel.
I'm still setting this up for the long-range possibilities of 400 yards, hoping the border opens up.

 

[Bustedknees]

 

[nortatoga]

Everything I hear about Bergara is positive, even their 22lr's are one of the top choice NRL22 matches. I would say you made a good choice, enjoy it!!

 

[Tisto]

Not sure when your trip to Newfoundland was scheduled for, but as of October 1, Canada will no longer require you to be vaccinated to enter. You may be able to go hunting now !