Is Christensen REALLY That Terrible?

[dthomas]

For a factory rifle I would buy a stainless Tikka in whatever cartridge you like best. I have a few tikkas and they all shoot good. They are not bench rest rifle accurate but they do shoot well consistently.

 

[enrique]

I second Idaho-Lefty’s post—My vote is for the Tikka!, if you want it just for hunting and occasional shooting plus the odds that you will get a quality shooter out the box. There is probably a lemon in every mass produced rifle just like cars. The quality of barrel you get will more than likely base on how it shoots. These days with everything being done via computer the actions are more than likely straight. Trigger pull, well that’s up to you and you can almost always upgrade a trigger, if need be. If you are still unhappy with groups, have it re-barreled with a quality gun smith an/or company BUT before a re-barrel I would make sure to test seating depths as you may find an accuracy node that you can live with. If you are looking for 1/4-1/2 inch groups then bite the bullet and go custom, learn to load your own ammo and you will be much happier in the long run except you will have followed many of us into the rabbit hole. When I started I thought I’d be happy with just 2 rifles and factory ammo… HA!
Ps, if you want to try and save money stick to 1 load and 1 bullet for the life of the barrel

 

[Sandstorm]

I have a Tikka T3 in 308 and man does it shoot well....Id never get rid of it.

 

[Scalloper]

I have a Christianson Ridgeline in 28 Nosler, oddly it works/shoots fine no regrets at all.
I also have 3 Tikkas. Its a very unsettling feeling when the cheep plastic bolt shroud blows off and cuts your face. Ask me how I know

 

[USMCsilver]

I have a Christianson Ridgeline in 28 Nosler, oddly it works/shoots fine no regrets at all.
I also have 3 Tikkas. Its a very unsettling feeling when the cheep plastic bolt shroud blows off and cuts your face. Ask me how I know

So, the Tikka came apart? Good thing it was plastic and not metal, right?

I replaced my Tikka's (695) shroud with a metal one. Hopefully I won't have a similar issue.

 

[Scalloper]

I now have a metal shroud but it still sucked

 

[karrarararararar]

I have a Christianson Ridgeline in 28 Nosler, oddly it works/shoots fine no regrets at all.
I also have 3 Tikkas. Its a very unsettling feeling when the cheep plastic bolt shroud blows off and cuts your face. Ask me how I know

My T3X came with a metal shroud.

 

[Scalloper]

My T3X came with a metal shroud.

Mine all came with plastic shrouds but I replaced them all.

 

[DGP4]

Out of curiosity, what would make a shroud blow off with such force as to cut your face? Did you pierce a primer? On topic, I am surprised no one mentioned building a Howa with the Brownell barreled actions.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

Out of curiosity, what would make a shroud blow off with such force as to cut your face? Did you pierce a primer? On topic, I am surprised no one mentioned building a Howa with the Brownell barreled actions.

That Howa with the #6 HB is about the same as a Remington varmint/ sendero profile barrel, in case anyone was curious. Some of those other brands just barely beef up a sporter barrel and call it a heavy.

 

[6.5 forever]

Mine all came with plastic shrouds but I replaced them all.

Very good move. The plastic also looks terrible.

 

[Charlie-NY]

I bought a (lefty) Browning Hell's Canyon Speed LR McMIllan in 6.5 Creed. It is one of the only factory guns that I own. That rifle would shoot sub .5moa at 400yds with a wide variety of bullets. On a good day, it would outshoot some of my full custom hunting rigs.

 

[jpjulian]

There is a reason no one mentions Xbolts. I've played with a couple trying to get them to shoot for buds, both $2200 rifles. Look good but that where it ends. Crowns are a joke and wouldn't shoot anything after being re crowned either. We shot one every Sunday for a month with every load possible. Minute of barn. Switch mounts/scopes to no effect. Would shoot 1 Sierra bullet decent with one load only. Junk barrels in my estimation. Both got traded in at about a $1200 loss. Beware of like new used guns.

That has not been my experience at all. They all shot well enough, taking the level of experience of the shooter into account, mostly beginners, so 2 moa or better would certainly be minute of Bambi all day long. I hear you on your experiences though. That would suck.

 

[USMCsilver]

Okay -- I got my kid the Christensen.

At $1,500, I couldn't pass it up.

If it sucks, I'm pretty sure I can unload it somewhere for the same price. Or maybe warranty it.

I got my borescope in the mail today. Gonna take a look down the barrel tonight.

 

[Scalloper]

Seems like the components used to build these rifles are worth the money. If needed send to a great smith to get tuned up. Of all of the rifles I own I cant see me selling my Ridgeline in 28N anytime soon.

 

[RabbitSlayer]

Tikka, I have 3 and buddy has one. Looking for a magnum tikka to build next.

The Christen nightmares go back many years lol.

 

[joshb]

Seems like the components used to build these rifles are worth the money. If needed send to a great smith to get tuned up. Of all of the rifles I own I cant see me selling my Ridgeline in 28N anytime soon.

I wouldn’t pay that much for a gun that needed to be “tuned up” by a smith. I just bought two more Tikkas. I’ll let you know how they shoot.

 

[littlebuddybr]

Tikka

 

[Lead Slanger]

I wouldn’t pay that much for a gun that needed to be “tuned up” by a smith. I just bought two more Tikkas. I’ll let you know how they shoot.

No kidding. I think that most of the people that want one, want the name for some reason. This whole thread has been an overwhelming NO.

 

[Scalloper]

I have had enough dealing with the recoil lug on Tikka's. I own several and the recoil lug it a major shortcoming. And they only shoot fair not bad but certainly not great. I have owned 4 and still have two.

I wouldn’t pay that much for a gun that needed to be “tuned up” by a smith. I just bought two more Tikkas. I’ll let you know how they shoot.

Did I say mine needed to be tuned up? My CA shoots better then two of my Tikkas at 300+. My current smith said there are very few actions that dont need to be timed to get the best accuracy.