Buy or not to buy ?

[White Pass Outfitters]

Looking into buying a Christensen Arms Ridgeline Bolt-Rifle 300 win mag model. Any in put on this would be much appreciated.

[Reidus]

If I was going to spend that kind of money I would have a custom gun built how I wanted and It'd shoot a lot better than their SUB moa Gurantee. Also if i wanted a carbon wrapped barrel i'd go with a Proof Research barrel. I think they have the resins and wrapping techniques down better than christensen. The only advantage to carbon that I know of is that it looks cool. Carbon and steel have way different thermal expansion coefficients so what happens when the barrel heats up? If they were more accurate the benchrest guys would be using them. Those guys will give their arm, leg and firstborn if they think they can get 0.1" better groups.

If you want a cool looking hunting rifle I say buy it. I don't think its going to be much more accurate than other off the shelf guns. They definately feel and point nice!

If you are more interested in the accuracy aspect, I say have a good smith put something together just as light and more likely to shoot better

[White Pass Outfitters]

Ball park figure how much for a custom rifle? This one is on sale for $1899 And do you have anyone in mind ?

[BULLBLASTER]

You'd be looking at $800 for a barrel blank and 600-700 for a comparable stock. Add brake and machine work and you are right there in price of the ca without an action.
If you had an action to build it may be close.

I have thought the ridgeline and a mark 4 scope would be a good match. 

[Reidus]

$800 for the barrel blank if you go carbon, $300-$350 for stainless.

I seen the $2500 price tag on the CA website. $1800 for a custom rifle is pushing it unless you have a gun or action to start with. I think you could buy about all the parts for a little over $2k with a quality stainless barrel and custom action. It'd probably cost $600(just a guess)  for a smith to chamber and put it together.

I think Benchmark barrels builds guns. Hear good things about them
RBros also builds complete rifles. 1/2 moa gurantee. He's a member on here. (more expensive than what i mentioned above)
A friend runs HS precision rifles and loves them but quite a bit more than the CA you're looking at.
Borden Rifles are also Top Notch.

A custom gun may cost you more but you're actually paying for more precision components. The CA seems like a fancy Rem 700 to me.

Nothing wrong with CA just seems like you're paying mostly for the fancy carbon barrel and looks. I'd rather spend my money on precision components. Just my opinion.

[b23]

Ball park figure how much for a custom rifle? This one is on sale for $1899 And do you have anyone in mind ?

Opinions will vary but Christensen Arms Rifles would not make my list if I was looking for a very accurate rifle.  They do "light weight" well but IMO they fall short in the accuracy department.

I'm not sure I'd put a great deal of faith in the Proof barrels either.  I know a gunsmith that is on his second Proof barrel, they warrantied the first one because it was so bad, and he's not having a whole lot better luck with the second one.

If you're looking for answers or even suggestions as to a gunsmith, Travis Redell not only builds an excellent rifle but he also does an extremely good job of supporting the board and at the top of the Guns and Ammo page R BRos rifles has a place for you to ask Travis directly any questions you may have.

Also, how light of a gun are you looking for and what kind of accuracy expectation do you have??

[Bofire]

I have an old HS Precision rifle about 30 years of hunting, still shoots very well, but is not a bench rest rifle. still shoots MOA about 2 inch at 200 yards. I think about 1990 built. a good rifle is fun to own.
Carl

[jackelope]

@rbros

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,200227.0.html

[jackelope]

Hearing what I've heard about Christensen Arms rifles, I wouldn't buy one for that kind of money.

[Jburke]

Ball park figure how much for a custom rifle? This one is on sale for $1899 And do you have anyone in mind ?

I just finished having a custom rifle built and while it's not 100% custom I spent under 1200 all said and done. I used a Rem 700 action and ordered a barrel pre-chambered from Pac-Nor.  Custom bolt from PTG and a new laminate stock. I paid to have the barrel fitted/head spaced and to have the new bolt fitted.  I fitted the stock myself and sold the spare take off parts to help recoup some of the cost, i.e. stock, factory barrel, factory trigger.

[MtnMuley]

Much better options these days rather than CA. 

[slm9s]

I've had two Christensen rifles.  Both were solidly built and accurate.  I found the carbon barrel to be nothing special.  I've heard it dissipates heat quicker than SS, but it also heats up quicker.  Plus, carbon can crack/chip if you bang it on a rock.

For the money, I'd be looking at a custom/semi-custom, a Cooper, Nosler, Forbes, etc

[jrebel]

What is the draw to these custom rifles when you can buy a factory rifle for less and still shoot sub MOA.  Savage lrh, savage 10ba stealth, browning lrh, Remington......ect ect.  Spend $1000 on a rifle and save some cash for a more expensive piece of glass to top it with. 

Or am I missing something?

[buglebuster]

Get ahold of Michael Johnson of hells canyon armory. He builds some of the best rifles around. He is a member on the forum as well. @MichaelJ

[Reidus]

Because a custom will shoot sub moa with about any ammo and well under moa with the the right ammo. Not to mention better triggers. I also think a gun that's put together right will be more likely shoot better in extreme conditions. A lot of factory rifles are finicky....shoot great 1 day then not as great the next. Do you need better than moa to kill stuff? Heck no! If you're happy with moa and you like your gun then there's no point in going the custom route. If you have a gun that will shoot a ragged hole on any day, it's a huge confidence builder.