Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting Christensan 308 wont shoot

Got a ridge rifle carbon bull barrel 1-10 twist wont group better than 2in help please

Lot of things could be wrong. The first thing I would do is pull the barreled action out of the stock and wipe everything down to be sure it is truly clean, no grit, no debris. When that is done, check barrel clearance in the stock to be sure it is floating properly and evenly. I've heard from a number of other Christensen rifle owners. They bitch about the stocks being flexible enough that the clearance isn't adequate and any sort of variability in "hold" leads to intermittent contact during recoil causing shots to "fly". Check the bedding to see if it is even. Many of the C.A. rifles are not. Remove your scope and re-mount it. Make sure the surfaces between base and action are clean, no grit, no particles. Check the torque and follow specs at least to start with. Make sure the bolt handle is not contacting the stock when the bolt is closed. Make sure the magazine box is not bound up between the floorplate and action bottom .. there should be the slightest smidge of motion indicating it is not pinched. Put a different scope on the gun, one that is proven. New scopes can be as bad as new guns .. maybe more so. If all else fails, get someone else to shoot it in case YOU are the problem. It happens and the surer you are that it can't happen the more more likely it is that it is happening .. unfortunately.

I've had 4-5 Ridgelines and 1 Mesa. All 6.5 PRC or 6.5 Creedmoor .. accuracy cartridges. None have shot as well as a 700 SPS .243 I bought not long ago shoots .. and it isn't a brilliant shooter, just .. pretty good. As attractive as they are on paper, I'm less and less a Christensen fan.

Don't know what you have tried though I would not over look contacting customer service. Know this the wrong time of the year for this. Hope you are able to work through this in a timely manner.

Fella over on snipers Hide had a similar issue w a 6mm ARC. Ended up sending the rifle in. in the end he got a new rifle 5 weeks'ish later from them as they were unable to get a number of different barrels to shoot on that action.

Sometimes these are simple things that do not require the rifle to be sent in. Hope this works out well for you.

It's a Christensen Arms, what did you expect? Buying a CA is like playing roulette..

I'd suggest a new barrel or buy a tikka..

Send it back and don't screw with it. You might void their warranty if you even adjust the trigger. When you get it back put it on GB and count your blessings. I do not trust the QC at CA>

Rifles are SIMPLISTIC "machines". It's a GOOD day for Oldkchunt,when she doesn't schit her pants. Hint.

Dangle a couple pics,relate some particulars and dots will get connected. Hint.

This Montucky 243 "didn't shoot" either,but had some assembly issues,poor mounting system and a poor scope. Hint.










It did nice things,after the fact,yesterday afternoon. Hint.




Just sayin'...................

Is that the forward base screw in the drill for shortening? What style tap do you use for cleaning threads?

Call Customer service.
Find out what they suggest.
Don't do anything that might void whatever warranty they might have.
I have seen CA's drill holes, and then I have seen others look like shotgun patterns at 100 yards.
This is the nature of CA rifles IMO.
I have seen a lot more sucky ones than I have from other brands in the same price range.

The rifle as received,was obviously compromised. Few fhuqking things are as GLARING,as WAM's and a Reupold. Hint.(grin)

As is very often the case,on rifles that "don't shoot",the fore base fastener was yammed into the barrel shank. It's always an immediate warm/fuzzy,when the base is peeled and same is resolved. Threads were crunched,about as good as I've seen. If only again. Hint.



Montuckys are tapped 8-40 and it's no thang to chase the (3) rearmost holes,because they aren't blind. Neither is the fore,but I didn't pull the spout to do same,because it's a Donor(1-10" 243's are Goat Fhuqks). Long way of saying,I chemically cleaned the foremost 8-40 hole,then degreased,before assembling replacement. The issued base fasteners were all too long for said hole and as speculated,it was simply shortened shy of bottoming out. I'd MUCH rather do this,rather than be deprived a coupla threads of fastener engagement. All were gooped with epoxy-esque schit. Hint.

Lapping bar said mounts were straight and that is typical of Montuckys. 700's can be all over the place and fhuqk Winchester. Hint.

Got in a hurry and initially overlooked swapping out the follower and it's spring,for a 700 S/A milled version of same. They improve feed/function geometry,by allowing the cartridge to ride a CH higher,in relation to bolt nose. They also fend weather better,though I do break more than a few springs,due to weather. Hint.





Shoulda grabbed a frame of the trimmed(removed) follower ears on the milled unit,as it allows more travel and unloads pressure on the 4th round,under a closed bolt. Hint.

As standard fair,I simply chose a projectile slated to RPM(87 'Max),kissed it and opted a high load density(48grs of H4831),coupled with concentricity(RCBS Grey Box Comp Seater). A square kiss is 2.730" and things never don't not shoot,when doing same. The powder charge was juggled with case capacity in mind(W/W NSO Virgins here) and 48grs yielded the amount of compression I like. Such things nip ES/SD. Beings it's a Donor,I refrained using Virgin 260 Alpha,which would have yielded better initial headspace control and much better uniformity,as well as getting rid of some slop in the chamber's neck. (1) seating depth and (1) powder charge and I'm there. Which is typical. Hint.



I gave myself 6wks of Rutly November To Remember and will flog on it for same,then it becomes a 7" RPM Speedmire. Nothing to it. Hint..................

Brokedick Chinese scope buyer still on these threads. LMFAO


You need to see someone and work out your homo erotic fantasies.;

SchitPants,

Ain't it a fhuqking HOOT,that besides your being a CLUELESS Crying Fhuqk,that you just also "happen" to be a Lying Piece Of Fhuqking Schit...you "lucky" kchunt. Hint. Congratulations?!?











Bless your poor poor(literally) heart,for Lying,Crying,Whining and TRYING.

Hint.

Fhuqking LAUGHING!.............

That is the best advice. I've seen too many CA rifles, especially the carbon fiber wrapped barrels, that would not shoot well. One of my buddies got real lucky last year with one, but it doesn't have that stupid carbon wrapped barrel. The first bad one I saw was in 2009. That thing was horrendous. So rather than void the warranty, send it back. For what you pay for one, you can buy 2 or 3 Tikka's that will more than likely shoot much better.

+1

BullSchitArtist is still trying to get "108's and the like" in her 6x45 upper. Her STUPIDITY never fhuqking disappoints,by doing her best. Hint.



Rifles are SIMPLISTIC "machines". Hint.

Fhguqking LAUGHING!............

Or a Kimber! Lol.

He's got his knickers in knots cause he offered to pimp for Leupold and they told him to get bent. LOL.

Asked the chicoms and they said "sure, what do we have to lose" HINT

Send it back, let them fix it, sell it then buy a Seekins PH2...

Yes, Glen and crew are good folk.
E

The sheer and utter HELPLESSNESS,is fhuqking HILARIOUS ladies. Hint.

Rifles are SIMPLISTIC "machines". Hint.

Fhuqking LAUGHING!............

Take the time to learn how to slug that barrel and you won't need to ask what's wrong with the rifle. You'll see for yourself that the barrel is probably $hit. I've slugged several of their barrels, and found loose and tight spots in every one of them. No surprise that they don't shoot.

Any rifle can have a glitch. Check the variables and if that doesn’t work call the company. Edk

This.

I'd suggest a Begara! I've had several of these on my range and all shot extremely well using factory ammo!

My brother in law listened to all the hype on Tikka rifles. He bought a new one and of course he got the only one ever made that didn’t shoot. Tried many ammo from different companies. Put on and checked mounts and changed to proven scope. Took it back and got a Begara and problem solved.

Send it back to CA. I read on one of the websites that a guy replaced the trigger, had issues with accuracy and CA voided the warranty because he changed the trigger!

You sound pretty biased against Tikka. Too bad because they always shoot way above their price point, in my experience. IF you can't shoot them well, it's not the rifle. An example: My buddy Troy doesn't like Tikka either. He says they don't shoot well:


That rifle is a proven shooter. My buddy Mark on the other hand, loves it:


That rifle shoots consistent sub moa 10 shot groups with the right person behind it.

Christensens on the other hand, have not. Especially the carbon fiber wrapped barrel models. The first real schidty one I saw was back in 2009. The guy missed his buck with it, then later that day was checking accuracy in camp. Rifle shot very poorly. Enough that I kept an eye on these rifles, to see if others were the same. Most shot like crap. It was a pretty high failure rate IMHO. Tikka's have just the opposite reputation. Do a little research for yourself, and while you are at it, see what issues the Bergara's have as well.

I hate to say it but what I've been around the Christensen rifles they have left me unimpressed..
Tikka is generally solid.

Bergara what I have been around them has been straight up 100% excellent stuff..

They say it right in their literature. I bought a Mesa in 6.5 PRC and found that out. I immediately put it on consignment. Dealer I have known for 20 years used to be a CA dealer. No more.

I’m not against Tikka at all. I was just making the point that any gun made can have a glitch. I’m not crazy about Savage rifles but I own four of them because they shoot. Edk

must be i'm really really lucky. no accuracy issues with any of my Christensens, a Ridgeline in 28 Nosler that puts 3 rounds in a group that just cuts 3/10' of an inch. a 30-06 that shoots it's preferred load in half inch clusters, a Mesa in 7 rem mag that shoots about 3/4' groups

I’m a lucky fella too. 5 CAs in the safe, all accurate.

Could be a bevy of things. I believe the phrase is start at the start.

I bought two CA's and they both shot bad.
One was in 2" plus range (7T 223 Rem), and the other one was just over 3/4" (8T 6.5 Creed).
I bought them so cheap ($799 a piece) I knew if I had a bad barrel, I could rebarrel and not get burned.

Now I have a 20 Tactical and a 6GT (Krieger and Bartlein barrels)

This!

I ran across yet another Christensen master piece yesterday. It was really laying them in there to the tune of 3 to 4 inch "groups" at 100 yards. They are truly something special.

Given you gals level of "knowledge","experience" and "results",I'm VERY "nervous",about this new rifle. Hint.



Fhuqking LAUGHING!...............

There is no doubt that CA is hit or miss on QC. That can't be argued. I was lucky in the accuracy department of both of mine, but one did have to go back for ejection issues. My Mesa 6.5 PRC is a ringer. It has shot everything sub MOA. My Mesa 6.5 Creed is good, and I suspect with a little more load development that I'll find something that it loves. My experience with CAs problem resolution was very good. I purposefully avoid conflating problem resolution with customer service. The very best customer service is delivering a product that doesn't require problem resolution.

What chambering is that one?

7-08. Have read about them,but never shot one. Hint.

Apparently a 30-'06 necked up to .284". Hint................

Lemme preface this,by saying the rifle and chambering are VERY new to me,so please don't be mean. Hint.

I do't do Loudeners,under ANY circumstance(s). Chucked it up in the lathe and parted it off. Hint.




Milled a slot in the end,so it was easily snugged/removed. I rather like BURNT Bronze. Hint.




Bore was uniform and cleaned quickly,with Valve Grinding Compound. Hint.



Generally when I'm under the hood and post Grinding Compound,I like to hit the chamber for real. Hint.



Knocked the trigger lighter,by 270-degrees. No rattle-tattle in the stock or upon metal,to indicate bedding woe(s). Hint.




COAL latitude is more friendly than most. Hint.



Stock is a HEAVY Bitch. Hint.



To be fhuqking continued. Hint...................

Intellesting finding,under the hood. Hint.





Firing pin tip is bent,but isn't/wasn't dead headed in bolt. No thang to straighten and dress. Hint.



I like a smidge of Crisco in The Boiler Room. Hint.



WhileI keep extra extries of everything on hand,I cain't find my 'pin stash. Ordered more,so I'll find the existing quickly. Hint.(grin)



To be fhuqking continued. Hint...................

Lemme see...where are we?!? Hint.

Always nice to see,that the first/last person,didn't dead head fastener(s) into the barrel shank. Hint.



Read about these on the Interweb and figured I'd whirl 'em. Hint.





A Skookum/Square Landing Strip,ain't "surprising". Hint.



Fingered I'd try one of them there Reupold's,you guys are always talking about. SFP and Duplex! Hint.



One pass with '06 brass and 175 NPT's! Hint.



To be fhuqking continued. Hint...................

Nice. I put on suppressor on my daughters. (6.5cm Mesa fft). 100gr TTSX and it about has no recoil.

162's at 2.875" is a nice place to be. Hint.

Boresighted on fresh 50yd paper,then fired the first round from the hip elsewhere. All looked well,after same,so gunned (1) at said paper. Hint.



No thang to correct and jump to the 100yd line. Cranked a HASTY Trio,followed by another HASTY Trio. Wind was howling and I didn't hold for it. So shots #3,4 and 5,then 6,7 and 8,in the PRISTINE bore,while pounding moly down. I KNOW things will shrink a bunch,in just a few more pokes,but I greedily wanted DOPE. Zero'd turrets and headed to do just that,.5 Mil high,for 200yd zero. Hint.







Shots #9 and 10 were at 900yds and prospective AE DOPE was money. Went to 1100yds next and erector says 2680fps and I had poked 2875fps in AE. I'm golden. Hint.

Positive headspaced false shouldered Virgins played nicely,like ALWAYS. Just shy of .001" headspace increase,after firing. Hint.




I've FAITH in RCBS Grey Box Seater Bitches,as runout is typically dick nothing. Super' meters easily and the 162 BTHP leaps less than a 162 'Max or ELD M. (1) powder,(1) charge weight,(1) bullet and (1) seating depth. Am thinking after I have the first 50 through it,that I'll dabble loading the fore end a CH. As it sets in issued guise,NOTHING can fhuqking get away. Stock shoots rather soft,given the modest mass of the parcel. Only saw (3) Bucks on the jaunt. Hint.(grin)

GrandBaby Weekend,hoping he can call a few in,with the newest Jupe Call. They make good tone,pitch and volume,though I HATE Calling in this much wind. It's early,but ball is rolling and I'll have the Mesa in tow. Hint.

To be fhuqking continued. Hint...................

Get a 308 Tikka. 1 in 11 twist. Shoot 130 grain TTSX bullets in it, seated to standard length.

Put a Leupold scope on it.

Probably will shoot better than every rifle aforementioned, and just the thought will cause veins to pop out on someone's head with feverous typing and cut and paste. LOL.

My Schultz and Larsen 308 win was built by the renowned Grant Dick in Ohio who was known for old school accuracy. 1:14 twist in a 26" bull barrel. This 308 win thinks it's a 30-06. I've had a normal albeit maximum load 155 palma match load consistently clock 3100 fps, and it shoots tiny groups. This slower twist shoots the lighter 155 to 168 weights amazingly well. I occasionally run the bullet length vs velocity equation to see if proper stabilization will be achieved. Usually not a problem if you keep the speed up on a slower twist. All else being equal a slower twist barrel will allow higher MV than a faster twist barrel with the same load.

Oh boy. Johnny one note is about to go full moon PMS batschitt. If the last 3 shots of rotgut wear off enough to focus on the screen and dig up cut and paste material.

Thanks - reason I asked, is it looks kinda familiar...



30-06 with shoulder pushed back (wishing it was a 7-08)

I never asked the back story,I just swooped it up. Hint.

My Crummy Catching Nature,has me up "too early" like usual,but GrandBaby will be here in a coupla hours and the Mesa made the cut to the front seat. SELDOM do that happen,so quickly and easily. The parcel is rather Skookum. Hint.

I bought it from some guy in Alaska,of all places. Hint.............

Seems fitting this is in the longrange hunting forums. Except the OP is complaining about 100 yard groups.

My buddy had some issues with his CA past 200 yards today. We dialed in at 100, and checked 200, 300, 400, 500 and 600 yards. At each increment, it was further and further off to the right. Wind was 2-3 mph today, so almost damn near non existent. Light enough that I rang the 10" steel plate at 1,000 with the CTR and put those shots into 3". His Christensen on the other hand ended up being 18"+ off at 600 yards. He was slightly pizzed at his high dollar rifle. His brand new RAR Ranch 6.5 Grendel shot better!!!!


So, this CA is going to be diagnosed to see what is wrong with it. A shame too because it cloverleafs groups at 100, which is for damn sure not "longrange"...

You guys saying your CA rifles shoot good. How do they do past 600 yards? Since this is the longrange forums.

That seems like an aiming problem. What going on with the scope?

It's a Vortex my friend. I hate to assume right off the bat, but you may be right, even though it is a more expensive Razor HD..

A tall target test on a windless day could reveal much.

THIS!

I agree..

I'm wondering why there are no threads on the tall target test? It's a pretty simple check, and necessary to see if your scope is actually tracking, or if it is doing something wonky. Would be a good/great thread idea. I'll be checking my buddies rifle/scope tomorrow. I'm thinking it's an aiming error, AKA: scope problem. Just like you said earlier. May not even be the rifle. I may start a thread on it.

Shot a tall target test today with a few rifles, but won't be checking my buddies Christensen Ridgeline until tomorrow morning. That rifle shoots great at 100 yards. One of the first CA's, I've seen, to do that. Wondering if the OP has found out anything with his rifle yet? Maybe borescope it and see if there is anything that stands out.

You guys were definitely on to something. It turned out being a scope issue. The damn windage was wonky on his $1,500.00 Vortex Razor HD LHT. Formid did a test on rockslide about these scopes and they failed miserably. I know this is another man's thread regarding his CA with accuracy issues, but wanted to report that my buddies rifle shoots well enough and it was/is a scope issue. You be the judge:



So for this rifle, it's CA 1, Vortex 0!!! Didn't do a really tall, tall target test because my buddies maxed out at 27.9 moa or some such thing. Made the test go to 25 moa. Told me enough that the scope tracks good enough with the elevation dial, but the windage is not good at all. Read notes on the target above.

Still wondering what the outcome of the OP's rifle was???? it would be nice if we got a follow up on that. I'm hoping he sent it back and he gets one that shoots as well as my buddies rifle does. It doesn't keep up with the measly $500 Tikka that I shot on the same target, but it does well enough.

Tall target tests are EXTREMELY revealing.

A consideration is, or at least can be, that the shooter is by necessity changing the position of the rifle on the rest(s) as they dial the scope, since they are aiming at the bottom X of the target yet the POI is climbing. It can be fairly extreme- think what a different angle it takes to hit, say, 3 feet high at 100 yards than to hit dead nuts. Just something to be aware of and to plan for when setting up your rest(s) for the test. Don’t start out with a rear rest that’s on the low side, certainly, and the rest(s) need to be able to be adjusted or even swapped out without invalidating the test.

But yes, tall target tests have been very illustrative and frankly, have cost me a bunch of money! Couple examples… my Swaro AV doesn’t track plumb with the reticle. It drifts off to one side or the other; I forget which. It now lives on my .358 M7 where dialing isn’t a thing. My old Zeiss 6.5-20 Conquest had a hiccup about 12 MOA up from zero if memory serves… elevation tracking was ok, but the group would suddenly print over 1 MOA to the left. Then it’d come back to the centerline. Not confidence inspiring behaviors!

Good points Jeff. Now, I'm surprised you did not mention the Zeiss V4. I am damned amazed at how well those things actually track. I sold my buddy, with the CA, my V4 4-16x44 with the ZMOA reticle. That damn scope tracks great. I just don't like the glass as much as I do my Nightforce scopes. I'll talk to my buddy, but I'm thinking I am going to suggest he put that scope on his Christensen. My feelings on the Vortex is that it was moving horizontally under recoil when we were shooting it at longrange a couple weeks ago. You can see on the target that it jumped after a couple shots, even without adjustment before that shot, but adjustment 2 times before. He has really liked Vortex in the past because he's had to use their CS and they always treat him right, plus he gets great LEO and military discounts, but he's at a point now where he doesn't want to have anything to do with them.

Hey bud!

My experience with the V4’s has been that they track really, really well. However, that’s “just” from shooting at long range; I’ve never done a tall target test with any of them.

This thread got me to thinking I should, just to quantify it… it’s a pain, though. Even just properly setting up for one takes a while… as you know. Then if you are serious about it, you gotta let the barrel cool to roughly the same temp between shots… and it’s a lot of shots.

My current theory is if it hits where it’s supposed to at longer ranges then it MUST be workin’! 😎 But I’d be the first to concede, that’s lazy.

I’m debating rebarreling my Kimber to 6.5 SAUM (from 7 WSM, throat is pretty eroded @ around 1500 rounds). If I commit to that, it sets off a scope shuffle and at that point it’d be fairly easy to toss a couple on my 223AI and shoot some TTT’s.

My dirty little secret is, I bought a dirt bike and it’s been eating up my extra time and money since early this summer.

Jeff O,
Off topic, but I have around 100 pieces of new 6.5 SAUM brass if you decide to go that way.
I am not going to be building a 6.5 SAUM. My next project is 7MM PRC center-grip XP-100

I've owned 5 CA rifles, one in 308 that my son now owns, all shot well, no complaints.

What make? ADG?

I have lots of 6.5 GAP4S brass, which is 6.5 SAUM, and which is made by Hornady, but it’s always interesting to explore…

It's the 6.5 GAP4S brass

XP hunter, what did you make of the tall target test I posted. It seems like the windage is crapping out on my buddies CA. It moves under recoil, and even after a couple (2-3) shots it's still on the move. It stays put after about 3-4 shots after making the adjustment though. He was getting pretty frustrated with it, when we were shooting longrange a couple weeks ago.

Jon Beanland is a rifle builder extraordinare!