Christensen Arms MPR - Is it a bad choice for the first Bolt Action Rifle?

[PrismSync]

Hi Hiders, this is my first forum post regarding the first rifle I'm getting, a Christensen Arms MPR. It's got a 22'' 1:8 steel barrel, chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor. I'd readily admit I have not conducted enough research before buying it, but now it has arrived at the dealer and I'm undergoing a DOJ check. During the wait, some of my friends who are experienced shooters suggested that MPR might not be a good option for its "atrocious" consistency and being "hardly making it to 1MOA with factory ammo". They said some other brands like Tikka would provide much better performance of the price So, I would like to know what are the possible options for me, such as:

• Returning it, at the cost of about $230 wasted (shipping+return handling+DOJ check+dealer service fee, etc.) and go get something else, but won't have a higher budget for that still;
• Returning it and buying a second-hand rifle?
• Keep the chassis and sell the action+barrel, and put in another Rem700-footprinted action+barrel. I feel like this option might be really costly, as barreled actin sold separately tend to be quite high-end, and the original Christensen's one might not be worth a lot. Any recommendations tho?
• Swap the barrel for a better one? Not sure if this would really improve accuracy.

Some info about its use: I will not be participating in a lot of (if any)PRS match/competition, but mostly visiting shooting ranges for fun and probably occasional hunting. Though precision is one factor to consider, (please don't laugh) look is another thing I do care about. If Tikka TAC A1 didn't have that plastic-ish cheek riser, I would have gone for it. My personal preference is just these sorts of "modern" "tactical" look, and some examples would be MPR itself, KRG's Whiskey 3, and Cadex. Of course, the latter two are beyond my budget, and that's pretty much why I purchased MPR. My budget is below $2000 including tax for the gun, not including scope/bipod/case, etc. What are the other possibilities?

Any suggestion/comment would be really appreciated. Apart from pointing all possible improvements or mistakes to avoid, please don't mock at the decisions too much though, to not quench my enthusiasm lol. Thank you for your friendliness : )

 

[GrumpyOleFart]

Give it a chance.
Might be an impulse buy, but could be a good opportunity to work out what you like, and don't like.
We have to start somewhere, and this is yours.
All the best.

 

[Guns&WhiteWater]

Give it a chance.
Might be an impulse buy, but could be a good opportunity to work out what you like, and don't like.
We have to start somewhere, and this is yours.
All the best.

^ This. Use it and decide for yourself what you like.

 

[huntnh]

I agree don’t always believe what you read out there. Give it a shot see how it shoots see what you like and don’t like.

 

[Bungi]

I agree with the above -- Try the new rife and then decide.

Although I have never owned one, there are a lot of people who love Christensen Arms -- Check out Rokslide and you will find plenty of them

 

[db2000]

I have one and your friends are likely fos. There’s plenty of threats on here so you’re not basing it off my experience alone.
I will say if it’s not consistently sub MOA with match factory ammo Christensen will send you a prepaid label and make it right in a matter of a couple weeks turn around. That was my personal experience. My issue was a slight bit of play at the folding joint, not accuracy. They took it upon themselves to say the accuracy “was not up to their standard” on test firing. Replaced the CF barrel and headspaced a new bolt to it before returning it. No cost for any of this.
Frankly, that’s the kind of service I expect when I pay $2k for a rifle but unfortunately that’s not the norm I don’t think. It was shooting 1 MOA 10 shot strings prior to this with hand loads. Now 0.8ish

 

[DocRDS]

Just shoot it. Don't let others get you down.

Everyone always has this "Brand X" or die attitude. Shoot your rifle. Shoot it a lot. Enjoy. Rinse Repeat

 

[GrumpyOleFart]

I've ghosted through various sites, looking at feedback.... certainly more pro ChristensenArms than against.
I think you're just a bit anxious about stepping down the Rabbit Hole of firearms pursuits.
I reckon once you have put some time on the rifle, you will be fine.
Send some pics of your exploits.

 

[PrismSync]

I have one and your friends are likely fos. There’s plenty of threats on here so you’re not basing it off my experience alone.
I will say if it’s not consistently sub MOA with match factory ammo Christensen will send you a prepaid label and make it right in a matter of a couple weeks turn around. That was my personal experience. My issue was a slight bit of play at the folding joint, not accuracy. They took it upon themselves to say the accuracy “was not up to their standard” on test firing. Replaced the CF barrel and headspaced a new bolt to it before returning it. No cost for any of this.
Frankly, that’s the kind of service I expect when I pay $2k for a rifle but unfortunately that’s not the norm I don’t think. It was shooting 1 MOA 10 shot strings prior to this with hand loads. Now 0.8ish
View attachment 7736787View attachment 7736788View attachment 7736789View attachment 7736790

Thank you so much for sharing! I'll definitely give it a shot when the DOJ check passes and see how it goes. Honestly, I'm a little surprised that they offered to have your rifle back and fixed. When I read the "xx moa guarantee or free return" without clarifying what ammo what condition etc., I just took it as some marketing line that would never really work. Gotta respect that.

 

[Sykes]

I have had 2 Christensen rifles in the past, both Ridgelines and they both shot excellent. My boss was convinced to buy a MPR 300 win and asked me to break the barrel in the way Christensen wants. That sucker is a shooter with cheap winchester deer season ammo, I was impressed.

Here is 7 rounds at 100 yards

Your getting a 6.5 creedmoor, any pile of parts will shoot that round into .5 MOA, so I bet you'll be in good shape with the Christensen

 

[Rocketmandb]

A friend of mine just got a CA 6.5 PRC and I helped him break it in. There are a few things I'm not fond of on the rifle, but it shot decently well, considering all he had was factory Hornady. I'm not a huge fan of the bolt, and the base TT trigger is just decent, but not great. Still, it will be better than many, if not most, of the factory alternatives.

It should be a fine first bolt rifle, and one that's upgradeable since it's based off the 700.

 

[AXEFORCE6]

I have one in 6.5 PRC. It’s a shooter. I’ve shot my best 200 yard 3 shot group with it. It packs well and is a lot of fun to shoot.

 

[db2000]

A friend of mine just got a CA 6.5 PRC and I helped him break it in. There are a few things I'm not fond of on the rifle, but it shot decently well, considering all he had was factory Hornady. I'm not a huge fan of the bolt, and the base TT trigger is just decent, but not great. Still, it will be better than many, if not most, of the factory alternatives.

It should be a fine first bolt rifle, and one that's upgradeable since it's based off the 700.

Mine has a TT Diamond flat trigger. Although I don’t usually shoot a flat trigger the feel and break is excellent. I didn’t know they offered a “base” TT trigger but haven’t looked into it either. I agree the bolt is ok but not that of an Impact or other custom receiver/bolt combo I’ve used.

 

[AXEFORCE6]

The base is called a field. It’ll get just shy of 3 pounds. My MPR came with a flat TT special. I love the feel of that trigger. I run it in every rifle I have now.

 

[Steel head]

Go shoot it!
Could suck
Could be awesome
You won’t know till you give it a chance.

 

[GenericBadGuy]

To the OP if nothing else, the action will be good and you can always have a new barrel or stock put on later on if you want. Its a Remington 700 style action and has standard threads.

 

[PrismSync]

I have had 2 Christensen rifles in the past, both Ridgelines and they both shot excellent. My boss was convinced to buy a MPR 300 win and asked me to break the barrel in the way Christensen wants. That sucker is a shooter with cheap winchester deer season ammo, I was impressed.View attachment 7737115Here is 7 rounds at 100 yards
View attachment 7737117

Your getting a 6.5 creedmoor, any pile of parts will shoot that round into .5 MOA, so I bet you'll be in good shape with the Christensen

Since you have an MPR, I wonder if you know whether a no-binder-plate SA magazine will fit there without needing to modify the feed ramp? I might start reloading in the future so I wanted a larger OAL tolerance, but don't know if a modification to the ramp is needed.

 

[PrismSync]

I have one and your friends are likely fos. There’s plenty of threats on here so you’re not basing it off my experience alone.
I will say if it’s not consistently sub MOA with match factory ammo Christensen will send you a prepaid label and make it right in a matter of a couple weeks turn around. That was my personal experience. My issue was a slight bit of play at the folding joint, not accuracy. They took it upon themselves to say the accuracy “was not up to their standard” on test firing. Replaced the CF barrel and headspaced a new bolt to it before returning it. No cost for any of this.
Frankly, that’s the kind of service I expect when I pay $2k for a rifle but unfortunately that’s not the norm I don’t think. It was shooting 1 MOA 10 shot strings prior to this with hand loads. Now 0.8ish
View attachment 7736787View attachment 7736788View attachment 7736789View attachment 7736790

Since you have an MPR, I wonder if you know whether a no-binder-plate SA magazine will fit there without needing to modify the feed ramp? I might start reloading in the future so I wanted a larger OAL tolerance, but don't know if a modification to the ramp is needed.

 

[db2000]

Since you have an MPR, I wonder if you know whether a no-binder-plate SA magazine will fit there without needing to modify the feed ramp? I might start reloading in the future so I wanted a larger OAL tolerance, but don't know if a modification to the ramp is needed.

I don’t know but speaking of the magazine. I use AccurateMag 7 rd and it has a good deal of wobble while held securely in the mag well. Never had a feeding issue, even when resting the gun on the mag. Just seems sloppy. I haven’t addressed it with Christensen. Maybe I will.

 

[Jim B in CO]

OP, did you shoot it yet?

 

[moosemeat]

Shoot it. If it sucks send it to Christensen. If it's still not good enough have it rebarreled. No need to sell the action, it's a rem 700 clone. That was my plan before I decided my next rifle will be a elr rig, and I want it around 24 pounds all kitted out.

 

[rasimcox]

I purchase mine a little over a year ago in 6.5 CM and have enjoyed every shot. This rifle is perfect when the stock is folded to fit easily on my backpack. I ride an eBike when traveling to and from my stand, it is a huge help to be able to carry it on my pack. My CR MPR definitely lives up to CA sub MOA guarantee, I shot Hornady 140gr ELD Match out to 750 yards and as long as I can make the proper wind call the rifle will do it’s job.

Enjoy it’s a great all around rifle IMO

 

[zenpre]

I have been looking for a riffle to shoot PSR. start in production and work my way into tactical. Wondering if you got it or not and if so what you think. what model ? did you look at the compatition model? I asked the PSR forum on FB and everyon seem to say its not consistent. and for the money i should get an MPA.