I tried 3 different factory loads hornday 165 , 150 Remington, 180 federal
Cleaned it tried all again got about 1 1/2 - 2 inch moa , bought some 150 sst
Got about 1-1 1/2 inch wasn’t too happy for the price it cost, let my buddy use it for a pronghorn hunt , he liked it with the ammo he bought fedral premium I think? He bought it for his son and seems happy with 1 +/- moa
He’s happy, I’m happy to not have it = win /win
have a 6.5 prc ridgeline that groups excellent after the break-in, HOWEVER, it seems to build pressure quickly with factory ammo (heavy bolt lift even after a 2 piece spring)
newer lot (slower) eldm seemed to group the best (below an inch 5 shot groups at 200 yards) but it was very picky early on and hotter factory ammo has not grouped that well. Good thing is the 147 is an absolutely killer
Yes - 308 Traverse. Shoots great. Sub MOA factory ammo. So happy I bought another CA.
NO - 300 WM Traverse 25th Anniversary. Did not shoot. Tried different ammo. Different optics. Different mounts. Finally sent it back in. Got a new barrel and some other fixes. Still has a heavy / stiff bolt at times, but it shoots now.
Still trying to help figure out what my dad's Ridgeline 300 WM likes.
Had a buddy of mine send me a picture yesterday of a comparison between a Tikka T3x + 25 yo scope next to CA Ridgeline with a new Leupold scope and it was laughable how much better performance he's getting out of the set up that costs half as much.
my 300wm MPR was very picky during barrel break in it liked the hornady outfitter CX stuff, then after the barrel sped up (guessing thats what happened) it started liking the barnes TXS. now after handloading ive got it shoooting 1in groups of the 215 bergers. very happy with them
1. Sam's .308, lights out from the beginning, shoots anything well. You can let a box of Wolf ammo roll around on the floor of a pick up for a year and shoot 1/2 moa groups. This rifle is why we bought the others.
2. James' .308, shot OK maybe 1.5 moa, swapped scopes, changed ammo, seemed to get worse (4 inch groups). Contacted CA they said send it back, six weeks later it came back with a new barrel and shot a 1/8 moa group with match ammo.
3. Robs' .30-06, shot ok to start, after about 100 shots it seemed to settle in and can regularly drop a sub moa group. it took a while, and after the #2 rifle we were a little worried.
4. Mark's Ridgeline FFT 7mm PRC, started so bad it nearly went back. Fixed a suppressor issue and swapped ammo, it recently went on an Alaska Moose hunt. Didn't get used but it's easily a sub moa rifle.
5. Chris' FFT .308 I've got to do the break in on this one, maybe I'll have time this weekend, It's a gift and he doesn't know about it yet. Pretty confident it'll shoot well.
My experiences with them so far:
The ridgelines don't like Hornady, something about the tolerances Hornady uses versus the tolerances CA uses does not jive. My personal theory is the COAL doesn't fit the tight chambers but I have not measured or tested this yet. We've had great luck with Norma Whitetail, Federal (Berger Hybrid Hunter & Terminal Ascent), Remington Core Lokt Green Tips and Barnes Vor-tx.
They seem to like lighter, faster bullets, The worst shooting round in the .308 is Precision Hunter 175 ELDX, the best was 150 Federal. The 150 Norma Whitetails shoot better than their price point ($25/box).
The carbon barrels seem to like a brake or something at the end. Not the radial brake they come with but a well made side baffle. I can't help to wonder if there's a harmonic factor in the carbon barrel that needs a little tuning. I haven't tested it but all of our rifles now have side baffle brakes and the FFT comes with one installed from CA.
CA customer service is top notch. When the #2 rifle went back they were more than helpful, no push back or problems. I've dealt with them on a few other issues and I would not hesitate to use them again.
If you're having issues with a CA, I'd try a different ammo, if it still doesn't perform, send it back. That's part of what you're paying for, customer service and from my experience, a company that backs up their product.