Issue with Christensen arms

[Mtank79]

Out of curiosity, do you have a brake on the gun? If so, remove it and see if it groups up any tighter. I’ve had a bum SF brake do this to me on a new GAP gun before. Gun was shooting 2+ MOA and I was livid. I took the brake off and it immediately started grouping ~ 3/8 MOA. Good luck.

I was talking the other night to a buddy that has a 300 prc ridgeline. He told me it all of a sudden his groups went to crap. Went through the normal checklist but didn’t find anything. He then took the radial brake off & put his silencer on. He said it instantly started shooting tight groups again.

 

[bigbahksdude]

Updating for informational purposes.

Christensen confirmed via email that my rifle was received on December 10, 2024. The email stated that repairs and services were averaging 4-6 weeks depending on the type of services required. The end of that time frame would have marked January 21st. As the holidays fell within that span of time, I waited until January 30th to reach out requesting a status update.

I have followed up on January 30th, the week of February 3rd, and the week of February 10th. Although the customer service representatives are polite and kind, no one has been able to provide me with a status update. I was first told that the gun smiths took longer than expected to inspect my rifle due to the holidays, but that a written update would be provided via email. After a week without an email, I called again and was told that they could not tell me whether or not the rifle had been inspected or if it needed repair or service. Again, I was told that the customer service rep would email the gun smiths and provide me with a written update.

I have yet to receive an update on the status of my rifle. Christensen has been in possession of my rifle for 75 days and going on 11 weeks.

 

[bigbahksdude]

@cmo5t

Yes. The CA radial brake came installed from the factory. I did not remove or alter the brake to see if that was the cause. My guess is the action assembly was not installed correctly based on the abnormal tightness I experienced while chambering rounds.

 

[doepatrol]

Updating for informational purposes.

Christensen confirmed via email that my rifle was received on December 10, 2024. The email stated that repairs and services were averaging 4-6 weeks depending on the type of services required. The end of that time frame would have marked January 21st. As the holidays fell within that span of time, I waited until January 30th to reach out requesting a status update.

I have followed up on January 30th, the week of February 3rd, and the week of February 10th. Although the customer service representatives are polite and kind, no one has been able to provide me with a status update. I was first told that the gun smiths took longer than expected to inspect my rifle due to the holidays, but that a written update would be provided via email. After a week without an email, I called again and was told that they could not tell me whether or not the rifle had been inspected or if it needed repair or service. Again, I was told that the customer service rep would email the gun smiths and provide me with a written update.

I have yet to receive an update on the status of my rifle. Christensen has been in possession of my rifle for 75 days and going on 11 weeks.

Yikes...good luck. I had a small issue with my seekins and I had it back in less than 3 weeks.

 

[Scottf270]

I will never understand how a company can send out so many products with issues. Chamber dimensions, head space, etc are the cornerstones of any rifle. Just shows a total lack of competency.

 

[mikerotchburns619]

Updating for informational purposes.

Christensen confirmed via email that my rifle was received on December 10, 2024. The email stated that repairs and services were averaging 4-6 weeks depending on the type of services required. The end of that time frame would have marked January 21st. As the holidays fell within that span of time, I waited until January 30th to reach out requesting a status update.

I have followed up on January 30th, the week of February 3rd, and the week of February 10th. Although the customer service representatives are polite and kind, no one has been able to provide me with a status update. I was first told that the gun smiths took longer than expected to inspect my rifle due to the holidays, but that a written update would be provided via email. After a week without an email, I called again and was told that they could not tell me whether or not the rifle had been inspected or if it needed repair or service. Again, I was told that the customer service rep would email the gun smiths and provide me with a written update.

I have yet to receive an update on the status of my rifle. Christensen has been in possession of my rifle for 75 days and going on 11 weeks.

Any update? I am considering starting this process for a 28 Nosler. Any input is much appreciate.

 

[mikerotchburns619]

Updating for informational purposes.

Christensen confirmed via email that my rifle was received on December 10, 2024. The email stated that repairs and services were averaging 4-6 weeks depending on the type of services required. The end of that time frame would have marked January 21st. As the holidays fell within that span of time, I waited until January 30th to reach out requesting a status update.

I have followed up on January 30th, the week of February 3rd, and the week of February 10th. Although the customer service representatives are polite and kind, no one has been able to provide me with a status update. I was first told that the gun smiths took longer than expected to inspect my rifle due to the holidays, but that a written update would be provided via email. After a week without an email, I called again and was told that they could not tell me whether or not the rifle had been inspected or if it needed repair or service. Again, I was told that the customer service rep would email the gun smiths and provide me with a written update.

I have yet to receive an update on the status of my rifle. Christensen has been in possession of my rifle for 75 days and going on 11 weeks.

Bump. Any updates? Would you recommend starting the return process or going a different route all together? Really appreciate the advice.

 

[bigbahksdude]

Apologies for the delay. I've been meaning to provide an update - life got busy.

TL/DR: Got the rifle back after 5 months, CA rebarreled the rifle, haven't been able to shoot it much but what it has shot it shoots well. Will continue to provide updates.

I called (again) in late February. Spoke (again) to a customer service representative. Again got nowhere. I followed up this call with an email on 2/24/25 expressing my dissatisfaction with the amount of time it had taken to receive even an update on the status of my rifle. I pointed out that the while it is great that Christensen will stand behind their product, that guarantee of accuracy and warranty is only as valuable as the ability to be able to turn the repair around in a timely manner. Outside of the money spent breaking the rifle in, attempting to zero the rifle, trouble shooting the rifle when it would not group (per Christensen's advice), and gun smithing for mounting and re-mounting a scope to rule that problem out - the real loss here was time spent behind the rifle. This was my first "high-end" rifle (i.e. - not the rifle passed down to me from my grandfather and was by no means a cheap purchase) and I (my wife - this rifle was a surprise gift) chose CA because of their reputation and assurance for accuracy and warranty. I ended the email explaining to them that I felt stuck at a crossroads: should I trust that CA would indeed repair and return the rifle? Or should I just have them ship it back un-repaired, cut my loses and buy a new rifle from a different manufacturer?

17 days later (3/13/25) I received a response from who I assume to be the head of customer service. She apologized for a delayed response and informed me that she had been looking into my repair ticket. According to the email my rifle had been tested the week of 3/10/25. The testing determined the rifle needed a new barrel, had already been rebarreled, and was in line for accuracy testing. She explained that she understood the delay was frustrating, but their goal is to "provide you with a safe and reliable rifle". She also provided her direct line for any further questions or concerns.

I responded with several questions that never received an email response. I asked 1) if the new barrel be broken in at the factory? 2) Would a report come back with the accuracy testing and the ammo used? Along with other various questions about accuracy guarantees across varying factory loads.

That email did not receive a response. I did receive an phone call from her about a week later explaining that my rifle had been tested for accuracy, passed, and that a service technician would be reaching out with a phone call to go through the questions I had asked. I received an email on 4/1/25 stating that my rifle was being prepared for shipping - the following services had been performed on my Mesa:

- Re-barreled rifle
- Set headspace with new barrel, headspace is within spec
- Test fired for function, function test passed
- Test fired for accuracy, rifle meets accuracy guarantee

Ammunition used for testing: Barnes VOR-TX 160gr TSX BT
Barrel break-in is included as part of the re-barreling service, no further barrel break-in is required

I received a call from a technician after I received the email. He was able to talk through many of the questions I had - one of which was "Dude. What gives? How could that possibly have taken so long?" He explained that the techs determined the rifle needed a new barrel. That the factory only runs one rifle model barrel at a time. So they needed to wait for a run of Mesa barrels to replace my rifle's faulty barrel. Then, once the barrel had been replaced, the new assembly needed to be re-cerakoted. Personally, I'm not sure what to believe. The email from the head of customer service made it sound like it took 4 months for the rifle to even be looked at - the tech's response made it sound like the rifle had been inspected months ago and that the wait was on the replacement barrel. I'm inclined to believe that CA either completely lost my rifle, lost track of my rifle, forgot about my rifle, or are so completely inundated with repair requests that they can't keep up with backlog. None of these are stellar options for them. None of these options explain the inability for CA to communicate the status of my rifle with me. The real kicker was that as he answered I heard another customer service rep explaining to a customer over the phone that it sounded like they needed to send their rifle in and that the current turn around time was 4-6 weeks.... yikes.

The rifle was returned to my FFL (gunsmith) on 4/4/25. The rifle came back with a printed report of the services that had been performed and a graph of the targets that had been shot with ammunition information and DOPE. According to the report the techs put two groups of three down range and both were within the sub-MOA guarantee. I had a Maven RS1.2 2.5-15x44 mounted and took it to the range.

I was not able to located the ammo used during testing locally (Barnes VOR-TX 160gr TSX BT), so I used what I had before sending the rifle in - listed in my previous posts. I noticed an immediate difference. The action was smoother, significantly less tight, and was not producing shavings on casings. My groups were acceptable given my shooting ability - most were within 1MOA.

Unfortunately between turkey season, work, and fitting in as much fly fishing before it gets too hot, I have not been able to take the rifle back to the range. I was able to find some Barnes VOR-TX 160gr TSX BT in the interim and am very much so looking forward to seeing how that performs. I would prefer it the Barnes performs as well as a much less expensive option...

I will try to provide another update as I get more time behind the rifle. I am hoping to get to the range more regularly over the next few months now that I am less busy.

Final Thoughts
I'd obviously have preferred to not have gone through this process. By the end of the repair process I was without my rifle from the beginning of December to the beginning of April (5 months). While I'm really happy to have what now seems to be a tack driver (still remains to be seen), I'm not sure it was worth the heart burn. If I had purchased a rifle on my own as opposed to having been gifted a rifle, I probably would have gone with a Tikka or Bergara. The experience has certainly not lit a fire under my ass to go out an buy another Christensen. But I'm hoping that this rifle treats me well from here on out and I never have to look back.

Please feel free to ask clarifying questions. I'll respond as I am able.

 

[bigbahksdude]

Bump. Any updates? Would you recommend starting the return process or going a different route all together? Really appreciate the advice.

I'm not sure I have any real advice to give. I would hope that CA would turn around your rifle faster than mine. If I would have known what was going to happen from the start I think I would have sold the rifle and found something else. But this was gift from the wife, and she was insistent that I keep it. Again, would probably buy a Tikka T3x Lite Roughtech and just be done with it. But I don't know that they make a 28 Nosler.

 

[mikerotchburns619]

Apologies for the delay. I've been meaning to provide an update - life got busy.

TL/DR: Got the rifle back after 5 months, CA rebarreled the rifle, haven't been able to shoot it much but what it has shot it shoots well. Will continue to provide updates.

I called (again) in late February. Spoke (again) to a customer service representative. Again got nowhere. I followed up this call with an email on 2/24/25 expressing my dissatisfaction with the amount of time it had taken to receive even an update on the status of my rifle. I pointed out that the while it is great that Christensen will stand behind their product, that guarantee of accuracy and warranty is only as valuable as the ability to be able to turn the repair around in a timely manner. Outside of the money spent breaking the rifle in, attempting to zero the rifle, trouble shooting the rifle when it would not group (per Christensen's advice), and gun smithing for mounting and re-mounting a scope to rule that problem out - the real loss here was time spent behind the rifle. This was my first "high-end" rifle (i.e. - not the rifle passed down to me from my grandfather and was by no means a cheap purchase) and I (my wife - this rifle was a surprise gift) chose CA because of their reputation and assurance for accuracy and warranty. I ended the email explaining to them that I felt stuck at a crossroads: should I trust that CA would indeed repair and return the rifle? Or should I just have them ship it back un-repaired, cut my loses and buy a new rifle from a different manufacturer?

17 days later (3/13/25) I received a response from who I assume to be the head of customer service. She apologized for a delayed response and informed me that she had been looking into my repair ticket. According to the email my rifle had been tested the week of 3/10/25. The testing determined the rifle needed a new barrel, had already been rebarreled, and was in line for accuracy testing. She explained that she understood the delay was frustrating, but their goal is to "provide you with a safe and reliable rifle". She also provided her direct line for any further questions or concerns.

I responded with several questions that never received an email response. I asked 1) if the new barrel be broken in at the factory? 2) Would a report come back with the accuracy testing and the ammo used? Along with other various questions about accuracy guarantees across varying factory loads.

That email did not receive a response. I did receive an phone call from her about a week later explaining that my rifle had been tested for accuracy, passed, and that a service technician would be reaching out with a phone call to go through the questions I had asked. I received an email on 4/1/25 stating that my rifle was being prepared for shipping - the following services had been performed on my Mesa:

- Re-barreled rifle
- Set headspace with new barrel, headspace is within spec
- Test fired for function, function test passed
- Test fired for accuracy, rifle meets accuracy guarantee

Ammunition used for testing: Barnes VOR-TX 160gr TSX BT
Barrel break-in is included as part of the re-barreling service, no further barrel break-in is required

I received a call from a technician after I received the email. He was able to talk through many of the questions I had - one of which was "Dude. What gives? How could that possibly have taken so long?" He explained that the techs determined the rifle needed a new barrel. That the factory only runs one rifle model barrel at a time. So they needed to wait for a run of Mesa barrels to replace my rifle's faulty barrel. Then, once the barrel had been replaced, the new assembly needed to be re-cerakoted. Personally, I'm not sure what to believe. The email from the head of customer service made it sound like it took 4 months for the rifle to even be looked at - the tech's response made it sound like the rifle had been inspected months ago and that the wait was on the replacement barrel. I'm inclined to believe that CA either completely lost my rifle, lost track of my rifle, forgot about my rifle, or are so completely inundated with repair requests that they can't keep up with backlog. None of these are stellar options for them. None of these options explain the inability for CA to communicate the status of my rifle with me. The real kicker was that as he answered I heard another customer service rep explaining to a customer over the phone that it sounded like they needed to send their rifle in and that the current turn around time was 4-6 weeks.... yikes.

The rifle was returned to my FFL (gunsmith) on 4/4/25. The rifle came back with a printed report of the services that had been performed and a graph of the targets that had been shot with ammunition information and DOPE. According to the report the techs put two groups of three down range and both were within the sub-MOA guarantee. I had a Maven RS1.2 2.5-15x44 mounted and took it to the range.

I was not able to located the ammo used during testing locally (Barnes VOR-TX 160gr TSX BT), so I used what I had before sending the rifle in - listed in my previous posts. I noticed an immediate difference. The action was smoother, significantly less tight, and was not producing shavings on casings. My groups were acceptable given my shooting ability - most were within 1MOA.

Unfortunately between turkey season, work, and fitting in as much fly fishing before it gets too hot, I have not been able to take the rifle back to the range. I was able to find some Barnes VOR-TX 160gr TSX BT in the interim and am very much so looking forward to seeing how that performs. I would prefer it the Barnes performs as well as a much less expensive option...

I will try to provide another update as I get more time behind the rifle. I am hoping to get to the range more regularly over the next few months now that I am less busy.

Final Thoughts
I'd obviously have preferred to not have gone through this process. By the end of the repair process I was without my rifle from the beginning of December to the beginning of April (5 months). While I'm really happy to have what now seems to be a tack driver (still remains to be seen), I'm not sure it was worth the heart burn. If I had purchased a rifle on my own as opposed to having been gifted a rifle, I probably would have gone with a Tikka or Bergara. The experience has certainly not lit a fire under my ass to go out an buy another Christensen. But I'm hoping that this rifle treats me well from here on out and I never have to look back.

Please feel free to ask clarifying questions. I'll respond as I am able.

I really appreciate the update. Only curious as to how well it shoots with other ammo in the future. Keep us posted if you want, but big thank you for your experience. I’m going to send mine back and see how it goes, I guess. Will also keep yall updated for any future askers.