Christensen Arms MHR Bolt-Action Rifle Review

Last summer, I invited a couple of friends over to my home range to try more than a dozen new-for-2023 big-game hunting rifles, and one of the most interesting we shot was Christensen Arms’ new Modern Hunting Rifle. 

Christensen Arms MHR Details 

Built on an aluminum mini-chassis with V-block bedding, Christensen’s Modern Hunting Rifle (MHR) provides the accuracy potential of a chassis rifle and the ergonomics of a hunting rifle all while offering exceptional modularity. Its Flash Forged Technology (FFT) stock, forearm, and grips can be swapped out to create configurations to suit any shooter in any situation. 

Barrel

A 416R stainless steel barrel wrapped in carbon fiber helps shed ounces, helping it achieve a trim weight of 7.4 pounds for the 7mm PRC model we tested. The MHR offers a match chamber, and the barrel’s hand-lapped button-rifled profile gets the free-float treatment. 

Stock

The MHR is equipped with an adjustable comb height and length of pull. Depending on the stock configuration, the comb height may be adjusted with a push-button mechanism or may require the addition or removal of spacers.  The rifle ships with one LOP spacer installed. 

Customize Your Modern Hunting Rifle 

Another slick feature is that this rifle comes ready to convert from an internal magazine to a drop-box AICS-pattern magazine for a cool $50 more over its $3,499 price tag. How this rifle is configured allows the removal of the buttstock from the chassis. The chassis stops just forward of the action and a removable forend is attached with torque-spec screws. 

The MHR also offers a choice of grips to match hand size and shooting style. The Hunter grip’s angle from bore is 118 degrees, while the Tactical grip is 100 degrees from bore. Two choices of thickness offer a 1.344-inch thin grip or a 1.719-inch wide thick grip. The grip that comes standard is the Hunter Thin grip. 

Some other pluses for this rifle include standard Rem 700 optics base compatibility, a skeletonized bolt handle, a black Nitride finish, an enlarged ejection port, and a superb Trigger Tech Trigger. 

Christensen MHR Test Results 

Hornady supplied the ammo for this test, with more than 800 rounds of 175-grain ELDX 7mm PRC going down range. Riton provided the 3-18x scope for testing the MHR, too. 

The course of fire was for each shooter to fire multiple 5-shot groups at 100 and 300 yards from a benchrest and record the smallest groups at each distance.  

When the groups were measured in inches, center-to-center and the results tabulated, the inch measurements were converted into MOA. (As a refresher, 1 MOA measures 1.047 inches at 100 yards.) 

It should be noted that many rifle makers offer a “Sub-MOA Guarantee.” It’s nearly always a 3-shot group at 100 yards, which is much easier to attain than a sub-MOA 5-shot group. During testing, shots were taken from various positions at steel at 100- and 300-yard distances to get a feel for utility and field-type accuracy. The MHR gets high marks for ergonomics, aesthetics, accuracy, and reliability. 

At 100 yards the MHR averaged 1.397 MOA for all shooters. Stretching things out, this rifle averaged 1.244 MOA for five shots at 300 yards. As seen with other rifles, the MHR prints tighter groups the farther you get from the muzzle. 

A Muzzle Energy Hammer 

Prior to accuracy evaluation, this rifle’s average muzzle velocity was used to calculate its 200-yard energy capabilities. When compared to other 7mm PRC rifles shooting the same ammo and with the same barrel length, the MHR squeezed the most velocity out of this hot new cartridge. It averaged 2,912 fps when sending the 175-grain Hornady bullets down range. 

That velocity is more than 60 fps faster than the nearest competitor, and more than 100 fps faster than the rest. What this translates to is more energy on target, which comes in handy when you’re trying to down an elk-sized critter. By my calculations, this rifle and load combination produces 2,773 ft.-lbs. of energy on target at 200 yards. By comparison, a 6.5 Creedmoor rifle with popular hunting bullets will produce 1,600 to 1,800 ft.-lbs. of energy when striking a target 200 yards from the muzzle. 

Check the price of a Christensen MHR Bolt Action Rifle:

For more information on Christensen Arms’ extensive line of game-getting rifles, visit christensenarms.com.  

Specifications: Christensen Arms MHR Bolt-Action Rifle

Caliber: 7mm PRC
Barrel: 24 inches 
OA Length: 46.25 inches 
Weight: 8 pounds (empty) 
Stock: Carbon fiber, adjustable 
Sights: None 
Action: Bolt 
Finish: Black hardcoat/Cerakote 
Capacity: 3 + 1 
MSRP: $3,499 

LINK TO VIDEO: https://christensenarms.com/mhr/ 

About The Author

This is Jay Langston’s first contribution to Hook & Barrel Magazine. This author has hunted big game and varmints and has been shooting hunting and target rifles for more than four decades. From the time he joined the local gun club at 16 he’s been shooting competitively. Along the way, he has hunted big game in 30 states, much of which was during the past 36 years as a hunting or gun magazine editor. No stranger to long-range rifle pursuits, he enjoys a 1,000-yard range a literal stone’s throw from his back door.