Long-Range Shooting With Christensen Arms

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Rifles & Gear For Mile-Long Shots

Shooting out past 1,000 yards isn’t nearly as rare as it used to be, but it still amazes me when you unpack a brand-new rifle, throw a scope on it, sight it in, and 30 minutes later you are dinging a 3-foot steel target at that distance with factory ammo. Perhaps even more impressive is when a class of eight people with eight guns, several of which have never shot past 100 yards, do it and make it look easy. That comes from quality equipment and quality instruction. I got to experience Christensen’s poetry in motion at a recent event held at Spur Ranch, one of the Guitar Ranch properties outside Lubbock, Texas. 

Christensen Arms Origin Story

Christensen Arms was the first company to carbon fiber wrap a steel pencil barrel to decrease weight and make it more rigid than a heavy barrel. Roland Christensen had a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering and he literally took technology being used in the American space program and applied it to firearms. The results were so astounding that dozens of companies today have copied this technology in some form or another in the pursuit of making hunting rifles lighter to carry and more accurate to shoot. Christensen Arms rifles aren’t cheap, but they utilize some of the most advanced technology available today.

New Christensen Arms Arrivals

When we arrived at Spur Ranch, we got a short briefing about three new rifles that debuted at SHOT Show 2024 that Christensen wanted us to try out: the Modern Carbon Rifle (MCR), Modern Precision Rifle (MPR) Rimfire, and the Evoke. The one caveat was they had recently decided to make a change in the Evoke to go from a three-lug bolt system to a six-lug system for better performance and it had not yet gone into full production, so we shot Christensen Arms Ridgeline in its place.

I saw early versions of these rifles at SHOT Show, so I was already familiar with them, but I was a little disappointed to miss out on the Evoke. Rest assured, Hook & Barrel INSIDER will have a full review of the Evoke later this year. The Evoke is a more economically priced rifle than any Christensen offered in the past, yet it has most of the same features as their top-end guns—hand-lapped, stainless-steel barrel, RFR muzzle brake, CA’s proprietary action with 60-degree throw, adjustable TriggerTech trigger, detachable AICS pattern magazine and a synthetic, one-piece stock with hybrid grip angle. The only downside to the Evoke is it is a little heavier than their top-of-the-line rifles.

Their cornerstone rifle, the Ridgeline, starts at 6.3 pounds and they have an ultralight titanium version that is a shocking 4.8 pounds. The Evoke starts at a very respectable 7.7 pounds. For comparison, your average Remington 700 is about 9 pounds. 

All of the guns come with a sub-MOA guarantee for accuracy (with quality ammo). I’ve seen a lot of companies guarantee sub-MOA accuracy, but the caveat is it has to be with one brand of super-premium ammunition or handloads and even then, it only shoots sub-MOA once out of every 10 attempts. Every one of the guns tested at the event was easily shooting sub-MOA with the provided Federal factory ammunition. They were ridiculously accurate. The downside? Every time I missed a target, there was no one to blame but me.

Optics & Ammo For Making Mile-Long Shots

So we had quality guns, but guns aren’t enough. You can’t shoot what you can’t see. Zeiss was generous and loaned us LRP S3 4-25×50 and Conquest V4 3-12×44 scopes for all of the rifles. I will admit I had never spent a lot of time behind a Zeiss scope, but I was extremely impressed. On the first day of shooting, we dialed them in at 100 yards and then zeroed the turrets. They had enough come-up to run the guns out to 1,550 yards which I believe every writer hit that target sooner or later. Only when we tried for the 1-mile target were we finally maxed out on our elevation dial and had to use the hash marks on our reticles to attempt this ridiculously long shot.

Federal provided its brand-new product line Premium Gold Medal CenterStrike open tip match 140-grain ammunition in 6.5 Creedmoor and CCI provided .22LR Green Tag 40-grain ammunition.  When I was captain of the rifle team in college, we shot .22 LR Green Tag, but it was produced by Blount back then. The company may have changed hands once or twice, but I can assure you that Green Tag .22 ammunition is still exceptionally accurate. Federal’s Premium Gold Medal CenterStrike debuted this year. The first caliber available was .308 in 168- and 175-grain options. Their 6.5 Creedmoor was the second caliber available and we were some of the very first people to get to shoot it. It performed perfectly and was also incredibly accurate.

Long-Range Experts

Finally, you need expert instruction if you want to use a precision rifle to its potential. Christensen Arms brought in Outdoor Solutions to be our instructors. Outdoor Solutions started out as a booking agent for hunting and fishing outfitters but soon realized that a number of their clients showed up without the skills or knowledge to be able to shoot their guns at distance or find their prey.

Before you cast judgment, let’s take a moment and face some facts. First, many of us, myself included, did not grow up in families that regularly hunt. If your dad didn’t teach you these skills when you were a kid, it wasn’t your fault. Also, it is a lot harder to pick them up as an adult. Second, even many experienced hunters have never used anything more than “Kentucky Windage” to hit targets at distance. Modern scopes are made to be dialed up and down to adjust for MILs or MOA, but if you don’t know how to dial your scope for different distances, you are at a serious disadvantage.

Outdoor Solutions first teaches distance shooting, then moves on to teaching different ways to support your gun in the field for more accurate shooting, how to glass and find your prey, how to dial your dope and windage, and finally putting it all together for an accurate shot. In some classes, they even teach you how to field dress and cook your game. In short, they can take someone who has never even fired a gun and teach them 100% of the skills they need to be an excellent hunter.

So with all of these assets coming together, how was the event? Epic. In the end, several people asked if they could buy the guns we had been shooting. As gun writers, we get to shoot a lot of different guns and anytime we are ready to open up our wallets and buy it, you know it is because we are impressed. Personally, I am waiting for the Evoke Precision to be released this summer and try my hand with it at some Precision Rifle Series competitions.

For more information, visit christensenarms.com.

The Spur Ranch

The Christensen Writers event was held this year at the Spur Ranch—one of five ranches that make up the Guitar Ranches. They cater to groups who want to hunt, fish, shoot, or simply get away from the city. The cabins are brand new and very comfortable. I didn’t get to try out the sporting clays, but their open front shed with a range that stretches to 1 mile was amazing. The Spur Ranch has seven cabins with two beds each and a guest house that sleeps five. All meals during our visit were served at a long table in the main building, plus there’s plenty of seating on the porch out front. They were putting the finishing touches on a huge gas fire pit while we were there. Once completed, it should be the perfect place to kick back with a cold one after a hard day of play. Visit guitarranches.com or call 325-673-8329 for more information.

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