Christensen Arms has entered a newer, rapidly expanding section of the firearms market with their new bolt action chassis pistol, the Modern Precision Pistol. This new offering is basically their MPR chassis rifle shrunken down to a barrel length of 7.5-12.5″ depending on caliber. Don’t be fooled though, these short barrels still pack a punch while providing impressive accuracy. I am one of the lucky people to get one of the first available Modern Precision Pistols (MPP), so I put it through the wringer to help aid you in your purchasing decisions. Here are my thoughts and experiences below:
I consider myself a connoisseur of sorts of bolt-action pistols. I have several built, including a 6mm Creedmoor and a 375 Raptor that I use often for hunting big game animals. The 10″ barreled 6mm has a particularly impressive mule deer kill at 500 yards even. The 11″ barreled Raptor’s main use to date has been shooting heavy, subsonic projectiles at black bear, and it has got a few under its belt. I share this purely because there are many misconceptions about the capabilities of these firearms that I hope you don’t develop or carry while continuing to read about the MPP. I have/had incredibly high expectations for this gun.
First Look
The Christensen Arms MPP is an attractive pistol, perhaps the most aesthetically pleasing bolt action pistol on the market currently. After removing it from the box and giving it a close inspection, I can say that my first statement stands. The carbon fiber looks incredible and $$$, contrasted by the black Cerakote on the aluminum chassis. The Handguard itself is thick and very stiff, providing a rock-solid location to mount M-Lok accessories, such as a bipod. It comes with a Picatinny rail on the forend with an integrated hand stop. I removed this to provide a more distal mounting position for a Magpul bipod. But it’s there if you need it!
There is some visible effort that went into lightening the gun, such as fluting on the bolt and bolt knob, skeletonizing of the bolt handle, slimming of the chassis, and removal of any extra material, and of course, utilization of carbon fiber where appropriate. These efforts don’t go unnoticed as you pick the gun up. Mine weighs around 5 pounds while the smaller versions come in at 4.4 lbs at the lightest.
One complaint that I must mention is the total lack of visible denotation of caliber/chambering. This is notable because I ordered an MPP in 308 and only found out that the one I received was a 6.5 Creedmoor by reading the accompanying paperwork with the firearm, followed by an attempt to chamber a 308 Winchester cartridge (softly) and failing to do so. Perhaps it is inscribed on the barrel somewhere, but this is completely hidden by the handguard.
Ergonomics
The ergonomics are fantastic on the MPP. The Magpul MOE-K grip that they chose is just the right fit for a guy with medium-sized hands like myself. It’s short enough to allow uninhibited prone shooting but long enough to fit all of my fingers on it. The texturing of the grip is also very good. It isn’t over-aggressive, but it is enough to provide proper grippiness. Is that a word? Whatever, you get it. Another nice touch is the relief cut on the left side of the magwell, allowing uninhibited removal of mags while prone while still providing proper support of the mag. The bolt works smoothly and rounds chamber with ease. There were several instances later while shooting where I had to double-check that I picked up a cartridge from the magazine because I didn’t feel the resistance associated with stripping one from the mag followed, by it popping it into the chamber.
The bolt knob is large enough to comfortably grab and is spiral fluted. The spiral flutes on the knob also not only look cool, but provide some grip. Finally, the trigger… I love the little bump on the bottom of the Trigger Tech flat trigger because it provided an indexing reference and helped with consistency. And of course, the trigger is crisp. It IS a TriggerTech product. It’s adjustable, but I didn’t bother altering mine because I measured the pull weight to be exactly 2.5 lbs.
Now about the brace to wrap up my discussion on ergonomics. The SB Tactical FS1913A brace is one of the best options for use on a pistol like this. Unfortunately, it is not the same as a rifle stock and does not function in the same way. Cheek weld is poor, there is some flex at the hinge while shooting prone, and there is no pad for… ahem… not shouldering it. In order to turn the MPP into a Cadillac, SBRing it and adding a stock legally would be ideal. That’s just the way it is.
Performance and Accuracy
I mounted a Leupold Mark 5HD 3.6-18×44 on this Christensen Arms MPP and took it out to the range. I started by getting the pistol zeroed at 100 yards with the ammo that I guessed would be the most accurate (turns out that I was wrong) and then taking it out to distance to get a couple of boxes of ammo through the barrel before I began accuracy testing. I had a blast getting rounds on a 10″ steel target at 300, 400, and 500 yards. Anything past about 600 yards becomes exponentially more difficult with ES becoming more important in elevation consistency, as well as wind drift being magnified noticeably. I noted a muzzle velocity from 120 grain Hornady ELD-M ammunition to be an average of 2440 FPS with an extreme spread (ES) of about 20 FPS. I also got a muzzle velocity from Hornady 147 grain ELD-M ammunition of 2270 FPS with a similar ES. At distance, I noticed more consistency with the 120-grain ammunition, with the 147-grain ammunition being very accurate while also getting random flyers. “Curious.” I thought. My accuracy testing later reflects these results.
Now I moved into accuracy testing the MPP. But first, some thoughts about this subject; I noticed immediately when the MPP was released that it did not have any kind of accuracy guarantee from Christensen. This is weird because most of their guns have varying degrees of accuracy guarantees such as their “sub-MOA guarantee,” and “1/2 MOA or better.” The MPR, the MPP’s big brother of sorts, is backed by Christensen Arms’ sub-MOA guarantee. Why wouldn’t a shortened version of the same gun has a similar guarantee unless Christensen Arms has not; 1) seen consistent results, or 2) seen results worth bragging about. That aside, an accuracy guarantee sells firearms so it hurts them to not have one for the MPP. This thought was a cause of concern for me. The only option is to keep your eyes and ears open while the MPP builds a reputation based on other’s experiences. The following accuracy test is a sample size of 1, and therefore, not a be-all, end-all to base your decisions off.
For accuracy testing, I used a Magpul bipod and a rear bag while shooting prone. Groups were fired at a distance of 101 yards and strings of 5 rounds were shot 10 minutes apart to allow the barrel to cool to a consistent starting temperature. It was EXTREMELY hot out on this day, in the 100-degree range, in fact. I started with Hornady 147 grain ELD-M ammunition and moved down the line to 143 grain Hornady ELD-X, 140 grain BTHP Hornady American Gunner (AG in photo), Prime Ammunition 130 grain Berger, 120 grain Hornady ELD-M and followed it all up with a re-shoot of Hornady 147 Grain ELD-M since it was fired cold-bore and I saw a strange strung-out group. Everything performed ok, with some doing pretty good, such as the 120 grain Hornady ELD-M as well as the 140 grain Hornady American Gunner. Others did… not so well. 130 Prime Ammunition was not loved by the MPP I had, and I’d put the Hornady 147 ELD-M and 143 ELD-X in this category also. See the pictures below for group sizes in MOA as well as inches. Shot numbers of each string are labeled.
Specifications:
- Barrel
- match chamber (offered in 223 Remington, 300 blackout, 6.5 Creedmoor and 308 Winchester)
- 416R stainless steel
- carbon fiber wrapped
- 5/8×24 TPI threaded muzzle
- button rifled & hand lapped
- 1:8 twist (6.5 creed)
- 12.5″ long (6.5 creed)
- Action
- black nitride coated
- 0 MOA Remington 700 footprint picatinny optics rail
- Trigger Tech flat trigger
- oversized bolt knob
- AICS-compatible detachable magazine
- side bolt release
- Bolt
- nitride treated
- M16 style extractor (6.5 and 308)
- spiral fluted
- Chassis
- billet 7075 aluminum and carbon fiber handguard
- anodized
- V-Block bedding
- Standard AR grip compatible
- M-LOK compatible
- 2 QD flush cup attachment points
- MSRP: $2,399.99
Final Thoughts
There’s some things that I love about the Christensen Arms MPP. For starters, it looks damn good. Also, It feels really good. It’s lightweight, compact, and ergonomic. Then there’s the accuracy. I’m sort of on the fence on whether I’m happy with how it shot, or if I’m not happy with it. Sub MOA is respectable, but it didn’t shoot the ammo that pairs best with it that well. These would be the Hornady 147 ELD-M and Hornady 143 grain ELD-X, picked based on ballistic potential paired with. That being said, perhaps I can’t draw out its full potential and it’s capable of better. Yes, I acknowledge that is a possibility even though I don’t think that is the case. Back to my original point of this being a sample size of 1. Keep your eye out and see what other people produce. As of today, I have yet to see any reports on the accuracy of the MPP, and I’ve been watching closely. Then, there are some things I hate about the MPP. Correction, “thing.” $2,400??? Holy crap guys… there hasn’t been any stimulus check distributed to fund this purchase in a while. This is identical to the price of the MPR and the MPP doesn’t have the accuracy guarantee of the MPR, the added cost and manufacturing time of a rifle-length barrel, or the well-designed buttstock that the big brother has. Perhaps the latter doesn’t amount to much in price difference but the former should be worth a somewhat significant amount though.
Synopsis of my rant: the Christensen Arms MPP is one sexy gun that works extremely well and produces the accuracy seen above. If these are all things that justify the premium price tag, please, buy one because that means you’d love it.
Learn more about the Christensen Arms Modern Precision Pistol HERE!
***Buy and Sell on GunsAmerica! All Local Sales are FREE!***
More Pictures:
