{"id":111446,"date":"2019-09-29T02:10:03","date_gmt":"2019-09-29T06:10:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?p=111446"},"modified":"2025-11-17T04:46:53","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T10:46:53","slug":"hunt365-the-christensen-arms-ridgeline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/hunt365-the-christensen-arms-ridgeline\/","title":{"rendered":"The Christensen Arms Ridgeline: A Precision Long-Range Hunting Rifle"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The last day of my Nebraska 2018 deer hunt, mid-November, and I had yet to see a mature buck. I also had a chest freezer back home less than a quarter full. So, when a group of white-tailed does step into the cut-over cornfield, I decided it was time to stock up on some venison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My set up was a\npop-up blind just off one end of the cut-over field. I\u2019d ranged various points\nalong the wood line earlier, so I knew the does were at roughly 320 yards.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I shifted around in my camp chair, wedged my backpack under my shooting arm, and found the best balance point on the shooting sticks for my Christensen Arms Ridgeline rifle. Looking through my Trijicon AccuPower 4-16×50, I picked out the largest doe and then waited for her to present a shot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eventually, she stood\nbroadside. I eased my finger pad onto the Ridgeline\u2019s trigger, lined up the Trijicon\u2019s\nreticle on the correct holdover line, let out my breath and sent the Barnes 6.5\nCreedmoor bullet downrange.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The doe went rigid for a split second, then lifted a front leg as if to walk forward. And then she dropped onto her back legs and rolled over. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Nebraska whitetail doe McCombie took at 320-yards with the Christensen Arms Ridgeline rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Christensen Arms Ridgeline was introduced in 2018. A bolt-action, the Ridgeline sports a carbon-fiber wrapped barrel and is available in 20 calibers, from 22-250 up to 300Win Mag<\/a>, plus 450 Bushmaster<\/a>. Barrel lengths range from 20 to 26-inches depending on caliber, plus several calibers in left-handed configurations. The rifle comes standard with a TriggerTech trigger, a comfortable synthetic stock, and a barrel already threaded for a muzzle brake or suppressor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Available in short and long-actions, the Ridgeline is a fine hunting rifle, accurate and dependable, light enough to carry all day if needed, and able to reach out longer distances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Ridgeline rifle from Christensen Arms, a 500-yard hunter. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Usually, I complete the\nshooting and testing for a rifle review, write the review, and then<\/em> take the rifle hunting. In this\ncase, timing factors had me putting a few boxes of 6.5 through the Ridgeline at\nmy local range, scoring sub-MOA groups at 100 yards, and heading to Nebraska a\nday later. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once back home, I did\nthe actual review work. For accuracy testing at my home range, I used:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

–Barnes 6.5 Creedmoor VOR-TX, firing a 120-grain all-copper TTSX BT bullet moving at 2,878 fps*; www.barnesbullets.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

–Hornady Full Boar, with a 120-grain copper-alloy GMX bullet, at 2,895 fps; www.hornady.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

–Remington Premier Match and a 140-grain open tip match bullet, at 2,626 fps. www.remington.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Firing at 100-yards\nfrom a sandbagged rest, my best five-shot group came in at .974-inches with the\nRemington Premier Match, with the first three shots of that group scoring .460-inches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Remington Premier Match in 6.5 Creedmoor scored this .974-inch group at 100 yards. The three-shot triangle at upper left measured .460-inches. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I also put six rounds\nof the Barnes VOR-TZ into a 1.1-inch group, which I thought was impressive\ngiven I did not allow cool down time between shots, essentially shooting as\nfast as I could reload and get back on target. The larger group began with\nthree shots that measured just .371 inches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The first three shots with Barnes VOR-TX printed a .371-inch group, while all six shots came in at 1.1-inches. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Hornady Full Boar printed a very respectable five shot groups of approximately 1.25-inches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have no heat measuring devices to scientifically verify this, but my observation was the Christensen Ridgeline\u2019s carbon fiber wrapping allows the barrel to cool down to ambient temperature in about half the time required for a traditional steel barrel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To build the Ridgeline\u2019s barrel, Christensen starts with a 416R stainless-steel liner that is button rifled and has a bore tolerance of +\/- .0001. Next, Christensen applies a proprietary carbon-fiber layering design to harness the strength and heat-conducting benefits of carbon fiber. The liner-plus-carbon wrapping provides for more consistent barrel harmonics and better accuracy, as well as a barrel that cools off rapidly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also looks pretty cool\u2014to this hunter, at least.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
A carbon-fiber wrapping on the Ridgeline\u2019s barrel provides faster cool-down time, better harmonics, and superior accuracy. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

My Ridgeline has a 24-inch barrel; it\u2019s also available with a 20-inch barrel.\u00a0 Depending on the caliber, Ridgeline barrel lengths range from 20 to 26-inches. Rifling is a 1:8 LH twist. All Ridgelines come standard with a TriggerTech Remington 700<\/a> Primary Trigger, adjustable by the user from 1.5 to 4.0-pounds of pull. Mine measured at an even 2.0-pounds of pull, according to my Lyman Digital Trigger Pull Gauge<\/a>.\u00a0The trigger breaks very, very cleanly, has zero creep, and resets quickly. If you pull a shot with this rifle? It won\u2019t be because of the trigger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
If you pull a shot with the rifle, it won\u2019t be due to the excellent TriggerTech trigger standard in all Ridgeline models. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Ridgeline\u2019s spiral-fluted\nbolt features two beefy, stainless steel lugs that measured .443-inches across the\ntop; they worked smoothly and locked up into the chamber very tightly. The bolt\nitself is nitride-treated. It also employs an M16-Style extractor which flings the empty brass out a good\nsix feet. (Magnum caliber Ridgeline models have dual ejectors.) The bolt knob\nis fluted and provides a very positive grip for the shooter, while the rifle\u2019s\nreceiver is built with an enlarged ejection port. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The fluted, two-lug bolt of the Ridgeline runs smoothly and locks up tight. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The threaded barrel\ncomes with a stainless-steel thread protector, plus a Christensen muzzle brake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The barrel on all Ridgeline\u2019s are threaded; thread protector and muzzle brake come standard with the rifle. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Ridgeline\u2019s sporter-style carbon fiber composite gunstock is handsomely done, with a topcoat of swirling paint lines over a black background. The surface of the stock also provides a nice grippy feel, even with the stock is cold or wet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Ridgeline carbon-fiber composite stock looks great and can handle the elements. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

All in all, the Christensen Arms Ridgeline is a first-rate hunting rifle, and at just a shade over six pounds won\u2019t be a burden to carry even on backcountry hunts. No, it doesn\u2019t cost $450. Much closer to $2,000, though the Internet has a couple of dealers offering it for right at $1,800. That\u2019s a substantial amount of money\u2014and for that investment, a shooter receives a substantial and extremely functional rifle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Ridgeline is a real investment for years of quality hunting. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

*Velocities measured with a PACT Professional XP Chronograph, from Brownell\u2019s<\/a>, unit approximately six-feet from the rifle muzzle. Average of ten shots per ammunition brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Specs:  Christensen Arms Ridgeline<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n