Christensen Arms has introduced its Modern Precision Rifle, a chassis system designed to get off the bench and into the field.
What the Modern Precision Rifle brings to the table:
- The Modern Precision Rifle has a lightweight carbon fiber-wrapped stainless steel barrel.
- The rifle's slender, proprietary billet aluminum chassis boasts V-bedding.
- It also features a carbon fiber handguard, which further reduces weight.
- Due to its construction, the 16-inch barrel .308 Win., is among the lightest chassis rifles.
- The rifle comes with a folding stock, allowing it to shrink down to backpack size.
Next to its use of advanced materials, Christensen Arms has built its reputation off highly accurate rifles. The lightweight gems that roll out of Utah have been just the ticket for making precision shots off the bench or tagging out on distant bucks during hunting season.
With this in mind, it is little surprise Christensen Arms would turn its attention to one of the most popular precision platforms sweeping the gun world presently — the chassis rifle. It also comes as little shock that the company would put its own unique twists on what it’s dubbed the Modern Precision Rifle. Perhaps chief among them being the rifle’s price.
Certainly, the $2,295 MSRP Christensen Arms has hung on the Modern Precision Rifle isn’t a drop in the bucket. Admittedly, when compared to the rest of the rifle world, precision or otherwise, it’s downright spendy. That’s the breaks in the long-range shooting game. But side-by-side with other chassis systems presently available, the price falls right in line. And measured against the rest of Christensen Arms’ catalog, particularly its other precision platforms, the Modern Precision Rifle is affordable.
Perhaps the most heartening aspect of Christensen Arms' recent offering is the company appears not to have skimped in creating a chassis rifle. The Modern Precision Rifle boasts all the extras Christensen Arms specializes in and shooters want when they spend money with the company.
One of the most notable, along these lines, is the MPR’s carbon fiber-wrapped 416R stainless steel barrel. The target profile barrels on the 6.5 Creedmoor and .308 Win., offer nearly the same stiffness found on all metal bulls, but at a fraction of the weight. In fact, the 16-inch barreled (there are options up to 26 inches, depending on caliber) .308 version is among the lightest chassis setups out there — less than 7 pounds.
Christensen Arms also controlled for weight by going in-house for the chassis design of its new sniper rifle. The 7075 billet aluminum chassis is extremely svelte and nimble, with V-bedding ensuring the stainless steel action has a solid foundation and the overall platform has the rigidity to milk the most out of the match-grade trigger. But through its trademark use of carbon fiber for the Modern Precision Rifle’s handguard, Christensen Arms still gives the system plenty of space for a bipod and what have you.
Its slender dimensions and light weight make the MPR a practical rifle away from the range. But those are not the only assets Christensen Arms has endowed the rifle with to get it and shooters off the bench. The Modern Precision Rifle is also outfitted with a folding stock, making it ideal to pack away, say in a backpack (or at least that's what the pictures show) for a trip into the backcountry. At the same tick, the company kept the important features anyone would want on a chassis stock — adjustable length of pull and cheek riser.
Christensen Arms has also thrown in some trimmings, common to many of their rifles, that really give the Modern Precision Rifle a custom appearance. Oversized fluted bolt knob, skeletonized bolt handle, spiral fluted twin-lug bolt and 5/8×24 pattern muzzle thread — outfitted at the factory with an adjustable side baffle break — all add a dimension of useful uniqueness to the rifle. And it goes without saying, the company has manufactured the rifle with the same attention to detail with which it tackles all firearms: match chamber, hand-lapped barrel, button rifling.
Once again, this level of gunmaking costs money, especially compared to the glut of economy bolt-action rifles that have flooded the market. But for shooters looking to get into more than an entry-level chassis, and one designed to excel away from the range and at distance, Christensen Arms certainly appears to offer a value with its Modern Precision Rifle.
Specifications:
Modern Precision Rifle
Calibers: 6.5 Creedmoor, .308 Win.
Barrel Length: 6.5 Creedmoor 22 or 26 in.; .308 Win. 16, 20 or 24 in.
Twist Rate: 6.5 Creedmoor 1:8; .308 Win. 1:10
Barrel: Carbon Fiber Wrapped Stainless Steel, Target Profile
Chassis: 7075 Billet Aluminum
Handguard: Carbon Fiber, M-Lok Slots
Magazine: AICS compatible
Stock: Folding, Adjustable LOP and Cheek Riser
MSRP: $2,295
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