Ive had my Ridgeline for a few months now, and have some 2-300rounds down the tube of both factory .280 ammo, and AI handloads. I figure I can give a decent report at this point.
Lets start with the physicals of the rifle as received.
My gun came in at 6.8lbs with the muzzle brake installed, and a 26" barrel. I much prefer long barrels. This makes the gun rather long, but the balance is very much like a sporter of similar weight.
The gun is 7lbs 2 oz (brake off 7lbs 6oz brake on), with the 3-15x42 Conquest mounted in Talley lightweight rings.
Its stock dimensions are more like a sporter, so in overall effect it actually looks and feels like an old school varminter or target rebuild of a hunting gun.
My impressions are mostly positive.
Top notch materials, even on this "lower" end model
The fit and finish is well done, and the embellishments arent overly gaudy , tho the big logo on the floor plate...may get covered in epoxy paint.....
Balance is fantastic with or without the muzzle brake. The brake itself only adds about 4oz, but because the guns so light, you can change the way the rifle hangs by having it on or off. Im looking at getting a linear comp, since i like the feel of the gun with the brake installed but dont care for the crap its blasts all over me from the ground.
Excellent accuracy, at least for my ability.
The rifle has printed sub 3/4 MOA groups with factory ammo while fireforming. My handloads with 168ablrs will usually print slightly better, but i keep getting a random flyer that will show up pretty reliably if i shoot a 10 shot or more group. IM attributing this to the marginal twist rate, and a slight error in form? When i screw up considerably its a pretty obvious miss, the one that gets me is usually right in the middle of a long string that felt pretty good.
The rifle comes with excellent recoil reduction right out of the box. Its muzzle brake is a very effective radial, and it comes with a Limbsavers Airtech recoil pad installed (and nicely fitted i might add). My .280 wouldnt be brutal even with a hard plate and no muzzle brake, but ive also spent quite a bit of time behind a friend of mines .300WM which WOULD be uncomfortable in a 7lb gun sans recoil reduction.
The materials and finish also seem durable. Ive banged my gun around pretty good over the last few months, and its gotten one ding in the carbon right at the muzzle cap, and i managed to scuff off the paint on the stock with my bipod when i first got it.
The bipod was missing its pads tho so that wasnt a huge surprise, i dinged the crap out of my .375s wood stock with it as well.
On game Ive made mostly freehand shots out to 125yds or so, tho Ive taken a couple from a brace, including a moving axis deer at little over 100, and one standing at 200.
The rifle swings naturally, points well, and is plenty stable off a rest.
Ive also shoot it out to 300 from sand bag using the RZ800 reticle for compensation, and have been rewarded with (again for me) very good accuracy.
The only real downside, is that they are expensive with the lower prices being around 17-1800. You can buy a lot of rifle for that, but if you want something like THIS its about as cheap as your likely to find. I spec'd building my .280AI myself, and even with doing all the work, to build a comparable rifle, id have been well over 2K dollars.
There are a couple other nit picky little things i fixed, that on a gun with a lower price point i wouldnt have even blinked at.
The bedding compound they put in the stock is literally a dollop right at the recoil lug. This is actually probably all that necessary, but it bugged me and I rebedded the whole thing.
The other is that there was a hitch on turning down the bolt handle.
After poking around with a pick I found a still sharp edge at the end of the right feed rail/recoil lug recess. Couple passes with 400grit paper and a backer and that was gone (cleaning the receiver out after wards was actually harder than breaking the edge).
My biggest complaint tho is the itty bitty bolt handle that comes stock on the ridgeline...its looks and feels ridiculous, even tho its really well done. A 17 dollar ebay handle replaced it.
All in all Im very happy with this rifle, and would recommend them to anyone looking for something LIKE this. It offers the ballistic and stability advantages of a long, heavy barrel, but with a sporters weight, and balance.
If your simply looking for a heavy barreled target gun, or a light weight hunting rifle I think both needs can be served cheaper, tho not necessarily better.
Shows the bolt handle, and the cheek riser i stole from my 527.
I didnt notice till now, but where I shot the doe in the next picture, is just up and to the left of the muzzle lol.
Doe taken with a single shot at just under 200yds. 140gr fusion factory loads.
Taken from a brace at just over 100yds, 2 shots hit 5" or so apart about as quick as i could load and fire.
300yd Group, 3 closer shots were after adjusting power on the scope to move poi up a little, didnt make a huge difference. The total group is still under 2.75" including the first shot. I also adjusted 3 clicks right after the 200yds group, fired the first shot here and came back a click.
200yds sub .75"
Gun and Ammo
Lets start with the physicals of the rifle as received.
My gun came in at 6.8lbs with the muzzle brake installed, and a 26" barrel. I much prefer long barrels. This makes the gun rather long, but the balance is very much like a sporter of similar weight.
The gun is 7lbs 2 oz (brake off 7lbs 6oz brake on), with the 3-15x42 Conquest mounted in Talley lightweight rings.
Its stock dimensions are more like a sporter, so in overall effect it actually looks and feels like an old school varminter or target rebuild of a hunting gun.
My impressions are mostly positive.
Top notch materials, even on this "lower" end model
The fit and finish is well done, and the embellishments arent overly gaudy , tho the big logo on the floor plate...may get covered in epoxy paint.....
Balance is fantastic with or without the muzzle brake. The brake itself only adds about 4oz, but because the guns so light, you can change the way the rifle hangs by having it on or off. Im looking at getting a linear comp, since i like the feel of the gun with the brake installed but dont care for the crap its blasts all over me from the ground.
Excellent accuracy, at least for my ability.
The rifle has printed sub 3/4 MOA groups with factory ammo while fireforming. My handloads with 168ablrs will usually print slightly better, but i keep getting a random flyer that will show up pretty reliably if i shoot a 10 shot or more group. IM attributing this to the marginal twist rate, and a slight error in form? When i screw up considerably its a pretty obvious miss, the one that gets me is usually right in the middle of a long string that felt pretty good.
The rifle comes with excellent recoil reduction right out of the box. Its muzzle brake is a very effective radial, and it comes with a Limbsavers Airtech recoil pad installed (and nicely fitted i might add). My .280 wouldnt be brutal even with a hard plate and no muzzle brake, but ive also spent quite a bit of time behind a friend of mines .300WM which WOULD be uncomfortable in a 7lb gun sans recoil reduction.
The materials and finish also seem durable. Ive banged my gun around pretty good over the last few months, and its gotten one ding in the carbon right at the muzzle cap, and i managed to scuff off the paint on the stock with my bipod when i first got it.
The bipod was missing its pads tho so that wasnt a huge surprise, i dinged the crap out of my .375s wood stock with it as well.
On game Ive made mostly freehand shots out to 125yds or so, tho Ive taken a couple from a brace, including a moving axis deer at little over 100, and one standing at 200.
The rifle swings naturally, points well, and is plenty stable off a rest.
Ive also shoot it out to 300 from sand bag using the RZ800 reticle for compensation, and have been rewarded with (again for me) very good accuracy.
The only real downside, is that they are expensive with the lower prices being around 17-1800. You can buy a lot of rifle for that, but if you want something like THIS its about as cheap as your likely to find. I spec'd building my .280AI myself, and even with doing all the work, to build a comparable rifle, id have been well over 2K dollars.
There are a couple other nit picky little things i fixed, that on a gun with a lower price point i wouldnt have even blinked at.
The bedding compound they put in the stock is literally a dollop right at the recoil lug. This is actually probably all that necessary, but it bugged me and I rebedded the whole thing.
The other is that there was a hitch on turning down the bolt handle.
After poking around with a pick I found a still sharp edge at the end of the right feed rail/recoil lug recess. Couple passes with 400grit paper and a backer and that was gone (cleaning the receiver out after wards was actually harder than breaking the edge).
My biggest complaint tho is the itty bitty bolt handle that comes stock on the ridgeline...its looks and feels ridiculous, even tho its really well done. A 17 dollar ebay handle replaced it.
All in all Im very happy with this rifle, and would recommend them to anyone looking for something LIKE this. It offers the ballistic and stability advantages of a long, heavy barrel, but with a sporters weight, and balance.
If your simply looking for a heavy barreled target gun, or a light weight hunting rifle I think both needs can be served cheaper, tho not necessarily better.
Shows the bolt handle, and the cheek riser i stole from my 527.
I didnt notice till now, but where I shot the doe in the next picture, is just up and to the left of the muzzle lol.
Doe taken with a single shot at just under 200yds. 140gr fusion factory loads.
Taken from a brace at just over 100yds, 2 shots hit 5" or so apart about as quick as i could load and fire.
300yd Group, 3 closer shots were after adjusting power on the scope to move poi up a little, didnt make a huge difference. The total group is still under 2.75" including the first shot. I also adjusted 3 clicks right after the 200yds group, fired the first shot here and came back a click.
200yds sub .75"
Gun and Ammo
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