New Rifle! Christensen Mesa 7-08

[LoonWulf]

Its been a couple months of juxtaposition in my firearms collection. Ive sold a few rifles, bought a couple handguns (and actually got to take ONE of those home), and modified some of my old rifles into forms im more likely to take out and use.
This has also left a hole in my collection for a lighter chambering than my .280AI, in a smaller and more portable rifle than my carbon barreled 6.5CM....ive also found only a few people ive loaned my carbons to who werent terrified of dinging them.
So add loaner gun to the list....

The result of my shuffling rifles is that ive added a new Christensen Mesa to my collection.

The rifle was either going to be 6.5CM or 7-08Rem (never mind my ffl buddy almost had me sold on another 7mm mag), and I WANTED the bronze and green.
Turns out the bronze and green Mesa was available in 7-08 AND 6.5cm at the time.
Already having 2 CMs i figgured id try the 7-08, which I've been saying I'd try since highschool, when I watched a pink and black tiger stripe model 7 drop one of the largest axis deer ive ever seen.

Not really doing a review as much as showing off my new toy, but the fit and finish are excellent, as they are on my Ridgeline.
Everything works smoothly, and the rifle handles fantastically with the Burris Timberline scope in talley rings.
If theres anything of note its that the barrel profile is quite slim, probably a #1 contour from most barrel makers, and its capped with a 1/2-28 threaded brake thats really sized for a .30cal.....so im not expecting it to be fantastically effective, especially with the .5 ish od.
Christensen also gives rhe barrel a generous float, running something like 1/8th of an inch or more.

Oh they have changed recoil pads since I bought my Ridgeline as well. New one isnt as cool as the airtech, but it feels like a good pad none the less.

Total weights about 7.5lbs, gun weights just under 6.5lbs.

Im hoping to get to the range for at least a basic sight in some time in the next week....but ive been sick since last friday, so theres a huge backlog of stuff im supposed to do this weekend.
First range day may have to wait till next weekend.

 

[Ru4real]

Nice rifle! I’m thinking you will enjoy the rifle and caliber.

 

[LoonWulf]

Few more random pictures.

 

[BigBore44]

Just....Wow! That bronze is really something and the gold in the stock makes it even more appealing. The 7-08 doesn’t need a brake on it unless you’re running bigger bullets and heavier charges. But I suppose everything could utilize one to some degree. That is quite a rifle. Don't paint it pink.

 

[LoonWulf]

Nice rifle! I’m thinking you will enjoy the rifle and caliber.

Thank you!
Im fairly sure your right. Im really looking forward to getting to work on load development....and its been a WHILE since I was excited about load development.

Just....Wow! That bronze is really something and the gold in the stock makes it even more appealing. The 7-08 doesn’t need a brake on it unless you’re running bigger bullets and heavier charges. But I suppose everything could utilize one to some degree. That is quite a rifle. Don't paint it pink.

I actually pulled it off and was gonna put the thread protector i was expecting to come with it on....but there wasnt one.....
Id assumed because my Ridgeline had one, the Mesa came with one lol.

Anyway, its got about a .75" long shank, so ill probably have to get one made. Once i do ill probably pull the brake.

While i think bronze and pink would look pretty sexy....you know like maybe a hot pink stock with louis vuitton emblem pattern in bronze?
Im happy with the way this one looks right now, dont see any reason to "adjust" it......yet

 

[stillquietvoice]

Nice rifle congtatulations on your acquisition. Hope it shoots as good as it looks.

 

[troy fairweather]

Nice gun, I've been eyeing the green and bronze. The 7-08 won't disappoint, 162 ish and down will be great. I think for the animals you have a 120 and 140 will be good ,but I'm sure you will want high bc stuff.

 

[LoonWulf]

Nice gun, I've been eyeing the green and bronze. The 7-08 won't disappoint, 162 ish and down will be great. I think for the animals you have a 120 and 140 will be good ,but I'm sure you will want high bc stuff.

Im probably going to start with 150s NBTs cause that's the lightest of what I've got lol
Id eventually like to get ahold of some of the 120NBTs, as those are plenty heavy enough for anything ill shoot on THIS island.
This gun is probably going to be run a little less as a hot rod, and more of a commuter. By default its already significantly outpacing the 6.5Grendel, and out punching the .243 its essentially replacing.
I figure a 120gr bullet at 2800-3000fps should be enough for most jobs, and I can resight with heavier, or faster should I need too....tho who knows maybe ill get lucky and they will all shoot pretty much the same place, my 375 does that.

 

[Garandimal]

A new C/A rifle, as a loaner...?

Gee, you must like your friends.
(my loaner's a bubba-stocked 03-A3)



Sweet rifle/perfect cartridge. (.280 short)

Hope they like it.




GR

 

[BreechFace]

A 7mm08 "commuter" will be an eventuality to my 280ai "burn out"

Looks very nice! No carbon fiber on this one eh?

 

[MachIVshooter]

Nice toy! I haven't had an opportunity to shoot one of them, but they seem like nice rifles

I feel the sweet spot for 7mm-08 is 130-150 gr. bullets. Right now I'm doing a lot of 130 gr. SMK loads because Sierra had them on clearance, but I also like the 139 gr. SST. Of course, I'm mostly hunting steel and paper with the integral, but I might use it for mulies this fall. Have to figure out how to tell the .25-06 it doesn't get the glory this year...

A new C/A rifle, as a loaner...?

Gee, you must like your friends.

No Kidding! My 7mm-08 loaner is a Stevens 200 I gave $175 and a brick of primers for. Lol.

 

[LoonWulf]

A 7mm08 "commuter" will be an eventuality to my 280ai "burn out"

Looks very nice! No carbon fiber on this one eh?

Haha, yeah You're probably right.
I figgure while my 280s in the shop getting a new tube spun on, I'll have something smaller than my 375 to hunt with.

No carbon on this one
While I like the Ridgeline and the carbon fiber barrel Creedmoor I built, on a hunting gun I don't think it really offers you a whole lot of advantage.
With the mesa's cruising along at 1200 bucks and carrying every other part besides the carbon wrap that the Ridgeline does, It's hard to say that this isn't a better deal on basically the same rifle. Unless of course you actually need or just want The carbon wrap.

Nice toy! I haven't had an opportunity to shoot one of them, but they seem like nice rifles

I feel the sweet spot for 7mm-08 is 130-150 gr. bullets. Right now I'm doing a lot of 130 gr. SMK loads because Sierra had them on clearance, but I also like the 139 gr. SST. Of course, I'm mostly hunting steel and paper with the integral, but I might use it for mulies this fall. Have to figure out how to tell the .25-06 it doesn't get the glory this year...

I've gotten attached to Nosler bullets again, and pre-covid SPS usually had most of the options available as seconds at least once every couple months.... Which was why I got stuck to the idea of the 120 ballistic tips a while ago.
The 139 grain SSTs were what I shot in my seven mag in high school, and they performed fantastically for me. I hadn't even thought about it but those would be another really good option for the 7-08.

Man that 25-06 is going to give you puppy dog eyes, and look all forlorn....... But don't worry you won't feel the guilt as bad once the safe door is closed

A new C/A rifle, as a loaner...?

Gee, you must like your friends.
(my loaner's a bubba-stocked 03-A3)



Sweet rifle/perfect cartridge. (.280 short)

Hope they like it.




GR

No Kidding! My 7mm-08 loaner is a Stevens 200 I gave $175 and a brick of primers for. Lol.

If I like ya enough to loan you a gun, You can borrow any gun I own that I'm not currently using lol.

That said certain people are limited to specific options....
Said people can either choose the 300 Winchester Ruger American, or the 13lb, stainless barreled 700 in 6.5 Creedmoor.
Actually, if I'm annoyed at said person for some reason, The only option is probably that 13lb monstrosity.

 

[gotboostvr]

Said people can either choose the 300 Winchester Ruger American, or the 13lb, stainless barreled 700 in 6.5 Creedmoor.

So they'll either mess up their shoulder or their back? Ones punishment shooting it, the other is punishment carrying it.

 

[LoonWulf]

So they'll either mess up their shoulder or their back? Ones punishment shooting it, the other is punishment carrying it.

Or they're hearing if they turn on the muzzle brake....

 

[IdaD]

Nice rifle and caliber! 7mm-08 is a fantastic hunting caliber for most North American big game while still being very pleasant to shoot out of a lighter rifle.

 

[Legionnaire]

Nice. One of my favorite cartridges.

 

[Howland937]

I like ya enough to loan you a gun, You can borrow any gun I own that I'm not currently using lol

I'll let anyone shoot anything I own, but I can't think of very many people I'd loan a gun to. Maybe it's because the few that ask to borrow a gun also ask to borrow money

No Kidding! My 7mm-08 loaner is a Stevens 200 I gave $175 and a brick of primers for. Lol.

Sadly, your rifle hasn't appreciated as much as the primers you traded...new blue book only has it valued at half a brick.

 

[LoonWulf]

Sadly, your rifle hasn't appreciated as much as the primers you traded...new blue book only has it valued at half a brick

Yeah but both those and the XS-7s we're really good deals when they were available.
I was sad when they discontinued the Stevens 200, since i really dont care for the accutrigger, and it was otherwise the same as the savage.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Sadly, your rifle hasn't appreciated as much as the primers you traded...new blue book only has it valued at half a brick.

I've never paid over $35 for a brick, and part of the deal was the rifle being delivered here from about 50 miles South. 2 hours of my time wasted driving instead of working = >$100 lost, so looking at it that way, the rifle was right around $100.

 

[WisBorn]

Nice rifle! I think you will like the 7mm-08 it will make a nice carry rifle. It's no 7mm Rem Mag but you can get one next time

Curious how do you like your 28 Nosler?

 

[stillquietvoice]

Haha, yeah You're probably right.
I figgure while my 280s in the shop getting a new tube spun on, I'll have something smaller than my 375 to hunt with.

No carbon on this one
While I like the Ridgeline and the carbon fiber barrel Creedmoor I built, on a hunting gun I don't think it really offers you a whole lot of advantage.
With the mesa's cruising along at 1200 bucks and carrying every other part besides the carbon wrap that the Ridgeline does, It's hard to say that this isn't a better deal on basically the same rifle. Unless of course you actually need or just want The carbon wrap.


I've gotten attached a Nosler or bullets again, and pre-covid SPS usually had most of the options available as seconds at least once every couple months.... Which was why I got attached to the idea of the 120 ballistic tips.
The 139 grain SSTs were what I shot in my seven mag in high school, and they performe fantastically for me. I hadn't even thought about it but those would be another really good option for the 7-08.

Man that 25-06 is going to give you puppy dog eyes, look all forlorn....... But don't worry you won't feel the guilt as bad once the safe door is closed




If I like ya enough to loan you a gun, You can borrow any gun I own that I'm not currently using lol.

That said certain people are limited to specific options....
Said people can either choose the 300 Winchester Ruger American, or the 13lb, stainless barreled 700 in 6.5 Creedmoor.
Actually if I'm annoyed at said person for some reason, The only option is probably that 13lb monstrosity.

Those sst's shoot half in groups in my rem 700 7mm08. They're good bullets.

I used to have 2 savage 110's in 06, I always loaned the rifle I carried most because itvwould shoot nickles with rem 165 corelockts, my second would only do quarters, so if someone missed it wasn't the rifles fault.

 

[Wreck-n-Crew]

Nery nice The bronze barrel and paint sceme really look good together.

Christensen Arms make some nife rifles. Im looking forward to that review!

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Wow! Looks great!

I dig the brake. Even if it doesnt really need it, why get rid of it? Does it effect accuracy?

 

[LoonWulf]

Nice rifle! I think you will like the 7mm-08 it will make a nice carry rifle. It's no 7mm Rem Mag but you can get one next time

Curious how do you like your 28 Nosler?

I will have another 7 mm Remington Magnum bolt action..... Probably in the near future..... I do still have my BAR in 7 mag, But it's just not quite the same.....

I haven't really shot the 28 enough to know whether I like it or not. The numbers it turns out or nearly identical to the 7 mm STW I used to have, So I know I like the performance, But this particular gun I'm not sure about yet.
I had some scoping issues early on which I thought I had remedied with the Meopta/cabelas HTR scope, but I've just ran into issues with running out of adjustments in the vertical.
An actual Meopro htr has 40 some odd minutes of angle on the turrets, The Cabela's version which looks like it uses a Kenton adapted turret on the vertical, only has about 30 minutes of angle of adjustment.... Most of which was burned up sighting in 100 yards.
Thus I had to get a 20 minute of angle rail and a new set of rings.
I'm hoping to get it out again in the next week or so (same time as the 7-08) and do some 200yard+ shooting with it.

Those sst's shoot half in groups in my rem 700 7mm08. They're good bullets.

I used to have 2 savage 110's in 06, I always loaned the rifle I carried most because itvwould shoot nickles with rem 165 corelockts, my second would only do quarters, so if someone missed it wasn't the rifles fault.

Now that I've been reminded of them I may have to go pick up some of the 139s I know I remember seeing some on the shelf here locally, which makes them cheaper than what they're going for on the internet now even with "paradise" tax!

One of my buddies accuses me of being a savage hater, because I don't like the Axis, and don't buy them very often anymore.
But even with the rough edges I think there It's still an awesome option.

They offer fantastic, consistent, performance. I think I've owned.... Five or six 110/10s. Never found one that wouldn't shoot well.
If someone handed me a 110 to use, Id certainly do so with a great deal of confidence.

 

[LoonWulf]

Nery nice The bronze barrel and paint sceme really look good together.

Christensen Arms make some nife rifles. Im looking forward to that review!

Yeah I used to think the Hell's canyon was the nicest looking factory rifle available, then I saw the bronze and green Ridgelines and Mesa's and got hooked..... Unfortunately to be able to afford my Ridgeline I had to take a deal on the silver and black, which is still a very attractive gun..... But for the Mesa I really only wanted it to be bronze and green.

I'll get the pair of Christensen's, and the Christensen barreled 700 out to the range sometime soon I'm sure. When I do I'll try poster in depth review.
@HoosierHunter128 Just got his as well.

Wow! Looks great!

I dig the brake. Even if it doesnt really need it, why get rid of it? Does it effect accuracy?

The break won't really affect accuracy or anything like that, It's just that it's going to increase blast even if it doesn't do a ton for recoil...... Which who knows it might, And if it does it might get to stay on there..... I don't generally run muzzle brakes on my hunting rifles.

Honestly I like the way it looks also.....