The Modern Precision Rifle: A Full Review

I have always been a traditional hunting rifle kind of guy and never really understood the need or hype around the new folding chassis rifles. “If it isn’t broke don’t fix it,” is what my granddad used to say, and that is the kind of philosophy I have tried to live by throughout my life.

However, when my buddy showed up to the range with his shiny new Christensen Arms MPR rifle, I was more than intrigued. The hunting rifle had some cool features including: a metallic chassis that folded, a carbon fiber wrapped barrel, sub 10 pounds with a scope, and chambered in 6.5 PRC. The rifle was an absolute beauty and the groups it produced at the range that day were just as good as the rifle looked.

We spent the day at the range zeroing our rifles and plinking steel. After watching my buddy shoot sub MOA out to 200 yards I knew that I had to get one of these beauties for myself.

 The MPR comes in a variety of different short and long action chamberings and retails at $2399 before tax. I was extremely intrigued with the 6.5 PRC cartridge, but in the end, I purchased a rifle chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor; mostly due to the fact that I could get more barrel life out of the cartridge and also because ammo and reloading supplies were readily available for this cartridge during the “Covid-19 Epidemic.”

I purchased the black nitride 6.5 Creedmoor model from Cabela’s. The rifle that I bought has a 22-inch barrel, is 34 inches when folded, and has a 1:8 twist. Check out my full overview on my YouTube channel (@ignitedbynature) in the link below:

CA 6.5 CREEDMOOR WITH 22 INCH BARREL

Unboxing the rifle was a dream, the packaging was sleek and elegant. Ergonomically the rifle is well put together and realitively lightweight. Beyond the folding stock one will find a contoured Christensen Arms carbon fiber barrel, carbon fiber comb, free-floating carbon fiber handguard, and a 20 MOA rail. The action and stainless-steel side-baffle muzzle brake is finished in Black Nitride to give the forfend of the rifle a sleek look, and yes, the muzzle break is removable.

The Modern Precision Rifle weighs in starting at 6.9 pounds before accessories and is backed by the Christensen Arms Sub-MOA Guarantee, a guarantee that they proudly stand by. Keep in mind that the weight will depend on the type of action, caliber and barrel length that you choose.

The barrel is made from 416R stainless steel. 416R steel is a pre-hardened chromium stainless steel which is suitable for use in precision match-grade rifle barrels. It can be supplied in various hardness ranges according to the specific requirements called for by the manufacturer. The steel is precision drilled, button rifled, and then turned down to a slim profile before being wrapped in a proprietary carbon fiber composite and then hand lapped. This creates a barrel that performs at or above the standards associated with a traditional barrel, without the weight associated with steel. The barrels are manufactured in Gunnison, Utah so you can rest easily knowing that your rifle was manufactured in the US. The threaded muzzle break is threaded with 5/8 x 24 (standard) threads and if you happen to buy the rifle in .223 the barrel will be threaded in 1/2 x 28 threads.

Moving down the rifle, you will find that the action is built of the tried-and-true Remington® 700 action and is compatible with 700 action optic bases. The action is also equipped with a Trigger Tech® “Flat” trigger. The trigger can be adjusted from 1.5 to 4 pounds. And from the factory my trigger broke at around 2 pounds. A 20 MOA Picatinny rail is included and the action has a tactical mag release and is AICS-Compatible.

 The bolt on the MPR is a twin lug, spiral fluted bolt treated in nitride and is equipped with an oversized fluted bolt handle and an oversized fluted bolt knob making the bolt easy to grip and the overall function buttery smooth. The m16 style extractor helps the rounds eject flawlessly, Magnum calibers will have a dual ejector.

Now let’s move on to the Chassis, the chassis is built out of 7075 Billet aluminum and comes in three different colors (Black hard coat, Desert Brown, and Tungsten). 7075 aluminum alloy (AA7075) is an aluminum alloy with zinc being the primary alloying element. It has excellent mechanical properties and exhibits good ductility, high strength, toughness, and good resistance to fatigue and is corrosion resistant. It is one of the most commonly used aluminum alloys for highly stressed structural applications and has been extensively used in aircraft structural parts. Given Christensen Arms’ aeronautical engineering past, it makes sense why they chose to use this material on their weapon builds. Depending on the model, the Carbon fiber handguard is 14” or 17” and is equipped with M-lok capabilities which makes the rifle ideal for adding extra gadgets and gizmos.

Both the length of pull and cheek risers are adjustable via two set screws. The cheek riser is adjustable by 1” and the length of pull can be adjusted from 12.5” to 14.5”. The folding stock has a locking magnetic hinge (Magnelock™ Technology) and this ensures that your rifle does not unfold on you while it is in transport on the back of your pack or in your case.

The grip on the chassis is compatible with standard AR grips and has a V-block bedding and 6 Q/D flush cup Mounts; quick detach sling mounts (QD), also called flush cup sling mounts, are a type of mounting point used for attaching slings. "QD sling swivel" usually refers to the part attached to the sling, while "flush cup" refers to the corresponding socket on the firearm.

Lastly the chassis is equipped with a Picatinny rail on the underside giving one the ability to add a bipod or monopod quickly and easily. All in all, you are getting a semi-custom rifle out of the box that is ready to throw on your pack and accompany you on your next outdoor adventure.

 Now before shooting your rifle, you will want to follow the break in procedures found on the Christensen Arms website. I have also provided a link to my YouTube video that demonstrates the break in process.

Basically, you will need about 50 to 60 rounds of ammo to complete this break in process. You will clean the factory oil out of your barrel initially, then fire two 3 round groups, clean, and repeat this process until you have fired 50 to 60 rounds. The break-in process ensures that you properly smooth or burnish the bore and groove of your barrel. Overall, this creates better consistency of the bullets traveling through the barrel and helps solidify the CA arms sub MOA guarantee. Once you have completed this process you can begin to have fun and really test out your MPR’s capabilities. In fact, I found that after 60 rounds my rifle was zeroed and I was shooting sub MOA groups out to 200 yards which was very impressive for an out-of -the-box-factory rifle.

For my initial setup I chose Leupold 30mm backcountry rings, a Leopold VX6-HD 3-18X42 illuminated BDC reticle scope and a picatinny mounted Valhalla Spartan bipod for a total weight of 9.24 pounds.

This rifle shoots like an absolute gem with factory load 143 gr ELD-Xs and 153 gr Berger bullets. I am shooting steel at 500 yards with no problem. I also love the folding chassis. When folded the 22 inch barreled 6.5 rifle fits nicely on the pack with an overall length of 34 inches. This allows you to sit on stumps or rocks without smacking the bottom of your rifle as you sit, a feature that is really convenient while backpack hunting. The rifle’s compact size made it easy to carry around and centered nicely on my K3 Exo pack. In fact, I was even able to take the rifle on a backpacking deer hunt last year and harvested a small buck!

Overall, I think Christensen Arms has done a great job creating a package that can perform out on the range and in the backcountry.  The rifle is relatively light weight and is a tac driver when it comes to accuracy. You definitely get the sub MOA quality when you purchase one of these rifles.

Pros and Cons:

Pro:

semi-custom rifle with long range capabilities

Fairley light weight for a factory chassis rifle

Comes in a variety of different barrel lengths, calibers and colors

Great customer service.

Remington@ 700 action and easy to customize

Cons:

Expensive if you are on a budget

Does not have built in arca rails like XLR and MDT do for their hunting chassis

The Chassis is metal so it can get cold if you are carrying it through the woods in November.

Written By: Christopher Bunce 9/3/2023