Christensen Arms Ridgeline FFT Rifle Review: Well-Built

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My grandfather built his own house from scrap lumber salvaged from decommissioned army barracks. My father was a farmer who could fix most anything with little more than baling twine and WD-40. Me?

Those skills skipped a generation, relegating me to writing hunting stories and gun reviews. So, when Christensen Arms gave me the opportunity to build, and test, a Ridgeline FFT—one of their premier rifles, I thought “What’s the worst that can happen?” Then I thought, “Well, the worst that can happen is having the thing blow up in my face.” Luckily, the gun I assembled from a pile of parts did not suffer any critical failures, but did, in fact, turn out to be one of the more accurate rifles I’ve had the pleasure to test.

Behind the Curtain

Christensen Arms, located in Gunnison, Utah, opened its doors to me, providing a factory tour where no secrets were off limits (though they did request no photos for a few of the more proprietary steps in the gun-building process). The shop is blend of old and new, with lots of friendly people working away at each workstation and a few advanced robotics streamlining the process. One thing about a gunmaker based in Utah, the employees are end-users. Nearly every employee we met wanted to talk hunting, pulling out their phones to show us photos of their most recent trophies. I’ve gone through plenty of factory tours and can honestly say that doesn’t happen at some of the major manufacturers with plants east of the 100th meridian. It’s nice knowing the person building a hunting rifle understands what the tool is used for.

As a reminder, company founder Roland Christensen introduced the world to carbon-fiber barrels when he founded the company way back in 1995. Nowadays, you’re as likely to find a carbon-fiber barrel on a rifle as you are a blued steel version. They’re nearly ubiquitous and almost every (if not every) rifle manufacturer offers their own version. Most are made by third-party manufacturers, but Christensen still makes their barrels – and nearly every other part of their rifles – in house. Watching the machine overlay carbon fiber strands onto 416R steel barrel blanks is mesmerizing, as each strand is wound utilizing a proprietary multi-directional process. Each barrel is button-rifled and hand-lapped to exacting tolerances, which helps guarantee Christensen’s reputation for accuracy.

The Ridgeline FFT receiver and barrel gets free-floated into a carbon-fiber stock with a sporter profile. Noting Christensen’s history with carbon fiber, it’s no surprise the stocks are also built in-house using a proprietary process. The company calls it Flash-Forged Technology, and all rifles in their line with the FFT designation get the advanced carbon-fiber stock treatment. The specifics of Flash-Forged Technology are beyond my understanding, outside of the fact it uses multi-layered carbon fibers put under pressure to form the stock, with all its angles, corners and crevices precisely in place. This creates a stiff, yet extremely lightweight platform to build the rest of the rifle around, in a repeatable, accuracy-inducing design that is up to 1 lb. lighter than standard carbon-fiber stocks.

The receiver is machined from stainless steel and available as is or with bronze or black Cerakote, depending on the model. (A titanium version is also available, which gets you a 1/2-lbs. weight savings for another grand in price.) Like many rifles being manufactured today it utilizes the classic Remington 700 footprint to accept common optic mounting solutions and replacement triggers, or fire-control systems as the cool kids like to call them. (The Ridgeline comes with a Triggertech installed, which is user adjustable. I set mine at 3 ½ lbs.) Dual locking lugs ensure positive lock-up. Bolt throw is 90 degrees. My one complaint with the action is the wee bit of wiggle at the rear of the throw, which did cause occasional binding if I put the slightest bit of downward pressure on the bolt when pushing it forward. The drop box magazine features an aluminum floorplate emblazoned with the Christensen logo. An AICS removable magazine is also available via an aftermarket kit.

The bolt face features an M-16 style extractor and dual plungers. Combined with a bigger ejection port, this ensured no hiccups when extracting or ejecting spent rounds. The bolt is spiral fluted and the handle is drilled out for even more weight reduction. It’s also fitted with an aluminum bolt knob.

The safety is of the two-position variety, allowing the bolt to operate freely when in the rear, safe position. There are two (or more) schools of thought here, but I do like being able to extract a live round when the gun is safe. On the other side of the argument, an unlocked bolt can work itself out of battery during particularly tough hunts in rugged country. It’s not unheard of to have similarly fitted rifles fail to fire in the heat of the moment because the bolt is slightly lifted. This isn’t an issue exclusive to Christensen, as many rifles are fitted with the same style of two-position safety, making a strong case for the three-position variety. (Sorry for the tangent, but it’s worth deciding what you prefer when shopping for a new hunting rifle.)

Build-a-Gun

After the factory tour, I was placed in front of a gun bench piled with parts. It was time to assemble my rifle—a first for me. Luckily, there was a competent gunsmith close by, though he was easily distracted when we started trading hunting stories. (I was sticking to my strengths.) He walked me through the entire process, from putting together the firing pin assembly and fitting it into the bolt to torquing the barrel onto the receiver at the precise number of lb/ft and bedding everything into the FFT stock. I’m not going to say there weren’t any hiccups along the way, but with minimal help and some work with the go/no-go gauges, I had everything put together and ready to proof (by firing off a more-than-maximum charge in a controlled environment). Once that was done in the proofhouse by someone braver than me, I gave the rifle its proof stamps, engraved the carbon-fiber barrel with the cartridge designation (7 PRC for me, please and thank you) and topped it with a Leupold VX-5HD 3-15x44.

The next step was confirming zero and accuracy testing in Christensen’s shooting tunnel. The cramped underground room was cluttered with guns, ammo and all manner of accuracy testing equipment. With my rifle secured into a vise and pointed down the tunnel, I shuffled through the ammo cabinet in search of 7 PRC. There were the usual PRC suspects in Hornady’s Precision Hunter and Outfitter lines, but I was drawn to the “off-brands.” I had plenty of Hornady in my home arsenal and would wring the Ridgeline out with those when I got the rifle to my range. Instead, I selected Federal’s Terminal Ascent series topped with 155-grain projectiles and sent a fouling shot down the100-yard tunnel. Three more followed for accuracy, resulting in a group that measured .742 center-to-center. That falls well within Christensen’s sub-MOA guarantee.

The following day, the team at Christensen led us to a gun range in the hills and gave us free rein to work out any kinks in the rifle. As I am a civilized shooter (and they had suppressors on hand), I screwed a Scythe Ti from SilencerCo on the end, making the shooters I was sharing the range with happy. After shooting small groups at 100 yards, I walked the Ridgeline FFT out at ever-increasing distance until it was ringing steel in excess of 1,200 yards. A stiff breeze made wind calls challenging, but once that was worked out, I had no problem hitting center steel with every shot.

Back at home, shooting off sandbags in my backyard, I worked through two additional loads—Hornady’s Outfitter line with 160-grain CX bullets and their Precision Hunter loaded with 175-grain ELD-Xs. Of the two, the Christensen liked the ELD-X best, the smallest group being three shots measuring in at .437. The Outfitter line wasn’t far behind, with its tightest group coming at .77.

Final Thoughts

I’d like to say I’m shocked at the range results of a rifle I built myself, but truth be told, there was enough handholding along the way by Christensen’s team that the process was pretty idiot-proof. With a carbon-fiber barrel and stock, and lightweight action, the Ridgeline FFT is designed to be a hunting rifle that carries easy on the shoulder. Christensen states the Ridgeline FFT starts at 5.4 lbs. naked. With scope, sling and Silencer Central Backcountry suppressor added, mine comes in at 8.1 lbs.

A lot of time reducing a rifle’s weight leaves accuracy to be desired. Not so in this package, and while it remains to be seen if this rifle can perform in the backcountry, one of its siblings, chambered in Federal’s new 7 Backcountry, did prove its worth for me on a mule deer hunt last fall. Time will tell if my hand-built 7 PRC version will do the same.

Christensen Ridgeline FFT Specs

• Type: Bolt-action repeater
• Caliber: 7 PRC (tested)
• Barrel (Length and Twist): 22 in.; 1:8
• Weight: 5.4 lbs.
• Capacity: 3+1
• Stock: Carbon fiber
• Finish: Bronze Cerakote
• Trigger/Safety: Triggertech; two-position
• MSRP: $2,050
• Manufacturer: Christensen Arms, christensenarms.com

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