Tikkas are amazing and you add the fact they are NOT ridiculously priced, they are amazing. I was able to buy any rifle I want and I have a room ful, Tikkas are my favorite

I got the Ruger American Range in 6.5 Creedmoor and had loading problems too. I sent it back to Ruger and they ended up replacing the barrel. Got it back today and cycled three five round magazines without any problems. You might try returning your Ruger's with feeding problems. I got my rifle back 12 days after it shipped to Ruger. Very happy with Ruger Customer Service.

While working at a custom bolt gun shop, we had lots of Christiansen rifles come through with the objective of "just get it to work please." I understand that some shoot and some don't, but there were definitely a lot of funky ones out there. Lots of stocks touching barrels from the factory, feeding issues, all of it.

Hi Jim, I have become a fan of the Backfire channel. Your content is really interesting and helpful. I am writing to you today because I have a nice ½ MOA Mossberg Patriot 308 that came with a Picatinny rail mounting problem that I found when I was mounting the scope. I fixed the problem and the gun shoots as well as any gun I have ever owned. I am guessing, however, that had I not fixed it the gun it would have shot about 12 MOA like yours did. If you still have the replacement rifle that was not very good, I would suggest that you look at the forward screw mounting the Picatinny rail and using a digital caliper compare the height of the front screw mounting the rail, with the height of the rear screw, measuring each from the top of the rail. If the front screw is higher then you have the same problem that I had. There is a set screw or plug under the front screw that was too high and prevented the rail screw from properly securing the rail to the action because it would bottom out on the plug before it would fully bottom on the rail countersink. This caused two problems. First the front of the rail was never really secured to the action. Second, the screw was high enough that the scope mount cross screw would hit the top of the rail screw before the mount was down flush to the top of the rail. That left me with a scope mount that was never fully secure to the rail and the rail which was never fully secure to the action. Jim, I know you have contacts at Mossberg that will listen to you but would probably ignore me. I am hoping that you were frustrated enough and curious enough to check this out on your rifle and let Mossberg know of this problem if you find the same thing that I had.

I love my CVA Scout in 45-70. The trigger is first class. No take-up, no creep, breaks like glass, and no overtravel. Waiting on the suppressor.

I bought a Savage Axis II on Black Friday years ago and put a Boyd’s stock on it. It never misses or fails.

Thank you Sir! Because of your videos, I learned about the Ruger American Ranch 300 BLK. I am a huge 300 BLK fan and always wanted a 300 BLK bolt action. I absolutely love my Ruger American Ranch 300 BLK. Now, you tell me about the CVA Scout single shot in 300 BLK. That is a gun I have got to have. I have a perfect suppressor for it. Again, thank you. I sincerely appreciate your work.

I slobbering over your gun room , I'm playing PowerBall tonight

Very informative as usual-great content and thanks for all the hard work you do and share with Us 👍🏾

For the Ruger American GoWild, Federal is putting out a terminal ascent in 7mm PRC, and it's 155 grain :) I'm very excited and definitely going to pick some up to see how it shoots.

YES to the Christensen Ranger. I love the other 3 rifles I have from them, but I traded that for a Bergara 17 HMR. So worth it.

Had a similar issue with my first Bergara until I checked the website and it offers their preferred projectile weight. 168 for example. It was a huge difference. Especially in a 1:10 twist.

CVA is doing a great job and their triggers don`t suck like most stock triggers. imo

The 300 Win Mag SAAMI chamber does really have a freebore* in the modern sense. It uses a simple single taper design that starts as .315" dia. This means that the bullet can be slightly off center in the chamber and hit the rifling at an angle. For some reason Winchester had stuck with this type of chamber up until the 6.8 Western in 2021. It is sometimes possible to get a WinMag with a "match chamber" with freebore, but most often it is in a more expensive rifle with a custom barrel. The US Army uses such a chamber on its sniper rifles. FWIW, Remington, on the other hand, started using a tight section of freebore in the early 1960's with the 7mm Rem Mag, and Weatherby had been using it since the 1940's. *These days, "freebore" means a section of bore like a snug tube prior to the taper to the rifling that ensures that the bullet is aligned with the bore as it takes the rifling (previously, the term just meant the section oversize chamber before hitting the rifling). It is current practice for the freebore to be less than one thousanths of an inch larger than the the bullet diameter, and often, like the 6.5 Creedmoor, half that. The 308 has a section of freebore, but it is sloppy by today's standards at 2 thousandths of an inch. 308 match chambers have a quarter of that, same as the Creedmoors.

I bought my Christenson Ranger in July 2023 and after 1300 rounds, it has been an amazing shooter. Flawless and very accurate.

Model 70 is the Answer 👌I also have a T3X Arctic amazing rifle

You can get a conversion kit from Ruger for the American for the AICS magazines

I own a Ruger American in .308 and use it as a base to a more precision leaning build. The feeding error you’re experiencing is also on the shooter. If you jam the bolt shut, the case may not catch or it will jam the bullet into the feed ramp damaging the round. If you shut slower, you’ll feel if the case doesn’t catch in the first 1/2 inch. And it will give time to gently slide into chamber. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

When I first got into hunting back in the 90s, I bought a Browning Abolt medallion in 270. Beautiful rifle, put a really nice Leupold VX3 on it, and then I started trying to site it in. That rifle was the pickiest gun I’ve EVER owned when it came to ammo… I bet I tried 20 different types of ammo in various grain weights, before I FINALLY found one that it liked. Even at its best however, it was still a 1.5-2 inch gun at 100 yards. Every other load I tried was over 3 inch groups! Ended up selling it a few years later. Bought a much cheaper savage 110, and it’s a tack driver! 1 inch gun all day, with just about any ammo!

For the Tikkas and barrel threading, the only ones that are threaded are heavier contours like the varmint, UPR, CTR, and newer Veil and Roughtech series. I’m starting to really like my roughtech green in 30-06 with a can

I have a Tika T3 lite 270 that I bought in 2005 and still choose it over all my other rifles. My wife has a 35 whelen CVA Scout and no complaints on it either.

I just recently put together a new mossberg patriot .22-250 in a boyds stock. I did pillar bed kit and bed around the recoil lug. I thoroughly copper cleaned the bore before my 1st shot. Talley rings & styrka scope. It shoots under 3/4" moa.

I will say my Bergara Wilderness Ridge has also been very picky with ammo. So I know where you are coming from. Ironically the best grouping I got was with the cheapest ammo I tried. Remington CoreLokt 180graim BTHP. Not what I wanted to use, felt weird going so cheap with all of the “high quality” ammo out there, but dropped an elk where it stood last year using them. Great groupings. About .75 at 100 yards.

I would highly recommend trying out the Hornady outfitter ammo for your 7prc. I had shot multiple different bullets through my gun and when I switched to the outfitter I was consistently getting .75 MOA groups and multiple .5 MOA groups as well

I just bought a Ruger American Ranch in 300 blackout and it is so fun. Quietest suppressed rifle I have ever seen. I’ve become a precision rifle snob over the past decade and yet this thing is so fun. You are right! Buy fun guns !

Your honesty is so important. Thank you.

I have a Bergara B14 HMR chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor and it is by far the pickiest bolt action rifle I own when it comes to accuracy with different ammo. Nosler is +2MOA but certain lots of Hornady is sub 1/2MOA.

That first unthreaded gun looks perfect for DIY threading . Most gun barrels are tappered and like you said : have too small an diameter .

I gifted my son a T3X in .270 with 50rds of handloads tailored for his rifle--MOA with Sierra Gamekings. Tricked out with a Leupold Vari-x II it's a hunt everything in Texas rig to last a lifetime. Fabulous value for the money spent!!

I got a Bergara BA 13 TD (similar to a CVA Scout) and I love it to bits. However it´s also very picky on ammo. I wouldn´t trade it for anything though, because with the right ammo it´s dead accurate and the short length and the reliability just make me smile everytime I use it.

This is some of the most solid advice ever. Don’t fall for the marketing, know what works and know what’s feasible.

I like the point that you make on reliable feeding and some issues with the Ruger American on just that point. Taking reliable feeding further, whenever I’ve had any clients on hunts and have issues with feeding it was from detachable magazines on hunting rifles. Never saw a CZ, BRNO, Sako, Sauer, Mauser, Zastava, Merkel, Remington, Ruger M77, Rigby, Weatherby (to name a few) with an internal magazine fail on feeding. Magazines are fine for the range, and they are practical on the range also. I’ve seen amazing trophies get away when the hunter could not load their brand new rifle to feed. Worst yet, arriving with the rifle and they had not even tested their ammo. At least we only ever had one client where the new rifle still needed the new scope fitted and he left his magazine in Wyoming, more than 15,000km’s from where we were hunting.

Im so glad that at the end of the video you state that most of those mistakes were yours! Not thinking about end of build, not thinking about availability of ammo, not thinking about how the gun functions.

I have the same Bergara Ridge in 300WM. It shoots Norma 150s 1.5moa and 180 Hornady interlock loaded to 3050fps 3/4 moa. You are correct about the bluing. It sucks. One day on a damp Moose hunt and it had rust. I have since cerakoted it.

Tikka is one of the few that has excellent left hand support.

Funny you mentioned the CA Ranger, I also purchased one in .22lr some 8 years ago, super picky and talk about feeding problems, best it would shoot regardless of type or brand of ammo was around 1" at 50, the Trigger Tech trigger could not be adjusted below 3.6lb, after about a year I traded that pig promising myself never to look at another CA (in Aussie they are quite expansive $900 USD) Well the came out with the .22 WMR and 17 HMR, read a lot about improvements etc, so jumped in againand got a .22WMR, accuracy this time with Hornady V Max 30 grainers is excellent, consistently around .75 at 100, I did change the trigger group out for a TT Diamond and it breaks nicely at 1.8lb, but the feeding issues are still around although not quite as bad, I must say the two CZ 457's I have leave it for dead in every way.

Love this info. Great job!

Sako’s are great too..

I had the same issue with my Christiansen Ranger with horrific feeding issues. I sent it back and they replaced the bolt and did some other gunsmith stuff. I haven’t had a misfeed in over 1000 rounds since. My issue is that Christensen is well aware of this issue and has done nothing about it.

Love my Ruger American 243 . Never had a problem chambering ever. Have fired over 1000 rounds at range out to 900yrds. Only problem is flimsy stock which was easy fix by filling stock with fibre glass, making sure it is free floated. Great content as always 👏 😊

That's one hell of a collection you got there.

My Question is, if you don't like those guns, why do you still have them?

I got a savage 110 precision in .308 a few months back. The paint on the receiver mars easily. Other than that it is wonderful.

I bought a Christensen ridgeline and I was very disappointed. It was accurate but the bolt was so rough working it was like it was made in a Soviet tractor factory. It’s a $2000 gun. As Tikka goes, I think the one I bought, a Tikka T3 Lite Veil wasn’t lite at all. I didn’t realize it until I put the rail and scope on it. I left it in the shelf during hunting season. That said, I have a Kimber Montana which may have ruined me for even normal weight rifles. But the Tikka is a very well built, smooth, reliable rifle and looks pretty cool too

Had the same issue with Bergara in 270 Win that I sent back, they did some tweeking to the barrel and action...still "walked" rounds across the target just like it did before I sent it back. It's now being true'd, rebarreled to 280 AI, and a new stock. I know, knee jerk reaction, but wanted a 280 AI on a Rem 700 style action and this one got sent off.

So I have a ruger american in 270. On the range it's and absolute beast never misses a beat. Never jammed never had issues feeding. Now if I messing around and just try and cycle ammo through the action without firing I have problems. Idk why but out in the field it has never let me down.

I went to leave my opinion on your page but too much of my info needed so thought I'd leave it here... My first couple elk were with 30-06. Then upgraded to 300 win mag. I've had my share of elk but I'm not the trophy hunter so I used to go after the late season cow elk as I prefer the cold season for the the meat better... I hunted with people that use 7mm-08 an old timer that preferred 30-30 but everyone has there choice for some reason... Wish I had a KZfaq channel and I'd see about doing a collab as I know we have shot on some of the same ranges... Keep up the good work

0:27 That rifle-squat bit was hilarious!

Tikka T3x Hunters (wood stock) and T3x synthetic/stainless and the regular T3 with the blued barrel and synthetic stock have shocked me. I've done ONLY 2 modifications to each - aftermarket trigger spring and limbsaver recoil pads. My first Tikka T3x was a 308 and accuracy wise a bit disappointing. Ended up with a Brux barrel and AG Composite stock and cerakoted. Tac driver now. This year I have purchased both new and used Tikkas mentioned above. 5 are chambered in 270 and the lowest price on new was $649 online, shipped for $20 each and no tax. Also have a 300WSM and 300WM. The highest price I've paid is $820. Every single one of these shoots half inch or better with factory and handloaded ammunition. Two of the 270s are shooting one hole 3 shot groups with 150 BVLDs over H4831SC. These rifles are so accurate and consistent, I'm selling off the bulk of my custom builds since they aren't shooting any better but aesthetics are much nicer.

If i were to add something it would be barrel thickness, i got a weatherby vanguard based of your reccomendations. I love it and get sub moa groups with it. But after only 4-5 shots it seemed like my groups were nearly doubling in size, dont regret buying the gun, just wish it had a bit more bulk on the barrel to deal with the heat a bit more, and ill definitely think more about that on my next bolt action.

I’ve got that same Bergara Ridge in 300wm. It hates Barnes. Loves Partitions and likes Hornady American Whitetail and Federal Trophy Bonded Tip.

I have a Mossberg Patriot 7mm-08 with ATN 4k Pro and Boyds AT-ONE Thumbhole. I have not had any issues with accuracy or dependability. I learned the hard way of making sure the ammunition I use is compatible with the twist. I do agree the barrell needs threaded for a compensator, but when I switched the stock it slowed the hop.

Have a bergara ridge in 300wm just like u showed and its a absolute tackdriver. My favorite rifle I own currently.

I already have a CVA Cascade and ordered a Tikka T3X a few hours ago. I am glad they weren't on the bad list!

I have a Bergara Ridge 270win that I cerakoted and took the barrel down from a 5 to a 3.5ish. It's an absolute tackdriver and shoots most ammo nearly identical! Best rifles own after a few modifications.

On the muzzle brakes I have a savage 111 300wsm and had the barrel threaded and was able to use a 9/16x 24 brake because the barrel wasn't thick enough for a 5/8x24

If I’m not mistaken but isn’t the Christensen Ranger have a particular type of match chamber? I believe it has an extra tight tolerance chamber which will lead to extraction problems with cheap ammo.

5/8"-24 thread spec has a min. major diameter of 0.616" so if your barrel diameter is atleast 0.616" it can be threaded to 5/8-24. Also, using gagemaker thread reports we can generally make any diameter thread and easily make a thread adapter to transition to a specific thread pitch if needed. So you can take a 0.61" diameter barrel and thread it on that diameter and make a custom thread adapter or muzzle brake.

Thanks again for the info 👍👍👍👍👍☺️☺️😃 and great show 👍👍👍👍👍

Took my Elk with a Tikka T3x chambered in 300 Winchester Magnum

my 2 rifles in 22lr that i shoot with my kid all the time are 1949 Mossberg 44M with double peep sights (i rescued and fully restored) and CZ 457 jaguar.... both guns just do not miss and shoot anything i feed them... my ruger american is in 5.56 that i use to shoot at the range or 223 for hunting ... and NEVER had a feeding issue at all... ever.. and the last rifle i use is my sako s20 hunter in 308... all are fun to shoot :D

I have a Christensen Arms 300WSM, shoots great. The paint comes off very easy. Had it redone, still comes off.

...I had a Mossberg Patriot. Watching your channel, I thought "Whew! Thank God I got a good one!..." Until last year. Out of the blue... it wouldn't hold zero. I'd get it dialed in at 100 yards, shooting sub 1" groups... take it back out, same box of ammo, a week later and it would be 3" off and the group would be 5". This was with two different scopes, a Zeiss Conquest and a Trijicon Accupoint. Traded it and a bunch of other 'problem' firearms for a Sig P365 and a Bergara Wilderness Terrain. No more problem.

Again, thank you for everything. 👍👍👍👍👌

That’s a really interesting topic to me the 300 win mag beating a possibly more ammo picky cartridge Could you make a video on cartridges that are least picky and most picky with ammo ?

thanks for sharing

Regarding Christensen Arms, from first hand experience, customer service is essentially non-existent, unless the store you bought it from USED to sell Christensen Arms, then stopped because of poor QC and Christensen basically begged those stores to buy again, telling those stores they've cleaned up their QC issues. I spoke with a man who was in charge of internet sales from his store and expressed concerns about the Christensen carbon barrels delaminating, feeding issues, etc. He stated to me that's why they stopped carrying this brand for just over 2 years. Quality sucked and they got tired of hearing customers complain. He stated that CA basically begged them to carry their products again. I was discussing one of the CA rifles he had in stock and he assured me if I bought it and had any issues, he'd step in on my behalf to get any issue corrected. Very kind of him but frankly shouldn't be necessary. There's only one model I'd ever consider and that's the Mesa. The 2 reasons I haven't bought one is the barrels are too pencil thin and from speaking with a couple guys at CA myself for an issue I had with some parts I bought that they manufactured, there was no resolution. The merchant told me there's nothing they can do, I need to contact CA. When I did, they blew me off and told me I had to take it up with the merchant - a HUGE online seller. Candidly, the CA action has a value of about $550 (it's nothing more than a trued 700, if actually fully blueprinted), the FFT stock about $150, the barrel about $100 if that. Not much left but the trigger and bottom metal. And there's no shortage of youtube videos of Tikkas outshooting the CA rifles which cost at least double

Your gun vault is amazing I love the black camo wall system. This is my goal in life. To have a room like this.

Love your gun room! Were did you get the black camp wall boards and the gun display/rack system?

I own a Christianson Arms Ranger and fortunately it shoots and feeds great. Thank goodness too because I blew the budget on it. When I was in the market to buy a hunting rifle 5 years ago, late start elk hunter @ 48) I did my due diligence in researching rifles under $800 and cartridges that I could hunt anything that I’d put in my freezer. I looked at Ruger, Mossberg and Howa. I ended up with the Howa 1500 in 7mm Rem Mag. I wish I knew about Tikka I would have given them a good look. Overall I’m real happy with the Howa but it will not group anything over 150gr. The 140gr Barnes has flattened 2 elk and a mule deer. I’m also really glad the Howa hasn’t been in one of your “don’t buy” videos 😂

Jim, I agree with you on having threaded barrels since I have received my Banish 46 from Silencer Central I want threaded barrels. Some times you have too fork out extra bucks to achieve your satisfaction. The thing that I do before a hunting trip is to Rifle P.T. carry that rifle , curl that rifle over and over again until you find it effortless to carry it. I got lucky with my Mossberg Patriot in 308 it can hold its own up against my Christensen Arms Mesa in 308. Good luck on your hunts.

I got the go-wild in 308. I love that rifle and found round it loves quickly. Awesome accuracy and never had a feed issue. Gotta break it in though.

Agree 100% on threaded barrels!

Maybe i got lucky on the Ruger American Go wild, i picked up one that really shoots the 7PRC Precision Hunter amazing! we've been seeing the federal loads here locally on the shelves, and i just started seeing stacks of the hornady Outfitter CX. plus plenty of Hornady Match, theres 4 different factory loads within a mile from home. its definitely getting attention.

On your Ruger American I had the same problem I sent it back and they replaced the stalk and I've not had a problem since. I bought the Ruger American go wild in thirty-ought-six

Love my Christensen Arms Ranger 22, it is light and very accurate. Eley Target, CCI Standard Velocity all work great in that gun.

Undercut on the threading isn't necessary if the suppressor or muzzle device accounts for it. And the well manufactured suppressor mounts and muzzle devices do. Christensen Mesa 300 win mag is factory threaded 1/2x28.

Just bought a CVA Scout in 350 legend and I love it.

Christianson - almost bought one... so light. But I got the Tikka T1X instead, then found a CZ457- love both of them.

Frustrated with my mossberg patriot. Like you said, pie plate accuracy. Now I’ve been stuck with it for a few years cause it was all i could afford. Just sits in the back of the safe 🤦🏻‍♂️

Will vouch for bergara ridge being picky. I have a 243 and I tried 9 different options until I found one that shot under a 1 inch group. It shoots Norma amazing

Regarding 7PRC, for several months now Federal has made available their ammo albeit still the 175 ELD-X so that's also an option. In 2 of my 7PRCs, the Hornady ELD-X shoots better in one whereas the Federal brand ammo same bullet shoots better in the other

Definitely agree on threaded barrels. There are a few exceptions, but generally I'm not going to buy a rifle if it's not threaded. I won't buy ANY 22lr if it's not threaded. Once you get a suppressor, you'll want to mount it on every gun that you can.

Have a ranger. Had it a while. There's a recall that fixes the feeding issue. Found that out when the bolt handle broke off less than 10 rounds. They fixed it and so far so good. My finish his holding up fine and it's accurate. I bought a ruger precision soon after because of worrying about the ranger holding up. For weight you can't beat it and again so far so good.

@Backfire have you tried contacting the manufacturers of these you've had accuracy issues with? I know a lot of rifles benefit immensely from simple things like proper action screw torque. Think that would make a great and helpful episode.

I had the same problem with a Bergara B-14 HMR in 300 PRC, very inconsistent groups with match, hunting, and my own handloads. Sold it and now looking for another 300 PRC. But all of my other Bergara rifles shoot excellent, just bought a B-14 Ridge in 30-06 and first 4 shots at 100 yardd of cheap soft point ammo I could cover with my thumb.

I had a Ruger American Predator with the rotary magazine in 6.5 CM and it too did not feed well. I tried the 450 Bushmaster single stack magazine and the feeding issue was resolved. It’s worth a try and it’s relatively inexpensive.

Editing note around 1:37 it'd be nice if the pop up stuck around longer. That's a lot to read in that short time.

My Bergara B14 Ridge in 308 is very picky with ammo also. Went through 10 different loads from 5 different manufacturers and only found one load that groups less than an inch at 100 yards. Was pretty disappointed with those results.

I’ve got a Mossberg patriot chambered in 6.5 PRC and that thing is a nail driver

I have a Christiansen ranger 22 and I am proud to say I have no feeding problems with it. I do have the concern about the bolt being skinny and one day could possibly break. It’s what I was looking for though, it’s lightweight, several different rounds shoot less than .75 of an inch with a 5 shot group at 50 yards, and it’s a great suppressor host. I don’t have any of the paint chipping, I do have why looks like bedding on the bottom of my gun near the mag well though. Overall I love my ranger

Depending on range ELD-M work fine, often better than ELD-X at longer ranges (400+yds) Up close at high velocities the bullet can "fail" and not penetrate deeply enough, but at lower velocities I've gotten better expansion than ELD-X AND excellent penetration. ELD-M can indeed "fail" at high velocity but that's dependent mostly on range (and muzzle velocity) I like the 162gr ELD-M in my 7mm-08 because it's starting out at a modest velocity but holds onto it fir a long time because of the hugh BC, and I have reliably taken game with it from 50-450yds and would have zero reservations stretching it even a little further if i needed (id say the max would probably be 600 for what's likely to give me truly "good" expansion. And i can reliably and repeatably make first round hits at those distances with that rifle and bullet combination.

It’s interesting that you chamber a round right before take the shot. Good video

Very enjoyable video. Thanks for the insight.

Option-3 7mm PRC terminal assent. I don't have a 7prc however that is what I would be using for hunting if I had one

Regarding that .22-250, I wonder if you got the barrel fluted and used a lighter supressor and bipod if that might cut it down to something you wouldn't mind carrying?

I have a mosberg patriot 6.5 creedmoor. I use hornady Whitetail, and i got constantly 1 inch grouping a 500 yards.

Acknowledging what you said about your bergara ridge, would you say it's a cartridge issue/bad apple, or is it a common flaw across all calibers?

Respect ...I agree 100%. Greetings from South Africa.

I have a Ranger, have had it for three months, and it has been back at CA for most of that time for a new barrel!