One of the crucial aggressive fronts of the looking rifle market is the ultralight class—a spot that the brand new Christensen Arms Ridgeline FFT Titanium suits completely. The sub-5-pound looking rifle is a subject of its personal, and solely just lately have greater than a sprinkling of manufacturing rifles been this gentle. The truth is, it was seemingly unfathomable to former OL taking pictures editor Jack O’Connor, who wrote concerning the want for lighter looking rifles to lug across the hills in his introductory story concerning the Winchester Mannequin 70 Featherweight within the October 1952 difficulty of Outside Life.
“So these rumors of a lightweight musket me vastly, not solely as a result of my very own legs have been worn off midway to the knees by lugging heavy rifles over sheep mountains, however as a result of most of the letters I’ve had plead for a looking rifle gentle sufficient to be transported by aged characters with out the help of a canine workforce.”
For these pursuing sheep, goats, and different high-country recreation, 99 % of a rifle’s operate is to be carried round till it’s time for the shot, then carried again out once more. Due to this, ultralight rifles have nice attraction, and lots of hunters will do something to chop ounces from their backcountry hundreds. Having lugged many commonplace manufacturing looking rifles over sheep mountains myself, I can guarantee you that an ultralight rifle just like the Ridgeline FFT Titanium is price having.
This addition to Christensen’s Ridgeline collection is new for 2022 and encompasses a titanium receiver, carbon-fiber/stainless-steel barrel, titanium muzzle brake, and proprietary FFT components, such because the inventory, bolt knob, and journal floorplate. It’s supplied in 9 chamberings: 6mm Creedmoor, 6.5mm Creedmoor, 6.5 PRC, 6.8 Western, 28 Nosler, 7mm Rem. Ma.g, .308 Win., .300 Win. Magazine., and .300 PRC. I examined the 20-inch-barreled .308 Win., which weighed in at 4 kilos, 14 ounces naked.
Christensen Arms Ridgeline FFT Titanium Specs
- Cartridge: .308 Win.
- Capability: 5+1 rounds
- Weight: 4 kilos, 14 ounces
- Receiver: Titanium, Mannequin 14
- Receiver End: Pure Titanium Cerakote
- Bolt: Two-lug, single plunger ejector, M-16-style extractor, fluted physique, FFT bolt deal with
- Barrel: 20-inch, 416R stainless, carbon-wrapped, 1:10 twist
- Muzzle: Threaded 5/8-inch x 24, side-baffle titanium muzzle brake
- Optics Mounting: Drillled and Tapped receiver, commonplace 6-48 Remington 700 base suitable
- Inventory: Christensen Arms FFT foam-core carbon-fiber
- General Size: 41.5 inches
- Set off: Set off Tech set off, curved shoe, 3 kilos, 6.5 ounces (measured)
Breaking the 5-Pound-Mark with the Ridgeline FFT Titanium
With their notable use of carbon-fiber-wrapped barrels and different cutting-edge parts, Christensen Arms has been slicing weight from their rifles for a very long time. The brand new Ridgeline FFT Titanium is their lightest one but. The truth is, it’s a full pound lighter than the nimble Ridgeline Scout that we reviewed earlier this yr as a part of the Best Hunting Rifles of 2022.
How does the Ridgeline FFT Titanium break the 5-pound-mark? The largest weight cuts in a rifle sometimes come from the largest parts. Carbon-wrapped barrels permit for bigger diameter-to-weight ratio (and infrequently deal with warmth higher) than their pencil-thin all-steel counterparts. A titanium motion can also be a major supply of weight financial savings. Third, the brand new FFT inventory solely weighs 1 pound, 2 ounces, it’s a couple of pound lighter than Christensen’s different carbon-fiber shares.
Different options that cut back the mass of the Ridgeline FFT Titanium are the fluted bolt physique and skeletonized bolt deal with. Even small parts just like the FFT carbon-fiber bolt knob and journal floorplate nickel and dime the general weight all the way down to a powerful minimal.
The “FFT” of the Ridgeline FFT Titanium
Christensen’s FFT expertise is new for 2022 and stands for Flash Solid Expertise. They’re being discreet concerning the workings of this proprietary carbon-fiber crafting technique, however Christensen claims that not solely does it produce stronger, lighter shares, it’s a zero-waste course of, utilizing carbon-fiber scraps, waste, and trimmings to create sturdy new components.
The Ridgeline FFT Titanium options three fundamental FFT parts, the inventory, bolt knob, and journal floorplate. Christensen has already been making carbon-fiber parts such because the cheek relaxation and float tube on their MPR and MPP collection, however the FFT components are notably completely different. The usual carbon-fiber that Christensen makes use of has a tightly-woven sample, however the look of the FFT parts is extra like oriented strand board, which is made from many small flakes which might be glued or cast collectively to create a powerful, machinable finish product.
Match, Really feel, and End of the Ridgeline FFT Titanium
The Ridgeline FFT Titanium is slender with a futuristic end. The bottom shade of the inventory is the pure black shade of the carbon-fiber shell. It has a slight sheen and lacks the tight woven sample that many carbon-fiber shares show. The floor of the inventory is painted with a sponge-blotched sample of metallic silver for a little bit of texture. I just like the look, but it surely’s slick, and lots of mountain hunters would seemingly favor a barely tackier texture. The stock-to-metal match may very well be a bit higher, notably on the tang. The inletting gaps across the free-floated barrel are additionally barely uneven.
The FFT hinged floorplate and bolt deal with lower some weight and are good touches. The carbon-fiber journal floorplate suits very nicely and takes little effort to open—in contrast to many manufacturing metal floorplates. Being considerably obtrusive, the bolt deal with is a pure wear-point and any rifle that’s used onerous within the mountains and strapped onto backpacks will get some grinding on the bolt deal with. I discover some on mine, nevertheless, steel bolt handles have the identical points, and one can all the time exchange it if it will get too chewed up for his or her liking.
My Ridgeline FFT Titanium is nicely balanced and splendidly helpful with its 20-inch barrel. The inventory is slim and really snug to hold and shoulder. The pistol grip can also be slender however sturdy, and the geometry permits me good finger placement on the set off. The rifle has a 90-degree bolt throw, and though I can detect a slight stickiness of the motion—a trademark of many titanium actions—it’s not as noticeable as a number of the different titanium actions I’ve labored.
Beneath the Hood of the Ridgeline FFT Titanium
Like different Christensen Arms rifles, the centerpiece is the Mannequin 14 motion—this one being made from titanium. The Mannequin 14 motion is a Remington 700 clone and encompasses a Triggertech set off, and a hoop recoil lug that’s held in place by the barrel. My pattern in .308 Win. is a brief motion with an expanded ejection port—one other widespread trait of the Mannequin 14 receiver. The 2-lug, push-feed bolt can also be akin to the Remington 700 however options an M-16-style extractor.
The inventory is probably the most revolutionary part of the Ridgeline FFT Titanium, because it gives power and rigidity whereas slicing weight. The motion is secured within the inventory by two motion screws at 65-inch-pounds of torque, and disassembly reveals a single-piece billet aluminum set off guard and journal base with the FFT carbon-fiber floorplate.
The inventory’s core is inflexible, closed-cell foam, encased within the FFT carbon-fiber shell. Foam is seen within the journal nicely, and in a cutout that’s used to attach the sling swivel stud mount into the fore-end. There are small quantities of glass bedding across the recoil lug, and alongside the facet of the inventory, to the best of the place the set off housing sits. Key options of the inventory are the two stainless-steel bedding pillars via which the motion, inventory, and backside steel are secured. The bedding pillars are the connection via the froth core and stop deformation. Though aluminum bedding pillars are widespread (and lighter), stainless-steel is much less vulnerable to thermal growth. This gives a extra constant connection and stress within the motion via a variety of temperatures.
The Christensen Arms Ridgeline FFT Titanium within the Mountains
There’s no higher take a look at of an ultralight mountain rifle than to take it on a DIY sheep hunt, in order that’s precisely what I did. Though I didn’t squeeze the set off on this hunt, I packed the rifle for 14 days via some gnarly nation. I discovered it to be very snug to hold, whether or not strapped to my pack or in-hand. Many rifles can put a bullet via a sheep’s ribs, however one that’s snug to hold makes issues that a lot simpler.
I don’t care for muzzle brakes on light-recoiling cartridges just like the .308 Win. for looking, so I eliminated the manufacturing unit 3-baffle brake and changed it with a thread protector for my hunt. To make use of my favourite ultralight bipod, I additionally changed the entrance sling swivel stud with a Spartan Precision Bipod/Tripod adapter. I topped the rifle with a Leupold VX Freedom 4-12x40mm CDS scope, and selected Federal Premium 175-grain Terminal Ascent hundreds for the journey. Over-scoping an ultralight rifle is basically negating the load financial savings, and that VX Freedom weighs only a couple ounces greater than the VX2 2-7x33mm CDS scopes that I’ve most popular on my sheep rifles for years.
Taking pictures the Ridgeline FFT Titanium
As a rule, gentle rifles are inherently harder to shoot precisely—and fewer correct typically. Their feathery builds not solely make them extra topic to the enter of human error, however thifle barrels additionally are inclined to warmth shortly—and never deal with that warmth nicely. Regardless of this, the Ridgeline FFT Titanium comes with a 1-MOA three-shot accuracy assure.
As arrange for my sheep hunt, the rifle averaged beneath 1 MOA with three-shot teams of the Terminal Ascent manufacturing unit hundreds. I practiced with the rifle out to 650 yards and virtually all the time made first spherical hits. The crisp break of the set off helps on such a lightweight rifle, and it was snug to shoot with each a bipod and from improvised taking pictures positions. I discovered the Ridgeline FFT Titanium to load and cycle with out difficulty.
For extra intensive accuracy testing after the hunt, I changed the manufacturing unit brake and fitted the rifle with a Leupold Mark 5HD 3.6-18. I recorded 26 five-shot teams at 100 yards and examined 11 completely different manufacturing unit .308 Win. hundreds. I discovered that the rifle favored some hundreds and didn’t shoot others nicely in any respect. For hundreds that the rifle favored, I fired extra teams to see what potential the rifle had.
The 2 most correct hundreds for my Ridgeline FFT Titanium have been Federal Premium 175-grain Terminal Ascent and Remington 150-grain Core-Lokt Tipped. Each averaged 1.22-inch five-shot teams and the primary three photographs of every group sometimes glad the three-shot 1-MOA assure.
For an general accuracy score, I took the highest 10 five-shot teams I recorded, which averaged 1.14 MOA.
Though the accuracy didn’t knock me off my seat, it’s fairly good for such a lightweight rifle and utterly appropriate for any mountain hunt I’ve been on. Its accuracy is extra constant than what most of the ultralight rifles with pencil-thin barrels can keep via 5 photographs.
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What the Christensen Arms Ridgeline FFT Titanium Does Effectively
The Ridgeline FFT Titanium is as gentle as manufacturing unit mountain rifles come. It’s well-balanced, simple to hold, and cozy to shoot. It has sturdy parts, wonderful grip-to-trigger dimensions, and dealing with traits.
The place the Christensen Arms Ridgeline FFT Titanium Could possibly be Higher
The stock-to-metal match and the uneven inletting across the barrel may very well be improved.
Remaining Ideas on the Christensen Arms Ridgeline FFT Titanium
Chasing the ultralight rabbit is a recreation of sacrifice for rifle makers, and I feel that Christensen Arms did an excellent job on this rifle. They minimized weight the place it isn’t wanted whereas sustaining efficiency—one thing that isn’t simple.
Whereas I hoped that my pattern Ridgeline FFT Titanium would common sub-MOA five-shot teams—it practically did—I can’t complain about that accuracy from such a lightweight rifle. Many rivals in its subject will open to 1.5 or 2 MOA with 5-shot teams, so don’t let or not it’s a distraction.
General, the Ridgeline FFT Titanium is a positive, helpful rifle, and though costlier than your common shelf-gun, you’re getting considerable high quality to your greenback.