how would rank a christensen mesa in comparison to the barrett you mentioned previously? price of the 2 is somewhat similar
I have never held a Fieldcraft, I would think the build quality would be better than a Christensen, off reputation alone, I’m not sure you can even find a Filedcraft anymore, every time I found one
@TK161BOONER brother was on top it, no joke, they both have them, I have the Forbes Rifle, another mass produced copy of Melvins NULA rifle, Melvin produced the finest lightweight mountain rifles ever known to man imo, I’m sure some would disagree but he was ahead of his time and I owned a couple and they all were shooters. Melvin Forbes first run was ULA rifles, full custom, then he he tried to mass produce them at an affordable price through another company, those were called the Colt Light Rifle, it didn’t work, QC problems and whatever ended the deal, so then Melvin started back up under NULA, New Ultra Light Arms, once again full custom big $$$, once again an attempt was made to mass produce his rifle, it was called the Forbes rifle, made at a different facility to meet a cheaper price point, and like earlier it failed, QC problems and whatever else, so back to NULA for one at a time full customs big $$, somehow after all the attempts at mass producing his one of a kind rifles Barrett got involved and the Fieldcraft was born, another clone… this time it worked, and for whatever reason Barrett pulled the plug on the Fieldcraft, some say military contracts.. who knows… but like everything that is good but no longer made the price went ballistic and good luck even finding one, no joke.. and just this spring Melvin sold NULA to Wilson Combat for good, so it’s over, I have no idea what Wilson Combat will do, maybe they are making them again I have no idea, everything written above could be off a bit but you get the idea of what transpired, his shop is still open I called the other day, they service rifles already produced and in customers hands. Every rifle made that was a clone of the original NULA customs, all the copies, if there was any problem Melvin took care of it at his shop, I sent mine in for some work right after I bought it, simple stuff LOP change and new paint. The Fieldcraft would be looked at by Barrett would be my assumption, if by chance there was an issue. When those clones were being dumped for cheap prices people were gobbling them up and sending them back to his shop for the full treatment and getting almost full custom rifles back at a cheaper price, I owned both, a Forbes and the real deal NULA rifle, I honestly couldn’t tell much of a difference. I have a Christensen Arms here for my son, Mesa, it’s nice, I haven’t messed with it much, the internet is full of horror stories about Christensen Arms, I don’t know what to tell you on that ours is nice, my buddy bought the new FFT model in a Ridgeline, 7/08, he loves it. Basically with any of these premium off the shelf rifles your getting a semi custom gun at a mass produced price. What makes a full custom better? Well the action will be smooth, it mite shoot 1/2” groups versus 1”, maybe… the fit and finish should be better, maybe…. I say all of this because I’ve owned all of this stuff and to make it real simple probably none of it is worth it, snob appeal is why most folks have $5k rifles, a $300 Savage Axis still kills deer dead, like everything deciding what is most important to you is what matters most, in my opinion I try to find a happy medium, I like nice stuff but realize all the fluff of a full custom super expensive rig doesn’t appeal to me, a nice semi custom or premium ready to go rifle is what I like. Remington 700 rifles made in the late 90’s and before are about as slick as it gets, the actions are smooth. I never paid retail on any of the full customs I owned, all were screaming deals or I wouldn’t have bought them, most went down the road, I’m a lefty and hunt the internet auction sites like a beast, deals can be had trust me. It all depends on what you want, there is no end to this stuff, I’ve been chasing it my whole life, for a lightweight, ready to go mountain rifle IMO the Fieldcraft would be hard to beat, but they are gone… if you find one buy it.. next up would be the Christensen Arms FFT, that’s my opinion, for a premium, off the shelf lightweight mountain rifle in that sub $1,500 price, people are going to scream Tikka, I understand, they shoot and are affordable, talk to any serious gun nut and ask how many Tikka’s they own, buying a long action with some stupid blocker thingy to make it a short action is non starter for me, I hate lots of plastic on my rifles in places metal should be… Just my opinion.. I’m glad everybody likes their Tikka’s so don’t hammer me too bad lol.
