Many of you have probably seen my half dozen threads on different rifles and such I was looking to purchase. I went all over the place in my decision making process, so much so, I almost purchased a 2400$ rifle which was WAY over my original budget of ~1000$. I know there are tons of rifles on the market which have tons of pros and cons but I just couldn't find one around my budget which ticked all the boxes. I already own a 6.5cm, a 7mm08, 3006 and a 7mmrem mag. My conditions were rifle in 6.5prc (yes I know this cartridge could go the way the dodo and there are other options, I just wanted one), a decent composite(or similar) stock from the get-go...no crappy Tupperware stocks forcing me to purchase a new one and have it bedded/fitted...etc. Color of the stock was not critical but everyone likes what they like and to me there are some hideous colors. No heavy weight contour barrel but no super ultra skinny contours either (sporter/magnum sporter is what I wanted). Muzzlebreak included was not a must but a definite plus. Final criteria, the rifle must shoot under 1 MOA out to 400 yards. Last week, I almost purchased a crazy expensive rifle which ticked all the boxes but I just couldn't spend that kind of money when my initial budget was ~1000$ so I had to tell myself to take a step back and revisit the original list of rifles I looked at. I was torn between the browning hells canyon, CA Mesa, and Bergara B14. The Berga was almost the winner but I HATED the look of the green stock, and the only other option in a composite type stock was their Ridge which has a heavier weight contour which I did not like and they did not offer it in 6.5prc (I originally was not only looking at 6.5prc). The browning had a lot of reports of the cerakote finish not being really durable (scratch easy and flaked off easy) and I honestly do not care for burnt bronze finish. Their magazines are less than desirable but ok. Finally, the trigger is too heavy and you can no longer do the easy trigger spring change that you see online which means spending an additional 200$ on an after market trigger. This lead me back to my original pick of the CA Mesa. This rifle ticks all the boxes BUT has the occasional bad review. From what I have read is their customer service is also just OK. Not great but not as bad as some. It appears they make most things right but might take time for you to get your rifle back from then. We shall see how I end up. Im just hoping for a rifle which shoots sub 1 MOA. I will report back with my findings.
