Which one Seekins, Fierce or Christensen Rifle.........

[Howard Van Horn]

My cousin is wanting a factory rifle with a budget of $3500 on scope and rifle. I tried to get him to let me build one but he's so tight when he farts he whistle's. So Which one of these rifles would you rather have? Never owned one and 90% of my rifles are customs so help me out. Or is there another one you would rather get?

I own about 40 rifles running the gamut from .577 Snider, .45 2/10 Sharps, .416 Rigby, down to 220 Swift Ack. Imp., and 22 LR. The price range runs up to $2,000 a rifle. My favorite rifle is the Remington Model 660 in 308 Win. It has a 18" barrel and is a delight to carry. I bought it new in 1967 for $100. It has a tight chamber, so I have to use a Small Base die. I load IMR 4064, and a Nosler 150 Gr. Ballistic tip bullet and I can reliably hit mule deer out to 400 yards.

Tell your cousin to first shoot some of his friends rifles in various calibers and with various sight arrangements to decide which cartridge (and recoil thereof) and which type of sighting arrangement he prefers prior to investing.

If I were starting out again, I would buy two rifles. I would buy a Tika 3x rifle in 270 Win. and top it with a good 4 X scope. Then, I would buy a Marlin 1895 guide gun in .450 Marlin with an 18" barrel topped with a Skinner peep sight. I would then have rifles capable of taking coyotes out to 600 yards and brown bear at 20 yards and everything in between.

 

[trout004]

If you are planning on buying them and having them this year don't wait, I ordered my new Element last September and probably wont have it in hand until March…

worth the wait tho!

I hope your new rifle soon. Definitely, worth the wait! There are usually quite a few of these available on Gun Broker, if someone wants to go that route. Prices seem to be similar to the factory-direct option from Seekins.

 

[SteveBurton]

I have no experience with Seekins or Fierce but I would suggest Seekins. I do have a Ridgeline and while I feel their customer service employees were pretty good, the rifle itself was garbage. The guidelines around their warranty are not good also. As soon as you start handloading for it, the warranty is void. I know a lot of people have had good experiences with them, but I did not.

 

[skipglo]

Fierce..1ST Seekins 2 nd...definitely not CA...just me

 

[alaska]

Love my 338Win Mag Christensen

 

[Longtine88]

I don't think that bull did

 

[Tulsa Reiner]

I have no experience with Seekins or Fierce but I would suggest Seekins. I do have a Ridgeline and while I feel their customer service employees were pretty good, the rifle itself was garbage. The guidelines around their warranty are not good also. As soon as you start handloading for it, the warranty is void. I know a lot of people have had good experiences with them, but I did not.

I never understood how they can sell a high dollar, precision rifle, and exclude the owners from hand loading for it, or they lose their warranty.

 

[Recon$$]

I never understood how they can sell a high dollar, precision rifle, and exclude the owners from hand loading for it, or they lose their warranty.

I agree, but some people are really stupid... So I get it.

 

[chutinlead]

Any clue on:
Use case
Caliber
Weight target
Species targeted
Max Target Distance
Also a range/target gun?
Sensitive to recoil?

This would help narrow it down for better suggestions as some like the 2020 Waypoint is only short action. If he would never shoot anything over 400yds, maybe a shorter barrel 6.5CM Sig Cross would more hit the mark. Come in a little under $3500 to add things like a kestrel/bipod/LRF.

 

[packgoatguy]

So, for you Fierce owners out there, does anyone have a CT Rival who has weighed their barreled action? I've heard conflicting reports from owners about the weight of the rifles coming in different than advertised... I've heard it might have something to do with how the stocks are made, but If I got a CT Rival, I would probably put the barreled action in a lightweight chassis anyway...

I had a local dealer today tell me that he was told the barreled action (CT rival) weighs 4lbs 8oz... but I just don't see how that is possible?? I have a Christensen Ridgeline 300wm, and the barreled action on that (per my scale) is only 4lbs 5oz (non titanium model) and that is with a 26 inch barrel instead of the fierce 24 inch barrel. How is it possible that the fierce would weigh more with a titanium action and shorter barrel??? (BTW, 4lbs 5oz is just the barreled action with bolt. If I add the action screws, muzzle brake, bottom metal, and follower, it is 4lbs 13.2 oz... so, I suppose that the quoted 4lbs 8oz for the fierce could include bottom metal, brake, etc as well... but even then, that is only a 5.2 ounce weight savings for 2 inches of barrel length, a titanium brake vs a steel brake, and a titanium rem 700 style action vs a steel rem 700 style action... most aftermarket titanium actions claim as much as an 8 or 10 oz weight savings I'm the action alone??)

Sorry for the thread hijack.

 

[Sbrinkley]

I've got a vote for Seekins

 

[dm406]

My cousin is wanting a factory rifle with a budget of $3500 on scope and rifle. I tried to get him to let me build one but he's so tight when he farts he whistle's. So Which one of these rifles would you rather have? Never owned one and 90% of my rifles are customs so help me out. Or is there another one you would rather get?

Seekins gets my vote, we have two off them and both are absolute tack drivers

 

[dm406]

Seekins gets my vote. We have two off them and both Are absolute tack drivers

 

[Quintus]

Very impressed with Fierce. I would actually say get the Fury though and put the saved $$ from getting an edge into glass. You pay $1K for shallow flutes, a coated bolt and a target with the Edge. I love them both, but would never spend the money on an Edge again.
Another one to look at would be the Weatherby Carbonmark or Carbonmark Pro. the Wyoming Weatherbys are fantastic and the BSF Carbon barrels they use are no joke. (Same barrel Springfield is using)