Christensen Arms Carbon

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If you have spent an entire day lugging a heavy rifle around, you probably understand why weight of a weapon is such an issue. The greatest problem with lowering the weight of a rifle is in its steel barrel. Even though a number of manufacturers have been trying to deal with this problem for quite a while now, it’s not as easy to solve as one might think. If the barrel was shortened, the velocity of the bullet and the effective range would be significantly lowered. A decrease in the thickness of the barrel, on the other hand, would lead to the increase of the amplitude of oscillations when firing a shot, and a decrease in precision. Additionally, the lower the weight of the weapon, the stronger the recoil, which is also something that has to be considered. It is not surprising then, that the efforts to produce a reliable light-weight rifle usually ended in failure.

Dr. Roland Christensen worked for 12 years with carbon fibers in rocket industry, and even though his company currently supplies 20% of US knee and leg braces, they are most famous for their ultra light rifles. Their solution for reducing the weight of a weapon, while keeping its performance intact, was found in the application of carbon fibers. Carbon has a number of qualities which set it apart as an ideal material for use in weaponry. It is three to four times stronger than steel while being much lighter and resistant to stretching as well as impervious to high temperatures, this material is used for stocks and coating the barrel. It is usually applied on steel barrels that have walls that are only a couple of millimeters thick. This barrel is then coated with hundreds of layers of extremely thin cloth made from carbon fibers, each layer connected to the neighboring ones with heat resistant epoxy resins. Such barrels are much stiffer than the conventional steel barrels, and the oscillations are much smaller.

The stock of the rifle is made from the same material. Regardless of the extremely hot or cold weather, such stocks keep their shape perfectly and are much lighter than the traditional, wooden ones. They are also impervious to moisture and extremely durable and sturdy. The barrel comes with an optional muzzle brake.

Christensen Arms Carbon Custom rifle was loosely based on the famous Remington 700, and is a top notch model, intended primarily for hunting. The bed block has a plasma nitride finish, while the bolt has a spiral groove, which is not only aesthetically appealing, but also lowers the weight of the weapon and can come in handy if the rifle falls into the mud. The bolt handle has three holes, which are also meant to reduce the weight of the weapon. Barrels come in lengths from 18 to 26 inches and the rifle only weighs somewhere around 6.5 lbs, depending on the caliber. Speaking of calibers, the rifle comes in versions for most of the standard, magnum and ultra magnum calibers. Muzzle brake can be fitted onto the barrel, and the manufacturer claims that, along with the carbon stock, it reduces the recoil by 50%. The accuracy guarantee is 0.5 MOA, while the manufacturers like to mention that Christensen Arms carbon barrels have 25% longer lifespan than those without carbon coating. Apart from the Custom model, you can also get a slightly cheaper Carbon One.

Images with courtesy of www.christensenarms.com.