@backfire and everyone else, now that you’ve reviewed the Seekins, if you were buying a new 6.5prc in the $2k range, would it be the carbon Rogue or Seekins PH2? Also considering a Christensen Ridgeline FFT as I want something lite. My ffl said it seems like their QC is getting better, and even when they do have issues, they are very quick to fix them. Thanks
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I’d still stay away from CA rifles. I purchased four in my lifetime and currently only have two of them. The other two were absolute pieces of crap.
Between the Seekins and Fierce, my experience with multiple versions of both of these companies has been very positive. The big difference to me is that the Seekins comes with a steel barrel where the fierce model that you are looking at comes with a carbon fiber wrapped barrel. Around here where it’s often quite hot, I’ve really come to appreciate a barrel which cools off quickly and that is definitely the Seekins. If I were to purchase another Fierce it would most likely be one with a metal barrel, non-carbon fiber.
They both shoot wonderfully. I would have to say that the fierce has a better feel to it, it’s stock feels more substantial. I also like the fact that Fierce has an option for a different action which is more akin to a Sako than a 700, but that increases the cost.(but that’s not the model you are looking at)
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Appreciate the reply
I echo what @cchilds said.
I wouldn’t touch a Christensen with a 39 and a half foot pole. I mean, I have a Christensen Mesa I’ll sell ya for $800 but it isn’t very accurate and doesn’t feed well 
They look nice, they attract gun store owners, but I just haven’t personally seen the performance from them. They have a LOONG way to go to earn back my trust.
Fierce makes great guns. I do definitely see lemons from Fierce coming out the door, but they are not nearly as common as Christensen. Fierce rifles give you the look and the features. True carbon stock, carbon wrapped barrels, and they just style that thing well. When you get a good Fierce, you’re extremely happy. Their customer service is also not great, but improving.
Seekins gives no features. No carbon fiber wrapped barrel, no integrated arca or even picatinny, and not even a true carbon fiber stock. I frankly can’t think of many other rifles in this price range that have composite stocks. They’re behind on the carbon game, and the rifle just doesn’t LOOK as cool. HOWEVER, the action is MUCH better than the Fierce action, the accuracy is just as good, but the big one is consistency. I just rarely hear of complaints about Seekins. Their customer service is good. They seem to have things together.
So which one? Tough call for me. I’d have fewer reservations recommending Seekins to a friend because of the consistency and customer service, but when you get a good Fierce… they’re absolutely incredible.
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I really appreciate all the insight. I currently have a fierce carbon rogue and 300 win mag and I absolutely love it. So I’m leaning towards going that way. Thank you!
What do you think about an 18” barrel on a carbon rogue 6.5prc if I’m adding suppressor? I was leaning towards 20”, but fierce suggested I could go down to 18 and it’d be okay… just seems really short, but that could also just be my lack of knowledge. Thanks
18" is really short. If I had to guess you’re gonna lose enough velocity that you’re going to be in 6.5 creedmoor territory with more recoil and no benefit
I shoot suppressed as well, so I like shorter barrels myself, but I’ve found 22" is the sweet spot between portability and performance.
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18” works on a 6.5 prc, but it’s gonna turn the PRC into a Creedmoor. It’ll be about identical to a 24” creedmoor in velocity and they shoot the same bullet weight.
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The Hornady podcast has a series of their employees personal rifle builds. One of them was a guy who built a 18-in 6.5 PRC.
He says he absolutely understands he’s not getting 6.5 PRC performance out of an 18-in Barrel. He is indeed getting 6.5 creedmoor. However he’s got an 18 inch barrel instead of a 24 inch barrel , and that is what was important to him the most. An 18 inch Creedmoor Barrel would be much worse performance wise.
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Agreed. If you’re happy with Creedmoor velocity, there’s nothing at all wrong with an 18” PRC. In fact, I think it’s really a smart way to get a compact rifle.
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Great, thanks everyone. Creedmore speeds will be fine as this is a whitetail and under gun. I think this will achieve what I’m looking for. Appreciate everyone’s reply.
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Take a listen about the 13 min mark about the new Seekins PH3 coming out this next year.
If you were to buy a new hunting rifle in 6.5 prc that you are going to add a suppressor on it, would you go with a 22 or 24 inch barrel? Would you say that this new PH3 is going to be one of the more reliable rifles that are out or do you think there is something that is better in a 6.5 prc or 7 prc hunting rifle?
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Nice listen. Thanks for posting.
Can’t wait to see what the price point on the ph3 is going to be. Just about every rifle that I’ve seen that’s been good quality and switch Barrel has been major expensive. Also very curious to see what they’re going to do in terms of upgrading the element and slam lines as he mentioned in the podcast.
In terms of the 22 versus 24 inch barrel for a 6.5 prc. Pure personal opinion of course. That much of a barrel difference really is not going to make a huge performance difference at all. Maybe 50 feet per second. I also don’t really know of a situation where shaving 2 inches off is going to make that big of an improvement either. We do hunt a lot around here out of box blinds, and having a shorter Barrel comes in handy. But I haven’t seen the situation where 2 in would take a rifle from manageable to unmanageable.
Of course your specific situation may be quite different and if that 2 in is that important then go for it. Otherwise I’d say it’s a wash. That conversation gets a lot more interesting when you’re talking about much bigger changes such as 18 in versus 24 in.
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I can’t remember where I saw it but I believe it was on one of the Seekins owners Facebook groups, but someone said the PH3 is rumored to be priced at $1900. We will have to wait till next month to see what it actually is. If it is 1900, then that might be a gun that would be very appealing to me.
It’s funny that Jim said in his recent video that there is a “cult following” around Seekins rifles owners. I feel like people in different Facebook groups that have a Seekins gun just absolutely rave about them and would never get another rifle from a different company again.
With this day and age in the internet and such I think there’s a cult following for just about everything.
I have three separate rifles from Seekins and have enjoyed all three. Would have no problem buying another one if what they show up in January is something that I want/need. But I would have absolutely no trouble buying another Fierce either, or even another Tikka.
Heck, I even like my XPR.
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I’m new here, and have and wished I’d seen Jim’s review on Christensen‘s before I brought one. Bolt is hard to close on my 7mm PRC and it will not shoot the 175 grain bullets I understand it was designed around. I tried several brands with no luck. I finally got Barnes 168’s to shoot moa but barely moa.
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That certainly sucks. Sorry to hear that.
You certainly could try sending the gun back to Christensen telling them that it isn’t meeting their accuracy standards and is having bolt problems and see what they say. I’ve read plenty of online reports of people who did that and actually got a decent gun back from them. Of course there’s also the chance that they’ll tell you that the gun works fine and it’s just you.
Otherwise it’s sell it for a loss with full disclosure, see if the place you bought it from will take it back and give you a credit for another rifle, or just stick it in the safe, or send it off to a gunsmith and see what kind of work it would take to get it working properly.
Are you doing a hand load with the 168 barnes? Or is someone now making factory ammo in that?
A bolt that is difficult to close on a new factory cartridge is a tolerance / machining issue so send it back. It doesnt matter what factory ammo you load it should go in without resistance. If it is a reload, and the case is from that rifle, it still should go easily as long as you have the shoulder bumped the correct amount. Cases fired in another rifle may give you issues, but not at the shoulder, but in the case wall right down by the case head / rim. That area will swell and just 1-3 thousandths of un-sized area will stop it from chambering. I have three Christensens, 1 has been perfect from the start, the 2nd is picky on what it likes to shoot, but once I found that it shoots great, and the 3rd shoots fine but I encountered the issue of having brass not want to chamber on reloads unless it was brass fired in that rifle. I did call Christensen and asked them specifically which brands of ammo they use to do their testing, but did not buy any to check it out. I reload 95% of everything I shoot so I figured it out on my own. Dont tell them you are using handloads as you may get into a warranty issue with them on that item. All said, if it is tight on a factory round, send it back.
good luck
I hand load everything, all brass stays dedicated to the particular rifle.
Bolt problems is with factory and reloaded ammo.
I went with the Carbon rogue in 6.5prc 18” barrel. Just went to the range and was very pleased with the results, shooting sub MA with Hornady 143 grain EDX and averaging speeds of 2730 w a deviation of about 30
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