Christensen Arms MHR Prototype: One Barreled Action, Four Stocks (PSA Gathering 2022 Look Back)

Squat Squad, this one is a look back to October 2022, when we were at the Palmetto State Armory Gathering and finally got hands on a rifle I’d only seen from a distance at SHOT Show 2022 media day: the Christensen Arms Modern Hunting Rifle, now known as the MHR. Tanya from Christensen Arms walked me through the prototype, and the big idea was simple: one barreled action, and you swap everything around it to match whatever you’re doing that season.

Quick note: this was a first look at a prototype at the event, not a SlavGuns range test and evaluation. Pricing talked about back then was a 2022 estimate, so I’m leaving it out. Check Christensen Arms for current details. If you’re after the precision side of the Christensen lineup, read our Christensen Arms Modern Precision & Competition Rifles booth look.

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Why a modular hunting rifle makes sense

Tanya’s way of explaining it: in spring you put the tactical or precision stock on and go ring steel. In fall you swap to the hunter style stock, the rifle gets a bit lighter, and now it’s your hunting rifle. It takes a few screws and about two or three minutes.

The way I see it, a lot of us end up buying two or three hunting rifles for different kinds of hunts, and then a whole separate setup for long range. With the MHR you keep one barreled action and build everything else around the job. If you can only afford one nice rifle, or you’re just getting into shooting, that’s a pretty smart way to go.

What the prototype had

• Four stocks: tactical, backcountry, precision and hunter.
• Four hand guards and four grips to mix and match.
• Magazine choice: it was set up with a drop box magazine, and if you didn’t want that, you could switch it to a hinged floorplate.
• Carbon fiber barrel with a spiral spun wrap, which gave it a new look for Christensen.
• Color choices mentioned at the time: tungsten, bronze or black.

It looks big and heavy, but Tanya was swinging it around with no problem. It felt balanced, and the cheek riser adjusts. Only a couple of these prototypes existed, so we got lucky to see one at the Gathering.

The question I always ask about modular guns

Here’s what worries me about a lot of modular guns. A small company comes out with a great modular idea, then you can never find the extra parts, and the aftermarket never really shows up. Christensen’s answer was that they’ve grown a lot and make these parts themselves instead of depending on outside suppliers, so you should be able to get them from their website or from dealers.

A few other things from the conversation:

• How it would be sold wasn’t decided yet. They were still working out whether it would come in one setup or as a package of parts, because they wanted to keep it simple for dealers and buyers.
• No barreled actions for sale. Christensen said it sells barrels, stocks and brakes, but not the barreled action on its own.
• Remington 700 based action. So if you buy the rifle and later want something completely different, you can drop it into an aftermarket 700 pattern stock or chassis.
• Timing: at the time they were hoping for fall 2022, in time for late hunting season, but warned that new guns take a while.

What actually shipped

The MHR came out as a 2023 rifle, and Christensen’s current MHR page shows a lot of what we saw, plus some changes:

• 7075 aluminum billet mini-chassis with V-block bedding, combined with FFT carbon fiber stock parts. The stock system and grip are still interchangeable.
• Tool-less adjustable comb (1 inch of adjustment), length of pull spacers, six QD mounts and forward Picatinny rails.
• Remington 700 footprint receiver with a 20 MOA rail, a spiral fluted bolt, a skeletonized bolt handle and a TriggerTech trigger.
• 416R stainless barrel with a carbon fiber wrap, button rifled and free floating, threaded 5/8×24, with a removable side baffle brake.
• The magazine flipped: it now ships with an internal magazine and hinged floorplate (4 rounds, 3 in magnum), and it’s AICS detachable magazine compatible with an aftermarket conversion kit.
• Calibers: .308 Win, 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5 PRC and 6.8 Western with 22 inch barrels, plus .300 Win Mag, .300 PRC, 7mm PRC and 7mm Rem Mag with 24 inch barrels.
• 7.4 lb starting weight and a sub-MOA accuracy guarantee.

So the “four rifles in one” idea from the prototype turned into a lightweight chassis-style hunting rifle that you can still customize, with a more traditional magazine setup out of the box.

Our take

I liked this concept in 2022 and I still like it. A hunting rifle that can also be your steel gun in the off season, built on a Remington 700 footprint so you’re never locked into one company’s parts, is the kind of modularity that makes sense. The prototype’s “swap everything” pitch got cleaned up for production, but the core is still there: a light carbon barrel, a stiff mini-chassis, and stock pieces you can change. Just keep in mind this was a first look at a prototype, not a range review.

Where to find it

• Christensen Arms MHR (.308 Win) at Sportsman’s Warehouse
• Full MHR details and current configurations: Christensen Arms
• Precision rifle upgrades: Anarchy Outdoors
• Everything else I run: SlavGuns Amazon storefront
• Support the channel: join the Squat Squad on YouTube

Would you rather have one modular rifle you set up differently for each season, or a dedicated rifle for each job? Let me know in the comments. Thanks for reading, and keep on squatting!

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