Christensen Arms Evoke Rifle & The Hot New 7mm Backcountry

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Of course, longtime Shooting Times readers are aware that Christensen Arms was the very first company to use carbon-fiber­-wrapped barrels on their high-end hunting rifles, starting something like 30 years ago. However, in order to keep the prices of the Evoke rifles from getting out of sight for the average hunter, these rifles have all-steel barrels. Our sample rifle has a 20-inch barrel, but you can also get the Evoke Hunter with barrel lengths ranging from 16.25 to 22 inches, depending on the chambering.

We stipulated that our rifle be chambered for Federal’s newly introduced 7mm Backcountry cartridge, and since that round was developed for 20-inch barrels, we opted for that length. Note that the 7mm Backcountry Evoke Hunter can be had with a 16.25-inch barrel if you prefer. Those are the only two Evoke Hunter barrel lengths available for that chambering at the time of this writing. In case you missed Joseph von Benedikt’s article in the May issue that introduced Shooting Times readers to the 7mm Backcountry cartridge, let me recap some of the details.

The 7mm Backcountry is a new, powerful .284-caliber hunting cartridge that utilizes high-pressure technology initially developed for new military cartridges. It’s optimized to push heavy-for-caliber, high-BC bullets out of 20-inch barrels, utilizing a standard .30-06-size cartridge case. In short 20-inch barrels, it produces more muzzle velocity than traditional 7mm magnums do in 24-inch barrels. Its SAAMI pressure spec is 80,000 psi, which is substantially higher than previous rifle cartridges that typically cap at 65,000 psi. The 7mm Backcountry is able to withstand the much higher pressure due to its special, patented steel-alloy case. Federal calls it Peak Alloy.

Federal currently loads the 7mm Backcountry with premium bullets, ranging from the Federal 155-grain Terminal Ascent through the Barnes 168-grain LRX, Federal 170-grain Terminal Ascent, and Federal 175-grain Tipped Fusion to the Berger 195-grain Elite Hunter. Factory-rated muzzle velocities in 20-inch barrels for those loadings are 3,150 fps, 3,000 fps, 3,000 fps, 2,975 fps, and 2,850 fps, respectively. Factory-rated muzzle energies for those loads are 3,415 ft-lbs, 3,357 ft-lbs, 3,397 ft-lbs, 3,439 ft-lbs, and 3,517 ft-lbs.

Barrel, Action & Bolt 

Continuing with the Evoke Hunter’s 7mm Backcountry barrel, it is button-rifled and hand-lapped, and the twist rate is one turn in eight inches. That is plainly marked on the left-hand side of the barrel forward of the receiver.

The Evoke Hunter’s stainless-steel barrel wears a black Cerakote finish, and according to my measurements, the barrel is 0.72 inch in diameter where it meets the six-hole, removable muzzle brake that comes standard on the model. The barrel measures 1.22 inches in diameter where it meets the receiver (again, that’s according to my measurements). The Evoke Hunter’s muzzle’s thread pitch is 5/8-24, so it’s ready for a suppressor or other muzzle device. And like I said before, the muzzle brake that comes installed from the factory can be removed; however, a thread protector is not included.

I used my old Hornady electronic digital calipers for all measurements in this report. Hornady markets the digital calipers for handloading, and they are great for measuring case length, inside and outside case diameter, bullet length, primer pocket depth, and overall cartridge length, but I also use mine for measuring all kinds of specifications on the guns I review for this magazine. I particularly like the large LCD screen and the fact that you can measure in inches or metric. Like I said, I’ve had mine for a long time, and they have been totally reliable and very easy to use. Oh, and Hornady says they are accurate to 0.001 inch.

The Evoke Hunter is built on Christensen’s push-feed Model 25 action. It’s often referred to as a Model 700-type action with a tubular receiver. The action incorporates a steel recoil lug between the face of the receiver and the barrel shank. It also has a generous ejection port on the right-hand side and a boltstop located on the left-hand side. The safety is located at the right-hand rear of the action, and it is a two-position type. Forward is the “Fire” position, and back is the “Safe” position. The bolt can be raised with the safety in either position. Likewise, the bolt can be removed from the action with the safety in either position.

The bolt has dual opposing locking lugs, an M16-style spring-loaded extractor, and a plunger-type ejector. The bolt’s body is spiral-fluted, and the bolt throw is 90 degrees. If you question the efficacy of a 90-degree bolt throw (as many readers are aware, some bolt-action rifles tout a 60-degree or 70-degree bolt throw as a convenience to mounting a scope and for speedy working of the bolt), let me just say that the Evoke Hunter’s bolt throw didn’t pose any problems during my evaluation, and I installed a rather large riflescope for this report. (More about the scope later.) Of course, a 60- or 70-degree bolt throw can be faster to operate, but I’m not skilled enough for the tiny speed advantage to make any difference for me.

As our photographs show, the Evoke Hunter comes with a Picatinny rail on top of the receiver. The rail has 15 cross-slots, and it can be removed if the shooter prefers the lower mounting option of using scope-mounting bases. (The rifle accepts Model 700-style bases.) The Evoke Hunter’s receiver and bolt are finished in black Cerakote.

The Evoke Hunter comes with an adjustable, single-stage TriggerTech trigger. The pull weight can be adjusted from 2.5 pounds to 5 pounds. The fingerpiece is narrow, measuring 0.27 inch at about its midpoint, and its surface is grooved. Right out of the box, our rifle’s trigger pull averaged 3 pounds, 4 ounces over five measurements with an RCBS trigger pull gauge. Impressively, every single measurement registered exactly 3 pounds, 4 ounces. That’s the most consistent trigger pull I have ever measured in my 30-plus years of evaluating firearms. Usually, there are a few ounces of variance even with excellent triggers. But not with this one.

The Evoke Hunter’s detachable magazine is a polymer MDT mag that holds three rounds of 7mm Backcountry ammo. The magazine is marked “MDT,” “3 RD,” and “30-06” on the sides and “Christensen Arms” on the bottom. The magazine release is situated inside the front of the trigger guard. Pushing forward on the release allows the magazine to be removed.

Evoke Hunter Stock

The Evoke Hunter features an injection-molded polymer stock that is nice and rigid. Internally, it has an aluminum block that serves as a pillar for the front action screw and a more traditional round pillar for the rear action screw.

The stock is sort of a hybrid type, in that the buttstock has a straight comb and a raised cheekrest (the cheekrest is not adjustable), a fairly vertical pistol grip, and a fairly slim fore-end. There are textured gripping sections on the grip and the fore-end. The buttstock has a soft rubber recoil pad that’s about 3/4 inch thick and a sling-swivel stud in the traditional location. The length of pull measures 13.5 inches.

The fore-end has a section of Picatinny rail on the underneath side at the front tip. It has three cross-slots and is intended for use with a bipod. It also can serve as a sling-swivel-attachment point. The barrel channel is large enough to allow the barrel to free-float. And the entire stock is finished in Christensen Arms’s own camo pattern. Appropriately, it’s called Hunter.

Accuracy

I was able to obtain two Federal 7mm Backcountry factory loads for putting the new Evoke Hunter to an accuracy-shooting test. One was loaded with the Barnes 168-grain LRX copper bullet, and the other was loaded with the 175-grain polymer-tipped Fusion bullet. Both loads were chronographed with a Competition Electronics ProChrono Digital chronograph placed 12 feet from the gun’s muzzle. The accuracy results are averages of three, three-shot groups for each loading fired from a benchrest at a distance of 100 yards. As you can see from the accompanying chart, the factory loads averaged less than MOA.

My best accuracy with the new Evoke Hunter came with the Barnes 168-grain LRX load. It averaged 0.70 inch. That load produced an average velocity of 3,017 fps, The load’s extreme spread was 27 fps, and its standard deviation was 11 fps. The energy calculated out to 3,395 ft-lbs.

The 175-grain Tipped Fusion load achieved an average accuracy of 0.95 inch and an average velocity of 2,982 fps. Its extreme spread was 27 fps, and its standard deviation was 11 fps. Its muzzle energy was 3,455 ft-lbs.

Two things surprised me about the velocity results. First, both loads achieved average velocities higher than the factory-rated velocities for 20-inch barrels. Typically, my actual velocity results are less than factory numbers, which is understandable considering that I always place my chronograph 12 feet from the muzzle as opposed to factory-rated velocities that are measured at the muzzle. Second, both loads had the exact same extreme spread. That’s pretty rare in my experience. 

I installed a brand-new Leupold Mark 4HD 2.5-10X 42mm riflescope for my shooting session (see the accompanying sidebar for more details on it), and with it, the rifle/scope combo weighed 9 pounds, 6.8 ounces, which is substantial but not unwieldy. I mention this because the 7mm Backcountry factory loads I fired were quite manageable in terms of felt recoil, and I’m sure the weight of the combo helped in that regard. Undoubtedly, the rifle’s muzzle brake helped with that, too.

Christensen Arms has earned a well-respected reputation for producing top-drawer rifles, and the Evoke Hunter does the company proud. It’s a very nice rifle indeed, and it costs a lot less than what you might expect to pay for a higher-end rifle built by Christensen Arms. It’s definitely worth a look. Plus, if you’re interested in the new 7mm Backcountry, the Evoke Hunter certainly costs a lot less than a custom-built gun would.

EVOKE HUNTER SPECS

• MANUFACTURER: Christensen Arms, christensenarms.com
• TYPE: Bolt-action repeater
• CARTRIDGE: 7mm Backcountry
• MAGAZINE CAPACITY: 3 rounds
• BARREL: 20 in.
• OVERALL LENGTH: 42 in.
• LENGTH OF PULL: 13.5 in.
• WEIGHT, EMPTY: 8.1 lbs.
• STOCK: Polymer
• FINISH: Black Cerakote receiver and barrel, Christensen Arms Hunter camo stock
• SIGHTS: None, optic rail on receiver
• TRIGGER: 3.25-lb. pull (as tested)
• SAFETY: Two position
• MSRP: $998.99

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