Savage's MSR10 Hunter in .308 Winchester
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Published on 11-28-2018 09:13 AM
Now as good as the MSR10 Hunter is, there are a couple minor things that I feel could be improved upon to make it even better. None of them are major issues, and they mostly deal with ergonomics so they may not apply to everyone, but they are things I felt the vast majority of people would likely agree with me on after they spend some time with one of these rifles.
First up would be the butt stock and it’s lack of comb height adjustment. Nothing fancy is needed here and I do really like the shape and function of the Axiom stock, so if Blackhawk could simply modify the design to accept snap-on cheek risers similar to Magpul’s MOE stock it would be perfect.
My second issue is with the grip. As previously noted the supplied Blackhawk Knoxx grip provides a noticeably short reach to the trigger which makes it rather difficult (and uncomfortable) to exercise proper trigger engagement with the first pad of your finger. Swapping out the supplied grip with an Ergo SureGrip Ambi added about 1/4″ (0.240″ to be exact) to the reach which was a significant improvement, but ideally the reach would need to be extended another 1/4″ or so for my liking. For reference I have average size hands wearing a medium glove. A trigger shoe would work well for this, but at present I’m not aware of anyone making one for AR triggers. For the record, I think the short reach to the trigger is (in part) a negative side effect of Savage’s shortening of the receivers.
My third nit-pick is with the charging handle – more specifically the latch. I would like to see Savage equip these rifles with something slightly larger that offers more purchase area – something like Badger’s Tac Latch or similar. Most customers who purchase one of these rifles will be mounting an optic on it, and depending on the optic chosen the ocular bell may extend rearward of the charging handle making it very difficult to charge the rifle. I ran into this issue when I initially mounted my NightForce SHV 4.5-14x50mm in an American Defense Recon mount to this rifle, and given the much stiffer buffer spring compared to an AR/MSR15 the added purchase area on the latch would make charging the rifle quite a bit easier.
Last but not least we have the supplied muzzle brake, which according to my shoulder does little to nothing to lessen felt recoil and only amplifies the report of the rifle. While shooting the MSR10 Hunter both with and without the brake in place neither myself nor two other shooters could discern a noticeable difference in felt recoil or muzzle jump.
Overall the MSR 10 Hunter proved to be a very pleasant surprise in that it wasn’t just another basic “me too” AR-type rifle. Savage Arms did an excellent job of identifying the shortcomings of the common AR-10 rifle and then selected quality components to address those shortcomings. The result is a well put together package equipped with premium components right out of the box so that the end user won’t have to spend more money “upgrading” their rifle down the road.
To put this into perspective, just think of how much extra money you would spend “upgrading” your typical off the shelf mil-spec AR-type rifle.
Better Trigger: $100-300
Better Grip: $20-60
Better Buttstock: $60-350
Free-Float Forearm: $150-300
Nickel-Boron Coated BCG: $120-190
Extended Charging Handle Lever: $30-80
Adjustable Gas Block: $25-100
Bare minimum you would spend over $500 to upgrade mil-spec components on a typical AR-10 to bring it up to the same level as the MSR10 Hunter comes equipped off the shelf. When you price the MSR10 Hunter against some of it’s competitors (the S&W M&P10 or DPMS Compact Hunter for example) you’re getting a lot more bang for your buck with the Savage.
Savage’s tag line for their MSR series of rifles is “Better comes standard,” and the MSR 10 Hunter easily hits that mark.
Detailed specifications for the MSR10 Hunter and all of Savage Arms other offerings can be found on their website at www.SavageArms.com
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