Savage Stealth in 6.5 - First impressions.
Picked up my BA Stealth yesterday, cleaned and lubed, ran ammo through chamber, a few fed issues, these smoothed as action worked more. Issue on 10 round clip as stated, fit too tight with 10 rounds. Ruger PR and my Magpul 20 round clips for DPMS 308 do not appear to fit. MDT has reasonable priced clips, but with 10 round issue I will probably try Magpul AICS compatible.
Over all fit and finish was excellent. Chassis is 1 piece and there are no seems. Balance is right before mag well. They even put grooves to make barricade shooting not slide. Looks like a Porsche. What does come across is the stock being homely. It is a FAB recoil reducing, I have on a few of my rifles and it works well. May swap for a Luth-AR stock if the FAB doesn't work for me. My rear bag will take some getting used to on the stock, may need larger.
Magpul M-loc rails work perfectly (not included with rifle, I use an Atlas Bi-pod so I needed them). There is also a stud for sling or Harris style bi-pod.
Off to range today to sight in, then hopefully 600 yd at Talladaga Wednesday. Will post about results.
So far liking the Savage, how it shoots will be the real test. RPR's tend to widen group after 5 shots, interesting to compare (my wife has the RPR in 6.5).
Thanks Cameron
Update on first impressions -
Went to Talladaga, focused on 200 yd. Will try and post pictures tomorrow. Shot 140 on 14 shots - total shot 50 rounds Savage Stealth and about 30 300 Win Mag. Wife shot 50 through her RPR - she did well also with here last 10 shot scoring 100. Need to check pictures to count x's. Wind was 10 mph and shifting. Need work on my wind calling ability.
Had a scope issue on 300 win mag so it used up more time than planned. Son shooting his 300 Win Mag really improved, shooting in the high 90's.
So the update - the rifle is solid, the factory 140 ELD-match did well. The star of the day was the Berger 130 OTM's. Will work up some loads to shoot 100 yards on Monday (have jury duty so hoping not to get called). Have 300 ELD-match to reload, will see how they do. Between the 2 I have little doubt of a solid sub-MOA load.
The stock is a disappointment. Ordered the adapter for fixed length, it hopefully will arrive next week. Will try the PRS Magpul and the Luth-AR. Why disappointing: I have a Bushnell 4.5 - 30 xrs (i believe, scope is downstairs). Using a Larue QD mount. At max rise on cheek rest I was about 1/4" low for good alignment. Cheek rest moves with length, so not only does it not go high enough, it's short length pushes me to the very front of the rest. It may work for others with different scope mounts but for me, a no go.
The other negative - scope rail is not a 20 MOA. All my bolt rifles have 20 moa. Not a big issue but will swap-out as soon as I can find the proper replacement. Savage was not listing rifle last I checked, so information is mainly from a few people on different forums. Rail is an EGW so I will email them.
At 400 below RPR you get a good chassis, barrel and action. Figure you have to invest another 250-300 on rail and stock with adapter. Still a little cheaper than RPR but not much. Also RPR 18008 now has a break, so that makes it almost break even.
My wife shot Savage, did not like recoil. Our range officer in Talladaga was John (super guy, helped with my scope malfunction and showed my lots of new items + plus had his 2 customs out shooting along with us). He shot the Savage and liked it.
Is it a RPR killer - no way. Is it a good rifle - yes, so far. Jury will be out until lots of people are shooting it and we determine how well it does long term and see how Savage stands behind it. We know Ruger is standing behind the RPR.
The RPR had lots of issues in .308 and less so the .243, only time will tell if the Savage line fairs any better or not. The introduction of 300 Win Mag and 338 Lapua will make the Savage a force in the future (if RPR comes out long action as predicted, that will be exciting).
Bottom line - in my family we have both, and like both. Like everything else it comes down to personal preferences - beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
Thanks Cameron - I hope this helps someone in their search.
