Purchase considerations for a Savage 10 Stealth Evolution Bolt 6.5 Creedmoor

Hi,

I purchased the Savage 10 Stealth Evolution Bolt 6.5 Creedmoor 24 10+1 Magpul PRS. The 10 Stealth Evolution is an incredible shooting rifle ( it will put bullets in the same hole at 100 yards) but there are some issues a buyer should be prepared for that I have not seen in any documentation;

1) I presume the rifle is sight-tested at the factory. It came filthy and needed to be cleaned - no big deal.

2) While sighting in at the range, one of the shooters told me that on a new Savage with the accu-trigger I would need to adjust it because it is shipped with such a light pull it malfunctions and sometimes won't shoot. He was absolutely correct, which meant removing the side rails, front skeleton frame and then the barrel. It wasn't hard to do but it takes a few minutes and I'd recommend some quality T-Handle hex wrenches to avoid stripping the small screws. The trigger adjusts easily with the mini tool provided with the rifle.

3) I installed a Vortex Viper PST 5-25 x 50, 30mm- 1st focal plane Gen II scope and purchased a Vortex extended CM-530-20MOA mount, believing a 20MOA mount may be necessary to sight out to the 1000 Yd range with the scope I purchased. AN ISSUE here is that the arrow on the bottom of the CM-530-20MOA mount must point forward, towards the muzzle to achieve the correct angle. I could not find this information in any forums or from Vortex publications. I ended up calling Vortex and they opened a box to see the arrow and then answered the question. Unfortunately, after mounting everything, the scope would not move backward far enough to provide a correct eye-relief distance, plus it was too high off the rifle to allow for a good cheek weld, even after the Magpul stock was spun up all the way (perhaps my head is just too small). I ended up pulling it off (the scope base, not my head) and installing a Vortex PMR-30-145 1.45" set of rings, which now allows the scope to be moved far enough back for the needed eye-relief.

4) ANOTHER ISSUE was discovered while removing the barrel. The picatinny rail runs the length of the frame but is in two pieces. The rear rail where the scope mounts is already a 20MOA rail and this isn't stated anywhere! You can see it if you pull the rail off the barrel and read the fine print on the bottom, or try to peak under the rail with a magnifying glass (which is what I did). Thus if you're after a 20MOA scope ramp, it's already there, you need only purchase standard rings.

5) The 5th issue, although not big, is that the polymer magazine is not the best quality. It works OK if you only put in 9 cartridges but the tenth bulges out the side too much and you'll need to take it out for the mag to insert easily. I beleive it is a regular 308 magazine so I'd recommend spending the bucks for a couple of quality steel mags.

Hope this is helpful for someone. It would have save me a couple hundred bucks if I could have found the information somewhere during my initial research.

Respectfully,
Sleeves from Virginia

1. Every Savage is proof tested and function tested at the factor, hence the dirty barrel.

2. In my experience this only tends to be a problem with models equipped with the Target AccuTrigger (red blade).

3. The arrow isn't really a product issue but an assumed knowledge issue on the manufacturers part. Any cantilever mount like that is designed to move the scope forward, so naturally the part that clamps to the rifle's rail will go towards the rear of the rifle. As for the height, the whole setup on the Evolution makes it a nightmare for mounting a scope at a usable height as it forces you to use taller mounts with the rail extending out over the barrel.

4. That's an oversight on Savage's part, and to be honest they do a pretty poor job of providing detailed information on their website when it comes to unique features or accessories like this. Even the accuracy of the information that is provided can often be inaccurate or outdated.

5. Yes, the MagPul mags are designed around the .308 cartridge which has a little more body taper to it than the Creedmoors.

Built a new riser and texture coated it. Problem solved. You may also want to shorten LOO
http://bigborear.com/forums/uploads/...623cf1233.jpeg

My Precision Target Accu-trigger came from the factory set at 10 oz. Because all my other Savage Accu-triggers are set at 2 lbs, the 10 oz trigger was a bit too light if I was interchanging rifles. Turns out that 1 lb. 2 oz. is a good compromise. The precision Accu-trigger is designed to adjust down to 6 oz.

Most of them came from the factory set at between 2.5 and 2.8 lbs. That doesn't seem to be a problem.

All my regular Accu-triggers bottom out at 1 lbs. 6 oz. but when they get too close to the lowest setting, they tend to release and lock the trigger if you barely push the safety to the side as you touch the trigger. Pulling straight back doesn't cause the problem
It is actually a safety feature to protect inadvertent firing if the trigger is hit from the side, but at the lightest setting it doesn't take much to cause the trigger to lock up.

However, I have found that after lots of shooting, two of my 5 Accu-triggers can loosen up and the pull gets lighter.

When the one trigger gets really light on one of my rifles, closing the bolt too hard will lock the trigger.

It doesn't take much loosening to get from 2 lbs. to under 1 lbs. 6oz so on one rifle, I had to resort to a dab of loc-tite on the adjustment screw to keep the spring from loosening after the second instance of it starting to get really light.

Good luck with your model 10 Stealth. I like the aluminum frame and the Mag-pul adjustable rear stock.
But I'm not sure I'd like the high scope mounts that it would require to mount my 56mm NightForce front bell.

Sleeves, I hope you enjoy the heck out of your BA Stealth Evolution. We are pretty with happy ours.

We did evolve ours some to make it mo-better... changed to a MDT stock with a folder, thinner shorter rail, lost the NV bridge, swapped the grip, and now I'm doing the trigger tomorrow. The safety blade on the Acutrigger is a PIA so I am putting in a Rifle Basix SAV-2, that should do it for a while...

For the money they are a good deal. The receiver seems to be like their target receiver just modified for mags. The MDT Aluminum chassis is beefy and still sleek and easy to carry. Add in the 5R rifled fluted barrel with a decent brake, and whether you keep it stock or you 'Evolve' it, you have a nicely balanced, sub-moa, switch-barrel rifle and a permanent grin!

Enjoy