savage 10 ashbury precision VS savage 10 evolution.......which chassis is best?

[stealthfan]

i know....a somehow suggestive question; but i'm torn.really.

i'm jumping in the long range modular bandwagon. at first, i was sold to the tikka T3X TAC A1...


but then, knowing how of a savage arms fan is i am ,a friend pointed out those 3 new savage rifles of the stealth family.

i wasn't even aware that savage was walking into this game .


when i realized the '''sin ''' i was about to commit (tikka),i proceeded to my own research about the 2 rifles i'm interested to aquire in 6.5 creedmore .........with nearly 0 tangible results.

except the magpul prs 3 of the evo,and the fact the 10 action sits into a drake chassis VS the ashbury precision unit,i can't find any reviews about the ashbury VS evolution pros and cons............of course,i want the best of the two,but i still look for a definitive answer to my question.

i know some got troubles with the aics mag compatibility with the evo AND ashbury units ; some guns works good with'em,some don't ,but excepting those known details.....nada,niet!!

so,those who are into the knowleadge ,i'd like to hear your opinion about those 2 very nice looking LR guns. i'm ready to buy ,i have a nightforce 3X15X56 waiting for a ride,and i'd like to get a clear idea on what would be the most accurate shooter between those 2.

thanks in advance for your time and answers guys and gals.

[J.Baker]

Ok, I'll chime in with my two cents on each of the chassis models. I only have first hand experience with the standard Stealth, but the only real differences is features.

10/110 Ashbury Precision
- AR-style octagonal M-LOK forearm for mounting accessories
- Folding buttstock if you're into that (lockup is said to be very tight and rigid)
- Downside of the forearm is that it will force you to run taller rings for objective bell clearance so you will likely need to upgrade the stock to something with an adjustable comb.
- Grip mount looks like an afterthought with a gap between it and the trigger guard in the photo's on Savage's website
- Tactical bolt handle which offers increased length for more leverage on the bolt
- EGW Picatinney rail included

10/110 Stealth
- Lighter weight than the Ashbury Precision chassis
- Easiest to remove barreled action from
- Grip fits and is positioned well
- Scope can be mounted lower and closer to centerline of bore
- Buttstock is serviceable, but most swap it out
- Integral forearm is a little narrow for a #2 bag and somewhat on the short side. Accepts M-LOK accessories, but offers only have the real estate of the Ashbury Precision
- Large knob bolt handle, but not as long as the tactical bolt handle.
- EGW picatinney rail included

10/110 Stealth Evolution
- Basically the same as the 10/110 Stealth with a couple add-ons
-- Adds muzzle brake
-- Adds bolt-on upper forearm section with full-length full
-- Adds Magpul PRS3 buttstock
-- Adds 5R rifling
- Full length rail requires mounting scope higher
- Medium knob bolt handle (same as on 110 Scout)
- Heaviest of the three


I'm not a fan of aluminum chassis', but if I had to pick one of these I'd go with the standard 10/110 Stealth. It's $600 cheaper than the other two options which leaves a lot of money to upgrade it as you see fit. The full length rails on the other two that require mounting the scope higher is a big negative for long-range shooting as the further the centerline of the scope is from the centerline of the bore the more affect the slightest little bit of cant will have on your shot. It's also the lightest option of the three which is a big plus if you're looking at PRS or similar competition where you're moving from stage to stage.

If you're right handed I would also recommend giving the 10 GRS some serious consideration.

[stealthfan]

thanks for your answer MR BAKER. the recap of the differences between the 3 variants is handy. thing being, i dislike the other two buttstock,and the prs gen 3 is what i need.i'm a tall dude,and generally speaking i like to have my scope mounted a little higher than what it should be in an ideal world. then,the 5R riflings.....i buy that! i remember that,every rifle 5r riflings barreled guns i've shot to this day were very accurate,so another +for the evolution unit,while i know the theory behind the 5r rflings being softer on the bullet coating is just that, a theory.............

...but then,what about intrinseque accuracy,aka what the gun is capable of.......i read everywhere that the tikka T3X TAC A1 is capable of SUB .5 moa with well tailored reloads,and that it's an easy sub moa all day long with on the shelve ammo.

what about the savage ? is it a at best a sub moa gun, and is it possible to extract a solid sub .5 moa from it with reloads?

seems like the tikka has set the bar in the accuracy department......

[stealthfan]

woaw.seems that there,s not much love for those 3 savages around here haha!

[J.Baker]

thanks for your answer MR BAKER. the recap of the differences between the 3 variants is handy. thing being, i dislike the other two buttstock,and the prs gen 3 is what i need.i'm a tall dude,and generally speaking i like to have my scope mounted a little higher than what it should be in an ideal world. then,the 5R riflings.....i buy that! i remember that,every rifle 5r riflings barreled guns i've shot to this day were very accurate,so another +for the evolution unit,while i know the theory behind the 5r rflings being softer on the bullet coating is just that, a theory.............

Biggest thing is to get what fits you best. I have a friend that's 6'6 with long arms and neck and he needs something like a 15" LOP minimum to be comfortable on a rifle so I know where you're coming from. Buttstocks can easily be changed though, so look at the other options and see if the value for dollar is there for those. If it's not, the price difference between models will cover the cost to upgrade to the PRS3 stock.

As for the 5R rifling, at this point I think it's more marketing hubbub than anything. 5R has been out a long time now and if the "theory" was provable someone would have done an extensive test by now to validate the claims. Might clean a little easier, but I wouldn't bank on it being more accurate.

...but then,what about intrinseque accuracy,aka what the gun is capable of.......i read everywhere that the tikka T3X TAC A1 is capable of SUB .5 moa with well tailored reloads,and that it's an easy sub moa all day long with on the shelve ammo.

what about the savage ? is it a at best a sub moa gun, and is it possible to extract a solid sub .5 moa from it with reloads?

seems like the tikka has set the bar in the accuracy department......

Every rifle barrel is a unique beast so you can't just look at a brand/model and say "these shoot better than those" or "guaranteed to shoot 1/2 MOA or better." Anyone who tells you that has pasture patties for brains. That said, I've had more than a handful of brand new factory built rifles come through my hands that would shoot 1/2 MOA or better groups with handloads if I didn't muck things up. I've even had a few that shot that well with one or two types of off-the-shelf ammo.

Is a Tikka more inherently accurate than a Savage? I would say no just based on my 15 years of experience testing various brands of firearms. You can give the same two rifles and same ammunition to 10 different shooters and you'll get a very wide array of group sizes due to their differing skill levels. A highly skilled shooter can take a so-so rifle and repeatedly shoot tiny groups with it, but and entry level shooter is never going to consistently shoot tiny bunghole groups no matter how good his rifle is. In other words, you can't buy skill or experience, and as far as I know no manufacturer has figured out how to build either into their rifles yet. As I like to tell people, accuracy breaks down to 10% rifle, 20% ammo quality and the remaining 70% is the shooter's skill.

And no, I'm not trying to knock Tikka because this is a Savage site. Tikka makes a fine rifle, but generally speaking I don't think they have anything over a Savage other than they don't have the mess of variations that Savage's have due to Savage constantly changing things. To me, that's the only big plus Tikka has at the moment because a lot of the aftermarket has given up on Savage due to those persistent changes and as such the Tikka's now have more aftermarket support than the Savage does in a lot of areas.

[stealthfan]

^^^^
great post.

[earlytom]

woaw.seems that there,s not much love for those 3 savages around here haha!

We got a lot of love for ours. Even more after it evolved some more...

So far we have 30 rounds of 143 Precision Hunter through it. Rounds 26 - 30 landed in a .75 moa group shot at 100 yards off a balled up jacket and no rear bag. Had to because we just moved the bench farther up the hill and bench needs to be reset to be able to use bags or the bipod. I didnt have the bogpod with me either. I expect accuracy will improve as the barrel breaks in.

As you can see we traded in the Magpul PRS for the new MDT and went with a Xtreme rail and lost the Drake top end real estate...

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9leVOqbozCQWlpBSzR6azdpZVNaM2pnRk52TmdiQnFVYmJZ/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9leVOqbozCQQnh5ek9EYThfRGJzTEVrMERqbU8tMkc1TGxF/view?usp=sharing