What is the general consensus on MDT Chassis?

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Hunter 08

Hunter 08

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A few years ago when I joined here, I wanted to do a rifle build. Savage Axis XP II in 7mm08 with a MDT LSS chassis for hunting. Instead I bought a Marlin 336 stainless .30-30. No idea how I went from one side to the other. Love the rifle, despite the flaws of a newer built Remlin. Now I want to do a build, since I can more easily afford it, but do it in .308 Win. Why? I have quite a few rounds of ammo stocked up and it is effective.

Since I've started to look more seriously into this, the Axis XP II doesn't sound like the base rifle to go with. So I'll be looking for a 110 Savage instead. Chassis choice is the MDT Gen 2 Tac21 cerakoted black. My question is, what's the quality like on these chassis from this company? The reviews seem to be great, but these days it's hard to know if they are inflated high and actually are just meh, or could be garbage. I haven't really found any threads on the forum where people have talked exclusively on the chassis from this company.

I'm retiring my Mossberg 800a .308 hunting rifle with this Savage build. It's been great, but I would like to have an external magazine and something that has a better trigger, and some aftermarket support. This will be a hunting rifle and might also be a basis for amateur long range shooting. White tail deer and maybe go further out west (North Platte or further into Wyoming) for mule deer.
 
I put one (LSS-XL G2) on my CZ 527 in .300 AAC Blackout about three years ago and haven't suffered buyer's remorse over it. At that time, MDT's customer service was very good at answering my emailed questions before purchase, shipping was quick and painless, and the chassis fit my action far better than the factory stock.

My only minor criticism is that the mag release on this model is a little too positive -- I'm always dropping magazines when I forget to remove them before folding the stock.

CZ527300BigKnob01.jpg

However, I realize that I'm not the best source for this kind of recommendation. I'm a casual shooter who likes his pretties rather than a serious long ranger, and I haven't experience with other chassis designs for comparison. Let's see what some real experts have to say.
 
I am not a serious long range shooter, but I kinda dabble with things to see how I like them. I have three Savage 10's with MDT chassis; one (1) LSS XL Gen2, one (1) LSS Gen1, and one (1) LSS Gen2. They are my only chassis guns. All three are set up for a carbine stock, since the builds all had a goal of keeping the total rifle weight under 10lbs with optic and sling, and being family-friendly (fitting my smaller family members, within the constraints of optic eye relief).

The Gen2 is a definite improvement over the Gen1, adding a better stock/PG interface and MLOK slots for the forearm. The XL is a necessity, IMO; even with a 20" barrel, I find myself wanting more forearm length in the base LSS to get a bipod further forward. Weight of the LSS with Magpul PG and CTR/3/4" riser is about 3.5lbs, working from memory. I prefer the AICS magazine over the Savage magazine set up, so that's a plus. The LSS line will accept either of the Savage short-action action screw patterns, and it's easy-peasy to pull the box magazine off an old stagger-feed model and drop it into the LSS for yummy centerfeed/AICS joy.

Being aluminum, the chassis will get cold or hot faster than a synthetic stock - it's not a huge deal, but if you carry in the hand a fair bit it's noticeable (but not critical). Then again, it seems like most any rifle with a protruding magwell/box magazine isn't going to carry in the hand as gracefully as a traditionally stocked / flush magazine rifle unless you get the balance of the rifle / chassis 'just so'.
 
I hadn't considered barrel length yet. I've have given some thought, but wrecking my head between 20-24 inch isn't something I'll bother with worrying about. I may use it for some practice at 1000 yards every once in a while, but that's secondary. Primary is hunting. 10lbs is where I want to be around. If its above that, I won't complain much.
 
Guess I'll ask even though it's not really worth the time, but what barrel length should I go for? It seems that anywhere from 20-24 inches .308 does quite well. Ballistic charts for whatever reason always seem to use 24 inch barrels (tinfoil hat; probably to inflate the velocity numbers). The Savage 10/110 .308 has a 22" barrel as is. I'm also thinking about getting the barrel threaded for either a muzzle brake or maybe a suppressor if I want to spend the money and/or tax stamp and NFA go away.

If I could go barreled action route instead of buying a complete rifle I would, but they are not very popular in anything but Remington 700.
 
A suppressor is typically 8" long. You put that on a 24" barrel and you could probably just reach out and whack a deer in the head.
I'd go for a 20" barrel, skip the chassis (heavy and expensive) and put my money in a suppressor instead. But that's just me.
 
I don't mind too much weight, helps mitigate recoil. There is a small chance I'll get a suppressor, but that is distant future.
 
Also check out the Bell and Carlson M40 stock for Savages. I just ordered one over the phone, less than 350 all in, and with a custom LOP to boot. They couldn't have been nicer over the phone.
 
Hunter, if you don't already have the action, have you looked at the off the shelf offerings from savage (BA Stealth), or Ruger (RPR), or similar offering from HOWA? My stealth was right at $1000. With a MDT by itself costing $500 out of the gate then add the action, barrel, etc you may be able to get something you will be happy with off the shelf, the Savage and Rugers are pretty accurate from all I have experienced and read.

Now, if you want to "build it" yourself, just ignore this post, was only saying that there may be off the shelf options for what you want to do at or near or less than the same cost as building it.

d
 
For What its worth the Savage Stealth Chasis is made by MDT. I would consider the 110BA Stealth as well over buying a rifle and chasis seperately.

However you will be lugging around some weight. Much more than what's is commonly considered pratical for deer hunting so keep that in mind. For accurate long rang shooting it does that real well.

I Put a Savage 12FV in a Stealth chasis and the action screws did not match the length needed. I was able to use one ( the long one i beleive) and needed to get one. If i remember correctly i needed something in between the long and short screws that the rifle used in the origional stock.
 
webrx said:
Hunter, if you don't already have the action, have you looked at the off the shelf offerings from savage (BA Stealth), or Ruger (RPR), or similar offering from HOWA? My stealth was right at $1000. With a MDT by itself costing $500 out of the gate then add the action, barrel, etc you may be able to get something you will be happy with off the shelf, the Savage and Rugers are pretty accurate from all I have experienced and read.

Now, if you want to "build it" yourself, just ignore this post, was only saying that there may be off the shelf options for what you want to do at or near or less than the same cost as building it.

d
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Yes I have looked at the "turnkey" chassis rifles from Savage with the MDT chassis. However, the 10 BA Stealth isn't really the style chassis I was looking for. I like the 10 Stealth Evolution more as far as aesthetics and the more usability I could get out of it. Longer pic rail and I like that the barrel has kind of a shroud with the top rail.

I had given other rifle manufacturers a look, but I kind of want to just have a build of my own, rather than off the shelf. Price wise will probably be the same or close to it, so it's a wash. Considering I'll still need a scope, scope mount, magazines.

Wreck-n-Crew said:
For What its worth the Savage Stealth Chasis is made by MDT. I would consider the 110BA Stealth as well over buying a rifle and chasis seperately.

However you will be lugging around some weight. Much more than what's is commonly considered pratical for deer hunting so keep that in mind. For accurate long rang shooting it does that real well.

I Put a Savage 12FV in a Stealth chasis and the action screws did not match the length needed. I was able to use one ( the long one i beleive) and needed to get one. If i remember correctly i needed something in between the long and short screws that the rifle used in the origional stock.
Click to expand...

My Mossberg 800a .308 full kitted out with its wood stock, scope, bipod, and sling, it was about 12lbs with a loaded internal magazine of 4 rounds of 150gr Federal Power-shok ammo. I haven't weighed my .30-30, but its probably around 8lbs with a full tube of Hornady Leverevolution 160gr. I'm in decent shape, the extra weight will help mitigate recoil (I'm not recoil sensitive), so faster follow up shots is what I'm partly after within the confines of a bolt-action rifle.

I have also looked into a different rifle to start off with as the base but still using g the Tac21 chassis. If I could, I would use an Axis XP-II, but this chassis does not allow for it.

Sounds like I may have to put the suppressor idea on hold, until a potential bill dies in Committee.
 
Is anyone aware of companies that'll just sell barreled actions and not completed rifles? I think the Remington 700 is the only option for the most part?
 
I have a Howa in 223, that is how I knew that had actions, I bought mine direct from Legacy and had it sent to my FFL - I knew a guy that worked there. Mine is a varmint rifle, heavy barrel, very accurate, good rifles.

Basically, as I understand it, Howa manufactures rifles for Weatherby, but also sells their own.

Not sure if you still can still order and have sent to an FFL or not, or if you have to go through a dealer.

d
 
The Howa action has been made for many decades, and distributed under their own name as well as by Smith and Wesson (1500), Weatherby (Vanguard), and probably others that I missed.
 
I am also sure if you look around you can find other barreled actions or maybe find a used remington 700 and then add chassis, might be a less expensive way to go if you can find a used one in good shape.
d
 
I'm not a fan of the Remington 700, which is why I am looking at other rifles as the base for it. Otherwise, a 700 would be what I would be doing this up with. I would just like to do something different than the norm.
 
greyling22 said:
Most of them are sold out, but northland shooters supply sells savage actions. http://northlandshooterssupply.com/actions/savage/

I've been toying with the idea of using a ruger american as a donor action with a new barrel, trigger, and stock. With a little work they clean up ok. It will never be a sturgeon or defiance etc, but it's not bad.
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I'll book mark it and hopefully get it setup to be alerted when they come back in stock. Thanks for the link.

Just noticed that they are located around where I grew up, well north of it. So if I had to I could buzz up there and do direct pick up as needed.
 
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I dont recall any mention of the 12fv yet. If your not looking for a blue printed action you could alwas grab a Savage Model 12FV from Cabealls/Bass Pro from $419-$429. Has an oversized lever and the accu-trugger.

You can pull the barrel and srock and sell.it over at the Savage shooters forum. Use it to buy magazines and/or go towards your chasis purchase.

The model 12fv comes with a Varmint heavy barrel. The action is a small shank should you need the info to order the barrel.
 
Wreck-n-Crew said:
I dont recall any mention of the 12fv yet. If your not looking for a blue printed action you could alwas grab a Savage Model 12FV from Cabealls/Bass Pro from $419-$429. Has an oversized lever and the accu-trugger.

You can pull the barrel and srock and sell.it over at the Savage shooters forum. Use it to buy magazines and/or go towards your chasis purchase.

The model 12fv comes with a Varmint heavy barrel. The action is a small shank should you need the info to order the barrel.
Click to expand...

It's something to look at for sure, long as it has the same footprint for the standard Savage short action to fit the chassis.
 
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