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KRG Bravo OR MDT XRS

rbs7500

Private
Minuteman
Feb 15, 2021
82
21
Australia
Hey all,

I'm in the process of getting a firearms license and am going to go with a 1500 Howa action in either a 6.5 Creedmoor for getting into target shooting at all ranges. Further down the track I'll likely get a Howa Vogue in a .300 Win or .308 if I decide to hunt.

I initially wanted a full chassis but none in the price range I can afford really "grab" me in terms of aesthetics. However, I like the look of the Hybrid Stock/Chassis options being the Howa Bravo and MDT XRS. I'm having trouble choosing which to go with. I've also never had the opportunity to see either of these in person. I know the Bravo is a little shorter and requires a spigot to add extra length and that the XRS already comes longer. Aside from that though I don't know which is better in terms of function and build quality. I also can't decide if I like the look of the exposed screws in the XRS or not.

Is either going to give an obvious boost in accuracy over the other etc.?

Also the gun shop I want to buy from has the (now discontinued) Howa Bravo in stock and if I go with the Bravo, I believe this is an older (Gen 1) version of this stock - am I missing out on anything by not having a Gen 2? Would I be better off buying a Gen 2 separately and attaching a 1500 barrelled action to it?

Thanks, I appreciate any info that you guys can give me.
 
Neither will shoot better than the other.
I think when brownells had the howa barreled action and the bravo separately it came out to arond 59 bucks cheaper than getting them together at the same time. So it shouldnt be a huge difference, depends on how much the shop it gonna sell it for.

The big difference to me is that the xrs grip is a bit thinner than the bravo grip. I like that more but I have one of each and I really have a hard time splitting hairs but if I had to go with one I guess it would be the xrs.
 
MDT XRS - 3.9lbs
KRG Bravo - 2.9lbs

The weight will make a difference depending on what you want to do with your rifle. Both are high quality. Neither will boost accuracy better than the other.

The Bravo at the moment has a couple of optional accessories such as the tool-less LOP and night vision mount that are currently unavailable for the XRS. Neither of which may matter to you.

They're very similar products overall.

For target shooting, I'd recommend the MDT XRS out of your choices. Slightly heavier without having to purchase and add weight kits.

For hunting - KRG Bravo
 
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I have both and prefer the XRS. The XRS is better built and better designed IMHO but they both function and shoot the same. To me, the XRS just feels more solid when holding it but even when swapping actions between them, they shot the same so I guess it really doesn't matter.
 
IMO the MDT XRS is a bad choice for a Howa 1500 because then you are required to use MDT's poly or poly/metal mags.

Besides that, the Bravo has far more upgrade options than the XRS, and what gadgets you buy for a Bravo will work on any other KRG chassis if you switch or sell it down the road. MDT clearly relegated their XRS as their "beginner/budget" chassis in limiting its options, whereas the KRG allows one to upgrade their Bravo as far as they want to go.

And the XRS' cheekpiece adjustment is dumb, 2 knobs is 1 too many lol.
 
I've used both the XRS and KRG Bravo in Tikka and Remington700s. For a target shooting rifle, I vote XRS. Don't get me wrong, I loved my Bravo, and the Bravo is lighter if you want to shave weight.
But I recently got to try the XRS and I find it more comfortable. It comes with 2 grip sizes and one of them covers up that annoying action screw hole behind the trigger gaurd quite comfortably. I do have small hands. The weight is preferable for target shooting, so long as that is the primary purpose of the rifle. The whole thing overall felt better to me, the balance, the texture of the rubberized grip. While the KRG feels more plasticky and some people don't like the number of screws on it.
The best way I can put it: the XRS "feels" more like a one-piece solid stock to me, while the KRG feels like what it is, polymer molds covering an aluminum backbone.
BUT the KRG is also noticeably cheaper!

Both have plenty of attachments/compatibility for aftermarket modifications. My buddy put an Area419 ARCA rail on his XRS, I put one of those enclosed forends on my Bravo etc...

Both will shoot the same as far as accuracy goes. The XRS feels a little better imo, but it also costs a little more, imo it's worth the premium.
 
IMO the MDT XRS is a bad choice for a Howa 1500 because then you are required to use MDT's poly or poly/metal mags.

Besides that, the Bravo has far more upgrade options than the XRS, and what gadgets you buy for a Bravo will work on any other KRG chassis if you switch or sell it down the road. MDT clearly relegated their XRS as their "beginner/budget" chassis in limiting its options, whereas the KRG allows one to upgrade their Bravo as far as they want to go.

And the XRS' cheekpiece adjustment is dumb, 2 knobs is 1 too many lol.
Is there a anything wrong with the MDT mags? As long as it holds 10 rounds and feeds well I don't think I'd be too fussed.

I have actually heard that the Bravo has feeding issues and gets stuck occasionally.

I agree on the Cheekpiece, how often do you actually adjust it once it's set?
 
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I've used both the XRS and KRG Bravo in Tikka and Remington700s. For a target shooting rifle, I vote XRS. Don't get me wrong, I loved my Bravo, and the Bravo is lighter if you want to shave weight.
But I recently got to try the XRS and I find it more comfortable. It comes with 2 grip sizes and one of them covers up that annoying action screw hole behind the trigger gaurd quite comfortably. I do have small hands. The weight is preferable for target shooting, so long as that is the primary purpose of the rifle. The whole thing overall felt better to me, the balance, the texture of the rubberized grip. While the KRG feels more plasticky and some people don't like the number of screws on it.
The best way I can put it: the XRS "feels" more like a one-piece solid stock to me, while the KRG feels like what it is, polymer molds covering an aluminum backbone.
BUT the KRG is also noticeably cheaper!

Both have plenty of attachments/compatibility for aftermarket modifications. My buddy put an Area419 ARCA rail on his XRS, I put one of those enclosed forends on my Bravo etc...

Both will shoot the same as far as accuracy goes. The XRS feels a little better imo, but it also costs a little more, imo it's worth the premium.
It's good to read this as going off photos I thought the XRS looked a little more solid.

I also love the look or the enclosed forend on the Bravo but I don't know much about the function of it. Is it necessary and does it give the Beavo a huge advantage?

I really like both, I think I'm leaning a little more towards the XRS.

Thanks for all the info!
 
MDT XRS - 3.9lbs
KRG Bravo - 2.9lbs

The weight will make a difference depending on what you want to do with your rifle. Both are high quality. Neither will boost accuracy better than the other.

The Bravo at the moment has a couple of optional accessories such as the tool-less LOP and night vision mount that are currently unavailable for the XRS. Neither of which may matter to you.

They're very similar products overall.

For target shooting, I'd recommend the MDT XRS out of your choices. Slightly heavier without having to purchase and add weight kits.

For hunting - KRG Bravo
Awesome - my plan is to make my first rifle a pure target rifle and down the track get a hunting rifle, such as a short barrelled Howa Vogue or similar, they go for around $600 here.

So I'm not concerned with weight for this one. Heavier = more stability yeah? So the XRS wins in that department.
 
Is there a anything wrong with the MDT mags? As long as it holds 10 rounds and feeds well I don't think I'd be too fussed.

I have actually heard that the Bravo has feeding issues and gets stuck occasionally.

I agree on the Cheekpiece, how often do you actually adjust it once it's set?

There's nothing necessarily wrong with the MDT poly or poly/metal mags... other than that they're not very popular or considered "industry standard" like AI or Accurate-Mag mags, so IDK if I'd want to buy too many...

The Bravo doesn't induce any more or less feeding issues than any other chassis.

Since the Bravo isn't a folder, I touch the cheek-piece adjustment every time I remove the bolt.
 
There's nothing necessarily wrong with the MDT poly or poly/metal mags... other than that they're not very popular or considered "industry standard" like AI or Accurate-Mag mags, so IDK if I'd want to buy too many...
I can think of one reason not to get the MDT polymer magazines: you need the extra fraction of an inch COAL because you handload long. They otherwise function just fine at a fraction the price of the stamped metal magazines from AI and AM, and the polymer body with metal feed lips is the sort of innovation we need to see more of in the industry - save weight while keeping the ability to adjust to properly feed insert-wildcat-here.
 
I can think of one reason not to get the MDT polymer magazines: you need the extra fraction of an inch COAL because you handload long. They otherwise function just fine at a fraction the price of the stamped metal magazines from AI and AM, and the polymer body with metal feed lips is the sort of innovation we need to see more of in the industry - save weight while keeping the ability to adjust to properly feed insert-wildcat-here.

They're not "a fraction of the price of metal mags..." they're ~1/3 less... and saving ~$20 isn't worth it because if they were the shit, MDT wouldn't also make and sell more expensive "higher trim level" metal ones just like AI and AM.

(and that's besides the obvious annoyance of buying proprietary magazines that may or may not work with other maker's chassis/stocks)

Keeping gear "universal" and "industry standard" when one can is important IMO (even if it's a few bucks more up front). Nobody wants to have to buy all new mags every time they get a new chassis/stock, or only be able to use their mags with a certain rifle.
 
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They're not "a fraction of the price of metal mags..." they're ~1/3 less... and saving ~$20 isn't worth it because if they were the shit, MDT wouldn't also make and sell more expensive "higher trim level" metal ones just like AI and AM.

(and that's besides the obvious annoyance of buying proprietary magazines that may or may not work with other maker's chassis/stocks)

Keeping gear "universal" and "industry standard" when one can is important IMO (even if it's a few bucks more up front). Nobody wants to have to buy all new mags every time they get a new chassis/stock, or only be able to use their mags with a certain rifle.
Dude, have you even used them?
  1. They’re universal AICS fit and compatibility. They meet the “standard” such as it exists. They’re not “proprietary”. They work with just as many chassis/action combinations as any other AICS form factor magazine on the market. If it’s something like a Curtis that requires feed lip and latch tweaks, it’s not going to work out of the box with anything - and to be fair, you don’t have the ability to tweak polymer feed lips.
  2. Polymer is lighter. Polymer is cheaper to manufacture. Polymer requires slightly more space for a given number of cartridges. Sometimes, someone wants extra COAL, so they get metal instead. Sometimes, someone wants a slightly smaller package, so they get metal instead. Sometimes, people think that metal or higher price is always better, so they get metal instead. You’re literally making the same argument that magpul AR magazines shouldn’t exist and nobody uses them anyway, which is so wrong it’s not even funny.
  3. I personally have used the exact same MDT polymer magazines for Savage with AICS bottom metal, Savage in an MDT chassis, Savage in an old KRG chassis, Remington with bottom metal, Remington in an XLR chassis, ARC with bottom metal, ARC in an ARC chassis, Defiance in a KRG chassis, and an AIAT. Most of those weren’t my rifles, and I did zero tweaking in any of them.
There are a lot of shitty proprietary magazines out there, but MDT should under no stretch of anyone’s imagination be grouped with them.
 
I'm really not fussed about having different mags for different rifles. If my second rifle is a hunting rifle it'll likely be a top loaded stock anyway. As long as the MDT poly mag feeds well and is durable then I wouldn't know the difference. I'm just here to have a good time shooting down range and going for some nice 3-5 shot groups at 300-400m and the gong at 500m (the local range here goes to 500m) and occasionally make the trip to a 2000m range that's a few hours away and shoot some steel at 1000-1500. Unless either of these stocks or the MDT Magazine is going to stop me from being able to do this I don't see an issue.

Anyway, I'm leaning towards the MDT and can't decide if I like the Black or FDE better. Does anyone have photos of their set ups they could post? Whether it's an XRS or Bravo. If they're both going to shoot about the same, then it'll be down to aesthetics. So seeing some actual set ups will help a lot.
 
MDT metal mags are as good or better than other AICS AI or AM mag I have used. Certainly not limited to MDT chassis, that talk is just ignorant. First MDT product I owned was a 10 round metal mag, has Run perfect in multiple rifles. Buy MDT with confidence.
 
Dude, have you even used them?
  1. They’re universal AICS fit and compatibility. They meet the “standard” such as it exists. They’re not “proprietary”. They work with just as many chassis/action combinations as any other AICS form factor magazine on the market. If it’s something like a Curtis that requires feed lip and latch tweaks, it’s not going to work out of the box with anything - and to be fair, you don’t have the ability to tweak polymer feed lips.
  2. Polymer is lighter. Polymer is cheaper to manufacture. Polymer requires slightly more space for a given number of cartridges. Sometimes, someone wants extra COAL, so they get metal instead. Sometimes, someone wants a slightly smaller package, so they get metal instead. Sometimes, people think that metal or higher price is always better, so they get metal instead. You’re literally making the same argument that magpul AR magazines shouldn’t exist and nobody uses them anyway, which is so wrong it’s not even funny.
  3. I personally have used the exact same MDT polymer magazines for Savage with AICS bottom metal, Savage in an MDT chassis, Savage in an old KRG chassis, Remington with bottom metal, Remington in an XLR chassis, ARC with bottom metal, ARC in an ARC chassis, Defiance in a KRG chassis, and an AIAT. Most of those weren’t my rifles, and I did zero tweaking in any of them.
There are a lot of shitty proprietary magazines out there, but MDT should under no stretch of anyone’s imagination be grouped with them.

It's not like I don't think those mags are good, I never said they were shitty...

Just in the case of the Howa 1500 with an XRS, according to MDT it's those MDT mags only, something the OP should consider is all.
 
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Here's a few pics of my XRS hunting rig. It's a trued Rem 700 action with a Krieger barrel chambered in .270WSM. I installed the MDT Arca rail that's made for the XRS and I'm really happy with the whole set up.
 

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Here's a few pics of my XRS hunting rig. It's a trued Rem 700 action with a Krieger barrel chambered in .270WSM. I installed the MDT Arca rail that's made for the XRS and I'm really happy with the whole set up.
Thanks man! They're definitely a good looking rig hey.
 
Do you have pics?

It's down to an aesthetic choice at this point.

Here's my Bravo. Light enough to hunt with and after hunting season I add 6 ish lbs of lead to make it heavier for target shooting with lead shot and decoy weights that cost me around $38.

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I have tried both, and the fit and function of the KRG Bravo was better for me individually. I now have 3 Bravo's for my 2 Tikka's and 1 Zermat Origin build
 

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My Bravo with the adjustable height/cant buttpad, aluminum arca forend, t-slot weight, and spigot. Costs more than the base $349 but it shot well without all the attachments. I love the modularity of the KRG system. The balance with my Bergara B-14 24" barreled action is perfect.
 
W
Neither will shoot better than the other.
I think when brownells had the howa barreled action and the bravo separately it came out to arond 59 bucks cheaper than getting them together at the same time. So it shouldnt be a huge difference, depends on how much the shop it gonna sell it for.

The big difference to me is that the xrs grip is a bit thinner than the bravo grip. I like that more but I have one of each and I really have a hard time splitting hairs but if I had to go with one I guess it would be the xrs.
Which one is the most "rigid" ? Less flex while loading the bipod ?
 
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W

Which one is the most "rigid" ? Less flex while loading the bipod ?
Most, if not all bipods will have more flex than either of these chassis. Out of the box I would guess the XRS would be stiffer. With even the minimalist spigot the Bravo would at least equal the XRS if not better it. I'm not sure I've ever needed to load a bipod enough to cause flex in either chassis though.
 
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If we're talking about torsional flex then I couldn't answer that directly. From memory, the Bravo in stock form has about the same torsional flex as my MDT LSS-XL and Bergara BMP chassis. The Bravo with the aluminum ARCA forend is extremely stiff with no noticeable torsional flex.
 
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That looks awesome man, did you do the camo yourself?

Cheers for sharing.

Yes, just some spray paint and clear coat. There's a thread floating around about painting bravos that I got information from.
 
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It's good to read this as going off photos I thought the XRS looked a little more solid.

I also love the look or the enclosed forend on the Bravo but I don't know much about the function of it. Is it necessary and does it give the Beavo a huge advantage?

I really like both, I think I'm leaning a little more towards the XRS.

Thanks for all the info!
The enclosed forend sure looks cool! However, no it doesn't really add much more function to be honest. I bought it for looks, then transferred it to my Whiskey 3, again, for looks lol. It made the bravo a bit front-heavy.

Which brings me to another point.

The XRS forend is integrated into the chassis, and is all aluminum where the bipod attaches too. If i recall correctly (and someone correct me if I'm wrong) the only way to attach a bipod to the Bravo from the factory, is to attach it to the polymer skin that covers the aluminum chassis. So the bipod is not directly attached to the metal body itself, but rather just the plastic skin that is screwed onto the body.

That being said, the KRG spigot mount can be directly screwed to the aluminum chassis through the hole in the front between the polymer skin, and the metal backbone. Then you can attach the bipod to the spigot mount, and you achieve a metal on metal attachment. I personally preferred the idea of my bipod attaching to something more solid than the polymer skin, so I bought the spigot mount.

Is there a performance or durability difference? No clue, likely no. It was more of a personal thing, and I doubt it is any more/less secure. But if it bothers you, then I'd get the spigot mount, or the enclosed forend which does the same job. However at that point, the price gets closer to the XRS.

Again, both choices are great, and I'm glad we have so many options these days! I lean towards the XRS personally, but wouldn't hesitate to buy a Bravo, especially at the lower price.
 
The enclosed forend sure looks cool! However, no it doesn't really add much more function to be honest. I bought it for looks, then transferred it to my Whiskey 3, again, for looks lol. It made the bravo a bit front-heavy.

Which brings me to another point.

The XRS forend is integrated into the chassis, and is all aluminum where the bipod attaches too. If i recall correctly (and someone correct me if I'm wrong) the only way to attach a bipod to the Bravo from the factory, is to attach it to the polymer skin that covers the aluminum chassis. So the bipod is not directly attached to the metal body itself, but rather just the plastic skin that is screwed onto the body.

That being said, the KRG spigot mount can be directly screwed to the aluminum chassis through the hole in the front between the polymer skin, and the metal backbone. Then you can attach the bipod to the spigot mount, and you achieve a metal on metal attachment. I personally preferred the idea of my bipod attaching to something more solid than the polymer skin, so I bought the spigot mount.

Is there a performance or durability difference? No clue, likely no. It was more of a personal thing, and I doubt it is any more/less secure. But if it bothers you, then I'd get the spigot mount, or the enclosed forend which does the same job. However at that point, the price gets closer to the XRS.

Again, both choices are great, and I'm glad we have so many options these days! I lean towards the XRS personally, but wouldn't hesitate to buy a Bravo, especially at the lower price.
Thanks man this was super helpful, a point to thr XRS for sure in terms of metal on metal bipod without the hassle of having to get a spigot.

The shop I want to buy from sells Howa Barreled actions already in these Chassis for the same price, $1350 Australian. They also sell it in a number of other MDT Chassis but the XRS is the best looking IMO, I'm not a huge fan of the LSS and ESS.

I think I'll go with the XRS, it just seems like a better built unit.
 
Thanks man this was super helpful, a point to thr XRS for sure in terms of metal on metal bipod without the hassle of having to get a spigot.

The shop I want to buy from sells Howa Barreled actions already in these Chassis for the same price, $1350 Australian. They also sell it in a number of other MDT Chassis but the XRS is the best looking IMO, I'm not a huge fan of the LSS and ESS.

I think I'll go with the XRS, it just seems like a better built unit.
Right on, and I agree, I've also used the LSS and wasn't much of a fan. The ESS is great, but doesn't do anything I needed that the XRS can't. The XRS offers the best value of the MDT lineup imo.

Great choice. I think, if you lined up a Bravo and XRS, you'd feel that the XRS is nicer. It mostly just comes down to whether or not it's worth the extra money, and in the long term, I believe it is. The price difference is pretty small considering the overall price of this hobby in general lol.
 
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Right on, and I agree, I've also used the LSS and wasn't much of a fan. The ESS is great, but doesn't do anything I needed that the XRS can't. The XRS offers the best value of the MDT lineup imo.

Great choice. I think, if you lined up a Bravo and XRS, you'd feel that the XRS is nicer. It mostly just comes down to whether or not it's worth the extra money, and in the long term, I believe it is. The price difference is pretty small considering the overall price of this hobby in general lol.
Hahaha I'm going to try and maintain enough self control to only get 2-3 rifles but we'll see how we go.

Now it's just a matter of choosing FDE or Black, tough choice.
 
They're not "a fraction of the price of metal mags..." they're ~1/3 less... and saving ~$20 isn't worth it because if they were the shit, MDT wouldn't also make and sell more expensive "higher trim level" metal ones just like AI and AM.

(and that's besides the obvious annoyance of buying proprietary magazines that may or may not work with other maker's chassis/stocks)

Keeping gear "universal" and "industry standard" when one can is important IMO (even if it's a few bucks more up front). Nobody wants to have to buy all new mags every time they get a new chassis/stock, or only be able to use their mags with a certain rifle.
You realize that 1/3 IS a fraction?
 
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Hey guys, a buddy and I are shooting the NH Guardian next month. I'm shooting a 6.5 creed in an XRS and could use some extra weight. He's shooting a .308, and I'm going to put it in either a Bravo or XRS to give him mag feeding. I'm sure he's going to need some extra weight as well. I realize niether stock are realy intended to take much weight, but any hacks you have would be appreciated.
 
They make internal weights (aside from the first year model xrs which requires an updated foreend, and thus my opting for the enclosed option here) and any external mlock weights for the xrs and bravo both.

6CC8367E-9DC8-478A-ABE3-EC1FFEED8804.jpeg

One word of caution, the external mdt weights on the xrs interfere with the rrs silver bipod knob which is why I don’t have the external weight at the very end, I can’t tighten the bipod at the end with a weight there. Depending on your barrel and scope heft anywhere from 17-21 lbs should be doable.

The bravo has a hollow butt you can stuff full of weight where as the xrs doesnt.
 
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They make internal weights (aside from the first year model xrs which requires an updated foreend, and thus my opting for the enclosed option here) and any external mlock weights for the xrs and bravo both.

View attachment 8162462
One word of caution, the external mdt weights on the xrs interfere with the rrs silver bipod knob which is why I don’t have the external weight at the very end, I can’t tighten the bipod at the end with a weight there. Depending on your barrel and scope heft anywhere from 17-21 lbs should be doable.

The bravo has a hollow butt you can stuff full of weight where as the xrs doesnt.
thanks
 
You can easily kit a Bravo out to weigh 20+lbs if you're willing to buy the KRG goodies...


Forend Weight
Heavy ARCA Rail
Heavy ARCA Spacer
MLOK weights
LOP weights

Actually, there's nothing better as far as bang for the buck, a kitted-out ~$700 Bravo can hang with any chassis out there.