Savage Action question... I might be retarded

[VS762]

Evening all. Had an account 10+ years ago but no longer have that email so the new name. Lurked for the last 3-4 years and this is still one of the most intelligent forums I have seen. Hopefully someone can else can assuage my fears that maybe myself and all my friends have mis-shaped heads.

Recently picked up 2 Savage Evos for students to use in classes. Issue is with optics. With the full length rail and high bore axis, I cannot get a cheek weld on this platform. Several other have the same issue. For giggles, went down to a 44mm scope and rings that put the bell on the deck... like 0.0089" ie way too close to shoot like this. Even with the PRS stock all the way up, this is not happening. Due to design, the center axis of the scope is a full inch higher than it is even on a MSR. I have the ability to make a graphite cheek riser, but was wondering why I have not seen this mentioned anywhere else... Yes I searched before posting . Does everyone here just have a freakish head, or is this some dirty secret the Savage illuminati are going to have me killed for revealing? Thank you for any help and its good to be back.

 

[101stinfantry]

Ok, I can't help with your question, maybe because my head is freakish, idk? I'd never heard of a Savage Evos, and googled it just to see what the hell it was, and all I got was a bunch of YouTube videos made by other people with freakish heads. Nothing gun related at all so..............................what is it?

 

[just browsing]

Only thing I can think of is XLR Evo for Savage actions? Evo+full length handguard make me think that but I could be totally off-base.

I understand the issue he’s talking about but I’ve not had any issues with my Evolutions. The cheek risers are near or at the top of their adjustment range for a properly mounted optic, but I’ve not had any issues with them being too high.

Full disclosure I do have a freakishly large head so that could be a reason I’ve not had any problems with my cheek weld.

 

[memilanuk]

I haven't played with the Evolution models, but from back when we did some beta testing on the initial 110BA .338LMs, I do have a bit of input...

Putting a stock intended for an AR-15 on a bolt gun is, in my experience, a stupid decision driven by marketing, and unfortunately, what will sell, not what actually works worth a damn.

The cheek piece is too far back, because it's designed to provide clearance for a charging handle, not a bolt. It also doesn't go far enough 'up', because it's designed for an entirely different platform with a much lower bore centerline. And the stock tends to be too long for about anyone, including me (6'4"). But hey, it looks cool and you can drop it on there...

When they first tried that insanity on the 110BA, we had the exact same problems. From the bench, it's not terrible. Not great, but not terrible. You can kinda crib your body around the gun to make it work. From prone, or any other positional shooting... forget it. You no longer have a 'cheek' weld; you have a f'ing 'ear' weld. Me, at 6'4", was using the stock fully collapsed in the summer with a tee-shirt. Any normal sized person... not happening.

At the time (pre-ATK/Vista) the factory took our input, and opted instead to make an adapter to take the Magpul butt stock for either a HK91 or FAL (don't recall exactly). It fixed pretty much all those problems - the cheek piece goes twice as high, its not near as far back, and with that spacer rather than a buffer tube/ AR interface you could make the adjustable LOP actually functional. Problem solved, and those guns worked pretty well.

Fast forward to the 10 BA Stealth / Evolution... different people and politics involved. Different testers too, cuz we never even heard about the products until they were on the market. I love MDT chassis' but to me putting an AR butt stock, whether it's the Magpul PRS that they put on the Evolution, or that 'thing' they put on the 10 BA Stealth, is absolutely the wrong answer. From what I gathered, there was some internal debate over what was 'right' vs. what people would buy off the shelves anyway. You can work out for yourselves which faction won.

For the OP... I wish there was a good answer for ya with the existing OEM hardware, but in my opinion/experience, there isn't. Now MDT *does* have some very nice butt stock options that should interface directly with that chassis (they're the ones that make it)... and you can probably either sell or find other uses for the Magpul PRS buttstocks easily enough.

HTH

 

[Boss334OP]

Going to go out on a limb here and assume you are talking about a Savage Stealth Evolution.
I think the problems you are experiencing stem from the adaptations that were made to the MDT LSS Chassis.
The addition of the full rail appears/feels higher and forces you to use higher rings, as I am sure you are aware. Also, the stock angle is slightly off/downward resulting in a lowered position. Not a problem on a standard LSS as the scope center is physically lower and within adjustment, but when the two are added... No go.
Misshapen heads... Still a a possibility... But more likely just stacking negatives.

Build up your cheek-rests and shoot on.

 

[VS762]

Going to go out on a limb here and assume you are talking about a Savage Stealth Evolution.
I think the problems you are experiencing stem from the adaptations that were made to the MDT LSS Chassis.
The addition of the full rail appears/feels higher and forces you to use higher rings, as I am sure you are aware. Also, the stock angle is slightly off/downward resulting in a lowered position. Not a problem on a standard LSS as the scope center is physically lower and within adjustment, but when the two are added... No go.
Misshapen heads... Still a a possibility... But more likely just stacking negatives.

Build up your cheek-rests and shoot on.

Yeah the 20MOA on top of giant rings to clear even a modest scope and the scope’s axis is almost 3” over the base of an AR stock. I just cannot believe every single person who purchased one of these is not posting this is an issue. Swapping the stock or casting a mold for a new riser is not a huge issue for me. I just wanted to make sure there was not some mystery piece missing from the box. That and I was starting to get self conscious about my head.

 

[Boss334OP]

 

[Boss334OP]

I think the Savage Illuminati figured out that only about 25% of these would see any real range time... The rest are doomed to be perpetually finger fucked by some keyboard warriors.

 

[VS762]

Not the most elegant solution, but this was the easiest fix I could come up with.

 

[Boss334OP]

Form follows function. Looks pretty elegant to me.

 

[VS762]

Trust me, it didn’t start that way lol. I’ll get some photos of it on the rifle later.