SAVAGE MSR 10 Hunter

By Jim Draper

After spending time with the guys and gals at Vista Outdoors, the mother company of Savage Arms, at this year’s NRA Show here in Atlanta, GA, I finally made my mind up and decided to make the leap into adding a tactical style rifle to my hunting arsenal. My choice for my new tactical or MSR hunting rifle is the Savage MSR 10 Hunter chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor. Savage has a long history in the firearms industry and has really done their due diligence in research and manufacturing with their version of the AR 10 style rifle. I have several Savage rifles in my gun cabinet now and know without a doubt that the MSR 10 will provide me with many years of service and pleasure of shooting and hunting without failure.

Let’s start with a little run down on the Savage MSR10 Hunter. The all-new Savage MSR 10 Hunter is available in 308 Win and 6.5 Creedmoor but in a compact sporting platform that still packs the same punch of its 308 Win. and 6.5 Creedmoor bolt action counterparts. Probably the first thing that attracted me to the MSR10 Hunter was the weight. I have shot several Ar10 rifles and one thing that really turned me off was the weight. If it was getting one just for taking to the range to shoot, weight wouldn’t be an issue but I plan to use mine for hunting where weight is usually a factor when packing in and out of your tree-stand or blind. The 41” overall length MSR10 Hunter weighs in right at 8 lbs., which is slightly higher than say a bolt action hunting rifle, but is still very manageable.  Don’t let the light weight scare you into thinking it will be a shoulder pounder, however. Savage hooked up with one of their sister companies, Blackhawk and equipped the MSR 10 with their new Knoxx AR Pistol Grip and Axiom Carbine Stock. The Knoxx pistol grip has a very comfortable grip angle and palm swell, as well as a fully textured surface to prevent slippage on damp or wet days. The Axiom a-frame carbine stock is fully adjustable to fit almost every shooter and has a very forgiving recoil pad. It also has multiple QD sling mounts which allows you to choose the best sling for you. The action on the MSR10 is direct-impingement. Direct-impingement does away with a separate gas cylinder, piston, and operating rod assembly. High-pressure gas acts directly upon the bolt and carrier thereby saving weight, lowering costs, and reducing the mass of the operating parts, and thereby the wear on mechanical parts due to movement. It is also factory equipped with Nickel Boron treated Blackhawk trigger assembly to reduce wear and friction. The 6.5 Creedmoor model is fitted with an 18” Savage barrel with 1:8″ 5R Right-hand rifling with a tough Melonite QPQ finish. I’m going to stop right here for a moment and explain two things that I did not know until I did my research.  I had never heard of these terms before. One is 5R rifling and the other is Melonite QPQ finish. 5R rifling is an improvement over conventional rifling by changing the shape and configuration of the lands and grooves. Conventional rifling, while effective, can be improved upon in two ways. Conventional rifling has sharp 90-degree corners from the top of the land to the bottom of the groove. Also, Conventional rifling has lands and grooves opposing one another. The 5R rifling improves upon this by using 5 lands and grooves over the even numbers, which puts lands opposite of grooves. Further, the transition from the top of the land to the groove is sloped. 5R reduces projectile deformation as it passes through the bore during the firing sequence. By placing the lands opposite of the grooves, the bullets are no longer squeezed on opposite sides, thus ensuring the projectile stays uniform instead of squeezing material into the grooves. More uniform projectile means better accuracy. Secondly, by sloping the transition to the groove, the barrels become much easier to clean. In a conventionally rifled platform, these corners become depositories for lead and superheated materials left after shooting. Cleaning supplies have a hard time reaching these corners, as they are incredibly small. By sloping it, cleaning supplies are easily able to get to the deposits. Melonite coating provides a thinner surface than chrome-lining, so bore friction is reduced for better accuracy. Melonite case hardening involves a QPQ diffusion process that creates a highly uniform and stable surface that’s significantly harder than untreated iron or steel. Thus, parts, components, and equipment treated with this are far more resistant to normal wear and tear, even under the harshest of conditions. Other upgrades straight from the factory include a free-float fore-end, custom-forged lower receiver for a unique look and compact size. All of these features come with a very reasonable price tag; the MSRP is $1,481, but I have found the price tag south of $1400 in some gun shops and online. Check the Savage MSR 10 Hunter out on Savage’s website, www.savagearms.com or better yet visit your local gun store and put one in your hands.

Features

• 308 Win. (1:10-inch 5R) and 6.5 Creedmoor (1:8-inch 5R)
• Compact AR-10 design
• 16 1/8-inch fluted barrel with Melonite QPQ finish; 18-inch barrel for 6.5 Creedmoor
• 7.8 pounds, 308 Win.; 8.0 pounds, 6.5 Creedmoor
• Custom forged upper/lower for unique look and compact size
• Free-float M-LOK^® handguard
• BLACKHAWK! KNOXX^® AR Pistol Grip and AXIOM^™ Carbine Stock
• BLACKHAWK! trigger with Nickel Boron treatment