Savage Salvaged: MDT Chassis + Arken Glass = Budget Blaster Resurrection

[GlockandRoll]

This is a 1st-year Savage Model 10 .308 AccuTrigger, purchased new in Austin in 2003, cut to 18.5" and threaded for an old-school AWC ThunderTrap. It's what I cut my teeth on 20 years ago, back when we didn’t have good stock options or affordable glass for a young engineer starting a family with a wife at home cranking out great-looking boys (and a girl) who clearly benefit from her staggering good looks.

Speaking of good looks, what a way to bring this rifle back to life: an MDT XRS chassis and Arken SH4 4-16X50 GEN2.

It's honestly remarkable how good this rifle is for the money.

I had almost forgotten about this rifle (if you can believe it) because I threw the can on my .300WM for a while and sold the glass off the Savage. The barreled action laid around in the workshop for about 14 years.

Now, I’m excited all over again.

Range results will be shared later this week after the F1 madness in Austin dies down.

Stay frosty.

 

[TheJeanyus]

Staggeringly good looking wife, cool rifle, and close proximity to COTA. I'm pretty jealous.

 

[GlockandRoll]

Staggeringly good looking wife, cool rifle, and close proximity to COTA. I'm pretty jealous.

Thanks for the compliments!
I know the barrel shoots great in the old choate stock, so I'm imaging it's even better in here. I can't wait to sight it in, hopefully this afternoon but I have to early vote - and speaking of.

Yeah, living so close to COTA is definitely a perk, driving on it at speed is better than any drug! And that, along with the killer BBQ and live music scene dont make it totally insuferable. But man, I gotta say, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows with the blue state refugees from the Peoples Republic of Kaliforniastan.

If Gruesome Newsom is really doing such a great job over there, why are people fleeing Commiefornia like rats off a sinking ship? Millions of Californians have moved to Texas in recent years and it's only slowing down a little. I just got my license renewed and was told there were still 400 new people moving to Austin every single day, just from Cali, which is only down a bit from 450 2 years ago. And let’s be real—it’s not because they’re coming for the BBQ and big skies; they’re running from the mess that Newsom’s policies have created.

Here’s the kicker: they bring their broken politics with them. They leave California because they’re fed up with sky-high taxes, out-of-control housing prices, and insane regulations. Then, they move here and start voting for the same failed policies that wrecked their state. It’s driving up our housing costs, clogging our roads, and turning Texas into a purple hell.

Newsom and the rest of the California elites love throwing money at problems without addressing the root causes. Sure, a few more bucks an hour might help in the short term, but in the long run, the middle class is getting squeezed out, and Texans are left dealing with the fallout of a state full of people who just don’t seem to learn from their own mistakes.

 

[TheJeanyus]

We made the drive from Huntsville, AL over to Austin for the race in 2022. You can definitely feel the influence of the California transplants in Austin, but great food is never more than a stone's-throw away and COTA is an awesome facility. We'll definitely be back in the future, but our next F1 adventure is hopefully going to be Monza 2025.

 

[GlockandRoll]

Attending an F1 race at Autodromo Nazionale Monza is a bucket list item!