New at this: what’s the difference between MDT and Cadex chassis?
- Thread starter Melnibonean
- Start date
Good question.
My hint, was stripping action off the chassis after 200 rounds.
If cerakote and bluing still intact, probably not but don’t take my work for it.
If cerakote and bluing worn to the metal (my case) and the used cerakote+ worn blue formed a type of paste, yes it needs beddings.
Before bedding i was constantly sub-moa with the savage, 5 shot groups.
Bedding brought me in to the constant sub-3/4 territory.
Bedding was much easier than anticipated to do on my own, and can only bring benefits, so why not.
My hint, was stripping action off the chassis after 200 rounds.
If cerakote and bluing still intact, probably not but don’t take my work for it.
If cerakote and bluing worn to the metal (my case) and the used cerakote+ worn blue formed a type of paste, yes it needs beddings.
Before bedding i was constantly sub-moa with the savage, 5 shot groups.
Bedding brought me in to the constant sub-3/4 territory.
Bedding was much easier than anticipated to do on my own, and can only bring benefits, so why not.
It sounds like you are very misinformed. For quality, search around and look for reviews on MDT products. Not only is our quality top notch, we guarantee satisfaction on all our products for every customer.
And no we do not outsource everything. It's all produced right here in Chilliwack BC.
Also, none of our chassis are made from moulding.
Where did you get all this misinformation?
I rather like my 10TR in a Cadex Urban strike. My sister has hers in a Field Strike. Both shoot in the 0.7ish MOA range, I've had the rare 0.5" group. Their products seem to be very well thought out with things like the holes helicoiled which is very nice. One of my favorite things is that behind the trigger guard there is a through hole to the trigger adjustment screw so you don't need to take it apart to change your trigger weight. I haven't had any issues when asking them various questions. I know of a couple issues friends have had with MDT parts but those seem to have been fixed with later generations. I have also know one guy who had an issue with his Cadex magwell but this was fixed without issue. I would say in the end they will both do what you want and depending on what type of shooting your are going to do their performance will be more than enough.
If I were to be in your position I would also look at XLR chassis. From what I recall they have a slot in the side of their chassis that you can put something through to make taking your bolt out easier. With my Cadex I have to somewhat blindly put some up the trigger guard to get to the lever as most chassis are not designed with the bottom bolt release style action in mind. It's not a big deal by any means. I just like the aesthetic of the XLR products over MDT.
If I were to be in your position I would also look at XLR chassis. From what I recall they have a slot in the side of their chassis that you can put something through to make taking your bolt out easier. With my Cadex I have to somewhat blindly put some up the trigger guard to get to the lever as most chassis are not designed with the bottom bolt release style action in mind. It's not a big deal by any means. I just like the aesthetic of the XLR products over MDT.
I've had two MDT chassis now, my first precision rifle was in a TAC 21, and now I have an ESS on my Remington 700, and it's been amazing! Plus for your Savage MDT support both action screw spacings common to the Savage short actions and top and bottom bolt release so they have a lot going for them. Plus they have their 30-day customer satisfaction guarantee so you can try MDT risk-free!
walle, I would love to talk to you about our products and make sure that you have all the information about us so you can actually have true information when you speak about us.
At MDT we actually produce all our chassis ourselves and they are CNC machined from billet aluminum.
All our action screws and parts are treated for corrosion resistance.
MDT is innovative and listens to market trends and customer feedback and we produce products that fill those needs. We also produce more of our own products as we manufacture our own magazines right now, and will have our own pistol grips in the next few weeks.
If anyone has any questions or concerns or would like to know more about our products, please do not hesitate to contact us and we will be more than happy to help.
To address the original question "Cadex OT Core or MDT ESS/LSS?" paraphrasing a bit, but you will see why in a sec here. My vote would be for the MDT ESS, and I will use this list of features to explain why:
Cadex OT Core:
- AR fixed stock adapter
- Roller bearing bedding
- polymer detachable base
- apparent "prestige" and "attention to detail"
- Folding stock with an adapter
- $669.95, add an ergo grip ($50), 10 round magazine ($70), MagPul PRS Gen3 ($360) and a Harris S-BRM ($150) and you're at a total of $1300
MDT ESS (because it's more comparable than the LSS, but I'll come back to that):
- V-block bedding (that shows wear lines even if you just put your rifle in the chassis and torque it down without firing it. Those lines ARE NOT caused by recoil, they are cause by the chassis sucking the action down into the v-block, but I digress)
- Flared magazine well
- Paddle magazine release
- Serrated barricade stop to prevent mag tilt when shooting in the field
- Ambidextrous thumbshelves
- Proprietary stock interface that can adapt to AR carbine interface if desired
- Ships with buttstock
- Ships with YOUR CHOICE of forend (3 lengths, 3 styles and a carbon fiber option)
- Folding stock compatible
- $850, add the same ergo grip ($50), 10 round magazine ($70) and Harris Bipod ($150) and your total is $1120.
Without even bringing up the match and customer support, the features alone do not justify the price on the OT Core, AND THAT IS CADEX'S CHEAPEST CHASSIS!
For me it's a no brainer. I am a competitor and use an MDT LSS-XL Gen2 fully decked out. I have attended club and national level matches all over the PNW all the way down to Colorado this year, and there has been at least a few MDT prize's on the table and a handful of their chassis at each match. You would be hard pressed to find a company in this industry that cares about their customer as much as MDT does, and for these reasons alone, I could not see any point to buying a Cadex.
Cadex OT Core:
- AR fixed stock adapter
- Roller bearing bedding
- polymer detachable base
- apparent "prestige" and "attention to detail"
- Folding stock with an adapter
- $669.95, add an ergo grip ($50), 10 round magazine ($70), MagPul PRS Gen3 ($360) and a Harris S-BRM ($150) and you're at a total of $1300
MDT ESS (because it's more comparable than the LSS, but I'll come back to that):
- V-block bedding (that shows wear lines even if you just put your rifle in the chassis and torque it down without firing it. Those lines ARE NOT caused by recoil, they are cause by the chassis sucking the action down into the v-block, but I digress)
- Flared magazine well
- Paddle magazine release
- Serrated barricade stop to prevent mag tilt when shooting in the field
- Ambidextrous thumbshelves
- Proprietary stock interface that can adapt to AR carbine interface if desired
- Ships with buttstock
- Ships with YOUR CHOICE of forend (3 lengths, 3 styles and a carbon fiber option)
- Folding stock compatible
- $850, add the same ergo grip ($50), 10 round magazine ($70) and Harris Bipod ($150) and your total is $1120.
Without even bringing up the match and customer support, the features alone do not justify the price on the OT Core, AND THAT IS CADEX'S CHEAPEST CHASSIS!
For me it's a no brainer. I am a competitor and use an MDT LSS-XL Gen2 fully decked out. I have attended club and national level matches all over the PNW all the way down to Colorado this year, and there has been at least a few MDT prize's on the table and a handful of their chassis at each match. You would be hard pressed to find a company in this industry that cares about their customer as much as MDT does, and for these reasons alone, I could not see any point to buying a Cadex.
Your maths are a little off. To make an apples to apples comparison you'd need to price out the Cadex with a skeletion stock like the MDT comes with. The Cadex skeleton stock runs about $550 rather than the $360 you have on your comparison. When the rubber meets the road the Cadex ends up costing about twice as much.
I will add my 2 cents here......
As it has been said before, choose the chassis that has the features you prefer and that fall with in your budget.
Both are great Canadian companies and make great products, I have experience and handled product from both companies.
My pick here is the MDT chassis as I have every one of their models, the 2 I use most is the TAC 21 and the ESS.
The TAC 21 I have had since it’s release into the market years ago and it has never let me down, it is my current dedicated F Class gun and I contibute it to being a good part of my shooting success.
The ESS has been my main go to for the PRS game and it has given me everything I have asked for in a competition chassis in a demanding discipline. My personal experience with the ESS chassis has been amazing!
When you can completely remove a barreled action to change a trigger between PRS stages, reassemble it, torqued to spec and then line up at the next stage and shoot a 9/10, that says something about quality, consistency and repeatability!
MDT has some great products, Canadian made in house, and they have outstanding customer support.
I am really excited to see the new chassis coming.
If anyone has any questions I would be happy to help.
K.T.
As it has been said before, choose the chassis that has the features you prefer and that fall with in your budget.
Both are great Canadian companies and make great products, I have experience and handled product from both companies.
My pick here is the MDT chassis as I have every one of their models, the 2 I use most is the TAC 21 and the ESS.
The TAC 21 I have had since it’s release into the market years ago and it has never let me down, it is my current dedicated F Class gun and I contibute it to being a good part of my shooting success.
The ESS has been my main go to for the PRS game and it has given me everything I have asked for in a competition chassis in a demanding discipline. My personal experience with the ESS chassis has been amazing!
When you can completely remove a barreled action to change a trigger between PRS stages, reassemble it, torqued to spec and then line up at the next stage and shoot a 9/10, that says something about quality, consistency and repeatability!
MDT has some great products, Canadian made in house, and they have outstanding customer support.
I am really excited to see the new chassis coming.
If anyone has any questions I would be happy to help.
K.T.
You are looking at 2 solid chassis makers. I have been shooting MDT for 5 years starting with the Tac 21 and now shoot the ESS. MDT has always continued to innovate and follow what it's costumer have asked for. You will be happy with both chassis but my pick still goes to MDT.
Ryan
Ryan
hometownhero
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Toon Town, Sk
I am not into chassis but if I had to run one it would be mdt.
walleyed99
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- I'm not telling, Sask
Not at all my experience with Cadex, my first Cadex chassis arrived and there was a parts mix up and I could not build the chassis. I reached out to a Cadex and spoke with Patrice. I mentioned I had hoped to take the new chassis/rifle out to the range that weekend and this was Wednesday afternoon. Patrice and Cadex overnighted the parts to me and I had the new chassis and rifle on the range that weekend. He communicated by text with me and was truly top notch at customer service, nothing against MDT but my vote goes to Cadex because of my experience. Special note, they had no parts produced and ready to go they were in production and in unfurnished metal when I initially reached out to them... I still have the text exchange from him, pleasant guy.
Honestly, when I reached out to cadex after being concerned I was being lied to by a reseller, I got a prompt, and accurate response from Cadex.... When it was determined the reseller had lied to me, and strung me along (through no fault of Cadex's) they went above and beyond to make things right even though they had no responsibility in making things "wrong"
As for them not sponsoring events... I buy things from companies that don't sponsor events I participate in all the time and so do you. You have got a personal beef with cadex, and that's fine, you are allowed to have one, but "not supporting events" is a BS reason to avoid them. We all buy things from manufacturers that don't sponsor events and don't bat an eyelash, let alone hold it against them.
MDT is innovating constantly which is pretty cool, the have followed the RRS dovetail trend well with factory options, they have some pretty nifty folder options, and then there is that new elusive weight adjustable chassis deal (details are scarce but I swear I have seen it online somewhere). They are also very accessible and can be found on forums, facebook, IG, etc.
May not matter to a lot of folks but things like that are going to become a lot more important in the future.
May not matter to a lot of folks but things like that are going to become a lot more important in the future.
After reaching out to Cadex with the issues right out of the box with my chassis I was requested right away to send my entire rifle to them as it "could not be a problem with their chassis system". I denied that request as it would've caused me to miss a couple matches. After saying I would just sell the chassis and buy something that works I was given the measurement points needed to check if the chassis was at fault, Patrice had a new part sent out to me right away so I was happy with that. I received my new parts the night before my next match and had exactly the same problem. The new part was exactly the same as the old as it wasn't verified to be in spec before being shipped out to me. After another request to send my whole setup to them I was ready to wash my hands with the Cadex chassis but received a phone call from Patrice telling me that there was an issue with the mold that was used for the chassis so we had just discovered a issue that would effect a lot of cadex customers. I received an upgraded part and the chassis finally functioned properly. Patrice was excellent to deal with no doubt about that but multiple requests to send my rifle in because it couldn't be a Cadex issue is a deal breaker for me. Just my opinion of course.....
I really don't think it fair to put either of these two companies down. They are both doing a very good job although each with a slightly different approach.
I think Cadex is more military and police focused and MDT is more consumer based. There's nothing wrong with that and it doesn't mean that Cadex doesn't try to assist the consumer because they clearly do.
Patrice at Cadex has always been very helpful and quick to answer any questions I've had and the guys at MDT helped me out to exchange a pair of scope rings when the gun store refused to do it and then they were nice enough to send me a Christmas card signed by all the employees.
I do have some MDT 223 mags in AI format that do not feed reliably in my RPR but I don't want to be too critical until I test in a Rem 700 clone, but the Ruger mags run just fine.
I think the Cadex stuff is more thoroughly engineered in general and some people just don't see it.
In the end as far as chassis go, its just personal preference because both seem to work just fine.
I think Cadex is more military and police focused and MDT is more consumer based. There's nothing wrong with that and it doesn't mean that Cadex doesn't try to assist the consumer because they clearly do.
Patrice at Cadex has always been very helpful and quick to answer any questions I've had and the guys at MDT helped me out to exchange a pair of scope rings when the gun store refused to do it and then they were nice enough to send me a Christmas card signed by all the employees.
I do have some MDT 223 mags in AI format that do not feed reliably in my RPR but I don't want to be too critical until I test in a Rem 700 clone, but the Ruger mags run just fine.
I think the Cadex stuff is more thoroughly engineered in general and some people just don't see it.
In the end as far as chassis go, its just personal preference because both seem to work just fine.
Contact MDT directly, they will take care of you and the issues you are having with their magazines.
TacticalTeacher
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Georgian Bay, ON
Cadex or MDT?
YES!
There. That’s my answer as a Match Director and also a competitor. I know and have spoken to Patrice of Cadex and Lazlo (formerly) of MDT. I consider both fellows and their organizations to be quick on service and warranty issues. I love both their efforts to push the research and innovation envelope.
You will be buying a platform that will outshoot your personal skills that’s for darn sure, both rigs will push your skills to the next level. What is not to like?
Both have their merits depending on what YOU regard as a solution to your current situation/ challenge / problem / opportunity
At the end of it all....BUY and install and rock and shoot and compete and dominate with whichever works for your:
* budget
* aesthetic preferences
* paint colour scheme
* game, be it FClass or PR or PRS or CQB.
* cool factor
* mechanical attractions or gizmos or gadgets or doodads
* body geometry....we are all shaped differently
* shoe size...I got my butt kicked at DCRA NSCC reknowned winds at Connaught this August
* personal self esteem....at the end of it all, it has to work for you and only you
Now get out and shoot !
Cheers, Barney
YES!
There. That’s my answer as a Match Director and also a competitor. I know and have spoken to Patrice of Cadex and Lazlo (formerly) of MDT. I consider both fellows and their organizations to be quick on service and warranty issues. I love both their efforts to push the research and innovation envelope.
You will be buying a platform that will outshoot your personal skills that’s for darn sure, both rigs will push your skills to the next level. What is not to like?
Both have their merits depending on what YOU regard as a solution to your current situation/ challenge / problem / opportunity
At the end of it all....BUY and install and rock and shoot and compete and dominate with whichever works for your:
* budget
* aesthetic preferences
* paint colour scheme
* game, be it FClass or PR or PRS or CQB.
* cool factor
* mechanical attractions or gizmos or gadgets or doodads
* body geometry....we are all shaped differently
* shoe size...I got my butt kicked at DCRA NSCC reknowned winds at Connaught this August
* personal self esteem....at the end of it all, it has to work for you and only you
Now get out and shoot !
Cheers, Barney
