I spoke to Patrice shortly after you posted and finally had a chance to provide an update in case anyone else is in this quandary. Patrice summed it up best, the Cadex rifle is a race car, my Savage is a car, capable of going around the same track, but there is a huge difference between the two. If I put my Savage in their chassis, its like putting a decent engine capable of some power in a race car. Its not the same as the Cadex, the performance engine and chassis. Patrice explained the barrels, action and why they are a far better product. I agree, the CDX is the route to go, but it then comes down to $$$$. It's a 4g+ difference.
Mounting the Savage in the Cadex addresses the things I hate the most, ergonomics, magazine capacity, tuning the rifle and resetting the riser after each clean. Patrice stated you torque it to 65 feet pounds and you go shoot (a bit more, but that's about it). I like the Cadex chassis, find it ergonomically better than anything else and its CDN. To get the competition chassis, skeletonized folding stock, bag rider, side rail(s) and bipod rail I am going to spend $800 more than anything else I priced out. As an example the MDT will be about $800 less when set up the same.
But why put a $700 gun in an expensive chassis? First off, I think I can justify this. There is no way the bank manager (wife) will let me spend another $6500+ to get a new firearm the way I want it. The Savage I own shoots very well, it averages <3/4" MOA out to 400m and I am a very new shooter (360 rounds to date). I think the action and barrel can keep me going for a long time until I can out shoot this Savage. Once I need to get a better action/barrel there are some Savage compatible options that will allow me to turn this into a much more accurate rifle, but use the same chassis. An aftermarket action and barrel that will fit the Savage seems to be the solution for the long term.
I expect a lot of shooters will think this is nuts, but I can only own one rifle. My rifle and stock stripped of the toys is worth $500 at best on a used market with the cheek riser, barely a dent in a CDX. It seems the right solution but only time will tell.
(FYI: The data book is from Impact Data Books. Targets are Hornady and are peel and stick)
That's a decent shooting factory rifle. And I must say you are much more diligent than I with your records !
For reference, this is a $5000 custom at 300 yards with five round groups:
Refined 115 vld load with a hybrid powder:
Goofing around with 105 hybrids and varget, each group is a .3 grain increment. 300 yards:
Rounds #3 through 10 through the barrel ( 7 rounds ) at 100 yards:
Surgeon short action
Krieger 1:8, .236, 26", 6xc chambered by insite arms
Ai ax aics chassis
Insite "heathen" brake
So the money buys you accuracy.
Is it worth it to you ?
As the name of a the game is precision, or the pursuit there of, for many it is.
You buy a well built custom for absolute ultimate accuracy.
You buy a high end factory rifle like ai, pws, cadex, etc. for good to excellent accuracy, and maximal resale value.
You buy a run of the mill factory rifle, throw it in a good stock/chassis, and later hate yourself because it cost the same as the above two options by the time you rebarrel it and tweak it to compete with the above two options accuracy. Resale value is limited and usually necessitates selling as components. Used barrels and factory actions do not command top dollar. Unfortunately this is the most financially tolerable route, though it will definitely cost you more in the long run.
Personally I wish I had just gone the limit right from the start. Not necessarily because it would have been cheaper though.
A truly accurate and consistent rifle will immediately point out errors in your shooting form, what works for you, and what doesn't. No need to take a statistical average to figure things out, it's right there on the paper immediately.
That extends to reloading technique, making it obvious which subtleties are worth the effort. Also cleaning technique and load development.
Feedback is immediate, obvious, and significantly shortens the learning curve.
And long term, it's ammunition cost that is the big ticket item in this hobby. So the more you can learn for every round you send down range, all the better.