Sako S20 vs Cadex CDX-R7 CRBN? Is it worth it?

jonyork

jonyork

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
3   0   0
Location
Ottawa
Hi Folks,

I'm definitely having a case of analysis paralysis over here.

Looking at getting a pair of "Lifelong" rifles for hunting, and some target shooting. Wife gave me the go ahead for some premium rifles.

I was previously quite tempted by the Sako S20, and just stumbled upon the Cadex CDX-R7 CRBN.

While I know this is very subjective, is the Cadex worth double the Sako? 2k vs 4k.

I am open to other options as well in that price zone.

The two cartridges I was most interested in are the 6.5 PRC and the 300 PRC. The idea being these two rifles would cover everything from coyotes and up for everything in North America.

Some LGS near me have S20 from time to time, but I am unable to find the cadex near me to put hands on.

Thanks! I greatly appreciate any input you all may have.
 
yeah, that's the problem.

50% better? 25%? 10%? 5%?

50% better, I would consider it worth it, but 5% no.

if someone has some experience with these I would love to hear your input.
 
In that price rang i would look into a custom rifle build. but in fairness to Cadex I have never handled any of their products before. I checked out the sako s-20's at a local shop and didn't like the feel of them.
 
Will you kill more animals with one over the other? Probably not. Will you enjoy hunting and shooting one more than the other? Probably.

You are also well into the custom rifle range with the Cadex. Another option.
 
I too was looking at the S20 and the r7-crbn less than a year ago for a nice hunting rifle in 6.5prc. For me the S20 seemed a bit forward heavy, overall weight was the same as the CRBN (8lb-ish before a scope), and I also didn't like the fact that everything on the rifle is bolted on. It seemed like the S20 was geared for the European countries that only allow guys to have one rifle...well the s20 gets around that by allowing them to swap the buttstock with a few bolts. So for the small calibres thats probably OK but I've read of one guy over on reddit /r/longrange where on his 300wm, every 100 rounds he has to re-torque the stock down.

The R7-CRBN on the other hand was nice and all and I could kind of overlook the weight of the rifle (8lbs before the scope) but the price was a little high ($3.3k+).

There's also christensen arms rifles, the mesa line seemed nice...definitely cheaper than the two..but I kept finding owners with bad experiences...so I steered clear.

The savage ultralight had a super nice barrel but I personally didnt like the super gritty action and cheap feeling polymer accufit stock that came with it.



In the end I wound up buying a browning x-bolt pro in 6.5prc. The local shop was able to price match an alberta shops sale and I got it for 2700 flat.

Carbon fibre stock
Action is factory bedded
Stainless action and barrel
Threaded and braked
Cerakoted from factory
60* bolt throw
Factory lapped barrel
Around 6.5 lbs before a scope
The whole thing is a tunsten colour

With factory sako 6.5prc ammo (140gr sierra gamechanger) going at 2960 fps I get 1/2" groups at 100 yards with the recoil being nothing more than a puppy fart. #### yeah.



For my style of hunting it's perfect...I take long walks in the bush and definitely carry my hunting rifle more than I shoot it. It's topped with a razor lht 3-15x42.
 
Last edited:
I would not go down the custom road again if you like what cadex has to offer.
Why? Well the Cadex will sell if you ever want to sell it. A custom well, maybe 50% of what you paid to have it built.
The sako is nice, but in my opinion not even close to the same league as the Cadex.
I have some custom rifles, some that cost a pile of cash, some in the same range as a Cadex, I like the higher end sako's but the S20 well just isn't that.
Would I spend the money on a Sako classic? Yup
WOuld I buy a Cadex? Its on my radar.
Only reason I have a few customs is that they are in calibers that I could not buy factory rifles in( or at least factory rifles I like)
 
jonyork said:
would a custom rifle be any better than a Cadex? isn't it essentially a custom rifle at that quality?
Click to expand...

"Better?" No not necessarily. But maybe more custom to your own specs. But then again you gotta know exactly what you want and can envision it before getting a custom made whereas the Cadex you can look at it and know what it's going to be.

If these are "lifetime" rifles then resale value may be unimportant to you but custom rifles never hold their value as well as name brand manufacturers of rifles.

My latest custom rifle I wanted something like what you are talking about- hunting/target rifle in 6.5PRC. I like CRF rifles for hunting so this started with a Winchester M70 action and added a IBI barrel, McMillan stock and Pacific Tool bottom metal. Nobody really makes a CRF rifle like this so custom was the route I took. If you aren't picky about what type of action you want there are plenty of great choices and the Cadex is for sure a great option. If you are buying for a "lifetime" then you should get what you want, not what costs less. A few thousand $$ amortized over a lifetime is not much.

My latest custom hunting/target rifle:

247348801_262441719227024_5880974531318716172_n.jpg
 
S-20 very nice rifle with compelling features. Found in handling to be front heavy and the reviews show mediocre accuracy at best .

For that kind of $ a custom, or Springfield Waypoint would be where id go.
 
Gatehouse said:
"Better?" No not necessarily. But maybe more custom to your own specs. But then again you gotta know exactly what you want and can envision it before getting a custom made whereas the Cadex you can look at it and know what it's going to be.

If these are "lifetime" rifles then resale value may be unimportant to you but custom rifles never hold their value as well as name brand manufacturers of rifles.

My latest custom rifle I wanted something like what you are talking about- hunting/target rifle in 6.5PRC. I like CRF rifles for hunting so this started with a Winchester M70 action and added a IBI barrel, McMillan stock and Pacific Tool bottom metal. Nobody really makes a CRF rifle like this so custom was the route I took. If you aren't picky about what type of action you want there are plenty of great choices and the Cadex is for sure a great option. If you are buying for a "lifetime" then you should get what you want, not what costs less. A few thousand $$ amortized over a lifetime is not much.

My latest custom hunting/target rifle:

247348801_262441719227024_5880974531318716172_n.jpg
Click to expand...

Beautiful rifle, and very similar to what i would like to build.

If you don't mind my asking, where did you get the mcmillan stock inletted for the dbm?
 
Gatehouse said:
"Better?" No not necessarily. But maybe more custom to your own specs. But then again you gotta know exactly what you want and can envision it before getting a custom made whereas the Cadex you can look at it and know what it's going to be.

If these are "lifetime" rifles then resale value may be unimportant to you but custom rifles never hold their value as well as name brand manufacturers of rifles.

My latest custom rifle I wanted something like what you are talking about- hunting/target rifle in 6.5PRC. I like CRF rifles for hunting so this started with a Winchester M70 action and added a IBI barrel, McMillan stock and Pacific Tool bottom metal. Nobody really makes a CRF rifle like this so custom was the route I took. If you aren't picky about what type of action you want there are plenty of great choices and the Cadex is for sure a great option. If you are buying for a "lifetime" then you should get what you want, not what costs less. A few thousand $$ amortized over a lifetime is not much.

My latest custom hunting/target rifle:

247348801_262441719227024_5880974531318716172_n.jpg
Click to expand...

That is a very nice rifle, well done... how do you like that thick(ish) vertical grip?
 
You can't get the s20 in 300 PRC, my guess is that the action can't handle 3.7" long cartridges. Could be an interesting rifle in 6.5 PRC though.
 
jonyork said:
Hi Folks,

I'm definitely having a case of analysis paralysis over here.

Looking at getting a pair of "Lifelong" rifles for hunting, and some target shooting. Wife gave me the go ahead for some premium rifles.

I was previously quite tempted by the Sako S20, and just stumbled upon the Cadex CDX-R7 CRBN.

While I know this is very subjective, is the Cadex worth double the Sako? 2k vs 4k.

I am open to other options as well in that price zone.

The two cartridges I was most interested in are the 6.5 PRC and the 300 PRC. The idea being these two rifles would cover everything from coyotes and up for everything in North America.

Some LGS near me have S20 from time to time, but I am unable to find the cadex near me to put hands on.

Thanks! I greatly appreciate any input you all may have.
Click to expand...

For whats it worth... I owned a 308 S20 Precision. Bought it online from Al Flaherty's.

Tried to love it but sold it not too long ago and took abit of a hit just to get rid of it. What I hated about the S20. For the price I paid and to find out that the plastic surrounding the aluminum chassis is absolute garbage. The quantity of the plastic is that of a toy from the dollar store. It would not handle the conditions of a hunting trip. I wouldn't even try to put it through a PRS match. A range trip is all I believe the plastic stock could handle. Even the replaceable plastic thumb rest was cracked from the factory because someone over tightened the screw.

I should have did more research at the time and what I was really looking for was a Bergara B14 HMR Pro in 308.
Basically the same stock idea but the Bergara stock is 1000 times better.

I was also disappointed with the out of the box accuracy with even the best match ammo. The only factory ammo that showed MOA groups was the Sako 150gr SP. When it came to hand loads it was no problem getting MOA groups. Check out Ozzie on YouTube for his review. He was disappointed as well.

I would definitely recommend checking out the Bergara B14 HMR Pro. Right out of the box I'm getting 1/2 MOA or better 3 shot groups as advertised with 168 and 175 FGMM. Same with my 180 gr Campro SP handloads. Pictures to prove.

Coming back to the S20.... Yes the action is slick but so is the Tikka and the Bergara. Really study it hard and handle it thoroughly before dishing out that kind of cash or you'll have buyer's remorse like I did.

Here's the Youtube review that is very similar to my experience... Cheap plastic stock, poor accuracy, currently no replacement stock options and over priced


I must have been temperately insane when I put my bergara up for sale but came to my senses and kept it... Brand new out of the box accuracy with 168gr and 175gr FGMM. The barrel wasn't even broken in yet. Just a basic cleaning and straight to the accuracy testing.

51012261183_27d9c6ce11_c.jpg
51013067637_e02f0be961_c.jpg
51013067712_793afeb220_c.jpg
51786296341_c06c9df61c_c.jpg
51012260443_0d362b6da0_c.jpg
51013066707_a3847cd2ce_c.jpg
51012260918_464d3e011a_c.jpg
 
Another alternative is a hybrid. Purchase a Tikka and then use a Cadex chassis of your choice. Then if you ever want to sell the Tikka you will not lose that much money. The Tikkas as mentioned are very capable and while not as smooth as the Sako, are an excellent rifle choice.
I looked at the various Cadex chassis and for my application I went with the Tundra Strike. Took my Tikka T3X Lite Roughtech in 308 and stuck that in there.
Rifle was $1250, Chassis was $850 so around your price range as a total package. And both pieces are easily saleable after. And if you have other Tikka's they can slip in easily. I had a T3X Varmint in 308 also in the chassis for a bit.
The Roughtech is the black barrel and the varmint is the stainless. The chassis had space for the bigger barrel and spacers if needed.
4.jpg
3.jpg
 

Attachments

  • 4.jpg
    4.jpg
    85.6 KB · Views: 144
  • 3.jpg
    3.jpg
    59.3 KB · Views: 146
jparent said:
Beautiful rifle, and very similar to what i would like to build.

If you don't mind my asking, where did you get the mcmillan stock inletted for the dbm?
Click to expand...

Rocky Mtn Rifles (Corlanes) did the whole thing

hoytcanon said:
That is a very nice rifle, well done... how do you like that thick(ish) vertical grip?
Click to expand...

I like it just fine but I like other stocks and grips too. I have other target rifles with similar McMillan stocks and I shoot a variety of different rifles with different ergonomics so I'm used to adapting. Mostly you keep your thumb on the right hand side when shooting from a set up position.
 
Tough call, I don't think a Cadex would shoot twice as good as the S20 and my experience with the S20 was that it had the best ergonomics of any rifle I've handled so far. Ever. I pulled the cheekpiece up two adjustment notches and it's perfect. The fit is incredible. That model in particular was the Hunter with the 20" barrel in .30-06. I adore how it feels. Adjustable rifle chassis might get close to the same fit but the feel isn't there. Some of the S20 reviews seem to find accuracy problems, others are having no issues at all. It's slick, slender, and fast-cycling. I wish it took Sako 85 mags though.

That said, the Cadex Sporter is a special rifle, as in unique. Uncommon. Extremely well-built and able to take a ####-kicking, probably "less to go wrong" than the Sako with all of it's Lego-block parts. And warranty support is beyond reproach, and fulfilled entirely in Canada. And while it probably can't shoot "twice as good" as a Sako, it'll probably shoot at least a teeny bit better, if not somewhat better (we're kind of in the golden age of accuracy right now, where $500 can get you a MOA shooter).

I like mineguy's approach as well, the Cadex guns are pretty heavy. Dropping in a Tikka T3x Superlite into the Tundra Strike should come out cheaper, lighter, and accurate as Tikkas can be.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom