Match Grade: Savage’s MSR-15 Competition Rifle

If you’re into action shooting sports, the Savage MSR-15 Competition is for you. Even if you don’t care about eking every millisecond of time out of a stage run, it’s one heck of a deluxe rifle. With its bright read controls and accessories, it looks the part of a performer, but it’s what’s under the hood that matters. We tested one out, and here’s what we found.

The Savage MSR Competition Series Rifle is available in 5.56mm, .224 Valykrie, and a .308 Winchester MSR-10 version.

Barrel technology

Think of the MSR-15 Competition as a souped-up Savage MSR with all the bells and whistles, but also one that’s built on a custom chassis. Right off the bat, you’ll notice that there’s something special about the barrel. The exposed portion between the handguard and muzzle brake shows a carbon fiber segment. After a short stainless-steel section where the adjustable gas block is attached, the carbon fiber continues all the way back to the barrel extension. The barrel is designed and specified by Savage but built by PROOF Research. It’s made of stainless steel and wrapped with a carbon fiber sleeve. This process allows the steel barrel blank to be smaller in diameter and therefore lighter. The surrounding carbon fiber is 30 times stronger and 7 times stiffer than steel, so the whole barrel maintains rigidity better than an all-metal version. Additionally, the carbon wrap dissipates heat longitudinally and more efficiently that steel, so the barrel cools faster during extended fire. All of this means you get a lighter barrel that’s more accurate through heavy shooting sessions. And it has a longer lifespan. What’s not to like about that?

With the exception of a short section where the gas block mounts, the entire stainless steel barrel is carbon fiber wrapped.

Handguard

I absolutely love the handguard on this rifle. It’s an MLOK-compatible guard (over a free-floated barrel) that comes with one (bright red) quick detach sling point already mounted on the left side. Of course you can certainly remove or relocate it. There are MLOK attachment points close to the receiver and again near the muzzle at the 1:30, 3:00, 4:30, 6:00, 7:30, 9:00, and 10:30 positions. In the center where your support hand naturally rests there are not holes but subtle MLOK-shaped indentations. That helps keep your hand cool as barrel heat is shielded by the handguard itself.

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