Today was the first day out with my brand new Cadex CDX-R7 Sheepdog rifle. I thought I would do a review and share some of my thoughts and a few photos. I've wanted to buy a fully custom rifle or action for a long time now. This week my dream came true.
In the past I would purchase a rifle or action like a Tikka or Rem 700, buy a barrel and stock or chassis and off to the range I would go. If you have a good gunsmith (machinist), they can make a semi custom that is pretty darn special. I have had several ½ moa rifles doing it this way. I recently had an epiphany, doing it this way isn’t that much cheaper than just buying a Cadex Defense Firearm! I Decided to sell my latest rifle project and I put all the components into a spread sheet to see what I should ask for a price. I was surprized to see that I was into it for over $3000.00 I was even more surprized to see that I could buy a Cadex CDX-R7 Sheepdog for just a bit more than I paid for the components and gunsmithing!
Here is a link to the Cadex sight
https://www.cadexdefence.com/product...cision-rifles/
Well this decision seemed like a no brainer. I really like the sturdy tried and true nature of a Rem 700 action. Its bullet proof (I couldn’t resist). I’ve looked into purchasing a custom action and there are a lot of excellent choices out there but I don’t like the high bolt throw of many of the 2 Lug Rem 700 customs. Its one of the reasons I often do builds on Tikka actions instead. If I was going to go with a full custom build, I wanted something with 3 or 4 lugs. This narrows the choices. I did my research looked at all of them and pulled the trigger and got the Sheepdog in a 6.5 Creedmoor.
You are all probably thinking ok Mark blah blah blah what’s it like to shoot and is it accurate? Simple answer, It is a dream to shoot. It is one of the most comfortable rifles I have ever got behind. The ergonomics of the Strike Nuke Evo Chassis are amazing. It does this in a very subtly way. It combines the best of a metal chassis and a traditional rifle stock. The cheek piece adjusts like nothing else I have ever used. It even has a rubberized foam cheek piece that absorbs sweat and I am guessing its comfortable and warm when the winter comes with its sub zero temperatures. The length of pull is adjustable with spacers. I like this method its solid and repeatable. It isn’t often that friends shoot my rifle and I don’t want to change the settings on it anyway so I don’t like adjustable LOP. I am pretty fussy about LOP and the way it effects my eye relief on my scope. Frankly I have a really hard time getting comfortable behind most rifles. I expected that on my first time out with my new Sheepdog I would be fiddling around with it (moving the scope on the rail ) (raising and lowering the check piece) to get it right, but I was behind it and shooting in minutes. I was pleasantly surprized! I will put out the disclaimer that I was only shooting it from a bench and that shooting prone might be different, but it just felt comfortable and easy to shoot. This proved out in how it performed but I will get to that later.
The action was sooooo buttery smooth and cycled cartridges like a boss. I have never experienced its equal. The low bolt through made ejecting and chambering rounds happen extremely quickly. I don’t shoot PRS but I have a feeling that those who do would really appreciate shaving off a few moments between shots to better judge the conditions and make better wind calls. I did not have a single failure to feed or a jam on my first outing.
The rifle is chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor. It comes from the factory with a Cadex muzzle brake, and it is very pleasant to shoot. The felt recoil seem comparable to a Sako 204 I used to have. (I still miss that gun and should never have sold it). It didn’t seem to jump, and I was back on target in moments after pulling the trigger. The noise from the brake isn’t bad either. Some braked rifles are deafening but the Sheepdog does a good job of balancing the recoil and noise.
The trigger is pretty good. I was able to adjust it down to around 1.5 pounds and that’s low enough for me. The trigger shoe is also adjustable and that’s a feature I have never had in a rifle. I have yet to play with it or adjust it yet. It was pretty comfortable out of the box so why mess with a good thing. That may change after I try shooting it prone. It’s a two stage trigger and the second stage breaks very cleanly. I think I am going to like the trigger. I have no complaints so far.
I sighted the rifle in using Hornady 140 gr ELD-M Match ammo. My first group was around an inch. It was off by over 3 Mill to the left and half a mill high so I broke out my tools and made the required adjustments to my Razor Gen II scope. My next shot was dead center of the bullseye. I dialed over to the next bullseye to test my tracking and nailed the next bullseye. I was pretty happy at this point so I decided to try a five shot group and see what it was capable of. I printed a group that you can cover with a dime, my guess is that its sub ½ moa. I was ready to dance a jig. This is my first time out with the rifle, and I was using factory ammo! I think I have a winner. I have more testing to do but so far The Cadex CDX-R7 Sheepdog rifle has exceed my expectations and I am very happy with it.
Cadex CDX-7 Sheepdog Rifle Review
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