Had a crazy thought come to mind the other day, would the new savage axis make a good starting point for a low buget build? Can you still swap barrels like you can the other models. Anyone whose had the same thoughts or even done it already input is deffinately appreciated. For what its worth it would be .243 since ive got tons of experience and loads waiting for a new gun to toy around with.
Savage Axis for long range gophers?
- Thread starter JPaul17
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My opinion...no. Start with a 10/110 style Savage action(Stevens 200 is the same). More available parts, less cheap crap, you can buy them used for ~$200 or new for only a few dollars more than the Axis. You can swap barrels on the Axis if you so choose though.
Crazy thought is about right. The Axis is what it is= a cheap entry type rifle that dont shoot too bad BUT its a poor choice to build off of unless you are able to inlet stocks yourself and like to do a lot of tinkering.
The barrel can be changed just like any other savage and the trigger can be worked to useable hunting trigger but I just dont see it being a long range gopher-getter....Short range walk-about unit yes but you would be $$ and time ahead starting with something that has more parts available like the 10/110. Heck even a Steven aint that cheap by the time you replace the trigger and stock!
I bought an Axis 25-06 with the thought of it being a good truck gun.....It might get there but not in its stock form, its just not tuff enough.
The barrel can be changed just like any other savage and the trigger can be worked to useable hunting trigger but I just dont see it being a long range gopher-getter....Short range walk-about unit yes but you would be $$ and time ahead starting with something that has more parts available like the 10/110. Heck even a Steven aint that cheap by the time you replace the trigger and stock!
I bought an Axis 25-06 with the thought of it being a good truck gun.....It might get there but not in its stock form, its just not tuff enough.
You guys brought up a few of my fears that kept me from diving right into it. Figured since it was still somewhat new there would'nt be many parts for it and that there were better options out there.
Guess I'll just have to use that new model 10 308 thats sitting in the closet instead.
Just out of curiousity, what kind of groups you getting from the 25-06? Factory or handloads?
Guess I'll just have to use that new model 10 308 thats sitting in the closet instead.
Just out of curiousity, what kind of groups you getting from the 25-06? Factory or handloads?
The 25-06 Axis barrel shot well for a sporter weight factory barrel=Nuthing shot more than 2MOA.
This was one unit I bought quite a few boxes of factory ammo for, keep in mind this was intended to be a hunting rifle so the selection also was geared tward elk.
Winchester 115 Ballistic silver tips= Just under MOA
Winchester 120 Positive expanding point=Just over MOA
Federal Nosler 115 grain Partitions=Shot 3/4 MOA
Hornady 117 SST=this was the 2 MOA load
Hornady 117 BTSP=MOA +/-
Reloading had about the same results with 100-120 grain bullets MOA +/- a little. What this barrel really liked was the 75 grain Vmax! With a few different powders it was 1/2 MOA and fast!
I had a Shaw sporter barrel laying here so the 25-06 barrel was swapped out for the 6.5-284 Shaw barrel. Have tryed to get it to shoot 140 Partitions(my favorite bullet),140 grain Amaxes(got a lot of them) and 95 grin Vmaxes with a few powders with mixed results so far but here again the lighter 95 grainers seam to be showing the most promise? The loads have stayed right around MOA with limited testing.....Till I fix the clip and ejecter, at this point its been put on the back burner.
This was one unit I bought quite a few boxes of factory ammo for, keep in mind this was intended to be a hunting rifle so the selection also was geared tward elk.
Winchester 115 Ballistic silver tips= Just under MOA
Winchester 120 Positive expanding point=Just over MOA
Federal Nosler 115 grain Partitions=Shot 3/4 MOA
Hornady 117 SST=this was the 2 MOA load
Hornady 117 BTSP=MOA +/-
Reloading had about the same results with 100-120 grain bullets MOA +/- a little. What this barrel really liked was the 75 grain Vmax! With a few different powders it was 1/2 MOA and fast!
I had a Shaw sporter barrel laying here so the 25-06 barrel was swapped out for the 6.5-284 Shaw barrel. Have tryed to get it to shoot 140 Partitions(my favorite bullet),140 grain Amaxes(got a lot of them) and 95 grin Vmaxes with a few powders with mixed results so far but here again the lighter 95 grainers seam to be showing the most promise? The loads have stayed right around MOA with limited testing.....Till I fix the clip and ejecter, at this point its been put on the back burner.
It's funny you mention it liking the lighter bullets because when I was first testing ammo in my savage 308 it seemed to like everthing on the lighter side. 150 and 165s shot good but anything over 175 seemed to jump to a inch n a half or worse. Guess it must just be a savage thing.
Not bad groups though for a cheap rifle and its always nice to have an extra barrel to have some fun with too!
Not bad groups though for a cheap rifle and its always nice to have an extra barrel to have some fun with too!
Farmer Rob
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Im hitting gopher sized targets at plus 400 with mine, i have lightenend the trigger made the stock solid added a 20moa rail and developed my own loads, my 10-40x50 scope has just arrivedso its going on in the next week, then 1000y here we come.
Im trying to prove to myself that it can be done, and so far it has.
Rob
Im trying to prove to myself that it can be done, and so far it has.
Rob
Thats great to hear, and it's nice to know your don't have to have a 3-4000 rig to shoot out to 1000yds. For me, 400 to 600 yards is about the max I'd be shooting where I live so I'm not to concerned with really maxing it out. I know with the right handloads just about any rifle can be a shooter its just how it holds up past 100yds. What all did you do to the stock? I figured the first thing that would need to be done is some work on the trigger and a bedding job?
Preaty much what I had in mind when putting the 6.5-284 on the Axis....Unfortunatly its been an uphill battle so far!
Farmer Rob
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Yes it has been an uphill battle because everyone tells me to stop wasting my time and buy a real rifle and then hands me a rem 700 instead of the part i asked for.
What i did to the stock was,
looking down from the top of the stock with the action/barrel removed there are "criss crossing" supports but since they are just soft plastic they dont work.
So i cut slots in them from front to back down about 2/3's, then at the same level i drilled 2 small holes back into the tongue block, below the receiver. Then i slotted in 2 steel rods into the holes and along the cut out slots and filled the whole thing with fiberglass mat and resin until the barrel will just still float.
The trigger i had done by a gunsmith ant he wouldnt bed it because he said the plastic fit was about as good as it gets.
Hope this helped as i forgot to take photos
Rob
What i did to the stock was,
looking down from the top of the stock with the action/barrel removed there are "criss crossing" supports but since they are just soft plastic they dont work.
So i cut slots in them from front to back down about 2/3's, then at the same level i drilled 2 small holes back into the tongue block, below the receiver. Then i slotted in 2 steel rods into the holes and along the cut out slots and filled the whole thing with fiberglass mat and resin until the barrel will just still float.
The trigger i had done by a gunsmith ant he wouldnt bed it because he said the plastic fit was about as good as it gets.
Hope this helped as i forgot to take photos
Rob
Thats an interesting method I've never heard of but guessing it just acts like a bedding block? I might have to try it on one of my other guns that sounds like the stock is situated the same way. Did you see much of an increase in accuracy from just the bedding before the trigger job? Or did you just do both at the same time.
Have considered chopping the stock like I did to the last Stevens I built but leaving it a tad longer so the bipod doesnt get in the way as bad.
Then to help keep the weight down just use a couple of short arrow shafts and Great Stuff to fill the voids. Then just skim bed the whole works and glue the trigger assembly of the stock to the stock, dont plan on makeing it into a short action anyway!
The trigger has got to be the worse *** I've ever worked on but putting in a replacement totaly defeats the perpose of a cheap gun so I'll have to work on it a little more to get it down to 2 1/2 -3 lbs or so, right now I can see the x hairs move as I put a death grip on the trigger to get the **** thing to fire. Lightening the spring helped a little but not enough.
The clips are spendy *** that are definatly not tuff enough as is to be reliable so that is going to take a little work to fix. The broken ejecter was self indused trying to find a max load of Data 85 powder, Data 85 works ok but is way too temp sensitive to use in the heat of the summer!
Like I said its an uphill battle as the Axis is what it is and trying to make it something it aint can be a little agrivating at times=Its been given a time-out in the safe till I get bored enough to get back to it, timel tell
Then to help keep the weight down just use a couple of short arrow shafts and Great Stuff to fill the voids. Then just skim bed the whole works and glue the trigger assembly of the stock to the stock, dont plan on makeing it into a short action anyway!
The trigger has got to be the worse *** I've ever worked on but putting in a replacement totaly defeats the perpose of a cheap gun so I'll have to work on it a little more to get it down to 2 1/2 -3 lbs or so, right now I can see the x hairs move as I put a death grip on the trigger to get the **** thing to fire. Lightening the spring helped a little but not enough.
The clips are spendy *** that are definatly not tuff enough as is to be reliable so that is going to take a little work to fix. The broken ejecter was self indused trying to find a max load of Data 85 powder, Data 85 works ok but is way too temp sensitive to use in the heat of the summer!
Like I said its an uphill battle as the Axis is what it is and trying to make it something it aint can be a little agrivating at times=Its been given a time-out in the safe till I get bored enough to get back to it, timel tell
Farmer Rob
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HI,
I did the trigger myself first but only got to about 4lb and introduced some pre creep but it was way more accurate so i filled the stock and it made some difference , mostly when off hand shooting using the sling to pull the gun tight as i suppose it pulled the stock onto the barrel, but after i had the trigger done by a pro i went from .85moa to .55 so both things wirth doing in my books
I did the trigger myself first but only got to about 4lb and introduced some pre creep but it was way more accurate so i filled the stock and it made some difference , mostly when off hand shooting using the sling to pull the gun tight as i suppose it pulled the stock onto the barrel, but after i had the trigger done by a pro i went from .85moa to .55 so both things wirth doing in my books
Done cheap vrs done profesionaly? Pride of doing it yourself vrs the aggrivation from doing it youself? Just seams wrong to me to have a smith touch a Savage but that dont make me right!
If you dont mind me asking what did the smith charge ya for the trigger job?
If you dont mind me asking what did the smith charge ya for the trigger job?
