22-250 AI Savage Axis

[kc0pph]

I Currently have 2 rifles.
1) 338-378 Wby Accumark
2) .270 Win Rem 700

Both rifles are Factory. Problem with both is cost of shooting. I am hoping to try a load soon with my 270 using 90gn Sierra's and 19 grains IMR SR 4759.

I prefer to keep 1 load for each rifle. Would rather not worry about different zeros and such, but the 90's will keep me buys until i get my 22 cal.

I asked for a cheap 22-250 just for plinking and mass shooting but so far nothing has come in. I have been looking at the Savage Axis in 22-250 for around $300. Reviews seem good, and people say they are accurate. I see there is a big market for prefit barrels as well.

My Idea is buy an AXIS and over time get a new stock(or fill the stock with devcon if i like the feel) and put a 22-24" barrel on it (I am not worried about packing this gun). I have read that you can rechamber a 22-250 barrel to the AI version and have a 220 Swift I would like barrel life to be in the 2000 round or more range but ultra long barrel life is not needed.

The overall idea is to make an Ultra Economical coyote/prairie dog gun. 22-250 brass is cheap and 22 cal bullets are cheap as well. Would also consider using slower loads and cast bullets just to get even more economy out of it for short shots.

I have several parire dog towns i can hunt anywhere from 1 yard away to about 500 yards away. When i set up for coyote hunting i plan to take my 338-378 for long shots and the 22-250 for shorter shots.

I need to work on my rifle skills as that is my limiting factor in long range shooting. Im an ace with a pistol but need mass amounts of trigger time with a rifle to get me up to par on shooting MOA at and beyond 1000 yards.

 

[Trickymissfit]

I Currently have 2 rifles.
1) 338-378 Wby Accumark
2) .270 Win Rem 700

Both rifles are Factory. Problem with both is cost of shooting. I am hoping to try a load soon with my 270 using 90gn Sierra's and 19 grains IMR SR 4759.

I prefer to keep 1 load for each rifle. Would rather not worry about different zeros and such, but the 90's will keep me buys until i get my 22 cal.

I asked for a cheap 22-250 just for plinking and mass shooting but so far nothing has come in. I have been looking at the Savage Axis in 22-250 for around $300. Reviews seem good, and people say they are accurate. I see there is a big market for prefit barrels as well.

My Idea is buy an AXIS and over time get a new stock(or fill the stock with devcon if i like the feel) and put a 22-24" barrel on it (I am not worried about packing this gun). I have read that you can rechamber a 22-250 barrel to the AI version and have a 220 Swift I would like barrel life to be in the 2000 round or more range but ultra long barrel life is not needed.

The overall idea is to make an Ultra Economical coyote/prairie dog gun. 22-250 brass is cheap and 22 cal bullets are cheap as well. Would also consider using slower loads and cast bullets just to get even more economy out of it for short shots.

I have several parire dog towns i can hunt anywhere from 1 yard away to about 500 yards away. When i set up for coyote hunting i plan to take my 338-378 for long shots and the 22-250 for shorter shots.

I need to work on my rifle skills as that is my limiting factor in long range shooting. Im an ace with a pistol but need mass amounts of trigger time with a rifle to get me up to par on shooting MOA at and beyond 1000 yards.

before I'd buy the Axis, I'd just buy a regular savage. You'll be ahead in the long run.
glt

 

[liltank]

The Axis has a completely different trigger group than any of the Savages or Stevens model rifles. If you want a cheap starter rifle that you can build on over time, you should go with the Stevens or a used Savage rifle. You will be able find stocks for both rifles, where there isn't and aftermarket stock yet for the Axis. Just my opinion, but do some research. As for a plinking caliber, I would also suggest going with a 223 or 22BR. Both will be much better on barrel life than the 22-250AI. You could Achley Improve the 223 and get close to normal 22-250 velocities w/o the barrel ware. Just something to think about.

 

[liltank]

Here some threads to research:

22-250 Cartridge Guide within AccurateShooter.com

223 Rem + 223 AI Cartridge Guide within AccurateShooter.com

22BR Cartridge Guide within AccurateShooter.com

 

[axisshootsbetter]

Your thinking is correct when you picked a 22-250. I have a homemade metalic case reload cost calculator. When I figure the per box cost the cheap bullets are the biggest cost saver when switching to 22 caliber. I shoot 224 55gr. Hornady sp as they are usualy the cheapest and they are acurate as 52gr. Sierra bthp I have used. The extra 10 gr. of powder cost very little over what a 223 uses. I have a new Savage Axis in 22-250 and its first 5 shot group with cheap Federal factory blue box 55 gr. sp printed a 1 1/4" group at 250yds. That is .6 M.O.A. with a lite crosswind. I have a 223 and this 22-250 is flater shooting and has the big gun feel when you set a round down the tube. For the extra 10 gr. of powder treats the shooter to a flater shooting rifle that drives a cheap 55 gr. bullet fast enough that it acts like the heavier, longer, higher b.c. , more expensive bullets in a fast twist 223. A word about the Axis. I like the narrow grip and the way the forearm feels also. My trigger just happened to be lite at about 4 pounds I'd say. My Axis was bought at a box store for $277 bucks with scope mounts included. I added a Tasco World Class 6x24 varmint scope to mine. I have had it for years but I bought it cheap 10 years ago for I think $55 and I don't think they are much more now. I have dies on order and a supply of the Hornady 55gr. bullets and some Alliant RL15. I think medium powders like RL15, IMR 4064, or Varget would work great in this caliber. I'd like to know about the performance of the new Hodgdon CFE223 in the 22-250 if any of you have tried it.

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

before I'd buy the Axis, I'd just buy a regular savage. You'll be ahead in the long run.
glt

+1

I had one in '06 for about three weeks before I traded it for another rifle. moa accurate but rather poor trigger. I'd not expect many aftermarkets for the axis either, as the other posters are correct that it isn't the same "under the hood" if you will as the regular 110 series and friends.

 

[north of 53]

For what you say you want to do with this gun I would go with a 223 every time. The 223 is much cheaper to shoot. If as you say barrel life is not that big a deal then the cost should not bother that much. Remember if you are shoot a 22-250 A.I. you are shoot about 25 cents of barrel life every shot. II have a 22-250 A.I. in a 788 with a 1:8 barrel and I love it but I would never take it shooting groundhogs or prairie dogs, just too many shots in short time for the barrel. I shoot coyotes and deer with mine all the time using 80 A-Max. I also have a couple of 223s and I shoot them much more. One 223 is a Savage model 25 1:9 twist, this is a cheaper gun but has done very well for a lot of rounds. The other 223 built on a 700 action with a 28" 1:8 twist and it shoots very well and I will use it this summer shooting F T/R class shooting.
I have both 22-250 A.I. and a pair of223s and every thing you say you want to do should point you away from the 22-250 and towards the 223.
In short I find the term "22-250 A.I. Savage Axis" to almost be an oxymoron.

 

[Trickymissfit]

OK we gota a 22-250 Ackley improved case and want to compair it with the generic 22-250. Ackley designed the case to reduce brass flow in a case that was already border line overbore. His design was to be able to shoot a factory 22-250 round in the improved chamber, and thus form the improved case. Sounds real good on paper, but it don't work that way. When you fireform that case your moving a lot metal around in the chamber. The biggest movement will be in the shoulders and by doing so the neck becomes the weakest link. The necks will shrinking about .040" or more on a neck that is barely good enough. Best way to form these case is out of .243 brass, and you'll still .030" of shrinkage. I have seen 22-250AI chambers show .062" of case shrinkage. An already too short cannot work well with this. (even .035"). A better design would have been with a 1.46" shoulder length and a 30 degree shoulder angle. Use a 1.90" over all length with the standard .010" taper per inch. You'll have a greater barrel life without much difference in velocity because the bullet's not seated into the shoulder area with the bigger heavier bullets. Of course the folks that have never done a false shoulder will have trouble at first, but the end results will make the end users happier. You'll see far less of the dreaded doughnut, have better gas flow and probably a 30% or more greater barrel life. One thing I didn't touch on here is that they seem to have a neck splitting problem during fire forming. I have never seen this, but buddies of mine that built them did. These rifles were all done by Dwight Scott, and you don't see better workmanship in the gun world.
gary