Should I send this back for warranty work?

Run some of this ammo through it, go on the hunt, then send it back.
 
Couple of thoughts, if the barrel suddenly lost accuracy at 50-75 rounds then the barrel condition may or may not have caused the change. With all the torques having been checked that may leave another mechanical problem or the scope itself. Another common reported problem in the axis has been defective firing pin springs causing light strikes & ftf.
Shipping it back might cost you $30-$50 on your dime, with no guarantee you will get it back in time to get it ready for hunting season.
That shipping money would give you a head start on purchase of another one. Recently heard of Wallyworld selling them for $125.
If you could purchase a second one then you might have more time to research the old one. The pitting is not good but as others have said it looks better than most savage barrels. I have seen some really ugly rust pitted barrels shoot 1 moa or better.
Just some thoughts.
You have to have a good shooter for your son before hunting season!
I want to know where that Walmart is lol. I would clear them out and all the nieces and nephews could have a Savage Axis to build off of
 
Have you had barrels with pitted up crowns that shot well?

I don't want to make any modifications to it because if it won't shoot well enough then I'd like to sell it or have savage replace the barrel under warranty.

I understand savages have a great reputation for shooting well despite having gun drill marks and other rough patches in the bore, but I don't think that it would be typical QA/QC procedure at savage to let a barrel go through that has a pitted muzzle and crown. This gun hasn't seen any moisture and has always been stored in low humidity with oil in the bore, so I know it's it from me.


To many guys spend far too much money trying to fix guns that don't shoot. They often end up voiding the warrranty with the fixes they try. Send it back and make Savage fix it so it works right. This isn't a case of an ugly barrel that shoots good, it is an ugly barrel that shoots badly. There is a warranty for a reason, take advantage of it.
 
Does Savage have a pristine looking barrel warranty? Asking for a friend... I have never seen a good looking Savage barrel. I have lost count of how many I have had. I have never had one that would not shoot. The more I see this kind of stuff the more I think the Teslong is the biggest hindrance to new shooters actually getting out and learning to shoot.
 
Does Savage have a pristine looking barrel warranty? Asking for a friend... I have never seen a good looking Savage barrel. I have lost count of how many I have had. I have never had one that would not shoot. The more I see this kind of stuff the more I think the Teslong is the biggest hindrance to new shooters actually getting out and learning to shoot.
Except it shot fine for 75 rounds and now shoots over 2". That is not a Teslong issue. If scope mounting, stock screws are tight and scope has been swapped out to eliminate that as the cause then I stnad by what I sauid, needs to go back to Savage to get sorted out.
 
Maybe I missed it but you did not mention what the cartridge is. You did not say if the scope was swapped. Out the last 100ish times people have specifically asked this question that I have been involved in like 95 of them have been from scopes or mounting. Dozens of those were even after "all mounting was checked". If you send the rifle back to Savage I would be willing to bet they will put another barrel on it as opposed to actually try to find an/the issue. If it is the barrel great. If it is not you will be stuck pulling your hair out.
 
Maybe I missed it but you did not mention what the cartridge is. You did not say if the scope was swapped. Out the last 100ish times people have specifically asked this question that I have been involved in like 95 of them have been from scopes or mounting. Dozens of those were even after "all mounting was checked". If you send the rifle back to Savage I would be willing to bet they will put another barrel on it as opposed to actually try to find an/the issue. If it is the barrel great. If it is not you will be stuck pulling your hair out.
Yes, the infamous Begara thread comes quickly to mind. You are right that scopes are more often the issue than the gun. It is like diagnosing no start on a vehicle. Spark, fuel, compression. Go from simple to complex. Stock, stock screws, mounts and rings, scope swap. If those aren't the issue,send gun back.
 
I had a similar experience with a Savage Axis. The barrel looked like a road under construction with a bore scope.

I took it to the range and after 5 shots, there were 10" long streaks of copper in the barrel.

I captured some images and sent them to Savage. They agreed with my assessment.

I sent the gun to them (they paid all shipping) in June of that year, and I got the rifle back in September of that year.

The result was a "new" barrel. There was even a human hair in the bore.

I scoped the barrel before I shot it. It was almost as bad as the first barrel. I made my mind up that I was not waiting another 3 months.

I wound up fire lapping the second barrel with a NECO fire lapping kit. It came out smoother than a baby's butt.

Accuracy was very good, but it sure took a lot of work on my part and it wasn't even my rifle.
 
Send it to Savage, the worst that they do is nothing, after which you trade it off or rebarrel it. I sent them a Stealth 308, they told me it was fine, I put a Shillen barrel on it and it is a real shooter.
 
In being nervous about not having enough time to get the gun back from savage and then have an accurate load figured out, I think I'm going to hang on to it until after their season is over.... Unless I find one if those that are on sale for $129!!!

For those that asked about the other specifics:

- it's a 7mm08
- I did put a new swfa scope on it a week ago. I haven't tested that scope on my '06 yet but I plan to put my scope from my '06 on the savage to verify that it's not the scope. Also, I don't think it was the scope because the group sizes are the same as they were before the scope change. I think the chances of having two scopes of different brands being "defective" that create the same group sizes it pretty small, but I'll make sure if that anyway.
- in 250 rounds, there had been 1 factory cartridge that failed to fire. I don't know how common those are with Hornady factory cartridges, but the primer indent looked normal. And, all the of the firing pin indents on the primers look pretty uniform and sufficient as though it wouldn't be a light primer strike. But maybe that's not something that would be noticeable by eye. I'll also disassemble the bolt and have a look at the firing pin assembly. I recently saw JEs post about firing pin springs snaking too much in the bolt body, so that could be the issue as well.


As long as the kids can reliably put a round in the vital zone on an elk at 100-150, then I think it will do for this year and they'll get some good practice on their stalking!
 
Yes, the infamous Begara thread comes quickly to mind. You are right that scopes are more often the issue than the gun. It is like diagnosing no start on a vehicle. Spark, fuel, compression. Go from simple to complex. Stock, stock screws, mounts and rings, scope swap. If those aren't the issue,send gun back.

Yup... I followed that thread!

I checked the stock for cracks, seated the action correctly on the lug and torqued the action screws to spec with loctite.

Put on Talley lightweights with a new swfa scope (all degreased very well) and loctited all screws. Group sizes were the same, so I don't think it was the scope. But I'm going to put my good scope from my other gun on to verify.
 
One thing I'd do is stop cleaning it every 25 rounds, let it settle in and run it but if your worried about it send it in and get it done ASAP!

I know this is often the case with many other barrels, but I thought it was pretty common for people to clean their savage bores about as often as I do due to the barrels picking up so much copper so quickly. I would think that the group size would settle down by 15 or 20 rounds after cleaning... They're still as erratic at the 15-20 round point as they are at the 5 round point :/ I didn't clean it last week after shooting so that I could see if there's any change next time I go. We'll see if that works!
 
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