Savage Axis:is it a QUALITY rifle?

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Muzzlelover

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As you all know I am supposed to be recieving a savage axis in 243 or 223(yes i said 223 I decided to keep my 270)but when I told my dad and showed it to him he said"that has to be a piece of junk if it's only $280"so that made me think(for once in my life)is it really a econo-rifle or is it a piece of junk.so I am looking for some insight from those of you who have one or has shot one.Is it a good econo-rifle or do i need to forget it and get a handi rifle?thank ya.
 
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It's an inexpensive rifle, but it's not exactly junk. I'd recommend that you take a look at the Marlin X7, which is an amazingly good rifle for the money.

The Remington 770, now that's junk.
 
Do you drive a Toyota or a BMW? What is quality? Is it fine wood, perfect fit, and deep, deep bluing? Or is it a good shooter? Will the Axis shoot straight, yes it will! Just like everybody can't afford a BMW, the Toyota will still get you where you want to go, you just won't be that eye catching. The Axis will kill what you want it to kill and hit what you want it to hit, it just won't do it as glamourously.
 
They are cheap but not junk, my 223 can shoot 1 inch groups at 100 yards, maybe even better with someone other than me behind it.
The stock is all plastic and the trigger is not that great out of the box but I got over the stock because its lite, and smoothed and shimmed the trigger and Im pretty happy with it.
 
axis has a good barrel and action but a cheap stock and marginal trigger. It is not a disposable gun like a Remington 770.
 
my dad bought an axis in 308 and i gave him a hard time about buying a cheap peice of junk gun but after shooting and handling his that is the first thing i would buy if in the market for a hunting rifle.for under 300$ you cant go wrong.his shoots great easily shoot 1.5 moa with 3 different factory loads we tried.
 
Yes. It's a quality rifle. It certainly isn't beautiful like a nice blue/walnut CZ or 700, but the gun just works, is a tack driver, and the bolt feels very smooth.
 
Check out the action and trigger on the Marlin XS7, I think it is the best I saw on a sub-$350 rifle. Beats the XMark Pro trigger that came on my $1,000 Remington 700 by a long shot.
 
I picked up one in .223 yesterday for a pickup gun, trigger is heavy but shoots great. Only big dislike is the mag but have never had a bolt with a mag I've liked yet (Rem 788). Can work on trigger issue myself. I tell you how it is working out in 20 yrs. Pdogs and other varmints will hate it I'm sure.
 
Never owned an Axis, but have owned six Savages and I love them all. Simply put they are the best value in high powered rifles bar none, not as nice as some of my other guns but performance for $$$ they cannot be beat. My best friend has access to any of my collection of rifles, he chooses to hunt with my 110 30-06 and he has to fight his wife over it, that is her favorite too :)
 
Cheap yes. Junk no. He may have confused it with the 770 Remington. That is fist class garbage. The Stevens 200 I feel is a better rifle than the Axis but they are both decent for the money.
 
On a super tight budget I would prefer the Stevens over the Axis simply because of the aftermarket, the Stevens can use all the Savage 110 parts the Axis cannot.
 
Ditto, they are "inexpensive" but shoot awesome.

I filled the rear of the stock w/ expandable foam and the front w/ epoxy. Changed the trigger and it's one of my most accurate rifles.
 
My Axis 223 has a heavy trigger, very accurate. Came with a 3x9 Bushnell scope. After 800+ rounds, still works fine. Likes handloads with Hornady 68gr match bullets. Out of the box, scope base was loose. No modifications.
 
ASs Savage has made some changes over the years, the statement that all Savage 110 parts will fit the Stevens Model 200 is not accurate.
 
I have the axis in .308 and love it. Could not be happier with my first centerfire rifle. 1" at 100 yards with factory ammo. Not even in the same category as the Rem 770 junk! The trigger is heavy but that can be improved very easily.
 
I must admit I was anti Axis because there is not aftermarket stocks available. The factory Axis stock is pure crap as well.

That being said, I wanted to do a budget 300BO, so I went with the Axis in 223 since my local WM had one in stock. I paid under $300 for it OTD.

This is my write up on my Axis.

So I finally finished my first 300BO build and I wanted to share my experience. I have been a big fan of the 300BO since it was introduced and I wanted my first to be a bolt action to take full advantage of cost savings and sound suppression. I really wanted a used Savage/Stevens 200 action, but I couldn't find one locally, so I settled on the Axis. I did not have anything positive to say about the Axis before the project because there is no aftermarket stock available for the Axis rifles.

I went to my local WalMart a couple of months ago and the store had an Axis in 223, so I purchased the rifle. I sold off the unfired 223 barrel to recoup some of my money for the build. I had some issues when I removed the barrel nut and had to order a new barrel nut from Gun Shack. There was a bunch of metal shavings on the threads that caused my issue, but I was able to take care of that issue.

Once I had the barrel removed, my next course of action was to address the flimsy Axis stock. I didn't think Savage could offer a stock worse than the other factory stocks, but Savage outdone themselves with the Axis stock. This is by far the worst stock I've ever owned on any rifle.

With the help of Frank from Savage Shooters (tutorial) I reinforced my Axis stock. I drilled two holes and inserted metal rods. I epoxied the rods in place. I also removed some plastic material on the barrel channel to "free float" the barrel. I felt that the stock LOP was too long for my liking since I wanted the most compact rifle I could put together, so I took my hack saw and chopped off 2" off of the stock. I found a Winchester aka Limbsaver replacement buttpad (small size) that fit perfectly at Wal Mart (best price $22.xx compared to almost double online prices). I epoxied the trigger guard in place and felt that the stock was a little light compared to the front of the stock. I had an old can of Great Stuff, so I sprayed it into the stock to fill the gaps.

The final step for the stock was to use some sandpaper to rough up the stock, so I could paint the stock. Normally, I use a thermal finish such as KG Gunkote/Norrell's Moly Resin, but I knew that the Axis stock would melt if I baked it at 325 for an hour. Once again, WM saved the day, I went there Saturday night and picked up a rattle can of their camo/matte spraypaint. I choose dark brown, since they didn't have a charcoal color that I liked. I just wanted to make sure that the rifle wasn't black since black stands out so badly when using NV.

This is the work that I did to the action. The Axis trigger was terrible and there was another useful thread on Savage Shooters showing how you could lighten trigger pull with a Pilot spring and a 10-24 screw. I did that modification since I already had the Pilot pen. The trigger pull is much better than the factory trigger. I may go with a Timney or Rifle Basix trigger down the line, but the pen spring modification is working fine for now.

I removed the trigger assembly on Saturday to refinish the action, EGW base and scope rings. I went with KG Gunkote Titanium since I wanted a darker color for my 300BO. I must say that I like the color contrast of the Titanium action with the bead blasted McGowen barrel. I didn't refinish the bolt knob as I will be replacing it sometime down the road.

Build list
Axis 223 rifle $294 OTD at WM
Replacement barrel nut $18 shipped Gun Shack
McGowen 16.5" 1:8 twist $210 shipped Hansohn Brothers
EGW Axis 20MOA base $38 shipped from JoeBobs
OD green thread protector $16 shipped ebay
Winchester/Limbsaver buttstock $22.xx Walmart
Spray paint $5 WM
10-24 screws $2 Tractor Supply
Epoxy $5 Ace Hardware
Epoxy $5 Wamart
Go/no go gauges were rented from 4D Reamer Rental $18.

Freebies I had
Great Stuff
KG Gunkote Titanium
Pilot pen spring
IOR rings

Overall, I'm very happy with my rifle. Only upgrades I am planning is if Rat offers 10rd mags, I'll be picking up a few for this rifle. I just placed my order for my TBAC 30P-1, so now the wait begins.

Threads are useless without pictures.
SavageAxis001.jpg
SavageAxis002.jpg
SavageAxis003.gif
 
It's an inexpensive rifle, but it's not exactly junk. I'd recommend that you take a look at the Marlin X7, which is an amazingly good rifle for the money.

The Remington 770, now that's junk.
yep, i have a xl7 in .270 and it's a great gun
 
axis has a good barrel and action but a cheap stock and marginal trigger. It is not a disposable gun like a Remington 770.

The Axis, 770, Mossberg, and Ruger American are all disposable rifles. For some reason the Remington gets bashed, but Mossberg, Savage and Ruger make a near clone with the exact same shortcuts and they are supposed to be a quality rifle?

Any of those guns are budget guns that serve their purpose. All are accurate and reliable enough for the typical deer hunter who wants to shoot a box of ammo a year for zeroing and occasional hunting. None of the above are meant for long term heavy use by guys who want to shoot a lot.
 
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