savage questions?

[Axis II]

I'm seriously thinking about rebarraling my savage axis standard barrel 223rem into a 243win varmint barrel and seen E.R. Shaw seems to be the cheapest and gets decent reviews. has anyone used E.R Shaw? I'm also thinking scrap that idea and get a good model other than an axis in 243win.

does the receivers and bolt make a big difference from the axis to the 110-111?
would a savage barrel shoot better than e.r shaw? I'm looking for 300-400yard woodchuck accuracy.

When I priced the barrel, go/no go gauges I'm at $300. what would you guys do?

 

[Merle1]

I trust you know that the bolt won't work, and will need replaced.
Perhaps selling that rifle & getting another in .243 would be cheaper?

 

[horsey300]

I'm seriously thinking about rebarraling my savage axis standard barrel 223rem into a 243win varmint barrel and seen E.R. Shaw seems to be the cheapest and gets decent reviews. has anyone used E.R Shaw? I'm also thinking scrap that idea and get a good model other than an axis in 243win.

does the receivers and bolt make a big difference from the axis to the 110-111?
would a savage barrel shoot better than e.r shaw? I'm looking for 300-400yard woodchuck accuracy.

When I priced the barrel, go/no go gauges I'm at $300. what would you guys do?

You have to ask, do you really not want that axis .223 anymore? If not, rebarrelling would be fine. You could ALSO sell/trade to get the .243 in a different model. I'm a huge fan of the .243 so I'm excited for ya. Personally I'm moving up from the axis type guns into models I'll be proud to hand down over the generations, so I'd trade in on a model I personally considered an upgrade.

 

[Varminterror]

I trust you know that the bolt won't work, and will need replaced.
Perhaps selling that rifle & getting another in .243 would be cheaper?

I trust you know the Savage Axis uses the same floating bolt head design as the rest of the Savage fleet, which are available for $25 each, plus extractor and mag box assembly, and cost of ejector if you want to have two complete sub assemblies. Savage complete bolts are available for under $125.

The shaw barrel should outshoot the Savage, but "should" is a relative term. How precise do you need to be? I have a couple Savage 12's which run 0.2-0.4moa with nothing more than a skipod and action bedding.

It's always a headache to consider rebarreling or switch barreling a rifle - but in general, it does save money when you're comparing apples to apples. Sure, a cheap $350 axis is cheaper than a new bolt head and barrel, but then you need two optics, and two replacement stocks, instead of one each. Drop a $200-600 stock under two rifles, and a $1000 optic on top, and a switch barrel or rebarrel starts looking really economic.

Personally, for an Axis, and considering you already have the .223rem, I'd buy/build another rifle. That .223rem makes a fantastic low-cost training rifle. Add a better stock which matches that which you will put on the .243win and you'll be set. .243win isn't really expensive to shoot, but it's really expensive compared to .223rem, and barrel life is only about 1/3-1/2 as long with the .243win.

 

[Varminterror]

You have to ask, do you really not want that axis .223 anymore? If not, rebarrelling would be fine.

It's not as much of a permanent commitment to change barrels in a Savage as it seems to most folks. With a $25 wrench and a $40 barrel vise, an owner can change his own barrels and set headspace appropriately within about 20min. It takes longer to remove the stock than to switch barrels.

 

[Merle1]

I trust you know the Savage Axis uses the same floating bolt head design as the rest of the Savage fleet, which are available for $25 each, plus extractor and mag box assembly, and cost of ejector if you want to have two complete sub assemblies. Savage complete bolts are available for under $125.

The shaw barrel should outshoot the Savage, but "should" is a relative term. How precise do you need to be? I have a couple Savage 12's which run 0.2-0.4moa with nothing more than a skipod and action bedding.

It's always a headache to consider rebarreling or switch barreling a rifle - but in general, it does save money when you're comparing apples to apples. Sure, a cheap $350 axis is cheaper than a new bolt head and barrel, but then you need two optics, and two replacement stocks, instead of one each. Drop a $200-600 stock under two rifles, and a $1000 optic on top, and a switch barrel or rebarrel starts looking really economic.

Personally, for an Axis, and considering you already have the .223rem, I'd buy/build another rifle. That .223rem makes a fantastic low-cost training rifle. Add a better stock which matches that which you will put on the .243win and you'll be set. .243win isn't really expensive to shoot, but it's really expensive compared to .223rem, and barrel life is only about 1/3-1/2 as long with the .243win.

Didn't know that - thanks for clearing that up.

 

[Sunray]

"...223 Rem into a 243 Win..." Your .223 bolt head is too small for a .243 case head. And an entry level hunting rifle really isn't what you want to start with. Try and find something higher end in any .308 family chambering. Or just buy a .243.
400 yards with any .243 is optimistic. Not impossible but typical bullet weights drop like bricks past 300 yards. Hornady factory 100 grain bullets sighted in 1.6" high at 100 drop 7.1" at 300, 20.9" at 400.
Isn't much different than heavy bullet .223 ballistics. Hornady 75 grain Match bullets(fine for varmints. Not for deer.) sighted in 1.9" high at 100 drop 8.2" at 300, 24.1 at 400. So with a solid rest your Axis is already a 300 plus varmint rifle. Assuming you can read the wind.
Mind you, "I want a new rifle." is a reason. Your budget will tell you what you can do. Do not discount buying a used varmint rifle. Wrong time of year for that, but rummage around your local gun shops. You might find something used but higher end and scoped for roughly the same as a new rifle with no sights. Look in pawn shops too.

 

[someguy2800]

For the money You have to spend for the barrel, bolt head, magazine, and the tools I would just sell it and buy a model 12, an axis 2, a ruger American, or a tikka t3 light.

 

[Axis II]

I currently have an axis 2 with accu trigger, heavy barrel, etc in 223rem. I paid $275 for it so couldn't pass it up. the other axis I'm not interested in was right when they went from edge to axis and its got a standard barrel. I was thinking 243 cause I can shoot small bullets for chucks and paper and big ones for whitetail.

I know the bolt head needs to be changed and found one for $25. with barrel-$199, mag-$25, bolt face-$25, headspace gauges-$50 id be at $300.

I was looking at the model 12 I guess it is with the heavy barrel and the bolt and receiver seems built better than the axis. I have only dealt with axis rifles so no experience with anything else. Sometimes we have 300-400yard shots in the big fields and IMO the 223 isn't good for clean kills that far but I could be wrong.

 

[Varminterror]

400 yards with any .243 is optimistic. Not impossible but typical bullet weights drop like bricks past 300 yards.

That 20.9" seems like a lot, until you remember it's only ~1.5mil or ~5moa. Considering any milling reticle has at least 5mil to the bar, it's not very hard to hold over for 400yrds, even for a novice. Split the 1st and second dot, pull trigger - ding...

 

[Varminterror]

You can headspace on a dummy round if you want to save money on the Go gauge. It's not perfect, but it does work just fine.

You're correct, the 223rem doesn't pack enough in the lunchbox to manage whitetails at 400. For coyotes at 400, or smaller varmints, it's perfect. Just not for deer. If you're ok with a compromise where your rifle could manage chucks to 600+ and whitetails to 200ish with a different bullet, then sticking with the .223rem would be fine. On the the other hand, that doesn't cost you a thing, so you could spend a bit on a new rifle with more range for deer, and keep the cheaper-to-feed 223rem around as a practice rifle and Varminter. As I said above, that would be my move.

 

[ironworkerwill]

I consider Shaw equal to a factory barrel, try criterion for an actual upgrade. Northland shooters supply has them.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

I have done this conversion with a Stevens Model 200. It requires a, barrel, bolt head and extractor, magazine (box, spring and follower) and front baffle. I used a bench vice and wooden blocks in stead of a barrel vice. After conversion to .243 win, I opted for more power and stepped up to .308 win. It shoots great with a factory barrel. I do have an E.R.Shaw heavy barrel in .243 if anyone is interested.

 

[jmr40]

400 yards with any .243 is optimistic. Not impossible but typical bullet weights drop like bricks past 300 yards. Hornady factory 100 grain bullets sighted in 1.6" high at 100 drop 7.1" at 300, 20.9" at 400.

The 243 and now the 6mm Creedmor are quite popular for 1000 yard shooting. The better Hornady factory loads will drop just over 18" at 400 yards with a 200 yard zero, not 20.9". Just for perspective that is about the same drop as 7mm mag at 400 yards. In fact the bullet drops with any modern rifle shooting similar BC bullets is virtually the same.

Even if you're right, bullet drop is one of the least important factors when considering a cartridge. Especially for target shooting at known ranges or for hunters with range finders. You can always adjust the sights for different ranges, and the milder cartridges like the 6mm's and 6.5's are proving to be more accurate than their flatter shooting magnum rounds.

 

[Jack B.]

Sounds like a new rifle is your best bet. Not a barrel. If you want to change. Not sure I see the advantage.

 

[horsey300]

400 yards with any .243 is optimistic.

400 yds with a .243 is almost boring. Zeroed at 225 yds with a flat based 100 gr sp bullet leaving the station at 2920 fps, drop at 400 yds is only 18.43". A decent system should allow 1.5 moa at 400 yds, some can do better. 6" is still minute of dead on larger varmints. I'm running wary yotes to 800 yds with boattail coppers. The cartridge tends to be far more capable than the people using it.

 

[LoonWulf]

Im with the guys above .243 sounds lik a good option, you already have a .243AI dont you?
I also agree with selling the gun and buying a different one. Youll spend more getting the parts for the swap than the guns worth. If you WANT to have a custom heavy barreled .243 savage, id buy a cheap 10 or stevens 200 barreled action in a .308 family caliber. Pull the barrel sell that and get a replacement with the twist and profile you want.

I also like ERShaws barrels. I own one and have shot a couple others. Infact I have an action there now getting a new tube put on it.

 

[horsey300]

Im with the guys above .243 sounds lik a good option, you already have a .243AI dont you?
I also agree with selling the gun and buying a different one. Youll spend more getting the parts for the swap than the guns worth. If you WANT to have a custom heavy barreled .243 savage, id buy a cheap 10 or stevens 200 barreled action in a .308 family caliber. Pull the barrel sell that and get a replacement with the twist and profile you want.

I also like ERShaws barrels. I own one and have shot a couple others. Infact I have an action there now getting a new tube put on it.

I musta missed that, he's running a .243 AI!? Just sell the axis, get another barrel in the appropriate twist for the AI, and keep blasting with that puppy!

 

[Damon555]

You can purchase a whole new Axis for darn near what a rebarrel would cost.

If you go the new barrel route try Criterion.....I have 2....A 6mm XC and 223 AI. I'd be called a liar if I posted how well they shot!

There are a lot of options out there for aftermarket, pre-fit Savage barrels. Many will be better than the factory barrel but some, including ER Shaw (which I've also owned) will not be much more accurate than the standard factory Savage barrel.

 

[LoonWulf]

you already have a .243AI dont you?

Wait, no, wrong person. sorry!

 

[Sniper66]

There are many excellent .243s out there for reasonable prices, so I would suggest you go shopping! Tikka makes really great shooters and relatively cheap. Unless you like tinkering, a new rifle is the best way to go.