Hunting rifle advice?

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rustynut1

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I bought a Savage Axis LH .308 rifle and put a POS $100 (good name) scope on it. The scope does not work for me, I have a good scope here I can install. The other issue with this rifle is it kicks too much for what it is, too light, maybe bore is too tight I'm told. I missed a great deer this year with this rifle, long story. I also have a Remington 30-06 M7600 rifle and a Weatherby LH .270 WMag Mark V the nice wood model. I'm happy with these two rifles.

I have a bee up my behind to get a different rifle to replace this Axis, may not sell the axis just get a better quality rifle. Call this a feel good thing, I would feel good with a better ($1000) rifle. There are so many different calibers out there these days and I know nothing about these rounds. I like a .30 calibre rifle, old fashioned I guess. I like the .308 round for a short distance shot, say 250 yards. I have been on EE looking and a few other vendors and have seen few rifles in the .30 calibre, a few mag rounds but I don't need a big gun like that. Left hand bolt would be best but not critical.

I have been reading on here and have these guns highlighted:
Ruger 1A
Tikka T3
Remington M7

Since the hunting season is over in most places, it is a slow time of year, the economy is the pits I'm thinking this would be a good time to look for a mid price rifle. Your thoughts are welcome. I have all the reloading setup for .308/.30-06 and .270 but if there is a newer super duper calibre out there that will become as common as .30-06 and I can reload it tell me all about it.
 
If .308 recoil is bothersome, look into a 7-08rem or 260rem for short action cartridges in the modern gun offerings. 25-06 is a nice flat shooter in a long action as well, mild recoil.
If you like wood and steel, a Zastava M70 Mauser in 7x57 or 6.5x55 would fit nicely, and they come lefty friendly too.
 
You have a bunch of questions there.

First off, if you have a decent 30.06 that has worked well for you the (new) 308 will give you little advantage/disadvantage over it. They are both "close enough" in specs all the way down the line that for "hunting purposes" they can almost be considered interchangeable.

While the the Axis is a cheaply built rifle they do shoot considerably more accurate than you need for deer hunting. You should match you scope to the hunting you are going to do with it and not the cost of the rifle. I have an Axis that I use for Coyote that has a $1000 Burris FFP scope on it because that's the optics that I "need" for that application (so yes, I have a $1K scope on a $300 rifle).

You can stiffen up the stock and deaden the recoil a bit by removing the butt pad and filling the hollow stock with some spray foam insulation (the stuff for filling cracks in door/window frames) - that's a 5 dollar solution that may improve it for you a little.

Now in terms of "what's popular" - last year there was an article in American Hunter that surveyed vendors sold in 2015. Now it wasn't exclusive to the "hunting crowd" but will give you an idea as to what people are shooting/buying:

1. .223 Remington/5.56mm NATO
2. .308 Winchester/7.62x51mm NATO
3. .30-’06 Springfield
4. .30-30 Winchester
5. .270 Winchester
6. .243 Winchester
7. .300 Winchester Magnum
8. 7mm Remington Magnum
9. 7.62x39
10. .300 Winchester Short Magnum
11. .22-250 Remington

Now I would suggest that the 223, 22-250 and some of the 243 rounds were for target and varmint shooting, some, particularly the 243 were used by deer hunters. Likewise the 7.62X39, while maybe used by some deer hunters were more likely shot at the range/target etc.

In the 30 cal market, the sales noted in this article would certainly mimic my personal experience (I sell guns/ammo) and the 30-30, 308 and 30.06 are still "king" of the deer hunting calibers with the 270, 7mmRM, and the 300 WM coming in a good distance away in terms of "how many are shooting them".

If you are finding that the 308 kicks a little more than you like you "could" use some of the recoil reducing loads (Hornady Custom Lite as an example) or go with one of the 308's sub calibers (if you like the short action) - 7.08 or 243 - both are more than enough for deer at typical deer ranges.

One of the new calibers that is gaining popularity, particularly in the US is the 6.5 Creedmoor.

The three rifles you list as replacement options are are very decent rifles with prices ranging from maybe 3-6 times the cost of that Axis, so not really fair to try and compare them to such. Doesn't mean any of them would be more "accurate", but the fit/finish/materials etc would be of a significantly higher grade.
 
Cheap rifles with cheap scopes aren't all that cheap in the long run.



Buy a LH T3 in 243, top it with a Leupold 3-9, use good bullets (TSX or Partitions), do some practice to help possible flinch and you're set.
 
I have better scopes on a couple .22LRs than the .308, big mistake. Cheap good name scopes are still cheap scopes. I can't get a field of view from this scope in up magnify range at all, trouble in low range, it isn't quick. The scope is 4x12 Redfield. I didn't say I also have a .223 AR15 and a 30-30 M1894 as well. The deer I was maybe 30 feet above, and the gun was sighten in 4 inches high, shot over it's shoulder twice, perfect shots twice. My bad.
 
rustynut1 said:
I have better scopes on a couple .22LRs than the .308, big mistake. Cheap good name scopes are still cheap scopes. I can't get a field of view from this scope in up magnify range at all, trouble in low range, it isn't quick. The scope is 4x12 Redfield. I didn't say I also have a .223 AR15 and a 30-30 M1894 as well. The deer I was maybe 30 feet above, and the gun was sighten in 4 inches high, shot over it's shoulder twice, perfect shots twice. My bad.
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Was your gun sighted in 4" high on purpose?......... you have a lot going on in this thread and it makes it hard to help you.......
 
The gun was 4 inches high at 100 yards. Normally I have them 2 inches high at 100. Shooting down hill at about 125 yards and aiming at the top of the shoulder and I shot over the deer's back twice. In the excitement of the shot I forgot that it was sighted in that high. The biggest problem with the Savage is the scope, it is junk. I have trouble getting a sight picture out of it, really hard if the scope is turned up. My other scopes are not like that. I don't think it is eye relief distance as I try moving my head back and forth. If I keep the Savage I will change out the scope, swap it with a scope I have on a .22LR maybe or just scrap it all together.
 
Sounds like you need to correctly zero your scope and then practice with it until you can place kill shots repeatedly.
The 4-12x40 Redfield I had was an excellent scope (Leopold made-newer one).
 
Not sure why you are having so much trouble with your axis but my opinion is this....1 buy an egw rail and some good quality rings, 2 go buy a good quality scope. 3. Take some anchoring cement and stiffen the forearm the grip and add some weight to the stock, lighten the trigger down by clipping a coil off the spring. Then take the whole rig out and re zero to be 1" high at 100yrds

After this you should easily kill every deer you see, if you can do your part? Cost could be less than $350.00 depending on your budget for optics. The axis is easily a minute of deer rifle and most times much more! if you ever decide to get rid of it and up grade. Strip the good quality scope and remount on a different firearm and all you'b be out would be some labour and 20 bucks for the cement to stiffen the Tupperware stock.
 
"Cheap rifles with cheap scopes aren't all that cheap in the long run" damn good advice.Dad told me years ago spend more on the glass then the rifle and chances are you will have winner
 
vstar650ca said:
"Cheap rifles with cheap scopes aren't all that cheap in the long run" damn good advice.Dad told me years ago spend more on the glass then the rifle and chances are you will have winner
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My biggest regret looking back........ your dad was a smart man..... don't agree on the scope to rifle ratio........ but if both are good components you will certainly have a winning combo.....
 
cdn1canhunt said:
Not sure why you are having so much trouble with your axis but my opinion is this....1 buy an egw rail and some good quality rings, 2 go buy a good quality scope. 3. Take some anchoring cement and stiffen the forearm the grip and add some weight to the stock, lighten the trigger down by clipping a coil off the spring. Then take the whole rig out and re zero to be 1" high at 100yrds
Click to expand...

I have (now) looked into your suggestion. It seems like a lot of work, maybe more than I want to do with this gun but a fun idea. I do have good scope rings on the gun and I do have 3 decent scopes I can put on the gun like the Elite 3200 series scopes that I have on .22LR guns now. I don't think the Axis gun is awful for the money, it shoots better than I can.

Thanks for the advice, I'll have to look into it a bit more, going to look into getting a better butt pad as well. These synthetic stocks are too light for my taste I think. I would consider buying a wood replacement stock for the gun I guess if one was available. I don't want to get too deep $$ into a $300 gun, put good money after bad money. Like people with the KLR motorcycle if you know what I'm saying.

Looks like Boyds make a replacement wood stock for this gun, around $150 USD. I think I could go that route.
 
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You aimed high, shooting down hill and you have your rifle sighted in high? Doesn't sound like a rifle problem it sounds like an operator problem
 
Some good advice so far but I'll go a different direction.
That 7600 30-06 you already have is an excellent deer rifle. I have a friend with lots of nice guns but his 7600 30-06 is his go to gun every time. The reason : he is more accurate with it off hand than the others. It's also accurate and fast for repeat shots and completely reliable.
But they do need a few things: trim stock and mount a good recoil pad (he has a limb saver grind to fit pad) and get a trigger job done to bring the pull down to 3 lbs (there is a guy on cgn that does this... Guntech?). You just mail him the trigger group and he malls it back when it's done . His price is very reasonable.
 
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LarryG said:
Some good advice so far but I'll go a different direction.
That 7600 30-06 you already have is an excellent deer rifle. I have a friend with lots of nice guns but his 7600 30-06 is his go to gun every time. The reason : he is more accurate with it off hand than the others. It's also accurate and fast for repeat shots and completely reliable.
But they do need a few things: trim stock and mount a good recoil pad (he has a limb saver grind to fit pad) and get a trigger job done to bring the pull down to 3 lbs (there is a guy on cgn that does this... Guntech?). You just mail him the trigger group and he malls it back when it's done . His price is very reasonable.
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I would just use the Iron sights and throw away the scope and use the rifle as is
 
LarryG said:
Some good advice so far but I'll go a different direction.
That 7600 30-06 you already have is an excellent deer rifle. I have a friend with lots of nice guns but his 7600 30-06 is his go to gun every time. The reason : he is more accurate with it off hand than the others. It's also accurate and fast for repeat shots and completely reliable.
But they do need a few things: trim stock and mount a good recoil pad (he has a limb saver grind to fit pad) and get a trigger job done to bring the pull down to 3 lbs (there is a guy on cgn that does this... Guntech?). You just mail him the trigger group and he malls it back when it's done . His price is very reasonable.
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Where this all begin is I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with the 7600. I decided the 1983 Scopechief scope was to blame. Sent that into Bushnell and it was fine. Turns out the scope mount had worked loose a bit. I'm left handed so I thought it was a little less safe to use a right hand gun like that in case of a miss fire. I have since reinstalled the origional scope on the 7600 and all is well. I also have a rubber butt pad on the gun and a screw on muzzle brake on it. The 30-06 is a good gun, shot lots of deer and moose with that gun. I bought this gun in around 1983 so was a little bored with it I guess. I have never noticed a harsh trigger with the gun, no idea what the pull weight is though.
 
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