Savage Axis Review

A young friend of mine has one in .30-06 and he aspires to a Remington 700BDL but for now thinks his Axis/Edge is a good thing. I haven't fired it but from what he tells me it is certainly accurate enough to hunt with. I like a detachable magazine but noticing that he seems to have some trouble removing his in the cold and disliking the ungainly look of that gun, I'd settle for a Stevens 200 or save a little longer for a Savage 11 or 111.
 
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i bought a stevens 200 from Cabelas on Monday and i have already ordered a Basix SAV-1 trigger to replace the factory one.
havent shot it yet hopefully this weekend.
mine was a mail order returned used gun that doesnt appear to have been fired.
it had the package scope and rings on it as well.
i wasnt aware that the stevens came as a package??
never saw it advertised anywhere.
i did swap out the factory trigger spring with a lighter piano wire spring and that has improved the pull for now but the Basix should work allot better.
Dan.
 
Since the last update...

Speer tnt's, hornady match, vmax, speer match all work satisfactory in this gun. I seem to be getting good results with blc2 and varget, but haven't tried a few other powders that are on my list. I would like to try ntx and see how fast they can run, but am thinking too much speed with a 1:9 twist will be a shotgun pattern. Win bulk has been my worst performer for store bought ammo averaging just under 2". I guess that's not terrible but knowing what the rifle is capable of... its not good.

Not really related to the rifle but I do like the 223 better than the 22-250 I grew up shooting on. Its nice to watch hits in the scope with essentially no muzzle jump! Much quieter as well which keeps some land owners happy where go.

Putting on a new scope and EGW rail with zee rings hasn't improved groups much, but after a day of shooting my eyes appreciate looking through better glass. In the field I am more confident in the elite 3200 over the bushnell that came in the package...

My epoxy fix for the sloppy magazine has held up well. I haven't ever put in a rifle basix trigger or cut mine, as it doesn't bother me that much.

I haven't modified the stock yet but am planning an epoxy job with either aluminum arrows, or some bar stock to stiffen up the fore end of the stock. I do notice that especially in the summer with prolonged shooting and warm weather the fore end has more flex than ever but hasn't been a detriment to the rifle. Still something to improve on though!

At this point I don't think if someone were looking for a rifle and mentioned the axis I would tell them to avoid it. I haven't had any big issues with it, and have no desire to get rid of it. That said, if that same person asked me about a tc venture I would be telling them how (imo) it is a way better rifle for the money than the axis. I would ditto that for the Vanguard series. Having not shot or handled the Ruger or Marlin I can't comment on their quality.

So long story short if you're looking at an axis I don't think you will be disappointed purchasing one, but if your budget allows there are better rifles out there! Certainly some people are of the opinion that if an axis can shoot .5-1moa then why would you pay more another rifle. I am of the opinion that this rifle is awesome for the money, but I would rather have a 70/700/77/7 rifle of higher fit and finish in the future. Or at least something of the level of a tc venture.
 
Howdy, so where did you put the epoxy on the mag? Bought 2 brand new 7mm-08 a few months ago-first try today.
Wifes wouldn't take the second shell?? Put another mag and was fine.
I noticed the back lower part on the bottom of the mag was loose-small tit on the plastic that was supposed to fit in the small groove on the metal box but it doesn't - just moves up and down?? Is this where you did the epoxy job? Thanks
 
I bought a cabelas edition axis in 204ruger with a snow camo stock. First impression was wow what a stiff trigger! I replaced the trigger spring with a ball point pen spring and that made a world of diffrence! It's still not an awesome trigger but it's ok. I basically shoot gophers with mine. I love how light it is for walking. Once the bipod is on it it's still good for walking. The scope it came with was fine. Decent glass but I was looking for something with more magnification than the 3x9. I am able to shoot gophers without any trouble at 150 yards. I just bought a bushnell 4200 6-24. I am hoping to extend the gopher shooting range much farther. Dad has a weatherby vanguard in 204 and in comparison it seems like a much more expensive gun but I don't think it shoots any better than my savage. It's also a heavy barrel which I'm not a fan of for what I need. Mostly just nicer fit and finish. I am thinking about replacing my 22-250 and am leaning towards a weatherby in a lighter barrel. I guess like everyone else has already said is they're a great shooter but just don't look or feel as nice as a vanguard or a 700. That being said I shoot my axis more than any other gun I own.
 
For the epoxy job I pulled of the bottom plastic and in the grooves where the metal should fit used epoxy. While the magazine is apart I also stretched the spring to get a bit more tension. Used a couple clamps to hold it together over night and the issue seems to be fixed. I talked to the guy at savage about it and they sent me a second piece of plastic in case something went wrong with the attempted fix.
 
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