Savage Axis XP for first hunting rifle

conor_90 said:
I don’t know much about budget scopes. I’ve always been an iron sights guy but I’m on team “ optical clarity is more of an advantage than magnification”, I believe I stole this idea from Jeff Cooper (pbuh). I have noticed a world of difference in terms of quality with each increase in price bracket with the scopes I’ve owned. I’m terms of extreme budget options I would take vortex over bottom end bushnell any day of the week, diamondbacks punch way above their weight class

This is to say, my two cents is. Instead of buying a high mag budget scope get a lower mag mid range one for the same price. Again, the used market is your friend



A bit of a hot take here from a seasoned hunter and gun collector like you…

Lots of sources of used guns outside of CGN
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I am well aware there are other places to buy used guns. Not all of mine came from the EE. That's why I asked what his actual experience is, because what he's insinuating is not even close to my experience. To me it read like he doesn't buy used guns because he's worried about getting burned, but I could be wrong hence why I asked for more info.

When I was new to guns I thought the same way. I didn't want to buy a used hunting rifle because I had no idea what I was getting myself into going that route vs buying new. Now I realize that the vast majority of rifles have been shot very little compared to how long a barrel lasts, and most people/ companies are not trying to pull a fast one, so I now see the value in going used.

As for scopes, hard to argue with that. In the OPs price range none of it will be good, but even the Bushnell that comes on an Axis gets the job done. The nice thing about ####ty scopes as a newbie is you don't know what you're missing (unless he's shooting others' guns with better glass).
 
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13k posts, if you spent as much time in the field and on range as you do on CGN your opinion might be worth something.

Shoot a deer yet?
 
It doesn’t correlate with understanding what people are getting at either apparently

If we are on the topic of post counts you must be posting with one hand and shooting tens of thousands of rounds from every gun you own with the other.

Birds of a feather
 
OP - Being very new to the sport, living in a large urban center, and not having a place to shoot or hunt regularly may temper your long term interest. Careers and families are further limiting factors. Therefore your desire to limit your out of pocket expense is understandable. The Savage Axis will suit your purposes for the time being- chances are it will exceed your shooting capability, as will any other budget offering. If you miss a deer, it probaby wont be because of the rifle.
A few years down the road, you will either lose interest in shooting/hunting, or you will become more invested in the sport. More invested means more and better guns, as the cognoscenti on this board will point out. At that time, you will have your own strong opinion about your Savage Axis. BTW - Get a 308, and try to find some surplus ammo for practice.
 
rolloverandlaugh said:
Just caught on that you're in the gta. Was at tenda today and saw on their site they got a mossberg patriot in 6.5cm with vortex scope for 620 on sale. Vortex has a lifetime warranty from what I hear and mossbergs trigger is similar to an accutrigger I was told. Its a better value imo. Even tho I'm a savage fanboy
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Don’t buy a mossberg rifle…nuff said ! Google some reviews
 
Savage axis will get you in the game but you’ll be better off adding a couple hundred more to your budget and looking for a good used higher quality set up or buying something like a Howa 1500 or Wetherby Vanguard, I’d take the 1500 I have over any of the axis or rem 783, or lower end Ruger’s I’ve handled any day.
 
Butcherbill said:
Savage axis will get you in the game but you’ll be better off adding a couple hundred more to your budget and looking for a good used higher quality set up or buying something like a Howa 1500 or Wetherby Vanguard, I’d take the 1500 I have over any of the axis or rem 783, or lower end Ruger’s I’ve handled any day.
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I can't make myself like the axis. But I dont have alot of complaints about the 783. I even own one. Its nice.
 
cosmic said:
OP - Being very new to the sport, living in a large urban center, and not having a place to shoot or hunt regularly may temper your long term interest. Careers and families are further limiting factors. Therefore your desire to limit your out of pocket expense is understandable. The Savage Axis will suit your purposes for the time being- chances are it will exceed your shooting capability, as will any other budget offering. If you miss a deer, it probaby wont be because of the rifle.
A few years down the road, you will either lose interest in shooting/hunting, or you will become more invested in the sport. More invested means more and better guns, as the cognoscenti on this board will point out. At that time, you will have your own strong opinion about your Savage Axis. BTW - Get a 308, and try to find some surplus ammo for practice.
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Thank you! I would like to think in a few years I will still be involved in the sport, and I definitely agree that as of NOW, I will be the limiting factor, not the rifle.

Definitely some good points brought up in here! I appreciate everyone's input very much, and I am considering it all
 
I had two Axis rifles one in .308 and one in .223 , key word here is "had"..

I will admit they are fairly accurate but the rifles just feel cheap and the mags suck. I won't ever buy another Axis.

If you want a bargain priced rifle you should look at the Winchester XPR or a Browning AB3..
 
I have an Axis. Don't shoot it too often, but it's very accurate. Magazine and stock feel cheap - it also just looks kinda cheap.

But if you don't have a ton of disposable income and want to join your buddies in hunt camp or at the range....it's a great option for this.

As mentioned earlier, intersurplus and Trade Ex have some great used rifles that would also serve you well.
 
cdn1canhunt said:
Don’t buy a mossberg rifle…nuff said ! Google some reviews
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I'm a bit of a snob for well built rifles. However, I picked up a mossberg patriot in cerakote for my kid to hunt with. It's actually really good. It's far better than ANY savage I've ever owned and I've owned a lot before I got wise.

If you can't stretch to a Howa 1500/vanguard S2 then the patriot is OK.

I've also had bad experience with the ruger american.
 
mimile said:
To the OP,
I would not buy any used rifle online. No matter how nice it looks or how 'little' it was shot. If the barrel is burnt your are in for $500
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LOL... Says the guy with ZERO trader rating which tells us that you have either little or no experience buying used guns. My experience after buying many dozens of used guns over the years has for the most part has been very positive with very few regrets. How many burnt barrels have you been burnt buying? There are plenty of good used rifles out there for anyone who is not afraid of buying one and is willing to save a buck or two not to mention the taxes.

Why not share with us your specific misgivings about buying used guns or any guns in general?
 
My city-slicker buddy just got his axis 223 in this week and we shot for an hour today. He forgot the mag, so we had to handload.

The trigger sure is damn tight now, and you aim 1" low just to account for how it'll make you raise the gun. The bolt lift is quite stiff, as someone else pointed out. I would quickly mod both these things if I was mine. I also don't find the grip comfortable (too thin and far away), my RAP is much better for my hands but that's pretty personal. I was also stupid lucky to get mine off the EE for 500$! So OP if you can wait a few months, try to find a deal like that. That intersurplus link above also looks pretty good.

The weaver scope on it is pretty good honestly, and I really wouldn't even swap it out if it was my hunting rifle. There's no need in NS to have anything over 9x.
It came bore sighted, which meant at (estimated) 30y it shot 2" high and 1.5" to the right on first launch. The turrets tracked properly and we got it bang on in 4 shots, no bipod.

I still stand by my comment that it'll put any animal down, and even with these faults we were still shooting 2" with .50 cpr 'target' ammo from crappy tire (100y).
 
Jahnj0584 said:
My city-slicker buddy just got his axis 223 in this week and we shot for an hour today. He forgot the mag, so we had to handload.

The trigger sure is damn tight now, and you aim 1" low just to account for how it'll make you raise the gun. The bolt lift is quite stiff, as someone else pointed out. I would quickly mod both these things if I was mine. I also don't find the grip comfortable (too thin and far away), my RAP is much better for my hands but that's pretty personal. I was also stupid lucky to get mine off the EE for 500$! So OP if you can wait a few months, try to find a deal like that. That intersurplus link above also looks pretty good.

The weaver scope on it is pretty good honestly, and I really wouldn't even swap it out if it was my hunting rifle. There's no need in NS to have anything over 9x.
It came bore sighted, which meant at (estimated) 30y it shot 2" high and 1.5" to the right on first launch. The turrets tracked properly and we got it bang on in 4 shots, no bipod.

I still stand by my comment that it'll put any animal down, and even with these faults we were still shooting 2" with .50 cpr 'target' ammo from crappy tire (100y).
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As far as I am aware there is no easy mod for the bolt lift being so heavy. I have read about people messing with the firing pin springs but some of those same people had issues with bad primer strikes after.

If there IS a cheap fix I'd love to hear about it though!
 
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