Ultimate lipstick on a pig!!

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thebuckhunter

thebuckhunter

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OK. pretense.... Covid and other reasons have had me caged up and looking for a "creative outlet". So I decided to see how "pimped out" I could take a $400 rifle. It started off as a standard Axis in 243. I purchased an extra stock off the EE just in case #### went south. LOL. In the factory configuration, this gun can hit 6" plates at 450 yards if I read the wind right. Surprising since my Mcarbo trigger kit hasn't arrived yet to put this thing down to a reasonable 2.5lb pull as opposed to the 6+ factory lawyer setting.

I grinded down the forestock to give that massive sporter barrel a bit of room to breath, LOL. I ordered a 19mm t slot rail from Amazon and notched out a 2" alluminium flat bar to make the forend. I used some of that alluminium brazing rod you see advertised online and got to work. I have to admit, the brazing rod works great. I used MAP gas in a regular torch tip and 20 mins later, success. I drilled some mounting holes in it and got to work. I reinforced the hollow tupperware front end with some JB weld plastic epoxy putty. Not cheap, $12 at Cdn Tire. Needed 5 sticks for the complete project. Once filled in, I attached the new bottom plate to the stock and began filling in the voids with more epoxy putty to give it a more "F class" look to it. Then I started going about using the epoxy putty to fix the awkward grip wrist are on the Axis. This took 1.5 sticks of putty as I decided to give it a RH palm swell. I'm not sure how much sandpaper and the hours of sanding it took to get the profile down to where I was happy but it was alot. While waiting for the epoxy stuff to dry, I decided I wanted a bipod to go with the gun. The only one I had was a mlok chinese knockoff laying around. I wasn't about to make an Mlok rail, so I used a chunk of 2x4 alluminium C channel piece from the bits bin. Attached my bipod legs and added an alignment pin to keep her pointed in the right direction. I also made some leg extensions for it just in case it was too low. Once all was cured, I gave her a few coats of spray bomb red to give her a fancy look and added a Hornady sticker for the right amount of "bling". Gotta love free swag. I then filled out the back end of that hollow stock with 2lbs of Tungsten weights and used some old rags to keep them in place. Then I decided on adding a bag rider using some 1/4" thick by 1/2" wide flat bar and painting it black. The way the recoil pad is placed on the stock made it quite hard to get everything lined up properly and solid. This thing is a beast. She weighs almost 14lbs with the factory barrel and a Cabela's 4-16x44 FFP scope.

Anyhow, if you haven't fallen asleep by this point, I decided to add the after pics. I never took any pics of the before and during. I'm pretty sure people know what they look like. Leave a little critique or question, just be gentle, this was my first time. LOL!!

-Jason




 
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That is ugly as sin.:d:d:d, but lots of points for being creative.

I'm a fan of Savage rifles though, and they were meant for shooting, and not winning a beauty contest. Have you considered cutting one coil out of the trigger spring? I did this to my wifes Edge (Axis? same difference) and it dropped from 6.5 lbs to 4.5 lbs right there. Give you something to do while waiting for the good trigger to arrive.
 
Okay, Bob Fortier you ain't, but then again, neither was he when he started out. I like it! For a first attempt it's fantastic. I like the fact that you used what you had available, and made it work. I like the fact that you made it for you, and to fit you. Yeah, you've got a couple rough areas, but nothing big deal, and they are areas that you can always come back and tweak a little if you want to.

The only problem you're going to have is; once you've done this once, you will always be looking and thinking about what you can change to make the next one better......and there WILL be a next one. Trust me on that. Overall, I have to say, good job.
 
LOL you are going to have to update the post after you get to a range. Just curious, did you keep track of total cost for the entire build? Like right down to the paint, misc metals, JB weld, etc...?

I'm about to start a low budget axis project too. Got a 7-08 lefty for $330 on clearance almost 5 years ago. Weaver rail for $20. Getting a boyds stock this weekend off EE. Scope is undecided so far but I do have a spare 3-12 vortex diamondback that's been sitting since WSS closed that was $180. Set of Leupold rings from there too that I think I only spent $40 on. All in it'll be a sub $800 rig. Need to find a trigger upgrade too but the spring kits are pretty cheap.
 
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I'll post a range report once the Mcarbo spring kit comes in as I'll have to re-torque the action. Before the butcher job, the gun was holding a little over MOA with 87gr Hornady varmint pills out to 450m. I suspect the accuracy was off due to the heavy trigger and the ####ty flex in the tupperware stock . I can hold well under MOA with my modernized CG63 out to 600m without issue. It has a tuned 1lb Bold trigger in it.

Off the top of my head, total costs are roughly:
$400 used for the gun. Bought off a friend. It already had the 1 piece rail.
$200 for the scope. Bought used off the EE
$60 + tax for the putty
$30 + tax for the paint and primer. The paint came out a bit bubbly. I think it's a compatability issue between the 2.
$30 plus tax on the trigger kit
$50 or so for the bipod
The aluminium brazing rod was leftovers from another project as was all the screws, sand paper and other metal bits. The tungsten weights are scraps from work. 1/2" diameter by 1 7/8" long. 7 pieces equal 1lb. I used 16 I believe. The rings are used weaver 30mm that were laying around.

So roughly $770 + taxes all in? The worst part is that I'm thinking of re-barreling it to either a 6.5-06 or a 6.5-284. Anyone out there have a deal on a used barrel and reloading kit? LOL.

-J
 
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thebuckhunter said:
I'll post a range report once the Mcarbo spring kit comes in as I'll have to re-torque the action. Before the butcher job, the gun was holding a little over MOA with 87gr Hornady varmint pills out to 450m. I suspect the accuracy was off due to the heavy trigger and the ####ty flex in the tupperware stock . I can hold well under MOA with my modernized CG63 out to 600m without issue. It has a tuned 1lb Bold trigger in it.

Off the top of my head, total costs are roughly:
$400 used for the gun. Bought off a friend. It already had the 1 piece rail.
$200 for the scope. Bought used off the EE
$60 + tax for the putty
$30 + tax for the paint and primer. The paint came out a bit bubbly. I think it's a compatability issue between the 2.
$30 plus tax on the trigger kit
$50 or so for the bipod
The aluminium brazing rod was leftovers from another project as was all the screws, sand paper and other metal bits. The tungsten weights are scraps from work. 1/2" diameter by 1 7/8" long. 7 pieces equal 1lb. I used 16 I believe. The rings are used weaver 30mm that were laying around.

So roughly $770 + taxes all in? The worst part is that I'm thinking of re-barreling it to either a 6.5-06 or a 6.5-284. Anyone out there have a deal on a used barrel and reloading kit? LOL.

-J
Click to expand...

Its a 243 right now right? So 6.5-06 would require a new magazine and trigger guard?

Is the trigger guard still removeable? I epoxied mine into place, really stiffened up the wrist area, which I found to be quite flexible on my Axis.

You mention a MCarbo trigger kit. I assume you've already paid for that? I lowered my trigger pull with a random spring and a machine screw, was very cheap. I always wanted to put a rifle basix trigger into it, but never got around to it and now I don't really use my axis because I switched to left handed...
 
Suther said:
Its a 243 right now right? So 6.5-06 would require a new magazine and trigger guard?

Is the trigger guard still removeable? I epoxied mine into place, really stiffened up the wrist area, which I found to be quite flexible on my Axis.

You mention a MCarbo trigger kit. I assume you've already paid for that? I lowered my trigger pull with a random spring and a machine screw, was very cheap. I always wanted to put a rifle basix trigger into it, but never got around to it and now I don't really use my axis because I switched to left handed...
Click to expand...

I didn't epoxy in the trigger guard for that exact reason. A simple trigger guard and mag change to go along with the barrel change and voila! All axis models regardless of caliber are built on long actions. That was the initial draw for this build.
-J
 
Well you did mention lipschtick awnnah pig.
I really do like bay-kun and I'd chewse the bay-kun.

Sum peepolekinds kids .......... aye?

Anyways, thanks for the thread.
 
Ii think that you made a hell of a good job.
I like the red, makes it easy to find the gun after you have leaned it against a tree.
If she shoots good that is all that matters.
TAKE CARE AND BE SAFE, WEAR A MASK IF POSSIBLE.
 
An A for effort :)

High gloss is not very forgiving so every imperfection will get magnified.

Why not extending the handgrip down to the same level as the factory stock to make a smooth line?

Keep us posted on future mods!
 
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